Tempt Me (Semper Fi Marines)(9)

       
           



       





Chapter Seven



It had been two days since she had seen Jesse and she was jonesing a  little for the Marine. Damn man probably did it on purpose. Hell, he  probably set up his TDY, or whatever he called it.

She was about to hunt up Joey to see if she wanted to go shopping for some paint supplies when her phone rang.

Jesse.

She waited a couple of rings-no reason to make him think she had been sitting here waiting for a call-and then picked it up.

"Hey there, Marine."

He chuckled and she felt her heart flutter. Damn, this was not a good sign. "Hey there yourself. How are you doing today?"

"Eh. I am avoiding thinking about getting my cast off."

"Ah, you're getting your cast off today."

The way he said it made her suspicious.

"Yeah, this afternoon. Aren't you in some kind of meeting?"

"We have a break."

There was a brief pause and she didn't know what to say. They had a few  of these conversations on the phone and there were always times like  this. It was if both of them were trying so hard to keep it light, that  they had to think too much before speaking.

"So, I hear from Kianna the saying is what happens on TDY stays on TDY."

He chuckled again. "Yeah, a lot of them use that. But then, I'm hanging  around a bunch of old men talking budget. It should stay on TDY because  it's so boring."

She smiled to herself and leaned back down on her bed. "Sure, sure. Like  I don't know they are all going out to party and you have to be their  wingman. They will use you as the bait."

He laughed. "I don't even want to think about helping some of my father's contemporaries get laid."

"What, you think your father doesn't get a little action? I've seen him. He's an attractive man."

"Now you're just creeping me out. Stop it."

"Okay."

Another pause. "What else do you have on the agenda today?"

"I am thinking of going art supply shopping."

"Gonna try out the arm?"

She said nothing because, now that she thought about it, she realized just how worried she was.

"Yeah."

There was a pause and being true to fashion, he picked up on it. "Hey, you're going to be just fine."

"The doc said that I might have some fine motor skills issues."

"Worrying about it isn't going to make it better."

"Thanks. I hadn't thought of that." She didn't even try and hide her sarcasm.

"Hey, are you worried about that?"

She sighed. "Not really. They said it would be very minor, even if I did have problems."

She was worried more about the fact she might not be able to sit down  and actually sculpt again. She hadn't gone this long without  working-ever.

"I'm sure it will all work out. And besides, I'll be back in a few days to give you inspiration."

"Are you saying that your body should inspire me to sculpt?"

"Of course."

He said it with enough humor she knew he was joking. She didn't sculpt  people that often, but Jesse would definitely be one that would be worth  the time and effort. She didn't know many men with his physique. Not  personally. There was Gee, but well, he was like her brother and that  was gross.

"And you are okay with doing it nude?"

"I thought that was a given."

"Oh, I see."

"What?"

"You're doing this just to get naked in front of me."

"Well, if I'm willing to do that, I think that should tell you I'm pretty comfortable with my nudity."

"What man isn't? Most of you like to parade around naked."

"That's true, but not before we've seduced you. The fact that I am  willing to do it before that … well, that should tell you something."

She couldn't help but laugh out loud at that comment. She'd met a lot of  military men in her life. Hard not to with a sister married to one and  living close to a base. Some had been flirty but if someone had told her  Jesse would have been so sweet and teasing, she never would have  guessed it. He seemed too intense.

It made her wonder about the way he acted in bed. It would definitely be worth the ride.

There was a knock bringing her out of her lewd thoughts. The door opened and Joey poked her head through the opening.

"Time to go, sweetie."

She nodded and Joey winked before shutting the door. "I have to go. Cast cutting time."

"Oh." He sounded genuinely concerned.

"So, you'll be back tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, unfortunately late. I don't land at National until after midnight."

"Text me when you land."

"I have a feeling you'll hear from me before that."                       
       
           



       

"Still, remember to text me."

"Okay. Good luck."

She hung the phone up, then slipped on her sandals, to head out the  door. When she reached the kitchen, Joey was waiting for her.

"Jesse doing okay?"

She nodded. "He said he'll be back late tomorrow night."

Joey sighed as she led Zoe out the door to the garage. "I don't miss those days. Once I had the boys, it was even worse."

"I guess Papa was gone a lot considering his career field."

"Yes, and what was harder was when he returned. The active duty spouse  forgets that life goes on while they're gone. Rules and schedules are  set, and they come home and blow them to smithereens," Joey said as she  walked around the car. "Worse, it's emotionally stressful for everyone."

"But you wouldn't have changed anything."

Joey stopped and smiled at Zoe. "No way. Okay, I would have given up  Vince breaking his arm while Stewart was TDY. But, no, I can't think of  my life any other way. I won't lie to you. There was a lot of it that  sucked. Loneliness is something that can't be soothed when your spouse  is half a world away and unable to call because of the mission-even with  four boys to keep you busy. But the experience was worth it."

When Zoe heard the tone in Joey's voice, she shook her head. "Don't get any ideas. Jesse and I are just dating."

Joey nodded. "Yeah. I was doing the same thing with Papa all those years ago."

* * * *

Jesse nerves jumped when the doorbell rang a half hour before Zoe said  she would be there. He took a calming breath and headed toward the door.  The way he was behaving, you would have thought he wasn't in his  thirties with a lot of dating experience. Not that he had that much in  the last few months. With work and family obligations, it had been hard  to schedule the time.

He drew in a deep breath and opened the door. When he found his father standing there, he blinked.

"Dad?"

He was still in his uniform as he stood smiling at him. The rain pattered on the pavement behind him.

"Hey, there, Jess. Got a few minutes for your dad?"

Crap, this could only be bad news. Their father didn't show up unless  there was something wrong. Sure, they worked in the same building, but  the Pentagon was like a small town of people too busy to stop and  chat--unless it was work related.

"Sure. Come on in."

He stepped back and let his father into his house. After taking his  coat, Jesse led him into the kitchen. His father took one look at the  tiny dining table set for two and rolled his eyes.

"MJ always says I have the worst timing in the world."

Jesse smiled. "You've got plenty of time. Want a glass of wine?"

He shook his head. "I just wanted to stop by on my way home, see how you were doing. You weren't at work today."

"Yeah, I didn't want to get caught with Use or Lose Leave at the end of  the fiscal year. Plus, I got back from the trip very late last night.  This crappy weather had me stuck in Chicago for two extra hours."

His father nodded.

"You don't mind if I keep an eye on dinner. I bragged about my cooking  skills so if I burn it, I don't think she'd let me hear the end of it."

"I didn't know you were dating anyone."

And that was the nature of their relationship. Being the oldest in a  family of four was kind of hard on a guy. Being the oldest with a Marine  as a father was downright painful. There had always been a strain  between them. They both got their news about each other from other  sources.

"Not really seriously dating yet. You know Gee's wife has a little sister?"

His father nodded.

"She's up here visiting the Santinis and we've been spending time together."

"Oh, that's right. The artist."

He said it with enough disgust that it pulled a chuckle from Jesse.  "Yeah. And I would advise you not to say it like that if you are around  Joey."

"Noted. So, how long is she here for?"

He took a moment to stir the sauce and turn on the water for the pasta.  It was odd getting questions like this from his father. It had been  years since he had directly asked him about his love life.

"Not sure. She had some issues down in Savannah, so Joey made her come here."