Then silence.
Millie retreated a step. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, and her abdomen turned over.
Scott turned around. His wild blue eyes contrasted with his calm expression, and his hands remained loose at his sides. “Are you okay?”
Her mouth gaped open. What in the heavens just went down?
Chapter Seven
Scott drove back to Millie’s farmhouse almost in a daze, his mind spinning. Soon, he found himself seated at the comfortable kitchen table again with her looking at his bruised and busted knuckles, the dog snoring at his feet. Apparently the dog’s day with JT had tired him out. “I’m not hurt.” Scott attempted to catch her gaze.
She leaned down. “I think you hit Silas in the mouth. Do you have any idea how much bacteria is in anybody’s mouth, much less a creep like that?”
The humor in her question caught him and he smiled. “I guess I never thought about it.”
“Hmm.” She moved toward a cupboard next to the pantry. “Let’s see.” She placed her palm flat against the wall and a panel slid open.
“Hey,” he said. “That’s pretty cool.”
She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “Oh, this whole house is decked out. I’ll show you some of it.”
He had wondered. She was pretty much the Q of the Deep Ops team, and he had figured she had some fun gadgets of her own. It was yet another engrossing aspect to her personality. “Millie?” he asked. “I hope I didn’t scare you.” The last thing in the world he wanted to do was frighten her.
She reached far back in the cupboard and drew out bandages and a blue spray can. “I felt no fear.” Turning, she walked toward him and took his hand.
Her touch nearly awakened the primal fighter he camouflaged with high-end suits. It was the first time she had really touched him. The sensation burned right through his skin to somewhere deeper, and he fought the real urge of taking her to the floor. “Are you sure?” he asked.
She sprayed the knuckles of his right hand. Pain instantly flared up his arm, but he didn’t tense. She leaned over and blew gently on his injuries, and he tensed a lot, his cock jerking wide awake, ready to play. “I figured you were in the JAG Corps in the service,” she said, looking up, her eyes an indigo blue.
“No.” He shook his head. “I became a lawyer after my honorable discharge.” Upon leaving the service, he’d been lost, and instead of burying himself in vodka or drugs, he’d forced his brain to learn something new. The law proved strategic and fascinating, and he had found himself again. Mostly.
“Did you go to school on the GI Bill?” She gently wrapped a bandage across his knuckles to fasten on the edge of his hand.
“No,” he said. “I mean, I would have, but I had enough saved up.” Truth be told, he had the trust fund of all trust funds. But he sounded like an ass when he said that, so he rarely did.
She leaned back and studied her handiwork. “I probably shouldn’t ask, but what did you do in the military?”
He rarely discussed his time in the service, but he didn’t want to close her off since she seemed curious. They needed to communicate so he could get her out of this mess. “I was in FORECON, and an expert in amphibious reconnaissance,” he said quietly, memories slamming through him, pushing all thoughts of the law out of his brain.
She dropped into a kitchen chair. “You were in the Force Reconnaissance for the marines?”
“Yeah.” Her surprise tickled him. “Had a mission go wrong and nearly drowned. If I’m having a nightmare, it’s either about that moment or the recent one with my being shot.”
“You’ve been through a lot. Your fortitude is impressive.” She looked him up and down. “I figured you were born in a suit.”
No need to lie to her now. “Close enough.”
“I see.” She checked out his other hand, decided it was good enough without intervention, and returned her supplies to the secret cabinet, which shut instantly.
Roscoe sneezed twice on Scott’s boot, looked up at him, then shoved himself to all fours. He looked around and wandered over to nudge Millie with his wide head.
She chuckled and rubbed his ears. “You just ate, buddy.”
“Why do you have a secret cabinet of bandages?” Scott asked, as curious as ever about her.
She rolled her eyes. “It’s not secret. I just like...” Her voice trailed off.
“Contraptions,” he supplied.
