Page 135 of Major Love

Possessiveness flickers in Jason’s eyes as he caresses his large palm around my waist.

“He’s a guy, Sunday. He knows.”

“Oh,” I say slowly, draping my arms casually over his heaving shoulders. “Well, then I guess that you don’t have to come, and you can leave me with Riley, if you want to.”

Jason’s biceps ripple as he tugs me closer, almost growling as he asks, “Which bar are we going to?”

I stroke my fingers up his coarse stubble, unable to fight back my smile as I whisper, “You can pick.”

He looks away for a moment, thinking, and then he dries his hand on the towel at the edge of the tub so that he can stroke my hair.

“We’ll head to Pine Hills. They’ve got a place up there. Kind of a diner-meets-country-bar, and it’s small, but you’ll like it.”

“Will Riley?” I ask, because I can’t help but poke the bear, and then I’m yelping with laughter as Jason squeezes my ass, his big hands rough beneath the steaming water.

“Baby, I don’t give a fuck what that guy likes,” he says gruffly.

“Have you been there before?” I ask gently, as I stroke his stubble. “Is that one of the places that you… used to go to?”

And Jason narrows his eyes slightly, unable to decipher what I’m really asking him.

“Huh?”

“When you used to come home from deployment. Is that one of the bars you used to… frequent.”

He searches my eyes for a long moment before asking, “What’re you trying to say to me, baby?”

I cover my face with my hands and groan, my cheeks heating up with embarrassment.

“Your friend Beckett?” I admit, my voice rasping with shyness. “He said that when you were home, you didn’t… do stuff in town.”

Jason slips his hands around my wrists, easing them gently from my pink cheeks, and then he brushes a water droplet from my lashes, watching me carefully as he works out what I’m saying.

Oh God, I’m going to have to repeat that ridiculous bro-code saying to him, aren’t I?

So I just shake my head, laugh nervously, and go for it.

“He said that you don’t, um… he said that you don’t… pee where you eat.”

I mean, it’s not exactly what he said but it’s close enough.

And Jason blinks at me for a long moment before asking quietly, “Did he now?”

“And he also said that he doesn’t abide by that rule,” I add.

Jason’s eyebrow rises. “I bet he did.”

“So, was that one of your places? The bar in Pine Hills?” I ask nervously.

But Jason exhales quietly and wraps his fist around my ponytail, dropping his forehead down to mine, nothing but honesty in his deep voice.

“I didn’t get intimate with anyone who was that close to home, sweetheart. You don’t have anything to worry about. I would never do that to you.”

“Okay,” I whisper back to him, squeezing my hands over his large pecs as he kisses me.

“You know how I feel about you,” he pants. “You know how I’ve always felt about you.”

I shake my head and clutch him closer. “You don’t need to say it.”

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