Tempt Me

by Melissa Schroeder

  "Then I say this is a date."

  Somehow, he worked his way in between her legs, and pressed against her. There was no doubt about it; he was definitely interested in her. She could smell the woods and cool clean crisp air that clung to his skin and clothes.

  She looked up at him and was irritated again by not being able to see his eyes. Instead of telling him to take his glasses off, she did it for him. Reaching up, she pulled them down then off his face. Those eyes of his were even more intense this time.

  "Why did you do that?"

  "I want to see your eyes when I talk to you."

  He didn't say anything to that.

  "And yes. I am okay with a date or two, as long as you understand that it can't be anything serious."

  Something tugged at one corner of his mouth. It was almost as if he were trying not to frown. She had to fight the laugh that threatened to bubble up. Mr. Marine didn't like being told the rules. At least not by her.

  "How about we just wait and see how this goes?"

  "I'm trying to be honest here, Jesse. I can't say that I have ever used this much honesty in the beginning of a relationship—although, I wouldn't call this one that."

  "Just dating?"

  She sighed. "We barely know each other."

  "Exactly. So we don't know where this is going to lead. Why put rules and regs on it right at the beginning?"

  "Lord, can you ever just be. Just exist. Can you tell me we can have some fun together and not worry about tomorrow?"

  Something moved over his face but she couldn't really discern what it meant.

  "I can do that."

  She cocked her head to the side and was going to argue with him again, but apparently, he'd made his mind up. He pressed his mouth against hers. Before she could react, he deepened the kiss, sucking her bottom lip between his, then diving in. Heat shimmered through her blood and before she was ready, he was already pulling back from the kiss.

  "How about we head on down to this little German place I know of for dinner?"

  "I've never had German food before, but I take it you've been stationed there?"

  He shook his head as he offered her the helmet he had loaned her. "No. But Dad was when we were younger. I graduated from high school there."

  She sighed and he picked up on it.

  "What was that for?"

  "What?"

  She shook her head then put on the helmet.

  "No, stop that."

  She looked at him and took note of the frustration in his voice.

  "I understand we aren't going to get serious, but it doesn't mean I don't want to get to know you. I don’t just want a pretty thing on the back of my bike and in my bed. So, tell me what that sigh meant."

  Zoe crossed her arms beneath her breasts. "First of all, don’t presume that I will go to bed with you. I've never really gone anywhere."

  His expression relaxed and he nodded. "If you could go one place in the world, where would it be?"

  "Venice."

  He rolled his eyes and laughed. "I should have known. I've never been either, but I have always wanted to go."

  Helmet on, he got on the bike, waited for her to slip on behind him then started the engine.

  As they sped down the winding path, she decided he was right. They might not be serious, they might never go past dating a few times, but it didn't mean she wouldn't enjoy getting to know him.

  Chapter Six

  Jesse waited all week to see her. It wasn't a plan on his part, but he knew work would keep him busy. Weeknight dates didn’t appeal to him. If she lived closer in, it would be different. But, he didn’t want to worry about work the next day. Added to the fact it had taken him a couple of days to convince her to go to the dinner and a movie, he knew Friday was the only choice. It was late Friday afternoon as he made his way out to Warrenton.

  Lord, how did people live out so far? Well, they didn't work in DC, that's how. Jesse knew a few people he worked with did live a little further out. There were even a few who came in on a bus shuttle from Charlottesville.

  Mentally, he shook his head. Jesse would never do that. He knew there were personal reasons people did it—he just couldn’t spend that much time away from home. He wasn't like his father. He didn't have a problem with the job, but he didn't want all the responsibilities of being a General. He knew people expected it of him, but seeing his sister and brother get married, and dealing with Jack and his issues, made Jesse think about the future. One thing was for certain. He did not want to always live for the job. And that meant not wanting to be General.

  When he had come to the realization a few months ago, Jesse expected to panic. But he didn't. In fact, he felt nothing but relief. For most of his adult life, he’d been working on getting a star. If he could achieve the goal just on his work, then so be it. Somewhere along the line, he realized he wanted something more. He wanted a wife, a family, and a fucking life.

  As he turned off twenty-nine on the way to the Santinis, he thought about Zoe. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t his usual type, but there was something about her. It was as if all the stars aligned right for them to get together. She was, by far, the most different woman he had ever dated. Most of them had their eye on marrying an officer, living the life of a high ranking Marine, and looking forward to life in the military. Zoe had made it pretty clear she wasn't into that. He was enough of a sadist to want to change her mind.

  He didn't know where their relationship was going to go, but he knew they had something between them. He hadn't done anything more than kiss her good night last time, but she'd been on his mind ever since. Lord, on his mind? He had been dreaming of her since he’d met her months ago at Gee’s wedding. Nothing too explicit at first, but that had changed after their time in DC. Just seeing her smile made his head spin, and his body begged to touch that happiness.

  He parked his car and headed up the path to the Santinis. The door opened when he reached the porch. It was Zoe. She was dressed in a pair of low riding jeans and a bright blue flowing shirt with a white tank beneath it. It was…casual but also sexy. Blue jewels dangled from her ears.

  "Hurry."

  "What?" he asked, wondering what the hell was going on.

  "The Santinis are out and I just set the alarm. I have to lock the door before it goes off."

  He laughed and took the keys from her, locking the door and then handing them back to her.

  "That wasn't so hard."

  She sighed with relief. "I just didn't want to mess anything up. Gee said he was going to have them put something like this in my apartment."

  He nodded. “Not a bad idea.”

  “I don’t like it. Sure, I have that false sense of security, but I feel like I’m hemmed in by it.” She finally noticed the car. "What, no bike?"

  "Sorry. I don't like driving into work in my uniform on a bike. It's such a pain and there is a chance for rain tonight."

  She accepted that. He opened the door for her and said nothing else until they were on their way.

  "You don't take the Metro in to work?"

  He nodded. "Most of the time I do, but I left work early. I didn't want to backtrack."

  "Where do you live?"

  "Arlington. Not too far from work. I like it that way. I do like living in the city."

  She sighed. "I have really enjoyed my time out here, but I miss being in my downtown loft. The vibe there stimulated my creativity. While I love Joey’s studio, I do like my own space."

  Sadness tinged the Georgia in her voice. He hated hearing it. Despite what she had been through, she always seemed to be happy.

  "Done any more sketching?" he asked.

  She nodded as a smile tugged at her lips. "I'm so happy I came here with Joey. She understood just what was wrong with me. Kee would have tried to baby me and Retta would have just yelled at me. Still, I think I need to head home soon. Joey has other ideas."

  “I bet she does. So, what kind of food are you in the mood for?”

&nbs
p; She shrugged. “Nothing in particular. There is a great place just down the road. Well, a few great places. Home cooking or seafood?”

  “Home cooking.”

  “Then Northside 29 is your place.”

  She gave him directions then looked out the window.

  “Missing Savannah?”

  She shrugged again. “Some. I like to see the water on a regular basis and I miss my studio. But I am really enjoying being here for this. I think I need to make time for more trips out of Savannah. See more of the US if I can’t afford to make it to Italy.”

  “I love to travel, but like I’ve said, I’ve never been to Italy.”

  “I guess it comes with the territory of being a brat.” When he glanced her, she clarified, “Traveling, I mean.”

  He nodded as he pulled into the parking lot. “Makes it easier on you as a kid if you like changes. MJ was sick of it when she graduated from high school. Me, I love to pick up and go. I’ve been known to take a hop here and there when I have time off.”

  “A hop?”

  “The Air Force sometimes has open seats on their transports and you can grab a seat really cheap. It’s easier being near one of their bases that do a lot of transports. So, when I have Lose or Use—”

  “Speak regular English there, Marine.”

  He chuckled. “Sorry, when you live it every day, it’s hard not to fall into the acronyms and shortened names. Every year, we can keep up to seventy-five days of leave. Anything over that, we lose it, so hence the name.

  “Ah. Okay, continue.”

  “When I have some extra leave, I look into that.” She didn’t say anything for a few moments, so he looked at her. “What?”

  “I know you’ll get irritated, but I would have never expected that from you.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Mr. Marine. Always do things by the book.”

  He smiled and leaned closer, brushing his mouth over hers. “Just so you know, I don’t do everything by the book. I have a few rules of my own that are really interesting.”

  She shivered in response, then sighed. “Okay, we better go in or I am going to convince you to go back to the Santinis house and show me those interesting things.”

  He groaned and gave her another kiss. This one was hard, quick, and just enough to make them both lose breath.

  “You would tempt a saint. Let’s go in.”

  * * * *

  They never made it to the movies. They spent too much time talking and laughing at dinner. In fact, she couldn’t remember being this relaxed with a guy on the first date. Well, the first official date, that is. Maybe it was that, or maybe it was just that he was really putting her at ease. He flirted, but not too much, and he never pushed her on her rules.

  It was hard to ignore the attraction to him, though. Something seemed to simmer beneath her flesh every time she saw him. More and more she found herself wondering what it would feel like laying next to him with nothing on. He would be an amazing lover, there was no doubt about it. He was in good shape, but more importantly, Jesse Johnson paid attention to details.

  He pulled up in front of the Santinis’ house again and looked across the car to the porch. “Looks like they are waiting for ya.”

  She turned and noticed the light was still on and laughed. “It’s been a long time since someone kept the porch light on for me.”

  “How does it feel?” he asked as she turned to him.

  “Kind of nice. Joey is overbearing but in a really great kind of way. And Papa, he’s so sweet.”

  Jesse snorted.

  “What?” she asked.

  “The sweet man threatened me the other day.”

  “He did not.”

  “He did. He said he and the other four would make me disappear if I was mean to you. Of course, this was before we said we were dating.”

  “We’ve been out on one date.”

  “We’ve been out on three.”

  It was her turn to snort. “You’re counting the trip into DC?”

  “You’re lucky I’m not counting the dinner here.”

  She laughed, really enjoying him.

  “That’s a sweet sound.”

  His voice had deepened and it danced over her nerve endings. She wanted to just grab him and do all kinds of bad things to him. She knew they weren’t ready, well she wasn’t ready, but she needed to do something, take some kind of action.

  So, she took his face in her hands and leaned forward to brush her mouth over his. It was a sweet kiss that soon turned into more. Heat exploded, her body seemed to burn up. Needing more, she slipped her tongue into his mouth. God, the man was killing her. His skimmed his hands down her body, brushing his thumbs against the sides of her breasts. She moaned his name against his mouth.

  When she realized she was trying to justify slipping over the center console and onto his lap, she forced herself to pull back.

  “Okay, so we just made out in a car.”

  He laughed. “That wasn’t much of a make out session.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah. If it had been, you’d be beneath me moaning my name.”

  She closed her eyes. “You’re trying to kill me here.”

  “I think I have a bigger chance of passing out due to lack of blood in the brain, so I don’t want to hear about your discomfort.”

  She couldn’t help but chuckle. “Okay, Marine, I’ll give you a little leeway.”

  “Thank you. It’s the least you can do.”

  He turned to open the door. “You don’t have to walk me up to the front door.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  She sighed as she watched him round the hood of his car. Of course he did and dammit to hell, she got a special little thrill that he was doing it. He opened her door and helped her out of the car. They said nothing as they walked side by side, his hand on the small of her back. He guided her up on the porch. She turned to face him.

  “Thank you for tonight. I had a lot of fun.”

  He smiled and the genuine pleasure in his gaze made her heart skip that little beat. It was getting more common now.

  “I did too. How about I cook for you next time.”

  “You can cook, Marine?”

  “Our grandmother made sure of it and she was Italian.”

  “Does that mean I’d get some kind of pasta out of the deal?”

  “Anything your heart desires.”

  Again, that little strange skip to her heartbeat. “Well, I think I can do that.”

  “How about next Thursday? I have a TDY out of town for a few days, have to leave on Sunday morning, but I’m set to return Wednesday night. I took the rest of the week off.”

  She thought about the idea of going to his house. It definitely put them in a different arena. Part of her worried about moving too fast, but another part of her, ruled completely by her hormones cheered the idea. The hormones won.

  “That sounds great.”

  “And now that I have your number, I can get a hold of you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “MJ gave me shit for not getting it after going into DC together.”

  “Ah,” she said.

  She turned to go in for the night, but he stopped her. Leaning down, he brushed his mouth over hers. She knew he meant it to be a light kiss goodnight, but she slid her tongue inside of his mouth. He groaned then sucked on it. The heat that had dimmed just moments earlier exploded.

  Zoe would be left wondering just how far that moment would have gone because the light flickered above her head. Jesse chuckled and pulled back from her. “Well, it’s been a long time since someone did that to me.”

  He reached up and rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip.

  “You’re a hard woman to resist Zoe Jones. Now, go in before I convince you to sneak me into your room.”

  She sighed and did as he asked because she probably would have snuck him in. Her hormones were definitely winning the battle over her good sense. When she sli
pped through the front door and locked it, she heard his footsteps recede then disappear. Minutes later, she heard his car start up.

  “Good thing that boy has some smarts,” Papa said from the shadows. She jumped at the sound of his voice and turned to face him.

  “Lord, Papa, you scared me.”

  He stepped out. “Sorry about that.”

  “You don’t have to worry about Jesse and you don’t have to worry about me. Retta insisted we all take self-defense courses.”

  “Good,” he said.

  “Was there something else?”

  He shook his head. “Goodnight, Zoe.”

  She smiled and stepped past him toward the stairs but stopped. Zoe gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for looking out for me.”

  Then she walked up the stairs thinking it was a good thing that Jesse would be gone for a few days. She needed time and distance to make sure she really wanted to get tangled up with the Marine. Sure, she said it would be simple but she knew that no matter what, feelings would be involved. Zoe had to be sure she was willing to take that chance.

  * * * *

  Joey listened as Zoe’s footsteps came up the stairs then off to her bedroom and waited. When Stewart didn’t follow, she decided to go in search of her husband.

  She found him with a whiskey in his hand as he looked out over their backyard.

  “Playing the chaperone isn’t easy,” she said.

  He didn’t look behind him, didn’t even jump at the sound of her voice. It was hard to sneak up on someone who had been in Special Forces.

  “It’s different with girls.”

  “She’s a grown woman.”

  He sipped at his whiskey, then said, “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Jesse Johnson is a good man. You know that.”

  He nodded as he took another sip. “Doesn’t mean I want him mauling her on our front porch.”

  She bit her lip trying not to smile. Joey had always said that he would have been a pain in the ass father for any girl.

  “Oh, Stewart, it was only a kiss goodnight.”

  He grunted.

  “And she can make her own decisions.”

  He looked over his shoulder at her. “Are you telling me to butt out?”

  She shook her head. “It’s kind of sweet. I’m looking forward to seeing how Leo acts when the first boy comes calling.”