Page 60 of Building Courage

“Jesus, Brynn!” His arm tightened around her. “You should have told me.”

“Why?” She brushed her palm over the muscular landscape of his chest, exploring the texture of his skin.

“I’d have taken more time.”

“You took as much time as I—we needed.” Half embarrassed by the admission, she said, “You’ve been asleep nearly four hours. Are you hungry?”

“Starving” He caressed her bare ass, and a smile played across his lips.

She hung between embarrassment and being turned on again. “There’s beef stew and cornbread muffins in the kitchen.”

“Are you dusting off your cooking skills for me, Brynn?”

“Don’t expect it to last,” she warned.

He chuckled. “A bowl of stew sounds good. But right now, I just want to hold you for a few minutes.” He turned against her and drew her close. “Tell me what you’ve been up to since I’ve been away.”

It was hard to concentrate with his very male naked body pressed so intimately against hers. “I’ve been working on a slide show of photos I took on a yacht. I met someone who knows you, and he asked me to tell you to call him.”

“Who was it?”

“His name was Ahmad. I have his card.”

His cell phone beeped on the nightstand, and he turned to reach for it. His jaw tightened as he read the message.

“What is it?”

“We have to report to headquarters in the morning at zero-seven-hundred.”

Chapter 18

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Tucker tracked Brynn’s movements as she fixed them both a bowl of stew. She bent to take the muffins out of the oven, and the thin robe she wore clung to the round curve of her ass. His body responded with a rush of blood south. He could watch her for days and not get enough.

He wanted to spend days in bed with her, but the real world always had a way of interrupting.

NCIS would probably be there to interview him in the morning. He needed to gear up for that.

Ahmad popped back to the forefront of his mind again.

What the hell was the man doing in San Diego? And why did he want him to contact him? A Saudi national approaching him while this investigation was going on was another complication he didn’t need.

The stew was rich and well-seasoned. From the first taste, his appetite kicked in, and he cleaned the bowl. When she asked if he wanted more, he shook his head. He needed to take it easy the first few days until his system transitioned from MREs to real food.

Brynn spent a few moments putting the food away before coming back to him. She caught his hand in hers and tugged him to the couch. “Tell me, what’s upset you about Ahmad? He seemed a very polite guy. Because of his manners, he came across as Old World.”

Old World was a good way to put it. Tucker remained silent for a moment, debating how much he could tell her. “I met Ahmad during a mission. His father worked for a Saudi ambassador who was here in the States for a while, representing the government. When he went back home, Ahmad and his family had to return with him. Ahmad wanted to come back to the States to live. I suppose he found a way to do that. That was at least nine months ago.”

“What do you think he wants to talk to you about?”

He shook his head. “I have no idea.”

She frowned. “He seemed a little anxious.”

“In what way?”

“He and the other steward helped Jess and me load the car after the yacht shoot. The other guy was a player and gave me his card. I tossed it. But Ahmad said if he could ever be of assistance to call, gave me his card, and walked away. He came back a few minutes later with a necklace he’d found, but I think it was an excuse to ask me to have you call him.”

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