Page 16 of Operation K-9 Brothers
He stared at the cucumber-size thing, then lifted puzzled eyes to her.
“It keeps the family jewels warm.”
“Oh, just say it, Lizzy.It’s a cock sock,” Mary said.“It was my idea.”
Of course, it was.
Mary’s gaze fell to the zipper of his jeans.“Do you think we made it big enough?”
Aaannd, he was outta here.He stuffed the thing into his pocket, then put his hand on his grandmother’s elbow.“Breakfast.Now.”
“At least someone thinks it’s funny,” Jack said when Nichole laughed.
“Oh, it is.Hilarious, actually.”She held up the family jewels warmer, dangling it in front of him.“I think I’d really like your grandmother.I would have given anything to have seen your face when Mary—”
“Dirty Mary.Grammie’s name for her, not mine.”
She grinned at hearing his growly voice.“Right.When Dirty Mary told you it was a cock sock.How old did you say they were?”There was something adorable about a badass SEAL calling his grandmother Grammie.
“In their eighties.How the hell does a little old lady know what a spank bank is?”He shuddered.“I went home and poured a gallon of bleach over my head to get that image out of my mind.”He rolled his eyes when she lost it, but she caught the twitch of his lips.“Give me that.”He snatched it away, stuffing it in his pocket.
She hadn’t laughed this hard in a long time, and it felt good.They were sitting on a boulder at the edge of the falls on a beautiful Sunday morning.The hike to get here had taken an hour down a sometimes-slippery trail, and unused to hiking, Nichole was dreading the trek back up.But it had been worth it.The sky was a brilliant blue, the air was blessedly cool from the icy water cascading into the crystal-clear pool, and the man beside her was downright fine.
After playing in the water for a bit, Rambo was stretched out in the sunshine, enjoying a nap.Dakota sat in front of Jack’s feet, her gaze sweeping the area.
“She seems very aware of her surroundings.”
Jack leaned over and peered down at his dog.“To her, everything’s a job, even a Sunday morning hike.She’s keeping an eye out for bad guys, watching our six.”
“Our six?”
“Our backs.Comes from a clock.If you were standing in the center of a clock face looking at the twelve, the six would be at your back.”
“Ah, I see.”
When Jack had arrived to pick her up, he’d introduced Dakota to Rambo.Rambo had jumped all around her, trying to get her to play.Dakota had lifted her gaze to Jack, as if to say, “Can’t you do something about this pesky thing?”
Nichole had been afraid Dakota would bite Rambo, but Jack had assured her his dog only attacked on command.She’d never seen a dog so well behaved.Maybe Dakota could teach Rambo some manners.
“It’s beautiful here.”She leaned back on her elbows and lifted her face to the sun.
“You’re beautiful.”
She glanced at him to see him watching her.Everything around her stilled, the only sound that of the water as it splashed into the pool, and the only thing she saw was Jack’s blue eyes studying her.Not once had Lane said she was beautiful and looked at her as if she really was to him.
“Thank you.”She wasn’t used to getting compliments from a man and wasn’t sure what to say other than that.
He glanced away.“We need to talk, but I don’t quite know how to say it without sounding like an ass.”
“Just spit it out, whatever it is.”His nervousness put her on alert, and she sat up, steeling herself for...well, what, she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think she was going to like it.
“Okay, here’s the thing.I really like you, Nichole.”
“But?”
“Yeah, there’s a but.As soon as my arm is healed, I’m returning to my team.”
Ah, so that was where this was going.“And you’re not looking for anything serious?”
