Tempt Me (2 page)

Jesse pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it, then brought it back. “
I
need help?” 

“All you ever do is talk about sex.”

“I do not.”

“Maybe you should because Lord knows you don’t get any.” 

Irritated, he got out of the car and slammed the door. He made his way up the walk to the Santinis’ house and onto the covered porch before the rain started to come down harder. “How did this all suddenly become an argument about my sex life?”  

He rang the doorbell and turned away from the door as he waited for a response from his brother.

“Well, I guess we could call it an argument if you actually had a sex life, but since you don’t, it’s just sort of conversation about your lack of one.”

“I have a sex life, thank you very much. I don’t need your help in getting laid.”

“Well, that’s good to hear,” a throaty, female voice, with enough Georgia in it to to make him melt a little bit, said from behind him. He turned and found Zoe Jones, sister-in-law to Gee, standing in the open doorway grinning at him.  

Fuck.

“Who’s that?” Jack asked over the phone.

“None of your damned business,” Jesse said. “Go shave some dog’s butt.”

He clicked off the phone and shoved it into his jeans’ pocket.

“Shave dogs’ butts?” she asked.  

For a second, he had trouble responding. She was a pretty woman, almost too pretty. She didn’t have a stitch of makeup on, but her cocoa colored flesh shone with something no amount of makeup could emulate. Her golden eyes sparkled with delight, as she smiled at him.  

“Jack, my brother, is having an issue with a neighbor’s dog.”

She laughed and opened the screen door. “Come on in.”

It was then he noticed the bruising beneath her eye was almost gone, but she still had a cast on her arm. He’d been told about the car wreck and that she had been spending time with the Santinis while she recovered for the last couple of weeks. He didn’t know much more than that.

As he walked into the foyer, the smells of Italy hit him. Tomato, pasta, cheese…and, not to mention, fresh baked bread. He sighed.   

“I know,” she said “I think Joey is trying to fatten me up.”

She cocked her head to indicate that he should follow her down the hall. He did and tried to keep his mind on dinner. It was hard to do with her in front of him. She wasn’t that tall, and the tips of her braids stopped just short of her ass. Her very shapely ass, which the jeans she wore accentuated perfectly. 

“She cooks all day like that. By the time I make it back to Georgia, they’ll have to roll me down the streets of Savannah.”

They stepped into the kitchen and it was just as he remembered—not old fashioned, even though he knew the home was considered historical. They had redone the entire kitchen, probably to Joey’s specifications. He’d been there quite a bit in the last year. When his sister married into this family, Joey had adopted them all—including his father to an extent. She turned and smiled at them both. 

“First of all, don’t make it sound like I’m being mean to you. Didn’t I make you some layered dessert?” she asked, wiping her hands on her apron. “And second of all, what took so long?”

Zoe shrugged, but he didn’t miss the gleam in her eye. He knew something bad was coming from her. 

“Jesse was talking to his brother on the phone about a dog’s butt and Jesse’s lack of a sex life.”

Chapter Two

Zoe had to fight the snicker tickling her throat. Seeing Perfect Jesse Johnson put on the spot was just too much fun. The man never seemed to have a hair out of place and his jeans didn’t even have a wrinkle in them. From what Joey described, the man had driven over an hour and yet he still looked fresh as a daisy, as her mother used to say. 

“Zoe, quit messing with Jesse,” Joey ordered. She walked over in that way of hers and gave the Marine a huge hug. “It’s so good to see you. How are you doing?” She released him and returned to making the salad.  

“Okay. Been on a few TDYs.”

Temporary Duty. Now that she had a brother-in-law in the military, Zoe picked up on the acronyms a bit more. TDYs were military business trips. Or that’s the way she thought of them. 

“I thought I heard a male voice coming to save me from the female treachery I live with now,” Papa said coming into the kitchen. He clapped Jesse on the back with the same kind of affection he had for his own sons. “Glad you could make it. Joey was getting worried about you.”

He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers. “Want one?”

Jesse nodded and accepted the bottle.

“Now, why don’t we get out of here?”

They left Zoe and Joey in the kitchen, just like men always did.

“He doesn’t mess with my kitchen. I told you that.”

She turned and looked at Joey. “Reading minds again?”

Joey laughed. “Well, I know some people will say it looks like I am old fashioned, but my kitchen is
my kitchen
. That man can’t cook. Last time I let him bake, he burned the brownies and ruined a fifty dollar pan.” 

Zoe laughed thinking of just how much trouble Papa must have been in after that incident. “I thought all Italians could cook.” 

“Oh, he can do the basics, but he gets in here when he’s bored and starts messing with my pots. And worse, he tries to hide it.” She sprinkled some cheese on the salad. “Jesse Johnson is a fine looking young man.” 

And, there it was. She knew when Joey had said Jesse was coming for dinner that she was trying to fix them up. But, she had expected her to at least pretend she wasn’t trying to do it.

 “Wow. Just wow.” 

“What does that mean?” she asked, her eyes widened.

“That wasn’t even subtle. I mean, I expected more of ya, Joey.”

She tried to look stern but laughed. “I was just remarking on it. I worry about him and Jack a little bit. Jack’s had a rough time of it. He’s been diagnosed with PTSD.” 

“Oh.”

Joey apparently picked up on Zoe’s tone. “Now, don’t go looking like that. PTSD is bad, but with help, it is manageable. Don’t get me wrong, it is hard on the person who has it and hard on the people in his or her life. But contrary to what is shown on television, not all of them are crazy gun toting whack jobs.”

“But you worry about Mr. Perfect in there?”

“So you noticed that. There is something about being perfect, Zoe.”

“Yeah?”

“Maintaining it is near impossible and when the walls come down, there’s hell to pay for everyone.”

“So, he’s under a lot of pressure?”

“Everyone expects the boy to make General like his father. From what Maryanne tells me, it’s been expected of him since he hit puberty. That kind of pressure is never good.”

“Maybe he thrives under pressure.”

Joey took the lasagna from the oven and set it on the counter. “Yes, I’m sure he does. But it doesn’t mean he doesn’t need a soft place to fall. We all do every now and then.” 

*  *  *  *

By the end of the meal, Jesse was sure he could take even the most subtle of hints. Of course, Joey wasn’t being subtle at all, so, knowing the woman like he did, he decided to do what she wanted. As they settled back drinking coffee and eating some amazing layered dessert, he decided to take the plunge. 

“Have you seen much of DC before, Zoe?”

She shook her head. “I’ve only been here once. I guess I’ll be up here more often if Gee and Kianna decide to retire here. They’ve been talking about it. Although, I’m not sure she wants to leave Valdosta State.” 

Kianna was a professor in the small Georgia town where Gee was stationed.

“So, since Joey isn’t going to let it go, why don’t you come out this week with me?”

“That is the rudest thing. And at my table,” Joey said, but he knew she wasn’t that mad. Papa just laughed.

That sparkle returned to her eyes. “If I don’t say yes, she’ll probably yell at me later.” 

Jesse nodded. “And I was taking some time off this week. I missed the blossom festival because I was in San Antonio for work, but it’s still pretty. Why don’t we get together and go see the monuments.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“There, are you happy?” he asked Joey.

“You are incorrigible.” 

“I have to disagree with you there. Leo is kind of a pain in the arse, or so says Vince.”

Zoe laughed. “Vince says that about all of them. See, you’re the oldest, just like him, so you think all of us younger siblings are idiots.” 

He considered that with mocking deliberation. “But you are.”

“Maybe now I should tell Joey I don’t want to go to the monuments with you.”

He chuckled. “No, that’s one thing I don’t want to deal with.  She’ll blame me.” 

Joey looked from him to Zoe then back to him again. “I am sitting right here. You two are worse than my own children.” 

Zoe laughed. It was the first genuine laugh he had heard from her since he came to the house. It bubbled up out of her and made him smile.  

“Why are you getting mad, babe?  You’re getting what you wanted,” Papa said. Joey shot him a warning look, but he just shook his head and changed the subject. 

“So, how is Jack doing?” he asked.  

Thinking about his brother always made him itchy these days. He knew Jack would be pissed if he knew how many people were really worried about him.

“Okay, I guess. He sounds like he’s getting obsessed with his neighbor’s dog.”

There was a beat of silence. “Ah, you say the dog?” Papa asked. 

“Yeah.”

“Not like he’s going to hurt it?”

He glanced at Papa Santini. Former Special Forces, he had seen more action than probably most everyone Jesse knew—and that was saying a lot. Jesse knew what he asked. 

“No, Jack would never hurt a dog. Loves them in fact. I think it has more to do with the owner, but I’ll give him another call later.”

“That’s good. Just keep in contact with him, and he’ll be fine.”

He looked at Zoe. “So, where do you want to meet tomorrow?”

“I think I can meet you in DC. Don’t you live closer to there than here?”

He nodded.

“You can’t drive,” Joey said.

Papa rolled his eyes again. The man seemed to constantly be doing that around his wife.

“I can drive since I’m no longer taking the pills.

Joey didn’t look too happy about it, but apparently she was going to let it go. “I guess it will be okay if I let you go.”

Zoe’s lips twitched. “Thanks, Joey. And now that you made this great dinner, we are going to clean up.”

Standing, Zoe looked at Jesse. From the expression on her face, he apparently had been ordered to kitchen duty. He was happy enough to comply. “Sure. It’s the least I can do.” 

Joey tried to protest, but Zoe was having none of that. “I think a Marine should be able to help with the dishes. You and Papa go relax.”

She stacked a couple of plates and he did the same following her through the kitchen door. 

“I’m sorry about that,” she said, setting the dishes next to the sink. She turned on the water and he shook his head.

“Your arm is still in the cast,” he said, pushing her aside. He laughed at the look she gave him. It was identical to the one Joey had given her.

“I can handle it.”

Oh, she knew how to pout, this one. She was very cute while doing it, too. Sexy as could be. She was a little on the thin side, but she did not lack in the curves department. Those amazing, full lips of hers were still pouting when he returned his gaze to her face. Damn, her eyes always seemed to fascinate him. They tilted up at the corners and had flecks of gold in the deep, chocolate brown depths.  

She blinked as he continued to stare and that’s when he realized he was staring. Mentally, he shook himself from his stupor, and busied himself rinsing off the dishes. 

“What are you sorry about?” he asked.  

“Oh, Joey trying to set us up.”

He almost dropped the plate. In the process of juggling it around, the water sprayed on his shirt. “What?”

She laughed.

“Joey. She was trying to set us up.” She handed him a towel. “I thought that might be why she invited you over, but I wasn’t sure.” 

“No trouble. Joey means well.”

“I know she does. She won’t listen to me when I say military men are not for me.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Okay, so now he sounded defensive.

She shrugged as she sprayed down the counters to clean them. “Military guys are kind of…structured. That’s just not for me. I like to do what I want. No offense.”

“None taken.”

She laughed. “Oh you were offended. All of y’all are. Gee had a couple friends of his try and get me to go out with them. It isn’t you—it’s me. And admit it, I’m too young for you.” 

“How old do you think I am?”

“Well, I’d say you’re about ten years older than I am. I’m only twenty-three.”

It was his turn to blink. He thought she was older. Not that she looked it, but she seemed so steady.

“What is going through that noggin of yours, Marine?”

He blinked again. “Sorry.”

“Do you do that a lot?”

“What?”

“Just disappear into your thoughts? I did it a lot as a kid. I was always getting in trouble at school, unless I was in art class.”

He shook his head. “I think the traveling is starting to get to me.”

She nodded in understanding as she continued to wipe down the counter. “So, as I was saying, it is more me than you. After what I just went through, I just…I am not in the mood for anything, not even a date.”

He realized she was worried he would be offended. He was a bit but not that much and he completely understood. Again, she was being responsible. She could lead him on and use him for entertainment, but she was straight up and honest. He couldn’t fault her for that.

“No problem. Just two people seeing DC. Got it.”

She frowned as if she had expected more of a protest. “Okay, as long as we understand each other.”

“Sure.” He said, mentally counting backwards from ten—then doing it again, as she bent over to pick something up. The woman had a world-class ass on her and it was going to be hard not to pay attention to his attraction to her. Before she stood up, though, he turned away.