Attached (Coronado Series Book 3) (5 page)

“Well, there is that. I was hoping my charm was starting to work on you.”

“No offense, but you don’t have any charm. You’re terribly good-looking and a possible sex machine, but you should work on your charm.”

“Everyone you meet gets charming, sweet Cary. How come I never get that? I appreciate the whole sex machine comment, but you could’ve wrapped the rest up with a little sugar.”

“You know, you’re right. I’m not very nice to you. I wonder why? Maybe I feel like it would be wasted on you.”

“That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. The rest of the world gets polite, happy Cary, and I get smart-mouthed, sassy Cary. I knew deep down you liked me because you’re willing to let me see the real you.”

She ignored his comment and got up. Opening her suit-case, she pulled out a pair of jeans and a sweater and started to get dressed.
 

Travis watched as she opened her robe a little and pulled on her jeans. He paid close attention and was rewarded with a flash of lavender lace undies. She turned around and slipped off her robe and put her sweater on.
 

“I had my hand inside your bra. I don’t think you need to turn around.”
 

Giving him a sweet smile, she responded. “I don’t want to be held responsible for flashing you. Look what happened the last time.”

He walked over, wrapped her up in his arms, and dropped his mouth against hers. When he lifted his mouth, he noticed that her eyes were half closed with desire. “Maybe we should forget eating and go back to kissing.”
 

She shook her head. “No-no! You said food, and now I’m hungry. The sex ship has sailed.”

“How can a sex ship sail so quickly? We barely gave it a chance.”

“That’s the thing about sailing. You never know when the wind will change. Why am I telling you this? You’re probably an expert-if you are in fact a real navy SEAL?”

“What does that mean? Why would I make that up?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about you. Maybe you’re really a criminal and you’re posing as a SEAL. Maybe you’re a spy or CIA or a plumber. Who knows? People will tell you anything.”

“Now who has a dark view of the world? You must trust me a little, because you were going to sleep with me five minutes ago.”

“That was then and this is now! Where are we going to eat? I’m starved.”
 

“Do you want to go to the diner or back to the honky-tonk?”
 

“Let’s go to the diner. If we go the honky-tonk, I might want to find someone to dance with, and we both know how that turned out last night.”

“I’ll dance with you–what’s wrong with me?”

“Do you know the steps to all of those fancy line dances? Or are you talking about slow dancing where our two bodies are smooshed together and you’re copping a feel?”

“I was talking about the two bodies being smooshed and me copping a feel. That’s the best kind of dancing. You know when some mentions chocolate cake and then all you can think about is chocolate cake? That’s what’s happening to me.”

“You want chocolate cake?”

“No, I want to have sex with you! I was so close and got the go signal and then it all fell apart. I’ve been celibate for six months, and now all I want is to go back to bed with you and stay there for about a month. I don’t think that makes me a bad person. In fact, I was fine until you showed me your lavender lace bra with the pink bow in the middle. Maybe this is all your fault. It all started yesterday when you walked into the bar and I smelled freesia.”
 

Cary laughed so hard that she had to sit down. Travis sat down next to her and waited for her to finish. He enjoyed hearing her laugh, even if it was at his expense. He realized he probably deserved it. As he listened to her laugh, he had a feeling that everything the psychologist told him might happen was starting to happen. For fifteen years, he’d known who he was and what his life was about. For the first time in his life, he was concerned about what the future might hold. He would rather be on a black op in the middle of any of the Stans with a 10 to 1 ratio than face being off the Teams. Which he knew was crazy, but his was his crazy and he was going to hold onto it for a while.
 

Cary finally slowed down and started to wipe her eyes. “I’ll take full responsibility for whatever ails you. How does that sound?”

“Perfect. Let’s go eat.” He looked for his boots and started to put them back on. As he laced them up, he noticed Cary was quiet. “It makes me nervous when you’re quiet. I’m afraid of what is going on in that brain of yours.”

“Be afraid….very afraid. I could be plotting your demise with a lethal injection. Or perhaps I’m going to give you one small sip of a very deadly drink. One never knows the possibilities when dining with a stranger. Excitement lurks around every corner….be afraid.”

“Have you been watching James Bond? That sounds like a Bond movie.”

“I might’ve been watching one or two on Netflix. It wasn’t believable coming from me, was it? I lack the right delivery….I’m not a realistic Bond girl, am I?”

“No, I think you could be a Bond Girl. Let’s watch one after dinner and reenact one of the scenes where Bond makes the woman do what he wants.”

“Are we back to the chocolate cake? I gave you a go signal and it’s a siren call in your brain. Every road leads back to that.”

“Yeah, pretty much. I’m a highly trained machine, and once I get the go signal, I have to complete the mission. Yes, in this scenario you’re the mission.”

“Fantastic. I’ve never been a mission before. What happens on a mission? Can I be in charge during any part of this mission? I might like to be in charge at some point.”

“Do you have any experience being in charge? If not, then I’m going to have to go with a no. In this case I’m the experienced officer, and I’ll be commanding all operations during said mission.”

“Darn, I want to be in charge.”

“What do you want to be in charge of?”

She rested her hand on his leg, looked into his dark chocolate eyes and licked her bottom lip. “I might like to be in charge of speed. You know, like
faster……
or
slower
. Perhaps direction….
There….oh God yes right there
. Things like that. But I understand if you’re not interested. Being the commanding officer and all, you have experience, and I don’t.” She noticed a drop of sweat rolling down his temple and wondered if it was hot in the room. She felt like it was fine.
 

He felt his back grow damp with perspiration as he clenched his jaw tightly. He didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of this woman. She had accomplished what no other woman had before her…a few sentences out of her mouth had him ready to go off like a rocket launcher. Celibacy sucked. Why had he decided to take a break and get his head screwed on right? His head was going to blow off now, and it was going to be with a woman who was wholly inappropriate. That was wrong-she was completely appropriate. She was the kind of woman you married.
 

“I think you may be coming down with something. You look flushed, and you’re sweating. Maybe we should cancel dinner, and you should go back to your room. I don’t want to catch whatever you have.” She scooted away and studied him. “I’ll just go grab something to eat. I think that is the best idea….off you go.”

“Why are you always trying to get rid of me?

“Why are you trying to stick close to me? I’m not some charity case.” Standing up, she pulled her sweater down and threw her hair back as she gave him a measured look. “I’m completely capable of taking care of myself.”

He stood up, took her hands in his and let his eyes lock on hers. “Well, you can take care of me now. Maybe I need to eat, so you’d better come with me and make sure I eat a proper meal. After dinner we can watch a Bond movie, and you can get more ideas on how to kill me off.” He knew if he appealed to her care-taker instincts, he might have a better chance. He didn’t feel guilty about it, which should have bothered him but didn’t.

“A quick dinner and then I think you should make an early night of it. You don’t sleep much, do you?”

“I slept today with you. I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“Before that, when was the last time you slept through the night?”

“I’ve been on the road and haven’t been on a regular schedule. It is hard to remember.”

“So in other words-a long time. Is this separation anxiety because your life is changing or PTSD?”

“I like your gentle approach. The soft sell really is a specialty of yours. Clearly you’re missing your calling as a counselor.”

“Pish-posh. You’ve faced every imaginable horror, and you’re worried about a couple of questions from a kindergarten teacher. Please….answer the question.” She looked at him with an unwavering glare as her years as a middle school teacher showed. She waited patiently for his response.

She looked like a nice person and appeared to have every gentle quality you would want from a woman. But in fact she was the Marquis de Sade. “Can I give you a knife? It might be faster-that way you can get to the soft spots with greater efficiency.”

“So in other words, you don’t sleep. That must be difficult. I love to sleep….I can’t imagine not being able to. Wait…….you slept with me. That makes me like a sleeping pill or something. Oh God, I’m boring….I’m so boring that you fell asleep.”
 

“I think you should get rid of the “
boring
” word in your vocabulary. You use it entirely too much. In fact you over use it.” He got up and pulled her hand. “Let’s go and eat. No more talk about sleeping and who’s boring. We’re both on a road trip. We need to shake it up and try something new….hopefully with each other. Something new with each other in bed-I think that would fix us right up. You wouldn’t be boring and I would sleep. A double win for both of us.”
 

Cary followed him out and they crossed the gravel driveway to the diner. “Remember when I said you have no game? That’s still true. That’s the saddest pick up line I’ve ever heard. We need to work on your charm factor.”

 
Cary watched him slowly turn and felt like she was caught in the glare of a headlight. His focus was that intense. She couldn’t remember being on the receiving end of a look like that ever…in her life. Clearly she was wrong about his seduction powers. “I take back what I just said. That look you gave me was fantastic. I felt the complete power of your focus. Wow, I’m impressed. Maybe you should just do that look thing and keep your mouth shut. I think that’s where it falls apart for you. Keep that smoldering look though. It was terrific.”

“When someone looks at you and turns their attention toward you, it might be a good idea to enjoy it and not discuss it for five minutes afterward. It kind of ruins the moment.” He grabbed her hand as they crossed the street and realized he liked the feel of her hand in his. Which made him an idiot.
 

They found a table at the diner and Cary slid in. Travis followed her in, grabbed a menu and started looking at it.

“Is there any reason you’re not sitting on your side of the table?” Cary asked.

“Who said this isn’t my side of the table? I’m sitting on the side with a beautiful woman who is soft, smells good and has pretty underwear. If I have a side, this is it….right here, next to you.”

“Thanks for clearing that up. Can you pass me a menu, please?”

He passed her the menu, put his arm around her shoulders and looked around the diner. It wasn’t an accident that they were sitting in the back and he was facing the room. It wasn’t a habit he was ever going to get rid of.
 

“How many people are in the diner, and are any of them suspicious?”

“There are seventeen people here, and no one looks out of place except us. We definitely don’t look like locals.”

“Speak for yourself. I fit in, because I bought a couple of outfits at the feed store yesterday. I’m practically a local. You look like a scary dude, but don’t worry, because my kindergarten teacher vibe completely softens you up.” The waitress approached and Cary whispered in his ear, “Watch and learn.”

The waitress gave a bland smile to both of them, and that’s when Travis watched Cary transform before his very eyes. Had he not witnessed it himself, he would’ve sworn that she was a shape-shifter. She’d been busting his balls since last night and would’ve sworn that she didn’t have an ounce of sweetness left in her, and then he watched it come pouring out. The waitress was helpless against it. Cary captivated the woman the same way she charmed Snake and Clay and the tow truck driver and the dumb cowboy and whomever else she came in contact with. Everyone except him.
 

The waitress left, and Cary had acquired another best friend. He had a feeling it happened daily with this woman. “I don’t know what just happened, but it was like watching a magician.”

She ignored his comment. “Marsha made some great suggestions, and I ordered you a delicious dinner. I’m having the fried chicken, which apparently is their specialty.”

“I want fried chicken. Is that what you ordered me?”

“No, you’re getting something else. Don’t worry. You’ll like it. Trust me.”

That’s what he was afraid of. Anytime someone said
trust me
and it involved food, it never turned out to be a good thing. He decided that he could snitch her fried chicken if he didn’t like what she got him. They seemed to be behaving like a couple and not two people who’d known each other for two days.
Whatever
, not something he was going to worry about. He was going to concentrate on how he could get another go signal, because he wanted that more than anything.