CHAPTER 1
Breathless and spent, Will Weber rolled off the woman beneath him. Flopped flat out on his back on the rumpled bed, he tried to catch his breath.
“Damn.” He’d thought he was in good shape.
Hell, he was. In great shape, as a matter of fact, at least according to his Navy physical readiness test. But the workout his girlfriend had given him tonight had stolen his breath completely.
It shouldn’t surprise him. Four years ago his brown-haired, hazel-eyed vixen had stolen a good-sized corner of his heart.
What was a surprise was the intensity of tonight’s workout between the sheets with Sara. Lately things between them in bed had felt, for lack of a better word, off.
There had been a definite decrease in her interest in their physical activity together the past couple of months. Lack of interest on her part, specifically. Certainly not on his end.
He understood why Sara might be feeling that way. She had a lot on her mind. Too many responsibilities, all tugging at her at once. She was working hard, both at her job and in her night classes.
It couldn’t be easy for a woman over thirty to make the decision to stand on her own two feet financially after being dependent on her ex-husband for years.
Will didn’t blame her for the occasional lack of enthusiasm between the sheets—but they’d both been plenty enthusiastic tonight.
He’d been so happy to finally get some after what had stretched to be a month long dry spell that he might have gotten a little too enthusiastic, which explained why he was covered in sweat and still trying to catch his breath. He’d run the obstacle course on base and recovered faster than this. That said a lot about the energy he’d just expended.
Whatever the reason for it, tonight had been pretty damn good. And he hoped it was just a precursor, a prelude to things between them getting back to normal.
Better than normal, actually.
As his stomach growled he slapped one hand over his belly to silence the noise. Good sex made a man hungry. He’d definitely burned through some major calories this evening.
Will stared at the ceiling while deciding if he had the energy to get dressed to take her out to dinner or if they should take advantage of take-out delivery and stay in.
That last idea definitely had its benefits. Maybe they could go for round two as dessert.
Turning his head on the pillow, he was just about to make the suggestion when Sara stood.
Will propped himself up on one elbow and watched as she reached for her clothes on the floor. He wasn’t opposed to her staying naked, but she was probably as hungry as he was.
He watched as she stepped into her underwear. “I thought we could order in so we don’t have to get dressed and go out.”
She glanced back at him over her shoulder. “I’m actually gonna go.”
He frowned. “Really? Do you have something to do?”
She’d only been there about an hour. They’d made damn good use of that time together but he hadn’t realized when she’d called asking if she could come over that she’d be going again so soon.
“Um, yeah. Actually, it’s my sister. I promised her I’d get home early tonight.” She pulled on her dress and shoved her feet into her sandals.
“Is Jessa okay?” He’d always liked Sara’s sister. He’d hate to think anything was wrong with her.
“Um, yeah, she’s fine.”
That didn’t answer why Sara was rushing home to her, but it wasn’t his place to pry into Jessa’s private life.
“Okay. I’ll walk you to the door.” He swung his legs over his side of the bed and stood.
Not bothering with underwear, he pulled on a pair of shorts. No use getting dressed since his decision for dinner was definitely made now.
He wasn’t keen on eating out alone so he’d just order something to be delivered. A night with Sara would have been better, but since that was off the table, Netflix and pizza on the sofa in front of his big screen sounded pretty good to him.
She was already by the door by the time he reached her.
“Where’s my purse?” She spun, looking around.
The apartment was pretty small and he didn’t like clutter so it was fairly bare. Not much place for anything to get lost.
Will glanced toward the kitchen and saw her bag on the counter. “I got it.”
“Thanks.” She took it from him when he returned and reached for the doorknob.
He stepped after her. “Text when you get home so I know you’re safe and sound.”
“Okay.”
The door was open and she was about to walk through when he grabbed her arm. She was definitely distracted, by what he didn’t know. But they never said goodbye without at least a quick kiss.
Will leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. “Good night.”
“Bye.” She glanced at him and then turned for the door.
He leaned against the doorframe and watched as she walked to her parked car and opened the door.
After one final look back at him and a tiny wave, she slid behind the wheel and started the engine. He waited as she backed up and pulled away before closing and locking the door.
Something was definitely strange. Kick ass sex and then a quick escape. He wasn’t sure what to think of it. But if he understood women he could probably write a book and make a fortune off all the other men in the world who were just as confused by the fairer sex as he was.
Before Will knew it, hours had passed as one episode of the show he was watching rolled right into the next.
The pizza had been good. The beer he’d had in the fridge, even better, and there was still half a season of the show left.
He glanced at the time.
Shit. It was late.
Since his military career was full of rules and regulations, Will wasn’t all that into restraint in his personal life, but he did have an early morning.
He needed a shower and then get to bed because his zero-five-thirty run wasn’t going to come any later because he’d been in binge mode.
Hoisting himself off the sofa he grabbed his cell phone off the table, about to turn toward the bathroom when he realized Sara had never texted to say she’d gotten home safe.
She really had been distracted tonight, for whatever reason. It wasn’t a surprise she’d gotten home and had forgotten her promise.
He put the cell on his nightstand and headed into the bathroom for a quick shower. And it was quick. He’d toweled off and brushed his teeth and was back to the bed in less than ten minutes. Even so, the red numbers on his bedside clock glowed 11:06.
He’d better set the alarm on his cell phone to make sure he was up in time. His team would never let him hear the end of it if he was late for the run he’d planned.
Will hit the button and the display lit up. He smiled when he saw the text bubble on the screen from Sara.
I just wanted you to know that you’re a really good man.
As he read her sweet words, he might have actually cooed aww aloud.
A combat hardened Navy SEAL, cooing like a lovesick teenage girl. He shook his head at himself, but since there hadn’t been anyone there to witness his shame, he didn’t feel too embarrassed about it.
Smiling, he punched in a reply.
Thank you, baby. You’re pretty great yourself. I love you. Have a good night.
He waited for a bit, but nothing came right back.
Hoping that was because she’d finally gone to sleep at this late hour, which is where he should be, he set an alarm and crawled into bed.
Morning was going to be there much too soon and tomorrow Will had a full day.