“He didn’t ask her yet,” Colt muttered. “No need to get all testy about it. Nobody broke the rules… yet.”
For fuck’s sake, why were his brothers a bunch of assholes and either trying to rush him—or maybe it was to warn him—away from her? He lashed out, catching Colt’s left cheek. “Are you busy tonight?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“You are now.” Gunnar stepped back. “I’m taking Jorja on a date, and you, asshole… you are manning the phones.”
“About fucking time.” Colt dropped his fists and ducked his head to one side, barely avoiding Gunnar’s next volley of hits. “She’s by the pool.”
He stared after Colt when his brother just walked away. If he didn’t know any better, he’d think he’d just been tricked somehow, or that he’d just managed to agree to something which he hadn’t planned on happening.
Right.
Use that as your excuse.
Maybe you’ll even convince yourself that you were right.
He hurried through a fast shower, then took the path which led to the garden. He barely remembered to duck his head going under the curve topped door which led to the pool and pushed through the trees.
“Find those eyes which just popped out of your head and put them back in.”
He yelped the most unoperator-like yelp ever when Talon’s whisper came from the shadows under the trees. “Asshole.”
Talon huffed and stepped forward. “She’s fine. Didn’t attempt to leave.”
“I didn’t think she would.”
“Colt did.”
“Colt is a dick,” Gunnar replied, his eyes locked onto Jorja where she lay on her stomach with a device in her hands. “What’s she doing?”
“What’s it look like?” The dumbass was implied in his tone. “What does any woman do at the pool? She swam for a bit, floated for a bit, and now she’s reading.”
“Smartass.” He nodded at Talon. “I’ve got this from here.”
Talon nodded and he and Zombie left. While it was awesome that they’d kept an eye on her, he’d like to think it hadn’t been needed. Jorja had promised him she’d stay. He didn’t think she’d break her word just because he’d pissed her off—again.
Gunnar stepped out from the cover of the trees. “Jorja?”
She turned on the lounger and smiled at him. “Hi—um—Remi said it was okay for me to be here.”
“He tossed you out of the war-room, huh?” Gunnar ignored the angry jolt of pain in his thigh to sink onto his haunches in front of her, and without thinking he smoothed back some of the hair which curled around her temple. “Don’t worry about it. Remi throws all of us out of there at least once a week.”
“Hah.”
“I have something to ask you.”
“Go on.” She looked at him warily, as if she was bracing herself for an impact, and it hurt something deep inside him.
Shit, he’d made her afraid of him. But he forged ahead with the plan anyway. “Will you play hookey with me?”
“Huh?”
Gunnar cupped her face and tilted it upward until their noses skimmed past each other. “I was an ass earlier. Will you let me make it up to you by taking you to dinner?”
He felt her exhale as a rush of hot air brushed across his lips, but refused to try and coax her into it.
Kissing her would be a bad, bad idea. Hot. Sexy. Erotic as fuck. But he insatiately knew it would mostly be a bad idea. Instead, he waited for her to process his request.
