Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(44)

And she wanted that someone to be Jag.

Smiling, she rested her head on the back of the couch and hugged a throw pillow to her chest. Jag was her friend. He’d said they were dating, but she didn’t really feel like they were quite yet. They’d kissed that one day, but never since. Yes, he touched her all the time, and they held hands when they went anywhere…but she practically did that with Kenna.

She wanted more, even if she didn’t want to just jump into bed with him.

Which was somewhat amusing, since she’d done that already. Sleeping with him every night was one of the highlights of her life right now. But she didn’t want to ruin what they had by throwing sex into the mix prematurely.

Kenna was right. She needed to talk to Jag. Get to know him better. When the time was right, they’d make love, she had no doubt. But until that moment, Carly vowed to be a better girlfriend. To talk to her man.





CHAPTER TWELVE





Jag smiled the second he entered his apartment. Carly was in the kitchen, leaning over to put a pan into the oven.

She stood up and turned, gifting him with a huge smile of her own.

His breath hitched. She was so damn pretty. He’d been told all his life that he was handsome, but inside, he never really felt as if he was anything special. He even sometimes wished that he looked different…fatter, uglier…maybe if he did, his life would’ve been different. He’d never cared about physical looks, his or anyone else’s. Just because someone was pleasing to the eye didn’t mean they were a good person.

But the longer he knew Carly, the more in awe he became. Her blonde hair fell in waves around her shoulders and her blue eyes seemed to sparkle. She was wearing a pair of leggings that showed off her curvy legs and an oversized T-shirt. He hadn’t ever seen her look so…relaxed.

“Jag! You’re home,” she said happily.

He strode toward the kitchen, drawn to her like a moth to a flame. He couldn’t stay away. Told himself not to alarm her, to go easy—when all he really wanted to do was take her in his arms and kiss the hell out of her. He couldn’t forget that first kiss in his car. It had blown him away…and frankly, scared him a bit. Being horny and lusting after a woman wasn’t like him.

“It smells great in here,” he said as he reached for her.

Carly snuggled into him without hesitation, and Jag’s heart swelled. He bent his head and inhaled her cherry blossom scent and smiled. God, he loved that. It made him think of dark nights and holding her against him as she slept.

“I made lasagna,” she said, pulling back and looking up at him. “But I have no idea if it’ll be good or not. I found the recipe online.”

“Did we have all the stuff to make lasagna?” Jag asked, his brow furrowing.

“Nope. But Kenna and I went shopping.”

Jag blinked at her. She hadn’t stepped away from him, and he had his hands looped together at the small of her back. He loved how perfectly she fit against him. He’d never been the tallest guy, but her five-foot-five frame perfectly matched his five-nine. “You went shopping?” he asked.

“Yeah. I didn’t want to, but I needed to, if that makes sense.”

Jag was proud of her, even though he had to admit, he was a little freaked out at the same time. “It does,” he managed to say.

“And before you hear about what happened from Aleck or one of the other guys, because I have no doubt Kenna’s gonna tell her husband, who will probably blab to the rest of your team…You guys are the biggest gossips in the world. I swear no one can do anything without the rest of you hearing about it within hours.”

She was babbling, which he knew was a sign of nervousness. And Jag needed her to tell him what had happened to cause those nerves. “Angel, what happened?” he asked gruffly.

“We ran into Luke and his girlfriend.”

Jag inhaled sharply. That was her worst nightmare. The thing he knew she was terrified about the most. But before he could say anything, she continued.

“And he was a jerk, but it was okay. I mean, not him being a jerk, but seeing him. I was scared, I can’t lie about that. But Kenna was right there and something in me kind of snapped when he said something about me ruining his dad’s life. I thought about what Elizabeth said…sorry, Senior Chief Petty Officer Albertson, to you. She said that sometimes pretending to be brave actually makes you feel a bit more courageous in stressful situations, and can throw off your attacker. So I told him to go fuck himself. Okay, I didn’t really say that, but that’s the point I was trying to get across. He wasn’t happy, but Kenna was filming him, so if he did anything or said anything, he knew he’d be in deep shit. So he grabbed his girlfriend and left.”

Jag stared down at the woman in his arms. There was so much he was feeling at that moment. Fury that Luke Keyes dared to infer Carly had ruined his dad’s life. What a fucking joke. Pride that Carly had stuck up for herself. Gratitude that Kenna knew just what to do to deescalate the situation. And regret that he hadn’t been there to shield Carly from the vitriol Keyes had spewed.

“Jag?” she asked, her brows furrowing as she flattened her palms on his chest. “Say something. You’re kind of worrying me here.”

“I’m having a hard time coming up with the right words to tell you how impressed I am,” Jag admitted. “I know being outside the apartment is still hard for you. And seeing Like had to be difficult. I hate that I wasn’t with you, but it sounds as if you handled the situation perfectly.”