Page 29 of Trusting a Warrior

“Hey, frogman.” Lani stood framed in the brightly lit entryway, the smile on her face warm and welcoming. “Come on in.”

His heart tripping a mile a minute, Geo stepped inside, an uncharacteristic shyness stealing his tongue.

“Are those for me?” She reached for the bouquet of carnations he clutched, and with a sheepish grin, he passed them over.

“For you, from me and Bosch. He sends his regards, by the way. Said he’d totally be here, but he’d rather have a spa day.”

She giggled. “Bath and toenails?”

“Exactly. They might even throw a massage in there, who knows?”

“Sounds amazing.”

They grinned at each other, and then her gaze drifted over him, all the way down to his shoes. Geo tugged at his shirt collar. “Is this okay? I wasn’t sure what you wanted to do tonight.” He grimaced. “Guess when I texted, I should’ve asked.”

“Well—”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Did you have something in mind? Tell me.”

“Let me get these in some water and we’ll talk about it.”

Lani’s apartment was small, but homey and comfortably messy. His nervousness evaporated as he took in the mismatched furniture, the hoodie thrown carelessly over the back of a chair. For someone who lived in a barracks room and carried most of his life in a duffel bag, the casual vibe of her home put him completely at ease.

As did Lani herself. Her hair twisted up in a loose bun, she wore a pair of drawstring linen pants and a white tank top, no makeup that he could see. As unobtrusively as possible, he checked out her tummy. Maybe there was the tiniest bit of roundness there, but if he didn’t know she was pregnant, he didn’t think he’d be able to tell just by looking.

In the kitchen, she dug a vase out of a cabinet and started to fill it with water. “I’m not really a wine-and-dine kind of girl, so I thought maybe we could eat here? I love to cook.” She smiled. “But since you’re dressed to go out, I’m totally fine with that, too.”

A great wave of relief washed through him. “Staying in sounds amazing, and it just so happens I have a change of clothes in my gym bag. Be right back.”

He jogged down to his truck and grabbed the duffel stashed behind the seat, which contained a faded Metallica T-shirt and a pair of cargo shorts, along with some beat-up leather slides.

“Ah, much better,” he exclaimed when he emerged from her tiny bathroom. “Not that I didn’t enjoy trying to look nice for you...” His voice trailed off, and he winced.

Real smooth there, pal.

“Go ahead and wash your hands.” Her eyes sparkling with laughter, Lani pointed toward the sink, then carried the vase of carnations to the table. “These are beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he mumbled as he scrubbed up. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d bought anyone flowers, and the pleased smile on her face made him glad he’d given in to the impulse.

“So you ready to pitch in?” She picked up a bowl covered with plastic wrap and waved him toward a wooden cutting board. As he watched, she pulled off the wrap and tipped a large, smooth dough ball out onto the board. “Punch that down for me, and then knead it, okay?”

“Punch it down...?” Geo glanced over at her dubiously. “Like, punch it?”

“Yep.” She balled up her fist and slammed it firmly into her other palm. “Punch it.”

Still skeptical, he poked at the dough tentatively with his knuckles. “What does that do?” When he continued to hesitate, she stepped up next to him and gave the dough a quick, sharp jab right in the middle. It instantly deflated.

“See? Punch it.” She grinned at him, and for the first time, Geo noticed she had a smear of flour on her nose and down one cheek. Those pesky butterflies winged to life all over again.

He gulped. “So how do I knead it?” He pushed the dough around with his fingertips. “Like this?”

“No, like this.” She reached out and put her hands over his. “Squeeze it. Work it around.” She demonstrated the motion with him, her grip strong. “Put your back and forearms into it.”

Her body brushed against his, their fingers practically entwined. Her touch, and the bird’s-eye view of her full breasts squeezing together and releasing with her movements soon had him rock hard and aching. He pressed closer to the counter to hide it, teeth gritted, mentally ordering his cock to behave.

“That’s good.” She released him and wiped her sticky hands off on a towel. “You’ll do that for about ten minutes while I work on the salad dressing.”

Geo kneaded as if his life depended on it while Lani moved briskly around the small kitchen, measuring, whisking. When she bent over at one point to peer in the fridge, the sight of her rounded bottom in the air tightened his pants all over again. He snapped his gaze back to the dough.