Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(34)

She sipped her coffee to cover her open appreciation then managed a husky, “I thought you weren’t a good sleeper.”

He shut the cabinet and clunked his cup to the Formica countertop. “I’m not.”

“Really? You slept pretty hard last night.” She paired the snarky retort with a raised eyebrow and smirk. After all, the attitude had prodded the tiger out of his cage once. Now she knew what JJ meant by If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Not looking up, he grinned and slid the coffeepot off the warmer. “After sex is the only time I can pull that feat off.”

Now, that was an interesting detail and a terrible predicament for a man who shunned relationships.

He finished pouring his coffee and spun enough to hold up the pot. “You want a touch up?”

Don’t say anything stupid. Just keep your mouth shut and act blasé. She held her cup up. “Please.”

In three steps, he was right in front of her, the dog tags that had slipped and jingled against her back as he’d pounded into her dangling between his pecs. They weren’t military, though. The cut and detail was too thick and etched in the center was the same masculine H and tribal tree tattooed on his forearm. He was gone too fast, taking his sculpted abs with him before she could find an excuse to touch.

So, now what did they do? Pretending nothing ever happened seemed the coward’s way out, and if she’d proven nothing else last night, she was most assuredly not a coward. She blew across the top of her coffee, eyes to him as she crossed her legs. “You said you’re not monogamous and don’t do relationships. Is that why? So you can have sex and sleep?”

He paused midway with the cup to his mouth as if she’d caught him off guard. “That’s part of it,” he said, then followed through with a leisurely drink. He leaned his ass against the counter and curled one hand around the lip, the other hand casually holding his mug in front of his stomach. It was a straightforward pose, one that practically dared her to look her fill.

She forced her gaze to stay locked with his. “What’s the other part?”

“I’ve just learned relationships are best avoided.”

A hard shut down. The same kind she used when people started prying into her past. She spun back to the computer. “Sounds like an interesting story.”

“Not unless you consider a middle-aged teacher fucking a senior in high school, making him think it was something more than it was, then claiming coercion when the principal found out interesting.”

Her fingers clenched around her mouse and her stomach lurched, threatening to expel the coffee she’d just swallowed. The pain behind his words was tightly leashed behind a careless delivery, but it was there nonetheless, sharp enough it lashed against bare skin.

“Don’t try to analyze or fix me,” he said. “Been a slew of women before you who’ve tried and it doesn’t work. I like sex. I sleep with women who think like me and it all works out. Less trauma and no drama.”

She blanked her expression as her years with Yefim had taught her to, glanced at him over her shoulder and shrugged. “Your past. Your call.” With that, she forced herself to re-read the first paragraph in her lesson for the fifth time.

She heard more than saw him sip his coffee behind her. “Speaking of pasts, how about you share a little about the real JJ.”

“I’d rather not.”

“I figured as much, but it ever occur to you if I knew some of the details I might be able to help?”

Her fingers hitched just the tiniest bit in scrolling down the screen and her breath caught in her throat. She’d definitely thought about it. Countless times. The fact that the Federal government had reached out to him on several occasions said loads about his capabilities.

“I’m aware of your skills and your connections.” Hopefully, he didn’t catch the subtle tremor in her voice, the quaver tightly woven with the hummingbird thrum of her heart.

“Then you know they could work to your advantage.”

“I do. But I’ve already asked enough of your time and I’ve yet to learn if you’re willing to take that much on. Creating a future where I can support myself is more important than adding more weight on top of everything else.” Everything else being the awkward situation she’d created between them by tossing a match into the flammable chemistry between them.

Silence settled between them. Even without her eyes on him, his stare pulsed like a living, breathing entity around her.

“Look at me.” A command. As powerful and unyielding as the ones he’d given her last night and every bit as seductive.

She twisted her neck only enough to meet his gaze, her body still squared to the computer.

“All the way around,” he said. “The attitude is hot as fuck and likely necessary to hold your own with me, but we’ve got a lot of ground to cover without your sass distracting me.”

So he was ready to give her his answer. Or maybe multiple ones. Whatever topics he had in mind, left stark severity etched on his face. She swallowed and swiveled in her seat, squeezing her knees together tight and folding one hand over the other to cover her nervousness. “All right. I’m listening.”

His gaze dipped to her knees and his expression softened before he shuttled his focus back to her face. “Relax. I’m not dropping any bombs.” He paused as though questioning the thoughts running through his head. “You want me to teach you, I’m in.”