Page 26 of Operation K-9 Brothers
Chapter Eight
The last time Jack dated was when he’d been with Tori.They’d been their high school’s cool couple, the star quarterback and the cheerleader.He thought she was the one, and asked her to marry him the day before he left for boot camp.She said yes, and he slipped an engagement ring on her finger.They lasted through his first months in the navy, through his BUD/S training but not past his first deployment.She decided a doctor would make a better husband than a military man would.
Truthfully, he was glad she’d realized that before they married, although he hadn’t appreciated her Dear John letter at the time, especially since she admitted in the letter that she’d been seeing a doctor while Jack was dodging bullets in Afghanistan.She’d not only broken his heart but taught him a lesson.Girlfriends got lonely when their man wasn’t around, or so Tori had claimed.
After that he adopted the one-and-done motto of many of his teammates.That way he didn’t have to wonder if his girl was cheating on him when he wasn’t around.With hindsight matured by age, he realized he and Tori had been too young for a serious commitment.He would have never screwed around on her, but he doubted a marriage between them would have lasted.
As he shaved, getting ready for his date with Nichole, Jack studied his reflection in the mirror.It was still his face, but someone else had possessed his body.How else to explain walking away from Nichole when she’d clearly wanted him to stay the night?“Idiot,” he muttered, chuckling.But he was glad he had.
He was older now, as was Nichole, and maybe it could be different with her.The hope was growing that it could.And that was why he decided to slow things down.He didn’t want their relationship to feel like it was only about sex.He wanted them to get to know each other, to explore the possibilities, see where things could go.And just maybe...
Dakota put her paw on his leg, and he glanced down at her.“To answer your question, yes, I’m going out, and no, you can’t come this time.”Her nose dropped, pointing down at the floor.“Don’t give me that poor-pitiful-me look.”Her head lowered and her shoulders slumped.Ah hell, his dog could put a guilt trip on him like no one’s business.
He picked up his phone and called Nichole.“Hey,” he said when she answered.“I’m leaving shortly, but, well, this is probably going to sound stupid.Can Dakota stay with Rambo while we’re out?She’ll behave, I promise.”Dakota’s ears perked up at hearing her name.
Nichole laughed.“Are you asking if Rambo can babysit your dog?”
“Yeah, I guess I am.She’s giving me one of her dejected looks because I’m going out, and believe me, she’s perfected that expression.”
“That’s probably because it works on you.Of course you can bring her.”
“Thanks.See you soon.”
He set the phone back on the counter.“There you go, you shameless beggar.You got an invite.”
Dakota barked.
The words Jack had planned to say at seeing Nichole were lost the moment she opened the door.
“Are you okay?”she said when he just stood in front of her, mute.
He shook his head.
She put her hand on his forehead.“You don’t have a fever.”
“Yeah, I do.It’s called a Nichole Fever.I’m burning up.”His gaze roamed over her.“Give me a minute.”
The black dress showed off every delicious curve, but it was the cutout above the swell of her left breast that snagged his eyes.About three inches long and an inch wide, it was outlined in red, and sexy as hell.A tantalizing glimpse of skin in an otherwise simple dress.It was sleeveless, the bodice reaching the bottom of her neck, and the hem stopping just above her knees.On her feet were strappy red heels that buckled around her ankles.
“If I start drooling, I’m blaming you,” he said.
She smiled, her eyes filled with delight.“Then I probably shouldn’t show you the back.”
“You probably shouldn’t but do it anyway.”He made a circle with his index finger.“Sweet baby Jesus,” he rasped when she turned.
The dress was backless right down to just above the curve of her ass where a small red bow perched.He exhaled a long breath as his gaze traveled back up to her hair.She’d pulled it up on one side, securing it with a red clasp.The other half of her hair curled around her shoulders.
When his team was downrange, they alternated between heart-stopping battles and times of pure boredom.During those boring days, they’d pass around books and magazines.He remembered an article he’d read a year or so ago that men associated the color red with sex.He could now swear to the truth of that, even with only splashes of red in strategic places—her feet, over her breast, at the lowest part of her spine, and in her beautiful hair.
“Nichole.”
“Hmm?”She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“You’re a very dangerous woman.”He stepped up to her before she could turn to face him and put his hands on her upper arms.Sliding them down, he threaded their fingers.“To me,” he whispered into her ear.
“Thank you, I think.”
“No, thank you.Before I forget I’m supposed to take you out, let’s get the dogs settled so we can be on our way.We have dinner reservations in thirty minutes.”
