He grinned at her. “Guess I do have a talent.”
“More than one,” she quipped, making him laugh. She’d recovered and was back to her usual sunny self, which he was beginning to get was just her invisibility cloak.
“So…today,” she said. “And Wounded Warriors. I’m working beneath you.”
He liked the sound of that. A lot. And at whatever she saw on his face, she rolled her eyes. “Don’t go getting any ideas,” she said. “No bossing me around.”
“On the job? Never,” he said, turning the bacon and then flipping the eggs in the pan with a flick of his wrist.
“Or in the bedroom,” she clarified.
“I promise you’d like it.”
She blushed, and he laughed softly. “I’ll show you sometime if you ask real nice.”
She snorted. “Like that’s going to happen.”
He shifted from the stovetop to between her legs, bending his head to meet her gaze head-on. “Your pace,” he said softly.
“We’ve tried that,” she reminded him.
“We’ll try harder,” he said, and kissed her.
Not softly.
When they broke apart for air, she stared at him. “I thought you said my pace.”
“It is.” He grinned. “But I never said I wasn’t going to stake my claim or try to coax things to go my way.” He moved back to the stove and flipped the bacon and eggs onto two plates. He handed her one of them and then went to the cabinet for two glasses, which he filled with orange juice. “How about a new game?” he said.
“Aren’t you tired of games?”
“Humor me. This time we’ll just tell a truth.”
She regarded him warily. “That doesn’t sound like a game at all.”
He kissed her on the tip of her nose. “Now you’re getting it.”
She narrowed her eyes as she considered this, along with the ramifications. He could read each and every thought as it crossed her face. Curiosity. Worry, because if this wasn’t a game, it meant he was serious.
Which he was.
Finally, she sighed. “What do you want to know?”
He was a smart enough guy to get that she was the one for him. He was also smart enough to know that he was going to have to work his ass off for it. Because she wasn’t open to this. To them.
To him.
He was shocked by how much he wanted to change her mind. “You’re not scared of me,” he said, wanting to hear her say it.
“No,” she said. “I’m not scared of you. But that wasn’t a question.”
“I want to know what you are scared of.”
She held his gaze. “Me.”
“Why?” he asked.
She stared at him. “I think I want to go first and ask you a question.”
“Shoot.”
She opened her mouth and went for the jugular. “You ever been in love?”
Chapter 25
Sophie held her breath for Jacob’s answer.
He shrugged. “Thought maybe I was a few times,” he said casually.
She didn’t know whether to be curious or jealous. She settled for both. “A few times?” she asked with what she thought was remarkable calm. She knew nothing about falling in love the right way and he’d done it a few times?
“My second year in the army,” he said. “Jessica was one of our IT specialists overseas.” He smiled with the memory of this Jessica. “We toyed around at something for a while.”
Yeah, definitely jealousy, she decided. “If you loved her, what happened?”
“I said I thought I loved her.” He tapped a finger on the chin she’d jutted out, giving her a little smile. “How come you’re braced for a fight again? Was I supposed to pretend I’ve never cared about anyone before you?”
She blew out a breath. “No. I’m being ridiculous. Carry on.”
He eyed her. “You sure you’re not going to try to kick my ass?”
“Try?” she asked coolly. “There won’t be any trying. If I wanted to kick your ass, it’d be kicked, buddy.”
He laughed. “I stand corrected.”
“Jessica,” she said, and gave him the go-ahead gesture with her hand.
He shrugged. “We were young and stupid.”
“Stupid how?”
He looked away. “Stupid.”
Her gut sank. What if he’d cheated on this Jessica, like Lucas had cheated on her? She wasn’t sure she could understand it if he had, but she attempted to keep her cool. “Can you define ‘stupid’ with a word other than ‘stupid’?”
He drank his OJ, taking his sweet-ass time about it too. “She didn’t see a problem with being young and stupid—uh…” He searched for a word. “Naked with every guy who turned his head to look at her. And since she was gorgeous, that was a lot of heads.”
“Wait—she cheated on you?” she asked in shocked disbelief, pissed off for him.
He laughed a little. “You’re good for my ego.”
“No, but seriously. Have you looked in the mirror? Why would she cheat on you?”
Slipping an arm around her waist, he palmed her ass on the counter and dragged her closer to him. “You want to beat her up for me?”
Yes. “I think you’re capable of fighting your own battles,” she said, and wound her arms around his neck. “Did she hurt you, Jacob?”