“Another time, then.”
And he was gone. She stared at him as he walked away, admiring his broad shoulders and long legs. Lexie couldn’t see much more of him because of the uniform and the mud, but she suspected that there was a whole lotta muscles packed onto that man!
Chapter 4
“What are you working on?”
Lexie’s laptop almost toppled off her lap onto the concrete patio. She’d been so focused on writing the scene, trying to get the pictures in her mind translated into words, that she hadn’t heard Mike walk up. Hadn’t even noticed the car entering the parking lot even though the headlights should have alerted her. Especially since she lived in a ground floor apartment that faced the parking lot.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded as she steadied her computer. Before he could see what was on the screen, she saved her work and closed the laptop. No way would she ever let this tough, rugged, hugely muscular man see what she was writing! He’d defended her at the bar that night, but she didn’t want him know that she was the one who had written the book. Lexie wasn’t completely sure why she wanted to keep her writing a secret, but knew that it was a good thing to do. For now, at least.
Mike moved closer, out of the shadows. “I called, but you didn’t answer.”
Lexie glanced down at her cell phone. Sure enough, there was a notification of a missed call blinking at her. “Huh, so you did.” Standing, she pressed her laptop against her chest, as if it could protect her from this man’s powerful presence. “Well, um…”
Lexie floundered, not sure what to say. He was so tall! Taller than she realized and…boy did he look good! He was showered and out of uniform now, wearing a pair of soft-looking jeans and a tee shirt that was stretched to the limits over all of those drool-worthy muscles of his.
And were those scrapes and bruises on his forearm?
“You’re hurt,” she gasped now that her eyes could focus in the dim light.
“I’m fine,” he countered. “And I come bearing food. Are you hungry?”
“Starving!” she replied before she could think better of her answer. She’d turned him down the other day and had regretted it ever since. He’d been incredibly kind to her whenever he’d asked her for assistance, and she was relieved at that. But dinner? Now?
“Um…thank you.” That sounded so lame. Surely there was some wonderful, sexy response she could have offered. But nope! Her brain was fried. This time, it wasn’t just fried from her writing, but because he was…wow!
“Can I come in? We could split this,” he teased, hefting the bag. “Or I could just stand here while you ogle me for a while longer.” One of those delicious shoulders lifted slightly. “I’m fine either way.”
Lexie flushed. Ogle? Yeah, that was the right term for what she’d been doing. There really was no other way to describe standing in front of the guy perusing all of those delicious looking muscles.
“I’m sorry. That was rude of me.” She collected her mug of now-cold herbal tea and her notebook, pen, and laptop, hugging everything to her chest as she led the way into her tiny apartment.
Looking around, she realized that it probably looked messy to someone who didn’t understand her methods. She dumped her armload from the patio onto the kitchen island, then hurried into the small living room. “I don’t have a lot of stuff right now,” she explained, picking a pair of jeans and sweater…then hurriedly grabbed the pair of red lace panties that fell out from the jeans. She’d worn them yesterday after she’d come home from working at the base. By the time she’d finished writing last night, she’d been too tired to do anything more than strip down and fall into bed.
“Sorry,” she mumbled as she opened the door to her bedroom and tossed everything inside, then slammed the door closed.
“It’s all good, Lexie,” he replied softly, still holding the pizza. “Do you have napkins? I brought beer as well. Or do you prefer wine?”
She stared at him for a long moment, wondering if she should be honest or sophisticated. She went with honesty. “I wish that I was a wine drinker. All of my friends drink wine, but I’m a beer woman. And not even the interesting, artisanal beers. Just the regular old…” she paused when he held up a six pack of Corona. Beaming, she nodded. “Those are perfect.”
Mike chuckled as he set the pizza on the small coffee table, then walked over to the fridge and placed the six-pack inside. He noticed that she didn’t have a lot of food. Or furniture. It didn’t seem like she’d lived here for very long, but from the information he’d gathered, Lexie had lived here for the past year. Taking two of the beers and opening them, he handed one to her before taking a long swallow from his own.
“So, how is the job going?” he asked, taking a napkin from her and sitting down on the couch. It was surprisingly comfortable. He opened the pizza box and pulled a slice out for her, then took one for himself.
“Oh, it’s good. Good,” she said, nodding as if that might convince him of the lie.
He chuckled softly, seeing right through her. “That bad, huh?”
She’d just taken a bite of her slice of pizza, so instead of answering, she shrugged as she chewed.
“There isn’t a whole lot to do while we’re not on base, is there?”
She looked at him curiously. “Is that going to change now that you guys are back?”
He laughed softly, nodding. “Oh yeah. Now, you will be tested.”
“How?”
“You’ll see. Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?”
For the next two hours, they talked and laughed and shared small bits of their lives. She learned that he’d enlisted in the Army right out of college after earning an engineering degree. She told him that she’d majored in English literature and thought she’d go on to earn her doctorate in literature. When he asked why she wasn’t still pursuing that goal, Lexie laughed. “Money,” she admitted. “Education is expensive! I’ve taken some masters level courses, but…its slow going.”
Mike noticed her trying to hide a yawn. But there was just something about her, something that…something that he really liked.
Still, he stood up and grabbed the pizza box. “You’re tired. I’ll get out of your way so that you can get some sleep. But I’ll toss this into the dumpster on the way out,” he said.
She stood as well, her hands clasped in front of her and he had the intense urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her.
Instead, he stepped back. “Will you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”
She’d looked surprised when he stepped back, but with his question, the light came back into her eyes. “Okay.” Then her eyes clouded again. “Will that be a problem? Since I work for you?”
He laughed softly, shaking his head. “You don’t work for me. You work for General Kelly. Although, you support my team when we need help.”
“Oh.” He could tell that she didn’t understand. But she’d figure it out.
“No. It’s not going to be a problem,” he assured her.
“Okay.” Lexie smiled, relieved as she nodded her head. “Good.”
He breathed in deeply, drawing on all of his years of self-discipline. “Lexie, I really want to kiss you right now, but if I do, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop. So, you gotta help me out here.”
Her eyes widened and she tilted her head quizzically. “Help you?”
He moved closer, then shook his head and stepped back again. “Yes. Stop looking at me like that.”
Lexie blinked. “Looking at you…how?”
His eyes dropped to her lips. “Like you want me to kiss you.”
There was a long silence and Mike could tell that she was debating. Still, he stood there and fought his instincts. In the end, he grabbed his keys and walked to the door. “Tomorrow night, Lexie!” he warned without looking back. And then he left, forcing his feet to carry him to his car.
Chapter 5
Lexie hummed as she walked into the warehouse the following morning. She hadn
’t slept very well last night, wondering what it would be like to be kissed by Mike. But as soon as she stepped through the doorway, she was met by absolute chaos!
“Are you Lexie?” someone called out.
Lexie paused mid-stride and looked around, locating the person calling out to her. “Yes!” she called back. The man was only a few inches taller than her, but he had a look of absolute determination on his face. She couldn’t call him handsome but he was…good looking, although not in a traditional sense.
In fact, all of the men in the warehouse had a certain appeal to them, although none sent her senses into overdrive like Mike did. A look he was sending her way right now.
Stuffing her backpack underneath her desk, she grabbed a notebook and pen. “How can I help you?”
“I’m Sargent Anderson. And here’s what I need you to find for me.”
Lexie nodded, writing as fast as she could. The items he was asking for made no sense, but she nodded and dutifully wrote them down.
“Got it?” the enlisted officer asked.
“Yes, sir,” she replied, mimicking what she’d heard others say over the past couple of weeks. Having not grown up around the military, she wasn’t sure what the protocol was when addressing officers versus enlisted personnel. She planned to do a bit of research tonight on the subject so she didn’t embarrass herself.
“Good. You’ll be able to find most of those items here on base. But if you can’t find them here, then get them in town.” He handed her a credit card. “This is for government use only.” And then he walked away.
Lexie nodded, her mind reeling with the list of items she’d need to procure. Rope and clothespins she could handle. Hydrogen peroxide? Yeah, that should be easy enough to find. But what in the world was a “stork beak plyer” or a “tooth chisel”? Surely the general wasn’t going to do dental work, was he?
But Lexie didn’t ask questions. At least, she wasn’t going to ask anyone in this warehouse, especially since they all looked busy. Some of them were heading out in what looked like workout clothes, including Mike. And boy, did he have nice legs!
By three o’clock that afternoon, she had most of the items on the list.
So when five o’clock rolled around and the rest of the men headed out of the warehouse, Lexie was mentally exhausted. That’s when she saw Mike coming back into the building. Now he was wearing black boots, camouflage pants, and an Army green tee shirt, sweat stained and muddy, but he still looked amazing!
He caught her admiring glace but Lexie quickly turned away, collecting her backpack.
Without looking back, she left the warehouse and got into her car. Now that the teams were back, there were several other cars in the lot and Lexie wondered where the guys parked their vehicles when they disappeared.
There were some very interesting mysteries here!
Just as she pulled into her apartment parking lot, she felt her phone buzz with a text message. “How about Chinese for dinner tonight?”
Lexie didn’t recognize the phone number, but she knew that the message was from Mike. She smiled, feeling all warm and gushy inside.
“How about if I cook tonight?” she texted back, hauling the groceries into her apartment.
“Are you a good cook?” he asked.
Laughing, Lexie considered her response. “Are you brave enough to try my food?”
“That doesn’t sound very promising. But yes. I’m brave enough.”
“Good soldier.”
“See you in an hour?”
“See you then.” After tossing her phone onto the sofa, she rushed into her bathroom and took a quick shower, being careful not to get her hair wet. She wanted to smell good and, after being around thirty sweaty men all day, a shower was necessary. After, she pulled on a clean pair of jeans and her nicest sweater, since the spring day had cooled down now that the sun had set.
She added a touch of makeup, brushed out her hair, then added just a touch of perfume. She hated people who bathed in perfume so that it was the only thing that anyone could smell. But a dab wouldn’t hurt, would it?
She bustled into the kitchen and started slicing up the chicken. Then she heated up the garlic, added some butter and cream, then with small handfuls, added freshly grated parmesan cheese, stirring and stirring. Midway through the process, she heated a pot of water and, when it was boiling, added in some linguini noodles.
She was just cutting up the tomatoes for the salad when she heard a knock on the door. Grabbing the dishtowel, she wiped her hands, fluffed her hair, and walked to the door.
Lexie took a moment to brace herself, then pulled the door open.
Mike stood there, beer in one hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. But the greeting he’d been about to utter fell away as soon as he took in Lexie’s appearance. She’d added a bit of make-up and, damn, she smelled good! Or was it the food?
Stepping inside, he didn’t hesitate. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He’d regretted leaving her last night without a kiss and he wasn’t going to lose the opportunity this time.
She was softer than he’d expected. And damn, she eagerly lifted her face up to his, kissing him back with a shy eagerness that totally turned him on. When her hands slid up his chest, he almost dropped the beer.
Pulling back, he looked down at her, shaking his head. “You smell amazing!” he muttered. Which wasn’t what he’d planned to say, but it was true.
“Thank you,” she whispered back, then licked her lips as if wanting to taste the kiss again. “I made Alfredo sauce. I used linguini noodles instead of fettuccine, but I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Mike laughed, shaking his head as he looked around. “I can honestly say that I don’t know the difference between linguini and fettuccine noodles.”
“Good,” she laughed, leading the way into the kitchen while he watched her legs. And her butt. Yeah, she had a very nice ass!
“Thanks for bringing more beer. I considered getting wine for dinner, but after our conversation last night, I suspected it would be a waste of money since neither of us like wine.”
“Excellent choice,” he said and she looked up at him, seeing him leaning against the kitchen doorway.
“What were you doing today that made you so sweaty?”
“The obstacle course,” he replied. “I take various teams out and test them to check their timing.”
“Do the guys slow down if they don’t hit the course often enough?”
“Not on my watch.”
She smiled, thinking he was kidding, but Mike knew that he was absolutely serious. “So, how did you learn to cook?”
She shrugged and the movement shifted her sweater slightly, giving him a brief glimpse of a black bra. Or the edge of it, at least. He liked that she’d changed clothes for him. And he knew that she’d changed because he’d seen a brief peek at her bra earlier today when the blouse had gaped slightly. It had been tan earlier today. Did she have “work” underwear and “date” underwear?
Interesting thought!
“I don’t know how to cook a lot of things,” she said, draining the noodles into the colander already in the sink. “I only know a few recipes and this is the most decadent.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I’m trying to impress you. Is it working?”
Hell yes! “Absolutely,” he replied, though he was referring to her underwear and not her cooking, although the smells of the food was pretty darn good and he was starving.
“You were busy today,” he commented, stealing a slice of tomato from the salad and popping it into his mouth. “What were you working on?”
Lexie stilled for a moment, then carefully put the pot back onto the stove before turning to face him. “I’m sorry, Mike. I know that you’re on the teams, probably in charge of them. But I can’t tell you anything.”
He grinned at that, nodding his head. “I understand.” Then he walked over to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her again. “Good answer.”
She
sighed and those hands slid down his chest again. Mike wanted to take her hands and put them right back on his body, but she’d already turned back to their dinner.
They ate out on the patio and talked about favorite movies and actors, books they’d read, keeping things safe and non-work related.
By the time they’d finished dinner, Lexie wasn’t sure what to do. She wanted him, that was a given. But…
“Walk me to my car,” he requested, standing up and taking her hands, gently tugging her out of her chair.
“Walk you…?”
“Yes. I want to kiss you, but the same issue from last night applies tonight. Right now, it’s late and you’re exhausted.”
He laced his fingers through hers and she tilted her head to the side, looking up at him. “You’re the one running around in the woods doing all sorts of crazy stuff,” she teased, but followed alongside him. “Why aren’t you pushing for sex? Other guys would be trying to get into the bedroom right about now.”
He stopped and turned to face her. Looking down into her eyes, he wrapped his hand around her neck. “Because I don’t want to be one of them. I want…” he sighed, his thumb stroking her cheek. “Lexie, I want more than just a night with you.”
Her heart melted. Moving closer, she beamed up at him. “Okay,” she whispered, nervous, but tempted and intrigued. No, that wasn’t right. She was more than intrigued. She wanted him but…did she want something more than just a casual affair?
Granted, Lexie knew that she wasn’t a casual affair sort of person. At least, she hadn’t been in the past. But their time together…it was temporary. Lexie had no idea where she might be tomorrow or next week. She’d committed to a goal and she would do whatever it took to reach that goal.
But she’d also never felt like this about anyone. Mike was special and the way she reacted to him was special. What that meant, she wasn’t sure.
“Come on,” he urged, leading her over to his car. “Okay, I’m going to kiss you now,” he warned.
Lexie laughed. “Do I need a warning?”
Mike (Delta Forces Book 1) Page 3
