Feeling Hot (6 page)

Great, this just got better and better. Babysitter
and
bodyguard.

“I already spoke to Matt and he agreed to give up his room for the next few weeks. He’ll stay at Savannah’s.”

Cash stifled a groan. Looked like the lieutenant had it all planned out. Would’ve been nice if
Cash
had had a say in the matter before Carson decided to rearrange his life.

He quickly scanned his brain for another option, one that didn’t involve spending the rest of his vacation babysitting. “She can stay with Seth and Dylan,” he suggested. “They have a spare room.”

“And send my baby sister into the lion’s den?” Carson looked horrified. “No way. I know the kind of shit that goes on there. Not that I’m knocking the lifestyle—I was all about the fun and games before I met Holly. But those guys give a whole new meaning to the word
player
.” He paused. “Well, so do you, but I figured you’re probably not as bad as the tag-teamers.”

Uh… Cash decided not to mention what he’d been doing before he’d been so rudely interrupted.

Instead, he tossed out another suggestion. “Jackson’s got an empty room too…”

“Yeah, and the second he gets my sister in it, he’ll turn up the Texan charm and have her out of her clothes in five seconds flat.” The lieutenant shrugged. “You’re the lesser of four evils, man. And I know you’re planning on going to Officer Candidate School first chance you get, so…”

So you’d be a fool to deflower my sweet virgin sister and risk a bad recommendation from me,
was Carson’s unspoken warning.

Wow. He really wasn’t getting out of this, was he?

“It’ll only be for three weeks,” Carson said, clearly picking up on his hesitation. “You don’t have to entertain her or prepare home-cooked meals or any of that shit. Just tag along if she needs to go somewhere and make sure she’s safe. That’s all.”

That’s all? He wanted to point out that having a houseguest pretty much guaranteed he wouldn’t be getting laid for the next month but he suspected Carson valued his sister’s safety over Cash’s sex life.

And wow, didn’t
that
make him a total jackass, Cash realized as he registered where his thoughts had drifted. Was he really bitching about the lack of sex he’d get when some poor girl was being terrorized by a stalker?

As everything shifted into perspective, he let out a resigned breath, knowing he couldn’t refuse the request. Carson never asked him for anything, and the man had taken Cash under his wing once he’d joined the team. Invites to dinner, poker night, the mini-golf tourney Carson and his buddies held every month. Carson had done a helluva lot to welcome him to the fold.

“Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll keep an eye on your sister.”

Relief flooded the other man’s face. “Thanks, man. I’ll drop her off tomorrow morning.”

Cash took a swig of beer, then set the bottle on the coffee table and eyed the flat screen. “Wanna catch the NFL highlights?”

Carson reached for the remote. “Sure.” But rather than turn on the TV, he fixed Cash with a deadly look. “One more thing I forgot to mention.”

“Yeah?”

“Keep your hands off my sister.”

Cash frowned. “I wasn’t planning on—”

“I’m serious. You touch her, and I’ll drown you. Your building’s got a pool in the back, so I won’t have to go far.”

He had to laugh. “You’ll drown me? That’s the most creative death you can come up with?”

“I’m in the navy. I do my best work in the water.” Those blue eyes glittered with menace. “And don’t think I’m kidding, McCoy. Touch my little sister, and you’re a dead man. She’s off-limits.”

Brrr. The temperature in the room had dipped below the freezing mark, and from the look on his lieutenant’s face, Cash didn’t doubt the dude meant business.

With a pleasant smile, Carson clicked a button on the remote. “What’ll it be? ESPN or SportsCenter?”

Sitting in the passenger seat of Carson’s Range Rover, Jen resisted the urge to reach over the center console and strangle her brother to death. She was beyond furious, but he’d been pretending not to notice the steam rolling out of her ears as they’d driven in complete silence.

Up ahead, a low-rise apartment building came into view. Seven stories or so, it boasted a sleek gray exterior, balconies with wrought-iron railings, and colorful flowerbeds lining the lush lawn out front. It was much nicer than her building, but that didn’t make this situation any less annoying.

With an overly pleasant smile, Carson pulled over by the curb and killed the engine. “We’re here.”

She shot him a stony glare.

“Come on, Jenny, stop with the silent treatment already. You know this is a good idea.”

Right, because being blackmailed into staying with a complete stranger was a
splendid
idea. She couldn’t believe she was letting Carson call the shots like this, but the alternative he’d posed was even worse; he’d threatened to tell their parents that her life was in danger, which wasn’t only an exaggeration but also a surefire way to get her locked up in the family panic room for the next month. If the admiral believed his little girl was even in the slightest bit of danger, he’d throw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and march her all the way back to the family homestead in Del Mar.

Jen loved her parents—she really, truly did—but the two of them drove her absolutely crazy. No way could she survive living under their roof again.

So Carson’s “solution”, as much as it aggravated her, was clearly the better option.

Didn’t mean she had to be happy about it, though.

“How do you know Brendan didn’t follow us here?” she asked in a last-ditch effort to derail her brother’s plan. “Maybe he’s been watching my apartment, tailed us and ruined your cunning scheme to keep me hidden. In that case, I might as well go back to my place.”

Carson smirked. “Do you honestly think I didn’t keep an eye out for a tail? Trust me, we weren’t followed.”

“Fine.” She pursed her lips. “But what if Brendan
does
show up, and this rookie you’re sticking me with drops the ball? What if he gets, uh, rookie freeze-up syndrome or something?”

Now her brother rumbled out a full-blown laugh. “Rookie freeze-up syndrome? I like it. Remind me to accuse one of the guys of having that.”

“I’m serious, Carson.”

“So am I. And trust me,” he said again, “Cash has mad skills. He won’t let anything happen to you.”

Jen froze as the name registered in her head.

No, she must have heard wrong.

And if she’d heard right, then that didn’t mean the Cash he’d referred to was the same one she’d met at the Tavern. Her Cash worked in security, or at least that’s what he’d told her. Unless he’d lied… But why would he? If he was a SEAL, why not just tell her?

Yeah, had to be a different man. Maybe the name Cash was more common than she’d thought. People were naming their kids all sorts of weird things these days—maybe Cash topped one of those Most Popular Baby Names lists, along with Apple and Potato and every other bizarre moniker.

Jen put on her most nonchalant tone. “Cash? That’s the guy you’re dumping me off on?”

“Yeah. Cash McCoy.”

McCoy
.

Crap. It
was
him.

Annoyance rippled through her as she realized that he
had
lied about what he did for a living, but the irritation couldn’t mask the rush of heat that flooded her belly as she grasped what this meant. She’d be playing house with her sexy cowboy for the next three weeks.

“How come I’ve never met him?” she asked suspiciously. “And if he’s such a good guy, why wasn’t he at your birthday party?”

“Because his parents were in town and they had tickets to a show. He came over the next night for beers.”

“Oh.”

Jen suddenly felt queasy. Did Cash know she was going to be his new houseguest? She hadn’t told him her last name, and knowing Carson, he’d referred to her as Jenny-Pie or some other juvenile name when he’d told Cash about her. Chances were, the guy was in for the surprise of his life.

As panic jolted through her, Jen got ready to blurt out a protest, but apparently Carson was done talking. He threw open the driver’s door and slid out of the SUV, rounding the vehicle to get her bags out of the trunk.

She stayed rooted in her seat, her heart lurching. She couldn’t spend the next few weeks with Cash McCoy. Maybe if he’d called, things would be different, but looking into his sexy blue eyes and drooling over that spectacular body, all the while knowing he wasn’t interested? That would
suck
.

And the icing on the cake? He was military. She had a firm rule about military men:
don’t date one
.

Who says you have to date him?

True. She could always just fuck his brains out.

Except he clearly wasn’t interested in doing
that
, seeing as he hadn’t called.

A sharp rap on the window jarred her from her thoughts. She turned to see Carson’s exasperated face peering into the half-open window. “Out of the car, Jenny.”

She opened her mouth, nearly confessing that she already knew Cash. But she stopped herself at the last second. Shit. She couldn’t tell her brother about the night at the Tavern. Not only did it make her look like the slut of the century, but it suddenly occurred to her that if she
did
tell Carson she knew Cash, he might scrap this whole houseguest plan and act on his threat of involving their parents.

Another knock sounded on the window.

“I’m getting annoyed,” he announced.

Sighing, Jen got out of the car. “I doubt you’re as annoyed as I am.”

Her brother’s blue eyes softened. “I’m just trying to look out for you. Maybe I’m overreacting, seeing a threat where I shouldn’t, but I won’t take chances with your safety. Until Brendan is gone, I refuse to leave you unprotected.”

An arrow of guilt pierced her chest. Carson sounded so genuinely concerned that she felt like an ass for the way she’d bitched at him all morning. “I know. I’m sorry I’m being such a brat.”

“’S’all good. I’m used to your brattiness.”

He reached out and tugged on the end of her ponytail, the way he’d always done when they were kids, and Jen couldn’t help but smile. As infuriating as Carson could be, he was still her big brother and she loved him something fierce. Besides, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, he was right. She
didn’t
feel safe. She’d been on edge ever since Brendan started playing these sick games with her, and although she wasn’t convinced her ex would actually cross the line from creepy to violent, she’d definitely breathe easier once he left town.

“Come on, let’s go in,” Carson said, linking his arm through hers.

Jen’s anxiety returned once they entered the building. She wondered how Cash would react when he saw her. If he even remembered her. A guy as good looking as him probably hooked up with ten girls a night. What if she’d just been another one of his faceless conquests?

Lugging her bags, Carson crossed the small, clean lobby toward the stairwell door. “Cash and Matt are on the second floor,” he told her. “But Matt’ll be staying with his girlfriend while you’re here.”

When they reached the second floor landing, Carson led her to a door at the very end of the hall. “Oh, and Ryan and Annabelle live upstairs,” he went on. “So if you want to do any girlie things, just call Annabelle. You met her, right?”

Jen nodded. Although she’d yet to meet her brother’s newer teammates, she knew most of the older ones well, along with their wives and girlfriends. Out of all the women, Annabelle Holmes was her favorite. They’d gone out for dinner a few times, and she’d hung out with the sarcastic brunette at Carson’s thirty-fourth birthday party last month, so it was a relief knowing that Annabelle would be nearby.

“By the way, I told Mom and Dad that your apartment is being fumigated,” Carson added. “So if they call, tell them you were overrun with ants.”

“Ants?
That’s
what you came up with?”

He shrugged. “First thing that popped into my head.”

They reached the door, which Carson opened without bothering to knock first. “McCoy,” he called. “Come say hi to Jenny.”

She cringed. Of course, he just
had
to refer to her by the name she hadn’t used since grade school.

As Carson dropped her two huge suitcases on the hardwood floor with a thump, Jen examined her surroundings. The apartment looked like a typical bachelor pad—no surprise there. It featured an open-concept layout, with a spacious living room boasting a black leather couch, two big armchairs, a flat screen mounted on the wall, and an entertainment system that screamed
man cave
. A small kitchen with stainless-steel appliances and an eat-in counter took up the other side of the room, next to a dining area with a big glass table and a shelf lined with an assortment of beer glasses. Her gaze flicked to the corridor in the back, which she deduced led to the bedrooms.

When footsteps thudded from the vicinity of that corridor, her pulse kicked up a notch, then took off in a mad sprint at Cash’s appearance.

Oh boy. He was as gorgeous as she remembered. Actually, even more gorgeous, because instead of a leather jacket, today he wore a black T-shirt that clung to his massive chest and revealed his bulging biceps. Jeez, he had great arms. Tanned, sinewy, roped with muscle. The kind of arms you wanted pinning you down while those trim hips pumped into you.