Chain of Command (7 page)

Chapter Seven

The alarm on Hailey’s watched dinged. She’d synced the buzzer at the property’s front gate to her computer, watch and phone. That way she knew what was happening over all those acres no matter where she stood. In theory.

But this time she didn’t need the fancy gadgets or wireless networking. She could see the visitor leaning against the gate while he stared at the number pad. All six-foot-something of him.

The faded jeans. The T-shirt that smoothed over his muscled chest and showed off his trim waist. Sawyer Cain knew how to make an entrance.

She approached from his left side, thinking to sneak up on him. Not to scare him but to soak in every last minute of watching him.

She took one step and his head whipped around. Not a surprise. Fooling a marine was not an easy task. He’d been trained. And marked with a tattoo that drew her eye. She’d seen a peek of it before but the shorter sleeves let her see every inch now. She studied how it wrapped around his biceps like a band. USMC in scroll.

Some women got all giddy over tattoos. She wasn’t one of them. She liked sexy and a little rough around the edges but too much ink and she spent all her time trying to decipher the story rather than concentrate on the man. But Sawyer’s scroll, simple and elegant, a testament to his service, worked for her. It said something about his dedication. Despite her military men moratorium it added to his hotness, which already spiked off the charts.

He wrapped those long fingers through the bars of the gate as he watched her approach. “I used the intercom this time.”

“I see that.” She typed in the code and the lock clicked open.

Swinging the gate, she opened her property to him. He didn’t ignore the invite. Instead, he stepped into the opening and closed the gate again, leaving his car in one of the dirt-lined parking spots outside.

“Do you always come down here in person to see who’s at the gate?” He glanced behind him then to the open area to his left. “Seems unsafe.”

“I happened to be out here with Barkley.” She whistled and the buff-colored dog came running. He cut through the trees and bounded toward her.

“Who is...” Sawyer dropped down and balanced on the balls of his feet. He caught the forty-pound fur ball right before getting knocked over.

“The most subtle dog in the universe.” And she loved him.

Barkley stood for the principle of uncomplicated love. He adored anyone who would pet him, throw his ball or carried a treat. A pretty simple life philosophy but it seemed to meet his needs.

Sawyer scratched Barkley’s ears and tolerated the face licking. “Hey there, big boy.”

“Barkley is part retriever and part cocker spaniel, and a bit nuts. Under all the sloppy kisses beats the heart of a chicken.” He’d hid behind her the last time the alarm went off. “His separation anxiety can be daunting.”

“That’s not true, is it? You just want attention, don’t you?” Sawyer kept petting, being Barkley’s human slave.

Clearly comfortable with the welcome, Barkley went for the slobbery tennis ball. He picked it up and held it in a tight grip between his teeth. When Sawyer didn’t immediately take the hint, Barkley dropped it between Sawyer’s legs then started the whole process over again.

On the third try Sawyer took pity on the poor guy and reached for it.

Time for the obligatory warning. She’d made this mistake and felt like she should at least try to stop others from going down the same road. “If you throw that ball you’ll get stuck throwing it forever. Really, he can go for hours before he falls over.”

“That’s okay.” Sawyer whipped it deep into the trees and sent Barkley in a fevered race of barking and tail wagging as he fetched. “I like dogs.”

She noticed Sawyer wiped his hand on his jeans as he stood up. “And the slobber. Did I forget to mention the slobber?”

He shrugged. “I’ve dealt with worse.”

They both watched Barkley grab the ball and start back for round two of what would likely be a hundred. Twenty feet away a squirrel caught his attention and off he shot in a different direction.

“He’s a good predator.” Sawyer glanced over and threw her a one-eyed questioning look. “Or does that sound bad?”

“He’s actually just easily distracted.” So, the guy helped friends fight crappy exes and liked dogs. Hailey gave him all kinds of points for both. Also lost the battle with the guilt crashing into her. “Look, I’m sorry.”

She had all of his attention now. He didn’t even blink. “For?”

“Being rude at Kat’s place.” Then there was the mental list she concocted. The Con List outlining why he should remain off-limits to her.

She’d put some not-so-nice things on there. Things that might not even be true. Since she was trying to convince her mind to ignore what her body wanted and run in the opposite direction, she was willing to say anything. Shame she seemed to be losing the mental battle.

“Seemed like I hit a nerve.” His voice stayed even, not giving away anything about what was happening in his head.

She swept her hand over the horizon. “A lot of guys come around here looking to get their hands on this.”

A smile broke across his lips. “The property or...?”

Funny guy
. “The property.”

His gaze darted to Barkley where he had his paws up on a tree trunk and his tail wagging. “So, you think I’m just the newest man coming around and trying to sweet-talk you out of the land.”

And the only one who actually had a shot at holding her attention for more than two seconds. Which was what scared the crap out of her. “Something like that.”

With his arms folded across his chest, he leaned against the fence post. “But you asked me out. Totally fucking hot, by the way.”

That gleam in his eye suggested he wasn’t kidding. “I mentioned dinner.”

“And the first time we met I talked about tasting you. Apparently we both enjoy using our mouths.”

That stupid fluttering started inside her again. The words, those bulging arms, the complete lack of fat anywhere on the guy...she refused to believe any woman could defend against that trifecta.

She forced her body to stay still even though she wanted to jump on him. “I believe there was talk like that, yes.”

“Are you getting all delicate on me again? You can use dirty words. In fact, you should.” His deep voice licked over her. He didn’t close in but the air around them grew heavy and swallowed up the space separating their bodies.

The shrinking space freaked her out. Part of her wanted to bolt. The other still debated that whole crawling all over him thing.

She tried to swallow, clear her throat...something...but gave up. “You promised hot and I’m hoping you can deliver.”

His eyebrow lifted. “Oh, I can give you whatever you need.”

The revving in her belly needed to stop. She had to be smart about this. He might want sex but just view it as a way to get what he wanted with the property. Being used like that would rip through her. So, they needed ground rules. Something that might save her since her usual stay-away-from-military-guys stance was failing her.

This would be for fun only, but whether they even started depended on him. “Our conversation wrapped around again. We talk land, we move to dinner and¾“

“Fucking, Hailey. I’ve been talking about fucking.”

“I’m asking if you can separate out the two things you want and concentrate just on dinner.” She wanted more than anything for him to say yes. “No business.”

“Despite what you may think, I do know the difference between work and play.”

It was the way he said it. The innocuous words delivered like that from a guy who looked like him set off something wild inside of her. Something naughty and wanting that she wanted buried.

“This is probably a bad idea.” She was pretty sure that qualified as the greatest understatement of all time. “Like, massively.”

“Not the way I’ve been dreaming about it.”

Every word he said just sucked her in deeper. “What are you doing in these dreams?”

“You.”

The dog barked and spun around in a circle chasing his tail. She barely heard it over the whooshing sound tunneling through her ears.

“We’re naked. Trust me, I would not let clothes get in our way.” He shifted and their bodies came closer, separated only by inches.

“That’s very practical of you.”

“I can give you a demonstration right now.”

He didn’t touch her. Didn’t have to. She could imagine. Without closing her eyes she could feel his fingertips brush over her skin. Skim along her bare leg and then higher.

Backing up, giving them a bit of breathing room, was the answer but her legs refused to move. “Maybe we should slow down.”

“Just know that I can go any speed you want.”

Oh
,
come on
.

“I date.” She blurted that bit of idiocy out then stopped talking. Just stood there.

He coughed. Looked like he was trying to cover a smile. “Do you now?”

“Not every night or anything but—”

“Hailey.” He reached out and slipped his fingers around her elbows. “I’m not going to jump on top of you unless you give me the okay.”

The touching sent her stomach nose-diving. The words made her dizzy.

“That’s a shame.” And, God, she meant it.

“Sounds like we’re on the same wavelength.” He gave her arms a little squeeze then dropped his hands. “So, yes. I’m accepting your dinner invitation.”

She tried to hold onto what little common sense she had left. “Last time¾“

“Ignore my previous answer. Dinner tonight.”

Barkley picked that moment to race toward them. He circled Sawyer and dropped a ball on his shoe.

“I’ll cook.” She petted the top of Barkley’s head. “Here.”

She waited for him to say something sexy or annoying. There was a fifty-fifty shot at both. One mention of the property and this time she’d kick him. No question.

“What should I bring?” he asked.

“Just you.” When he started to say something, she cut him off. She had one rule and he had to follow it or he’d be eating alone on the porch. “No paperwork. No other distractions.”

“You will have my full attention. Trust me.” He held out his hand. “Your cell?”

Without thinking or questioning, she reached for it. She fumbled to drag the phone out of her front pocket.

“In case you deleted my other messages, you’ll have my contact information.” His fingers flew over the cell then he handed it back. “Call me with the time.”

The conversation had morphed into something normal. Something she could handle. “Sure.”

“Until you do I’ll be thinking about you.”

“That’s nice.” Sweet and charming. She liked this side of him, too.

“Oh, there’s nothing nice about it.” Then he winked. “I’m talking naked. Wrapped around me. Breathless.”

Her vow to avoid military men officially hit rocky ground.

* * *

Four hours later Sawyer tried to focus on busywork. He had files, financial forms and maps spread out on the kitchen table in front of him. The words blended together. Sentences became blurry black lines. It was a good thing he’d already read through all of these several times before today.

He wanted to blame the frustration on not having the property issue settled or plans in motion. Hailey and the conversation about getting naked sure didn’t help. Neither did Marcus. He sat on the other side of the table not working. Staring.

Sawyer dropped a file on the already high stack next to him. “What?”

“Are you taking the business plan with you tonight?”

That would teach him to share. Sawyer knew he should have kept the dinner a secret. “This isn’t about the property.”

“Let me understand this.” Marcus stretched back in his chair with his hands folded against the back of his head. “You’re dating the woman we need to win over in order to open the gun range on the original schedule we laid out.”

It wasn’t like Marcus to make things complicated. Sawyer wished he wasn’t now. “It’s a dinner.”

“Yeah, but you could totally fuck the business angle up by saying the wrong thing in the bedroom.”

Sawyer swallowed a groan. As if he didn’t have enough to worry about. “I promised not to talk business tonight.”

He still couldn’t believe she’d made that provision. She acted as if she welcomed something between them. Something fun and short. He could handle that but he sure as hell wished she’d signed the property papers and the issue didn’t dangle between them.

“This lady went from trying to hit you with a bat to cooking you dinner?” Marcus asked.

“Yes.” There were a few days in between but Sawyer wasn’t convinced those mattered to his friend. He was on a roll and making a point. Or trying to.

The front legs of Marcus’s chair hit the tile floor with a thud. “I’m confused.”

“Me too but I’m pretending not to be.” Trying not to think about where this night could end up.

“Do you have a condom on you?”

He should get ticked off but it wasn’t a dumb question. “Yes, Dad.”

Marcus shrugged. “Just being practical.”

Not one to pry, Sawyer had stayed away from questioning Marcus. But since the guy opened the door, why not. “I’m happy to talk about personal shit if you are.”

Tap
,
tap
,
tap
. Marcus thudded his fingers against the wooden table in a steady rhythm. Both brothers had picked up the habit but Marcus did a better job of keeping a steady beat. Both of them gave Sawyer a headache.

“You want to know about my sex life?” Marcus asked.

Sawyer wanted to know what was going on with Marcus before Jason lost his mind trying to figure it out. “Not the details.”

Marcus barked out a laugh. “You sure? I can draw you a picture. Show you some examples on the internet. Not of me, of course, but you’d get the idea.”

Yeah, not his thing. Sawyer didn’t care what Marcus did but that didn’t mean he wanted a front row seat to watch. Just as he guessed Marcus didn’t want a play-by-play about his non-property time with Hailey later tonight. Neither of them were the kiss-and-tell type, which Sawyer considered a damn fine thing.

But there was still the issue of what was happening with his friend and why he kept it all covert. “The sneaking around you’re doing is freaking Jason out.”