Craving (Steel Brothers Saga #1)(3)

Had he just spoken? Come to think of it, I was little hungry. I’d refused to pay for the crappy overpriced airplane food. Eating would give me something to do with my mouth so I didn’t have to talk. “Yeah, if you don’t mind. Anything’s fine. A burger, whatever.”

He pulled into a Wendy’s and, without asking me, ordered two number one combos with Cokes. I nudged his arm a little.

Without looking at me, he said into the speaker, “Sorry, make one a Diet Coke.”

A little presumptuous. Truth was, I didn’t drink soda. Never had. The carbonation bothered me. I nudged him again. “Iced tea for me, please.”

He let out a huff. “Sorry, nix the Diet. Make it an iced tea.” He turned to me. “Does that satisfy you?”

I shook my head. Was this guy for real? “As a matter of fact, no, it doesn’t satisfy me. You ordered me a burger, not asking me what I wanted on it or anything. I could be a vegetarian for all you know.”

A partial smile curved the left side of his lips upward. “You just said anything was fine. ‘A burger, whatever,’ I believe were your exact words.”

My cheeks heated. Yeah, I had said that. Now I looked like a moron. Great. I played with my fingers until the employee handed Talon the bag of food and the two drinks through the window. He handed the drinks to me, and I checked to see which one was the iced tea. I set his in the cupholder next to the driver’s seat and inserted the straw into mine.

He tossed the bag on my lap. “Unwrap mine for me so I can eat it while I’m driving.”

No “please.” No “would you mind?” Just an order. Well, he had been in the military. Maybe he was used to giving commands. Or maybe he was just rude as hell. I didn’t know Marj’s other brothers that well, but when I’d met them, they had been perfectly friendly. So what was up with this guy?

Since I was still embarrassed about my burger blunder, I did as he asked—or rather told—me to do. The burgers were identical, so I didn’t need to worry about which one was his. I unwrapped it, folded the paper over, and wrapped it back up so half of it was out and he could eat it easily while he drove. I handed it to him.

He grunted.

Apparently, that was what passed for “thank you” in the vocabulary of Talon Steel.

I opened my burger and took a bite. Christ, mayonnaise. Not that I had anything against mayonnaise, but I tried to avoid excess fat when I could. No point in voicing this. What was done was done. The burger tasted so good—or maybe I was just that hungry. Now if only I could make it last for another forty-five minutes. I took small bites and chewed them until I had masticated the food into a pulp.

Still, the clock showed thirty minutes to go when I had finished the burger and the accompanying fries.

I stared straight ahead, ignoring the magnetic pull to turn and look at him. The man was obviously an asshole, so why was my libido so interested? My nipples were still tightening against my bra, aching for lips.

His lips.

Damn, this was going to be a long half hour.





CHAPTER TWO





TALON


Everything about the woman was sexy.

Marjorie had told me she was pretty, and I’d seen photographs, but they didn’t do Jade Roberts justice. Even the way she ate was sexy—how she licked her lips after every bite and then daintily touched them with her napkin. Still, a lone crumb from her hamburger bun stuck to the left edge of her lower lip. Damn, to be that crumb. I wanted to lick it off and then trace the rest of her lips with my tongue before plunging it inside her sweet mouth and kissing her hard.

The paper from her burger crinkled as she wadded it up and put it in the bag. When she reached to grab mine out of my lap and her fingers grazed the inside of my thigh, my dick stiffened. Yeah, just what I didn’t need—a boner in the fucking car. She wadded up my paper and tossed it in the bag as well.

Should I say something? I had no idea. She was Marjorie’s friend, not mine. If only Ryan or Jonah had been able to pick her up. Twenty more minutes…

“I’m really excited to see Marj,” she said.

Clearly, she was making small talk. Had she forgotten that she just saw Marj last week at her aborted wedding? It was the second time she’d made that goof. I couldn’t help a small chuckle, but I managed to keep it silent. She was cute.

“Yeah, she’s really excited about you coming out here to live.”

“I really appreciate you guys letting me stay with you on the ranch until I get settled.”

“Not a problem. If there’s one thing we’ve got, it’s room.”

“Oh, yeah, I know. I visited Marj at the ranch sophomore year during spring break. You weren’t…

uh…”

“I was in Iraq.” For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why people were so loath to say the word “Iraq.” I was there. I saw a bunch of shit no human should ever have to see. But it was a fact, so why beat around the bush about it? It sure wasn’t the first time I’d seen nasty-ass shit.

She cleared her throat. “Yeah.”

Silence for a few beats. Then—

“I think it’s really heroic what you did over there. I really respect our military.”

“I didn’t do it to be a hero.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean to imply—”