Forged in Steele (KGI #7)(31)

“So how did you end up with KGI, then? I mean, if you loved the Marines so much.”

He smiled. “I was at a crossroads. I loved the service. Loved my fellow Marines. But I was restless. Wanted to do more. I just wasn’t sure what. By accident I overheard a conversation about Sam Kelly and that he was recruiting for a private special ops team. I called him and then took leave to meet him. We talked it over and I knew I wanted to give it a shot. So when my time was up two months later, I left and joined KGI. Rio was already there and was leading a team. Sam was forming another and wanted me to lead. I handpicked my own recruits and they trained under me. I’ve never looked back. Never regretted my decision. The Marines made me who I am, but KGI made me better.”

“How old was your brother?” she asked, hoping she wasn’t pushing too hard.

“He was sixteen. Nine years between us. I looked up to him. Wanted to be just like him and my dad. My brother wanted to be a Marine. It was all he talked about. In a way, I did it as much for him as I did for the Marine who saved my life.”

“Sounds like you had a wonderful family and that you grew up around the globe just like I did.”

He smiled. “Yeah, they were the best. My mom was just this warm person that everyone loved. It wasn’t the fake politician polish that so many wives have perfected. She was genuine, the real deal. Everyone who met her was instantly charmed. And she could remember anyone’s name after meeting them once. No matter how long it was before she saw them again. She made everyone feel special. Like they mattered. From the lowest ranked to the highest. Didn’t matter to her. She had a smile for everyone.”

Her heart squeezed a little at the instant warmth that had flooded his eyes when he spoke of his mother. She reached over to lay her hand on top of his, and he immediately turned his palm up so he could capture her fingers.

He stroked over her knuckles with his thumb, sending little tingles of delight up her arm.

“I think it’s also why I like the Kellys so much, even though they kind of baffle me. Especially Marlene. She reminds me a lot of my own mother. It’s a catch-22 for me to be around them, though. I like them a lot. But they also remind me of what I lost.”

“Yeah, I get that,” she said softly. “I don’t know what I’d do without my parents and my brother, even though I don’t see them that often. But if I didn’t have them, it would devastate me. I email them regularly and we try to talk on the phone at least once a week.”

He nodded, continuing to stroke his thumb over her hand. It was nice. Just sitting and talking and him touching her intimately. It wasn’t sexual, but she liked it even better because she got the sense that he cared a little at least.

“What about you? You said you grew up all over the globe. Your parents travel a lot? Were they doctors like you?”

She nodded. “Yeah. They both were. My brother is a doctor too. They worked for an organization for years that offered free healthcare and vaccinations in third world countries. They stopped for a while when my brother and I were younger. We’re only two years apart, so they stayed stateside and went into private practice until we were old enough that they felt comfortable bringing us to some of the rural, far-flung corners of the world.”

“Bet you had one hell of an interesting childhood,” he mused.

“Yeah, it was anything but boring, that’s for sure. My mom homeschooled us, but occasionally we were in places where we could attend classes with other kids our age. My father is smart. I mean he’s a doctor too, but my mom is a genius. She’s positively brilliant. Even my dad admits that she’s way smarter than he is.”

“You must take after her,” he said.

Her cheeks warmed at the compliment but she shook her head. “My brother is the smart one. He has a photographic memory. He can recall even the smallest bit of trivia. He absorbs everything and retains it. I’m absentminded. A trait I inherited from my father, I’m afraid. I’m a bit of a klutz—okay, not just a bit. I’m a total klutz. I space out sometimes because I’m in my head and forget where I am or what I’m doing. And I tend to blurt out whatever’s on my mind, no matter how inappropriate it may be.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I’ve witnessed that part.”

“It gets worse,” she muttered. “I’ve actually been pretty good around you only because you leave me tongue-tied most of the time.”

His eyes flickered in surprise.

“That can’t come as a surprise to you,” she said dryly. “At least not now that you know how attracted I was to you.”

“I knew how I felt about you,” he pointed out. “Not necessarily that you reciprocated my preoccupation. For all I knew, I was just an opportunity for some hot monkey sex, as you put it.”

She laughed and then she leaned forward, leaving one hand in Steele’s grasp and propping her other elbow on the table so she could rest her chin in her upturned palm.

“So what are we doing here, exactly, Steele? I’m not good at coy little games. I suck at flirting or pretending to not want something I desperately want.”

“And what do you want?” he asked quietly.

She shook her head. “Oh no, I asked you first. I may blurt out shit but I’m not that much of a glutton for punishment.”

His chest rose and fell as he expelled a quick breath. “I don’t know, Maren. I haven’t figured it out yet. That’s probably not an answer that’ll win me any brownie points, but the fact is, you’ve knocked me completely off balance.”