Chapter 9
Emily stepped from her car, her phone to her ear. “I just got home. I went out to the cemetery in an effort to find some peace for the two men I’ve lost.”
“In that case, how about a bottle of red wine and some Italian food?” Jace asked.
She chuckled. “You mean, because Curry House was one choice, so we have to have the other?”
“I’m good with pizza on a riverbank somewhere with a bottle of wine. But I’m not sure I want to be anywhere that reminds me of the case. It might be nice to take a few minutes away from reality.”
“Well, if you bring the wine, I could make dinner.”
“Done,” he said instantly. “I hate being in a hotel room by myself.”
She laughed. “I need a little time to shower and start something for dinner.”
“Tell me when you want me there.”
She smiled at the gentleness in his voice. “It’s almost like you prefer this over a restaurant,” she teased.
“I do. Home-cooked food? I’d take that any day.”
She laughed. “What if I’m a terrible cook?”
“I doubt it, but that would be okay too because you’re a beautiful woman, so, if I get to sit across the table and just smile at you, I’m fine.”
At that she laughed out loud. “None of that flattery, please. If you pick up a bottle of wine, I’ll see you at my place in, say, forty minutes?”
“You got it.”
She hung up, a silly grin on her face. She walked through the underground parking lot and took the elevator to the fourth floor. Inside her apartment, she had a shower and got changed.
Her mind buzzed about what she could possibly cook. He’d been planning to take her out for Italian, and she had passed. The question was, what did she have to cook? In the fridge she found spinach, pesto that was a couple days old, and some chicken. She put on a pot of water for the pasta and started the sauce. She cut the chicken into small pieces. When the pasta was almost done, the chicken was sautéing in a creamy pesto sauce.
He still hadn’t arrived, so she got to work on a salad. As she cleaned up, her doorbell rang. She turned the heat down on the sauce and realized the pasta needed another moment. She headed to the front door, calling out, “Coming.”
She opened the door and smiled when he handed her pink roses. “Oh, wow. These are beautiful,” she said with a bright smile. “Thank you so much. I can’t tell you the last time anybody brought me flowers.”
“Good. I was afraid every man did this for you.”
She snorted. “Some have, but the best customs have gone by the wayside.” She smiled back at him, adding, “Bringing fresh flowers will never get old for me. Come on in, and make yourself at home. Dinner is almost ready.”
He took off his jacket and draped it on the back of a chair. She brought out a vase, trimmed the stems of the roses, and put them in, adding water, spreading them out slightly.
“It smells delicious,” he commented. “And I wasn’t kidding when I said I’d prefer a home-cooked meal over a restaurant any day.”
“I like restaurants just fine. They give me a break from cooking. I live alone, so it’s nice to have somebody to cook for. Cooking for yourself isn’t the same.”
“Well, anytime you want to cook a meal for me, you got it.”
“Even if I cook a meal, Houston is a little far for you to come for dinner.”
He gave her a long, slow, smoky smile.
She blinked, and sudden heat flared through her. “Now that smile is lethal,” she complained when she could find her voice. “Tone it down.”
“Why? Anytime you call, offering me dinner, I’ll make the drive,” he said seriously.
She gave him a startled look, saw the truth in his gaze, and blushed. “Well, that’s nice to hear. But, if you come that far, you should stay for a couple days.”
That smile dawned again.
She shook her head. And took a deep breath. “Wow.”
“A couple days, like a weekend?”
And instantly she saw how this could possibly work. “I don’t know that long-distance relationships turn out very well.”
“I travel a lot anyway,” he said. “Not everybody is happy with that.”
“It wouldn’t scare me off. I often work late. And, if I don’t have something else to do, I have a tendency to work on weekends too.”
“Well, having company would stop that.”
“True enough. You live at the compound, don’t you?”
He nodded. “It’s a beautiful place, as you saw when you were there. Besides, if I came here for a weekend, no reason you can’t visit me the next weekend.”
“How about we step back a little and see how our evening goes?” she said drily. “I’m not exactly ready to jump into weekends at each other’s places.”
He chuckled. “I’ll hold out hope for when you say yes.”
She rolled her eyes at him and quickly served his plate.
He stood with a bottle of wine in his hand. “Do you have a corkscrew?”
She pointed to a drawer. He found it, took the cork out, and, at her direction, found two wineglasses. When he poured each half full, she had their plates served with salad already on the table. He quickly hit a dimmer switch, turning off the kitchen lights, creating a nice atmosphere over the table.
As she sat down, she marveled, “This is a beautiful romantic dinner.” Her smile deepened. “Thanks for inviting me out.”
“Thanks for inviting me here instead.” He lifted his glass and held it up. “To more romantic dinners.”
She’d known he would be lethal. But she hadn’t realized just how lethal. When he was with Logan, it had been easy to hold back her attraction. But now he was here, alone with her, in such an intimate setting. Well …
She took a deep breath and tried to push away the heat. She cast her mind around, looking for a topic that could be safely neutral. “How’s the investigation going?”
“It’s going,” he said cheerfully. “I have to interview three more members we missed at the TxSAR Center. I tried to connect with them earlier but could only leave messages.”
“And after that, what?”
“I still haven’t met the wives yet. I’d love to talk with Jimmy Burton too if I get time.”
She dropped her gaze and winced. “Oh, him.”
“Yeah. The police are running a check to see if he has a life insurance policy.”
She sucked in her breath at that. “Good. Do you think the four cases are related?”
“I’m not exactly sure yet. But I’m a whole lot closer to having a working hypothesis.”
She looked at him hopefully. “Care to share?”
“Not yet. I have a pretty good line to tug though. Tomorrow, once I start tugging for real, I’m hoping to make the whole thing unravel.”
She settled back. “I’m almost scared to ask.”
“It doesn’t matter if you do or not,” he said, lifting a forkful of pasta to his mouth. “Until I get it settled, I won’t tell you.”
“You don’t want to jinx it?”
He stared at her and answered slowly, “No. But, if I’m right, somebody has murdered five men. Maybe more. What I don’t want to do is put you in danger. If I tell you anything, it’s quite possible you’ll get caught up in the middle.”
She put down her fork, her stomach suddenly sick. “Are you serious? Five people could’ve been killed by the same hand?”
“I’m afraid it could be more,” he said. He lifted his glass again. “How about we drink to it not being even that many?”
Taking it as a sign he was done with this difficult subject, she lifted her glass to his. “That much I’ll drink to. But surely we have something better to toast than hoping the murderer didn’t have so many victims.”
He chuckled, his gaze warm and sexy. “Then how about we drink to us?”
She didn’t even know how the conversation, the mood, the atmosphere had become so charged.
What was it about a warm room, a hot meal, a bottle of wine, and a sexy man to make her heart race? Okay, maybe not with any man. Something about being in the quiet comfort of his presence was like finding solace in being close to him.
“Heavy thoughts?”
She looked up, startled, then smiled. “If you only knew.”
That steady gaze appeared to search deep into her eyes.
She stared back openly.
“I’d like to know.”
She tilted her head to the side and contemplated him. “But would you really?”
He put down his fork, picked up his glass of wine, and took a sip. “I think one of the biggest problems with relationships is lack of communication,” he said with a smile. “Right now it feels to me like you’re considering us. Or me for that matter. And, if that’s the truth, then I would really like to know what you think.”
She let out her breath, slow and gentle. “You’re right. I was thinking about you. Wondering how we got to this place so quickly.”
His smile peeked out to match the grin in his eyes. “Tell me more,” he teased.
She chuckled gently. “I was just thinking that, when I’m around you, I don’t feel so flustered. I don’t feel so stressed.” She gazed at the wine swirling in her glass. “I can’t explain it, but it’s almost like a sense of peace when I’m with you. Your energy is very calm, very considerate. You don’t go rushing around from job to job. You don’t fly off the handle or appear to get stressed out over anything. In fact, you’re very … laid-back,” she said lamely. “I know that’s not quite the right word, but to say that you’re very grounded doesn’t sound right either.”
He nodded his head. “I’ve heard things like reserved, boring. … How about introverted?”
She shook her head, her gaze aligning with his. “No. That’s not what I mean. The word I was thinking was soulful. As in, being around you gives me a sense of peace.”
A warm light shone in his gaze. “Now that,” he said, “is something I’d get behind.”
She leaned back and watched as he finished his dinner. She was enjoying hers too, but watching him made her feel good. “Look at the way you’re eating,” she said. “Everything you do is easy. It’s measured. It’s careful, but it’s not restrained. Every movement you make is with power and confidence. That is extremely attractive.”
“You keep surprising me,” he said. “Most of the time that’s not the response I get.”
“No?” she mused. “I can see that. For the wrong woman, you would probably come across as boring. Or maybe too determined to jump into something.” She smiled when he dropped his gaze and continued to eat. “But that’s not really the truth. I think, when you want to make a move, you do so very quickly. The same as you don’t waste time with useless conversation. When you have something to say, you say it. And I think most of your actions are that way as well. You think things out way in advance, and, when it’s time, you know exactly what moves to take.”
“Not always,” he said. “Lots of times life throws you a curveball, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with it.”
She nodded. “I think that happens to all of us. But I think you catch those curveballs more often than not. For me, they land beside me and roll one way. When I try to pick them up, I realize, while I was dashing, it has already reversed its path.
“Even when you walk,” she said, “it’s very relaxed, loose-limbed, but every step you take is with confidence, as if you know exactly where you’re going at all times.”
He chuckled. “All of that sounds very flattering, but I don’t want you getting the wrong impression of me. Even though I have a lot of military training, I made mistakes lots of times. We try very hard to train seamen well so they don’t make mistakes. And I was a SEAL, so my training was more extensive. I knew mistakes could kill us when out on missions. So as a way to compensate for not making a mistake and getting us all killed, I would go through the plans over and over and over in my head. I would plan out every step I needed to take for every contingency I could imagine. I didn’t want to be the one who would bring down my own crew. My unit, they are like brothers to me. And I couldn’t possibly live with the guilt if I’d been responsible for any of them getting hurt.”
She smiled. “Now that is what I mean. I can see that exactly—dedicated, honorable.” He frowned at her, and she added, “Hero material all the way.”
At that he laughed. “Better not let Levi hear you say that. I’m only just learning the pitfalls of that word myself.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Now that you have to explain.”
She listened in fascination as she heard about the other members of Legendary Security and how the women ended up finding a hero of their own and moving into the compound. “Of course not everybody has moved in. Anna and Flynn have an animal shelter just outside the compound. Michael bought property next door to the compound, is building a home there, and he’ll be moving there with Mercy. Alina works at the hospital in Houston.” He shrugged. “But they’re all such a big family. And I like that.”
“You miss the military, don’t you?”
Once again he raised his gaze to look at her. That same direct look. As if he had nothing to hide.
And she believed it. That gaze had at its very core something so forthcoming and calm, so peaceful. She gave a happy sigh. “I can see you do. A resettling, a reshuffling of your life.”
He gave a bark of laughter. “If you can see all that, I’m not doing a very good job. But you’re right, I do miss the military. I was very close with my team members. All of us walked after our commander took a hit. He got blamed for doing something he wasn’t supposed to. When the person who got him into trouble was bumped up to his place, and we had to take orders from him …” Jace shook his head. “It was more than we could stomach.”
“So all four of you walked away?”
He gave her a lopsided grin. “Yeah, and three of us—Michael, Tyson, and now me—are at Legendary Security. And Rory, Brandon and Liam work elsewhere.” His grin widened. “At least for the moment.”
She chuckled. “Levi’s no fool.”
“Neither is Ice,” Jace said.
She smiled. “Very true. Let’s hope this matter gets resolved, and they can move on to other things.” She hesitated a moment, thinking. “Is that why Logan’s not here?”
“He got called out on another job. Levi often has half-a-dozen to a dozen jobs happening all at once.”
“The logistics of that must be a nightmare.”
“Maybe, but I’m sure he’s used to it by now. And, with Ice there, and any number of other very capable people, I’m sure they all handle it just fine.” Jace picked up the wine bottle and refilled her glass; then he filled his.
“Are you enjoying staying with them?”
Jace shrugged. “I haven’t been there long enough to know. But, while I have been there, it’s been good. I like the people. I like the sense of camaraderie. I like doing jobs that help others. What’s not to like?”
She nodded. “Just think. I would never have met you if you weren’t working for Levi and Ice.”
He lifted his wineglass and gave her a crooked smile. “I’ll drink to that.”
Once again they were right back to that same charged atmosphere, as if only the two of them were in the entire world.
*
It was all Jace could do to pull his gaze from the beautiful woman across from him. Attraction sparkled in the air, giving a heavy, husky feeling to the moment. He lifted his wine and drained it. He motioned to her glass and whispered, “Are you going to finish that?”
She smiled. “I will.”
He hadn’t expected this level of attraction.
She took a big shaky breath and said, “Do you think something is wrong with me because I had a relationship with those three men?”
He shook his head. “No. Why would I?”
She gave him a tremulous smile. “Glad to hear that, but it is so weird to have it all laid out on paper. Looks as if I went from one man to the other two.”
He studied her for a long moment. “Are you ashamed of the relationships?”
She shook her head. “No.” She shrugged. “Even though the relationships didn’t last, they were all such great people. Just not quite right for me.”
“It never occurred to me,” he said honestly. “I haven’t been lacking in relationships for the last twelve years myself.”
She chuckled. “A beautiful man like you, I have no doubt you’re never lacking for partners.”
He sat back and gave her a crooked grin. “I’m currently single. Let’s make that clear.”
“Oh my.” She tilted her head. “When was your last relationship?”
“Ended about six months ago.”
“Any particular reason?”
“She went back to her ex-boyfriend.”
Emily’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, that’s an interesting reason.”
“I came into her life when she wasn’t ready for somebody new.”
“Were you terribly upset?”
“No.” A sly smile slipped out. “And that’s how I knew she was probably better off.”
Emily chuckled. “Not all relationships end quite so nicely.”
“Your last one?”
“Somebody at work. We parted amicably. He took a job in a different city.”
“Did you break up with him over the move?”
“He asked for the transfer. We broke up as part of his move to a new life. I wasn’t bothered either.” She picked up her glass and swirled the red wine. “In a way it was nice to have somebody to do something with.”
“A lot of relationships are like that. People fall into them because they want to do something. They don’t want to be alone all the time.”
She nodded. “I still can’t quite imagine somebody leaving you for an old boyfriend.”
He laughed. “It happens. As a SEAL, I wasn’t around all that much. Since leaving the military, I was hoping, more often than not, that I’d be around more. I stayed at a friend’s family home after his brother was in an accident. He had gone home to help his father and brother run the ranch until his brother was back on his feet. I went to help them out. My whole unit is looking for a reason to carry on. Finding a purpose took a little bit more time.”
“A ranch should have been fun,” Emily said. “Particularly if it was new to you.”
“I had been to Rory’s place a couple times. He had stayed for months on end and helped out, day in and day out. It was a relentless experience.” He outstretched his hand across the table toward her and opened his palm.
She took it without hesitation.
“I kind of thought maybe I would meet somebody there. I met several women in town, but I didn’t feel anything. I was going through that stage of life where nothing mattered anymore. Yet being at Rory’s place gave me purpose. Then I met a bunch of women after Katie and I broke up. I went out with a couple of them, just a few dates each, but I can’t say I felt the attraction I was hoping for.”
“What were you hoping for?” Emily sensed her voice deepening to a husky whisper.
He raised his gaze slowly and studied her face. “Something like what I feel for you.” He watched the surprise come into her beautiful blue eyes. He leaned forward. “And I know you feel it too.”
He didn’t know how it happened or who made the first move. Before he truly understood anything, she was in his arms, and he was kissing her like there was no tomorrow. Maybe that was because, in his world, there often wasn’t.