Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(27)

“You’ve had girlfriends before, right?” Carly asked.

Jag blushed. He actually blushed. Carly wasn’t sure she’d ever seen a man truly blush when he was embarrassed before. It was one more thing that endeared him to her.

“No.”

It was Carly’s turn to be confused. “Never?”

“I’ve been with a couple women, but never had a true girlfriend.”

“Jag…I just…that’s just so hard to believe. You’re…Look at you! You’re so damn good-looking. You’ve got all those muscles, and you have this badass expression on your face most of the time. Yes, it scares people, I’ve seen it, but women love that shit. The bad boy thing and all that. And what about high school? Or when you were in your twenties? Don’t most SEALs take advantage of the fact that women fall all over them because of what they do?” Carly knew she was babbling, but it was impossible to believe that this man hadn’t had a girlfriend—ever.

“Most SEALs, yes. But not me.”

Emotions swirled in his chocolate gaze, and Carly wanted to know everything he was thinking and feeling. But they were in a car, in a parking lot, and this didn’t feel like the right place to have a deep conversation.

“So…you’re a virgin,” she teased.

He didn’t even crack a smile.

“Holy crap. You’re not a virgin, right?” she asked, completely shocked.

“No, I’m not a virgin,” Jag said after a long pause.

“Not that it would matter if you were,” she added. “I just…seriously, Jag, you’re like my every fantasy come true. You’re hot, smart, protective, compassionate, scary when I need you to be, and I don’t care if you’ve been with five hundred women or none. I’m just thrilled, and nervous as hell, that you want to date me.”

Jag reached out, palming the back of her head and bringing her forehead to his. He held her against him, and Carly gripped his forearm. She had no idea what he was thinking.

“You’re mine,” he said in a low, rumbly voice that seemed to zing through every nerve ending in her body. “I don’t mean that in an asshole way. You’re mine as much as I’m yours. I want to make you happy, see you smile. I know I’m the lucky one in this relationship, and I swear not to purposely do anything that will fuck it up.”

“Jag—” Carly started. But he pulled back a bit so he could look her in the eyes and kept talking.

“I haven’t ever minded that people sometimes cross the street rather than walk by me. I’ve actually cultivated that response. Believe it or not, I’m usually not even talkative. The guys give me shit about it all the time. But with you, I can’t seem to keep my mouth shut.”

Carly smiled. Loving that she had that kind of effect on him.

“You ready to head inside?”

It was an abrupt end to the discussion, but Carly had a suspicion Jag was feeling a bit awkward about all the touchy-feely talk. “Yeah.”

“Stay there. I’ll come around,” Jag ordered. He brushed his knuckles against her cheek, then turned to get out of the car.

Carly took a deep breath, trying to center herself. How in the world no other woman had caught his eye, she had no clue. But she liked the idea of him being hers. Liked that he talked to her more than he did anyone else. It made her feel different. Special. And it had been a very long time since she’d felt that way.

Her door opened and Jag was there with his hand out. Carly took it, and he didn’t let go as they started for the entrance to the food pantry. It wasn’t a terribly long walk, but Carly shivered thinking about making it by herself. She might have said she was independent, but right now she felt anything but.

“Cut yourself some slack, angel,” Jag said as if he could read her mind. “You’ll get there.”

She didn’t get a chance to respond because they’d arrived at the door to Food For All. Carly had heard all about how the front window was broken out by Theo when he’d seen someone inside robbing the place. But looking at it now, she’d never know any damage had been done.

“Oh my God! It’s Carly!” Lexie yelled out when she and Jag entered. As she headed their way, her gaze flicked to their hands before she smiled even wider. But she didn’t comment and instead hugged Carly.

She was aware of Jag taking a step back, but knew he wouldn’t go far.

Her reception was the same here as it had been back at Duke’s. Elodie came out from the back of the store and greeted her just as warmly. And to Carly’s surprise, Theo approached and briefly wrapped his arms around her as well. She’d met him a few times, but hadn’t expected him to hug her, especially after he’d practically looked through her at Kenna’s wedding.

“Hey, guys,” Carly said.

“You look good,” Lexie told her.

“It’s so nice to see you,” Elodie chimed in.

“Wanna see my new drawing?” Theo asked.

Everyone chuckled.

“I’d love to,” Carly told him.

He reached out and grabbed her hand and started towing her toward the kitchen. Carly saw Jag take a step forward, but Elodie stopped him. “I’ll go with them. She’s good, Jag.”

He didn’t respond verbally, just nodded. Carly could feel his gaze on her as she and Theo headed for the door to Elodie’s domain, the kitchen.