Page 23 of Invincible
CHAPTER7
“Should this be awkward?”Tyler asked Dex as she took another bite of shrimp.
They had opted for the shrimp boil and now sat at one end of a picnic table outside, picking from the different spicy choices piled up on a piece of paper between them.The trick was to nibble until your lips went numb, then dig in.
“Eating food off of a newspaper?Or trying not to swallow my own tongue, which one?”Dex asked, taking another long pull on his beer.It was his second with no hope of slowing down anytime soon.Tyler laughed, pulling a potato out of the pile.“I think I might be sprouting hair on my chest,” he added, picking up another piece of shrimp with determination.
“I can always check later for you if you need me to.”
He grinned at her before popping the shrimp in his mouth.
“So, still no luck working me out of your system?”he asked.
“Afraid not, I’ll let you know when that happens.”He shook his head at her as she gave him a wicked smile.
“Then what do you think should be awkward?”
“I don’t know, this?”she said, motioning between them.He sat studying her for a moment before speaking.
“No,” he said, shaking his head.“You’re too strong of a woman not to go after what you want.I don’t mean your physical strength, although I have to admit it’s one hell of a turn-on.I’m talking about up here,” Dex said, pointing at his head.
“I’ve never met a woman so in control of her world as you, it just makes me amazed you’ve chosen me to get under your skin.”Tyler couldn’t prevent her face from turning red as she grinned at him.
His face was completely serious as he looked at her, making her ache all over for him.Never in her whole life had she had a man tell her that her weird gift of strength turned him on, then to be told how self-confident he saw her.She was starting to like having this FBI man around.She had a feeling she had just scratched the surface of what made up Dexter Tanaka, but the thought of spending hours learning more made her pulse pound.
“Thank you,” she said quietly, hunting for the last piece of corn.Pulling it out, she analyzed the amount of chili powder clinging to it, then with a shrug bit in.
“For what, telling you how much you blow my mind?I think I should be thanking you,” Dex said.Sighing, he lifted the last piece of shrimp to his mouth.
“If you don’t mind, sir, I’d like that in triplicate.”
“That’s not the only thing I’ll give you in triplicate,” he answered with a wink.She would laugh, but she wasn’t sure she had enough feeling left in her lips to pull off the maneuver.Dex sat back, wiping his spice-covered hands on a napkin.“My God, I’m either going to burst from being so full or self-combust from the heat.I don’t know which, maybe both.”
“Would you like some dessert?”
“Please, no.I’m pretty sure that will come later in the form of tiny fruit-flavored tablets around midnight, anyway.”
Tyler laughed, wondering why she would ever think any time spent with Dex could be awkward.He was extremely smart, quick-witted, funny, and honest.
After washing their hands in the bathroom since nothing was worse than accidentally rubbing your eyes with the hands you had just used to polish off a shrimp boil, they walked back toward Tyler’s apartment.
Dex stood in the doorway of her apartment once she walked in.She wasn’t sure what she had expected, but him putting on the brakes wasn’t it.
“Did you want to come in?”she asked.
“I need to head back to the hotel.Knox moved us into an extended-stay one to save cost.If I have any hope of getting to sleep tonight, I have to do it before the asthmatic grizzly arrives.”She nodded her head in understanding.“Come, give me a kiss good night.”
“No, I don’t think so.”When he raised his eyebrows at her in surprise, she laughed.“If I kiss you, I’ll just want to keep you, then none of us will get any sleep.”
“It’s a chance we’ll just have to take.”Sliding his hand into the waistband at the front of her shorts, he pulled her to him until he could meld their mouths together.She had been right, she now desperately wanted him to stay.Standing back up straight, he took a step back.“Night,” he said, backing away from the door.
“Good night.”
Pulling her door closed, Dex left the building.Tyler watched out the window as he pulled away from the curb.He had talked the local FBI office out of a spare, so he wasn’t stuck at the mercy of Knox.Such a complicated man, she thought, shaking her head.
Changing into her pajamas, she settled on the couch to watch the news before heading to bed.They had agreed on meeting at her shop tomorrow morning for work, with Dex agreeing to pick up something for breakfast.
Finally, turning off the TV, she climbed into bed, falling asleep almost instantly with a smile on her face.
