Tempt Me (Semper Fi Marines)(10)

"What do you mean Joey made-never mind. I know better than to question that issue. Joey Santini is a force of nature."

Then they lapsed into silence.

"Do you want to tell me what you're here for?"

His father sighed. "I wanted to give you a head's up that you've been suggested for a job."

Completely out of character. Being a General's son was one thing, but  they both did not dabble with each other's careers. He had told his  father he would go Army if he didn't keep his nose out of it.                       
       
           



       

"Yeah, and where would this be? And please tell me you had nothing to do with it?"

He held up his hands in surrender. "I was surprised because you're not  really completely qualified for it. If I did dabble, I wouldn't do that  to you."

"So where is it."

"NATO headquarters."

He frowned. "I haven't heard a thing. And I wasn't looking to go back overseas."

He'd been out of the country a lot until recently. With MJ procreating  and now his younger brother married, he wanted to stay close by.

"No, I know you weren't and I wouldn't suggest it completely. It might  be a lot of hard work. And, I'm not sure it would set you on the path to  a star."

There it was once more. He hated it, hated that everyone thought that's  what he wanted. Maybe he bragged about it when he was younger, but Jesse  had changed. Serving in Afghanistan had done that to him. He wasn't the  kind of man who came that close to death and ignored the second chance  he got.

"There is always a chance that my name will never make it to the final list."

His father shrugged. "If you want me to get you out of it, let me know."

"No, just leave it alone."

Another long pause of silence. "Well-"

The doorbell cut his father's comments off. Dammit to hell. It was just his luck that she would show up now. "Give me a second."

He rushed to the front door and pulled it open. Zoe's eyes widened at  the sight of him. "Wow, I had no idea you'd be standing there waiting  for me to show up."

When he didn't respond, her smile faded. "Is everything okay?"

He nodded. He was having issues talking at the moment. Sure, his father  was in the other room, but the only thought that came to his mind when  looking at this woman was he wanted her naked. She was dressed down for  the occasion, nothing spectacular. She'd worn a bright yellow scarf over  her head, a white and yellow flowing blouse and tight jeans. The  umbrella she held was also yellow.

"Yeah, just, my father stopped by."

"Oh."

"Son, I think you need to let the woman off the stoop before she washes away in the rain."

Shit. Now the General was giving him dating advice.

"Sorry," he said, as he stepped back. He took her umbrella and shut the  door behind her. "Zoe Jones, this is my father Bryan Johnson. Dad, this  is Zoe. You met her once before at Gee's wedding."

His father surprised him with a welcoming smile for Zoe as he took her  hand and kissed it. His father. The man who hadn't had a real date … okay  he didn't even know if his father dated. He didn't want to know. But  still, his father was being more charming to Jesse's date than he was.

"Yes, I remember. How are you doing, Ms. Jones?"

Zoe smiled. "Please, call me Zoe."

He nodded then said, "I'll let you two get to dinner then."

"Oh, don't leave because of me. I'm sure Jesse made enough for all of us."

Jesse wanted to say no, but he couldn't be a dick in front of her. And from the smile on her face, she has done it on purpose.

He gave his father a smile. "Sure. Stay for dinner."





Chapter Eight



Zoe didn't know whether to be amused or embarrassed by the situation.  She hadn't expected to deal with a father tonight or the vibes between  the two of them. Something was definitely going on between them. For the  General, as she had heard everyone at the Santinis and Johnsons call  him, he was wonderful with her. Over dinner and then dessert, they  discussed Venice and Milan, and her hopes of going there some day.

"I have got to be going," he said as he rose from his chair, and gave Jesse a look. "My days start early."

"I'm on leave again tomorrow."

His father chuckled. "Okay. Make sure to call Jack. I talked to him  today and he sounded pretty good, but kept going on about some dog."

"That's his neighbor's dog. But I'll call him."

"Good. It was nice to have dinner with you, Zoe. Thanks for humoring me so I could spend some time with my son."

She smiled. "No troubles, sir."

"I'll be right back," Jesse said as he followed his father down the hall.

The murmur of male voices was barely audible over the pouring rain. She  glanced around the room again, taking in the style. It was exactly as  she expected for the most part. Neutral colors, strong bold lines, but  there were other things that caught her attention. Pictures mainly.  There were tons of them littering every surface in the living area and  framed ones on the walls. He seemed to have more pictures of his niece  than MJ probably had. She especially liked the close up of him and the  baby. They were both smiling into the camera with identical grins.                       
       
           



       

But the one that caught her eye was a framed picture on his desk. It was  older and the woman was gorgeous. Stunning in fact. She was dressed  conservatively and holding a small baby boy on her lap. She was in a  swing and laughing, His mother, no doubt and teeny tiny Jesse Johnson.  She smiled and wandered back to the table. It made him even more  attractive to her. It made him human. It also showed he was a  sentimental man. And there was just another point in his favor. A man  who loved his family this much was kind of irresistible to her.

Needing to keep herself busy, she stacked the dessert plates and took them to the sink.

"Hey, you're the guest," Jesse said as he returned. He took the stacked dishes from her hands.

"It's the least I could do after that meal. You do make a mean red sauce."

He set the plates on the counter, then eased his way in front of her.  Comfortable and pleasantly relaxed from the wine, she slipped her hands  up to his shoulders and then twined them around his neck.

"Don't tell MJ. She thinks her red sauce is the best."

She laughed then sighed as he nibbled on her neck. "I liked your father."

"Just what a guy wants to hear when he is trying to seduce a woman."

"No, really. I know you didn't want him to stay, but he wanted to spend time with you so badly."

Jesse sighed and pulled back. "He wanted to talk about an assignment I've been put up for, but I didn't."

"Oh," she said, as he started to nibble on her chin.

"Yeah. We have a strict no butting in on my career policy. And he wanted to try and do that."

"I think he misses you though."

"What?" he asked, but he didn't sound like he expected an answer.

"I think he misses you."

"Why would you say that?"

"Your father spent all night telling stories about you, your brothers  and your sister. He loves you a lot. But...I have a feeling he has  issues with letting you know how he feels. So, that's why he came up  with a reason to come over here and bother you tonight."

"Huh."

"And don't think he didn't have anything else to do. That man probably could have a date every night of the week."

That made him stop and look at her. "What do you mean by that?"

"He has a real Jethro Gibbs quality about him."

"From NCIS?"

"Yeah. Silver fox and all that."

He pursed his lips then said, "This conversation is very disturbing."

She laughed and shook her head. "Just know that he didn't have to come  over here. And he doesn't have to come up with things to do. I am pretty  sure he could date a lot of women."

With that, she started nibbling on his chin.

"You think my dad dates?" he asked.

"Yep."

He grunted. "He never says anything to us."

"Really?' she said, not trying to hide the sarcasm. "You mean a grown  man doesn't sit down and discuss his love life with his son? How odd."

"Hmm."

"Not any odder than a man who is standing in his kitchen with an up and  coming artist from Savannah who is trying to seduce him and he is going  on about his father."

For a second he said nothing, but his eyes darkened. His lips curved into a slow, sexy smile. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." She kissed his chin, then his mouth. "Whatcha gonna do about it, Marine?"

"I'm going to show you just what being taken by a Marine is all about."

He slammed his mouth down on hers. Every hormone in her body started to  hum then scream as he slid his tongue between her lips. Without breaking  the kiss, he lifted her up and plopped her down on the counter. He  skimmed his hands down over her breasts and she moaned against his  tongue. Zoe hadn't realized how much they hurt until this moment. He  flicked his thumbs over her nipples again and she shivered.