Shades of Gray (KGI #6)(55)

He leaned back in his chair and eyed her curiously. “So tell me what P.J. stands for.”

She blinked and then stared at him, perplexed for a moment by the shift in conversation. She hadn’t considered that the rest of the team didn’t know what the initials stood for. Steele certainly knew because he’d barged through her background, leaving no stone unturned before he hired her on. She was sure Sam, Garrett and Donovan had done the same.

No one called her by her real name. Never had. A fact she was grateful for. She’d always wondered what she’d done to piss her mother off that she’d stick P.J. with such a hokey name.

“Come on, P.J. Give. I’ve never slept with a woman whose name I didn’t know. Until you. It’s kind of making me feel like a man whore.”

She burst out laughing. “I ought to not tell you now so you can wallow in your man-whore-ness a little longer.”

“You mock my pain. I have standards, you know.”

She snickered again and then pinned him with a glare. “I’ll only tell you if you swear to, first, never tell another soul, and second, never ever call me by my full name in public.”

He held up his hand. “I swear.”

“Penelope Jane,” she mumbled.

“What’s that? I couldn’t hear you.”

“Penelope Jane!” she said louder.

His nose wrinkled up. “Seriously?”

She sighed. “Yeah, seriously. Now maybe you see why I just go by my initials.”

“You don’t look like a Penelope Jane.”

He looked genuinely baffled and was studying her like she was some weird, undiscovered species of bug.

“So what do I look like then?” she demanded.

“You look like a P.J.”

She laughed again. “Well that’s good, I suppose. I’m okay with looking like a P.J.”

“Penelope Jane Rutherford,” he said, as if he was testing the sound of it on his tongue. “I don’t know, it’s kind of growing on me. It’s kind of pretty sounding.”

“Don’t get any ideas, Coletrane,” she growled.

“There aren’t enough Penelopes in the world. I don’t know anyone named that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Aren’t those steaks done yet? I’m starving over here.”

He shoved back his chair and flipped up the lid to the grill. He poked at one then flipped and flipped again.

“Nope. Need about five more minutes. I didn’t even ask you how you like your meat.”

She choked and covered it with a cough. When she looked back up, he was giving her a glare of impatience.

“For God’s sake, you dirty-minded heifer.”

She laughed and kept on laughing. “Oh come on, Cole. You have to admit, it sounded kinky. I mean, I could have said I like my meat hard.”

He sighed and shook his head.

“Medium is fine,” she said with a grin. “I like a little pink but not bloody.”

“I’m heading in to get the potatoes out of the oven and all the fixings for them. As soon as I get back, I’ll take the steaks off the grill and we can dig in.”

“Awesome. I can’t wait. The smell is killing me!”

Alone again for a few moments, P.J. marveled at how light she felt. It was almost as if the last six months hadn’t happened. Like she and Cole were carrying on like always. Only this time it was more intimate. More personal.

The one thing she gave thanks for is that their one-night stand hadn’t made things awkward between them. And who knows, maybe it would have under normal circumstances.

Their fling had been the start of a series of events that even now she had a hard time believing. From that night forward, things had been insane, and she would never have believed she’d be looking back at the past six months remembering just how much her world had been altered.

“How’s the leg?” Cole asked when he returned with potatoes.

He plopped one onto her plate and then set down the tray with the butter, sour cream and cheese so they were in easy reach.

Leg? She hadn’t even thought about her leg the entire time they’d been talking. She had to concentrate hard to even feel the low hum of pain that was ever present in the background, muffled by the medication he’d given her.

“I’m good,” she said, and meant it. She was better than she’d been in a very long time.

He bent and kissed her forehead, surprising her with the sweet gesture. She closed her eyes and savored the feel of his mouth on her skin. The kiss was full of warmth and comfort. Two things she was badly in need of.

He broke away and went to the grill. A moment later, he dished up the steaks and returned to the table. He forked a huge rib eye onto her plate and then served his own.

The smell was absolutely divine. Her mouth watered and she was already making a grab for her fork and knife, not even bothering with the potato right away.

The first bite made her moan with pleasure. It also made her realize how hungry she was.

She attacked her meal. There was no other word for it. She cut into it like she was afraid it was going to sprout legs and run away.

For several long minutes, they ate in silence and she focused solely on the wonderful experience of eating a delectable piece of prime steak. It was as close to a religious experience as she was going to come.