She didn’t want to let go. “How did your lunch thing go with your friend?”
“Three guys showed up. We shared a beer. It was okay.”
She lifted her face to look him in the eye. He hadn’t told her much about why he took a few hours off to meet with friends. She didn’t want to pry. She didn’t even have a right. No matter how much she liked him or how often she thought of him or how badly she wanted to belong to him, the truth was he was not hers. He was married to Katia.
Sure, he said he would get a divorce on Monday morning. But then what? She wasn’t a hundred percent positive he was as interested in her as she was him. It scared the hell out of her. She was one step away from looking at wedding dresses, and he was married to another woman. He’d said just enough to keep her from losing her mind but not enough to assure her he would really be all in as soon as his contract expired.
Granted, he wasn’t supposed to discuss the show at all, so the fact that she knew he was at least marginally interested was something. But was it enough? She feared her heart was about to get trampled on.
Tuck licked his lips and cleared his throat. “I went there to get advice.” He hesitated. “About you.”
Her body jerked. “About me?”
“Yep. Turns out a few SEALs have been in similar situations.”
“They were all on reality shows married to other women when they met someone they liked?” she joked.
He chuckled. She loved the sound of his deep laugh. “No. But they were all on reality shows with the same production company. They know the stakes.”
“And what are the stakes?”
“You.”
She swallowed, her heart beating faster.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she managed to murmur.
“Really? Because that very thought scares me to death, Jodi. I lie awake at night worrying about what you’re thinking and if you can weather this storm.”
“You do?” Yeah, her heart was going to beat out of her chest.
“Of course, I do. I’m exhausted. I can’t think about anything but you. It makes me sick to my stomach every time I go through the door of that apartment to play house with Katia. I know every minute I continue the ruse is one more minute I might lose you, and all because I’m too greedy to give up a little money.”
She gasped. Her mind was spinning. She grabbed on to the last thing he’d said first. “A little money. Tuck, fifty thousand dollars isn’t a little money. It’s a lot. And you’re going to stick it out for three more days to get every dime of it. You earned it.”
“At what cost?” he asked softly, his hands running up her back. “How will you ever respect me for going through with this? For making you wait for me while I played house with that woman? For keeping you at arm’s length because I’m so damn worried about people finding out how I feel about you before the time is up? There is a permanent throb behind my right eye from the stress of what I’m doing to you. I should have had the balls to walk away the first day I met you.”
She shook her head rapidly. “No. Stop it. Your heart’s in the right place. I know you like me. But you love your mom, and this is for her. It has nothing to do with me. From what you say, she won’t be around much longer. If the money you’re getting helps keep her comfortable to the end, then you’re exactly the kind of man I want to be with.”
Tuck swallowed. She’d never seen him look so serious. He was breathing heavily as they stood there in silence. So was she. “Jodi… You have no idea…”
“I do. Really, I do. You keep reminding me.” She held him closer, letting her hands roam up and down his back, learning the feel of his solid muscles. In three days, she would be able to touch every inch of him.
She hoped when he’d suggested they have lunch, it had been a euphemism for sex because that was how she took it. She didn’t care if they had to get a hotel room in order to have some privacy. She fully intended to make that arrangement and spend three solid hours naked in his arms before they had to be at work.
His forehead lowered until he set it against hers. “You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met, and I promise to spend countless hours making up for this fiasco.”
She smiled. “As long as nudity is involved, I’m all in. Already picked up a twenty-four pack of condoms.” She cringed. “Did I say that out loud?”
He smiled. “Yes, you did. And now I’m going to have to work all night with a hard-on.”
“Good. It’s only fair. You make me squirm and forget my orders when you stare at me from across the room. I’m lucky I haven’t served someone water instead of vodka.” As long as they were on a roll here with this banter, she decided to up the ante. “My wrists are sore from wearing out my vibrator after you leave at night.”
He groaned, tipping his head toward the ceiling. “Woman…” He reached for his neck a second later and winced. “That’s a cruel thing to say to a man whose neck is sore from sleeping on the floor for three months.”
Jodi’s pulse picked up as she slowly smiled even wider. “You’ve been sleeping on the floor?” She had pictured a lot of scenarios ranging from a pillow row between him and Katia to that whiny woman plastering herself to his back in an attempt to seduce him. The floor had never entered her mind.
“Don’t look so pleased,” he joked. “I’m gonna need a chiropractor.”
“I’ll give you a long naked massage next week and take away all the aches and pains. Plus, you can spend your first night of freedom on a real mattress in my room. I won’t make you sleep on the floor.”
He scrunched up his face. “Your mattress. Here? In the same small apartment with your dad? Not a chance in hell.”
She groaned. “Come on. He’s a modern man.”
“Okay, then I’m not. Whatever. Not going to happen. I’ll get an apartment.”
“By Monday?”
“I’ll figure something out. We’re not sleeping in the same bed in your dad’s house. Not ever.”
She swatted his ass. “This is the twenty-first century, Tuck. He knows we’re going to get involved. I don’t think he expects us to remain chaste.”
Tuck shook his head, adamantly. It was cute. He was also going to have to get over himself. They sure couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel for several nights while he found a place. And no way was she sleeping without him starting Monday.
Jodi sighed. “We better get out there before some crazy bridesmaid from Cold Feet comes in and then reports back to Katia that we were fucking in the back room.”
“Don’t remind me. That’s exactly what she threatened just this morning.”
Jodi rose onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. “Well, she can bite me. She isn’t going to win this battle. My man is going to get the money and the better woman.” With that she reluctantly broke free of him and headed for the door. “Wait here a bit so we don’t look like we were making out in the office,” she tried to joke.
“Baby, after the way you’ve been plastered to my body, I’m going to need a few minutes to tame my hard-on.”
She smiled, feeling all warm inside at the way he called her “baby”. Then she glanced down at the erection indeed obvious through his jeans and flushed. “If you’re good, I promise to take care of that. Monday.” She hurried from the room before she could think about how boldly she’d put herself out there. Jodi had never been as forward as she’d been with Tuck today.