Finding Carly (SEAL Team Hawaii #5)(68)

Jag went into the bathroom and Carly heard the water come on. She pictured him brushing his teeth and pulling on the loose cotton pants he usually wore to bed. When she’d first started sleeping with him, she’d been relieved he wore the long pants. It made her feel more comfortable.

But she was ready for him to ditch them. She wanted to feel his legs against hers. Wanted to have better access to his cock. She craved him. Now that she’d decided to make the first move, Carly was hornier than she could ever remember being with another man.

Jag came into the room and headed for the bed. He climbed under the covers and she immediately turned, snuggling into him as she usually did. She smiled when his arm went around her. This was her favorite part of the day. Lying with Jag, being held tightly by him, safe and secure.

But tonight, she felt more than contentment. She inhaled, bringing his scent into her lungs. She thought about how amazing he was. How considerate. He loved to surprise her, pamper her. Being with him made her feel cherished, which wasn’t something Carly had ever felt before.

Taking another deep breath, she moved, shifting up to her knees, then throwing one leg over Jag’s body.

He inhaled sharply in surprise, but didn’t say anything.

Carly rested her palms on his chest, loving the way the scant chest hair scraped against her sensitive skin. She was straddling his belly, and she blushed knowing he could certainly feel the wetness between her legs. She shifted backward a bit, hating that the waistband of his cotton pants was between them.

“Hey,” she said in a low tone that she hoped sounded more seductive than nervous. “I didn’t think you’d ever come to bed.”

He was staring up at her with a look she couldn’t interpret. Carly also realized that he hadn’t touched her. His hands hadn’t gripped her hips like she’d imagined him doing. A pang of doubt snuck into her brain, but she forged on.

“Thank you for today, it was the best I’ve had in a very long time,” Carly told him. “And I can think of the perfect way to end it.” She gyrated her hips a little. “I want you, Jag. I’m more than ready for us to move our relationship to the next level. You’ve given me plenty of time, and I appreciate it. You mean more to me than anyone I’ve ever been with. You’ve been my friend, my rock, my knight in shining armor, my cheerleader. Now I want you to be my lover too.”

Carly held her breath as she waited for Jag to move. To sit up and hold her against him as he told her how happy he was. Or maybe he’d put his hand on the back of her neck and haul her down so he could kiss her.

But to her surprise, Jag did none of those things. He did nothing at all. He lay under her, still as a stone.

“Jag?” she asked tentatively after a tense silence, more confused than ever.

“Get off.”

Carly blinked in surprise. “What?” she whispered.

“Get off me,” Jag repeated in a tone she’d never heard before. It wasn’t really angry, it was more…distressed?

Carly was so startled, she could only sit atop him and stare.

Then Jag finally moved. His hands went to her waist, but not to pull her closer. He moved her aside and shifted out from under her. Then shot off the bed as if she had some deadly communicable disease.

She watched in disbelief as he stalked to the bedroom door and left without another word.

Carly was sure she could literally feel her heart breaking. She’d never been as stunned or hurt as she was in that moment. Not even after the first time Shawn had struck her. She’d actually expected that from him, after experiencing the anger he’d stopped hiding from her.

But rejection from Jag was the last thing she’d expected. It came completely out of left field.

She felt incredibly stupid. She brought her legs to her chest and hugged them, resting her cheek against her updrawn knees. Tears fell, but no sound left her lips.

God, how could she have been so wrong? How had she misread his signals?

No. She hadn’t. She was completely sure of that. They made out a lot. He touched her all the time, holding her hand, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her forehead. She’d felt his erection when they’d made out, she hadn’t imagined that. And when they were out and about, when he wasn’t keeping his eyes on their surroundings to make sure there weren’t any bad guys lurking about, he was looking at her with what she’d assumed was affection. Even love.

Just hours ago, she’d come to the realization that she loved him. Was she that bad at reading men? She’d obviously been wrong about Shawn, but she’d just started getting her confidence back, and a large part of that was because of Jag. Had he been playing her all this time?

Carly had too many questions, and no answers. Just the echo of his words in her head.

Get off me.

She was humiliated—and suddenly wanted nothing more than to leave. Looking around, Carly saw the suitcase she’d packed when she’d first come to his apartment, sitting on the floor just inside his closet.

Without thinking about what she was doing, she leaped up and frantically searched for her clothes. She began to stuff the bag with her things without bothering to fold them. Her only thought was to protect herself from further hurt. To leave. To get away from Jag’s sudden coldness.

The bag was full way before she’d finished putting all her things in it and Carly struggled to zip it closed. She was crying so hard now, she couldn’t see what she was doing. Frustrated and distraught, she sat back on her heels and sobbed silently. The last thing she wanted was to give Jag the satisfaction of knowing he’d broken her.