Page 76 of Eagle

I opened the oven and bent to retrieve the tray of food that I’d left there to warm. I didn’t realize that Eagle had followed me and was so close until I bumped his cock with my butt. His hands fell to my hips as he groaned. I straightened with the tray, laughing, and looked at him over my shoulder. “Go sit down, baby.”

“I want to help.”

“I can’t focus when you’re so close,” I admitted.

He laughed and did as I ordered while I scooped the brisket out of the crock pot. I turned and walked to the table, setting the tray down in the middle on top of the trivets.

“Just for the record, the same applies to you, darlin’.” There was humor dancing in his eyes. “I can’t think clearly when you’re anywhere near me.”

“Hmm, we must like each other,” I murmured, turning back toward the kitchen and feeling giddy. “Beer, wine, or tea?”

He hesitated slightly. I glanced back at him after I’d open the fridge door.

“Well, since you went to all this trouble of cooking up a nice meal, I’m not going to ruin it by having a beer. Tea is good.”

His choice surprised me. “Tea?!”

“My Aunt May is from the South. She makes the best sweet tea.”

“I can hear the love in your voice when you talk about her.” I filled two glasses and joined him at the table.

“Yeah. She’s the only family I have. I was lucky that she took me in after my mom died.”

I nodded in understanding. “I’m looking forward to meeting her on Sunday.” I reached for my tea and took a drink.

“She’s looking forward to meeting you, too. Any time I bring a woman around, she thinks I’m getting ready to settle down.”

I stared at him for a moment with a raised brow. “How many women have you brought to meet her?” I tried not to reveal the sudden jealousy I was feeling and kept my tone neutral.

Eagle’s grin didn’t help. I wanted to feel special. I needed to.

“Dozens,” he responded flippantly.

Something in my face must have alerted him to my displeasure, because he quickly amended his comment with, “I’m joking, babe.”

“It’s a bad joke.” I started to dig into my twice baked potato.

“Darlin’.”

I ignored him, trying to hold back the tears, angry at myself for feeling this way.

“Leo.”

I took a bite and continued to look down at my plate.

“Leona.”

That, and the grit in his voice, drew my eyes up to meet his. “All kidding aside, baby, she’s met Mandy, and that was well into our relationship and after she’d moved in with me. I’m going to be honest with you, darlin’. I thought Mandy was the one for me. She ended up being a sweet schoolteacher who turned into a screaming lunatic a week after she moved in. I put up with her mood swings for a while until I couldn’t.”

I chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, and asked, “And Jillian?”

He took his time chewing on the brisket in his mouth, but his eyes were telling. Once he swallowed, he exhaled and sat back. “I’m going to remind you that nothing happened between us. Yeah, I thought I wanted her, and I was attracted to her, but I never did anything about it. That alone should tell you something. She was the one who initiated that kiss to prove a point, and I’m fucking glad that she did.”

We stared at each other for a quiet moment before I had the courage to ask, “And me?”

God, he was sexy when he got that crooked grin on his face.

“I kissed you within minutes of meeting you, babe. The fucking sparks between us were apparent to everyone. I want something with you, something more than just mind-blowing sex.”

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