I laughed. The other commanders grumpily referred to Shaw Kincaid as our battalion overachiever. He worked damn hard to stay in top physical condition. Well, we all did that, but Shaw just did it with a little more intensity than the rest of us. He liked to add more challenges to our daily exercises or sometimes an extra couple of miles to the run.
“Sorry, bro. I have to run home and take care of something before work today, so I’m showering there. I’ll take a raincheck on the extra mile.”
“Wuss.” He shoved at my shoulder in friendly antagonism. “What’re you doing at home? Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah. I just had to leave my car over at Evans’ house, so I borrowed a buddy’s car to drive in this morning. I need to drop it off.”
“Uh huh.” Shaw squinted at me. “Why didn’t you call me? I’d have given you a lift.”
“Ah ...” My mind drew a blank, and all I could think of replying wasbecause I was too busy boning the sexiest chick I’ve met in maybe my whole lifetime, and calling you or any other guy was the furthest thing from my mind.“It was kind of last minute. I didn’t realize Evans was going to end up keeping the car until late last night. I worked it out. Thanks for the offer, though.”
“Yeah.” Shaw still sounded a little suspicious. “So who’s the buddy? The one who lent you his car?”
“Jesus, dude. What’s with the third degree?” I was impatient to get moving, and he was holding me up.
“Nothing. You just seem a little squirrely about it. You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. But I gotta go. I don’t want to be late getting back in.” I started toward the parking lot, mentally willing Shaw to turn around and walk the other way before he saw me get into Samantha’s ancient Ford. Sometimes the guys in the battalion were worse than a bunch of old ladies: they gossiped more, that was for sure. I could just imagine Shaw asking Kade if he knew whose car I was borrowing and then describing it to our friend, who would doubtless recognize it as Samantha’s.
“Okay. See you at the meeting this afternoon.”
Fuck. In my preoccupation with Samantha and our night together—and keeping it a secret—I’d blanked out on Reardon’s situation. The colonel had called us to yet another meeting this afternoon to discuss what was happening there.
“Yeah, see you there.” I echoed his words as Shaw headed in the opposite direction, just like I’d hoped. Well, that was one thing that had gone right; now I just needed to get home, shower and have Samantha drop me back here, preferably somewhere no one would catch us. And of course, I needed to figure out what the hell was going on between the two of us. Was last night just a casual hook-up, or was it the start of something more? And what exactly did I want it to be?
I didn’t have the answers to those questions yet, and I didn’t get any further on solving the problems by the time I’d pulled into my driveway and opened the door to my townhouse.
“It’s me,” I called, feeling a little ridiculous about calling out the greeting in my own house. I wondered if Samantha was still curled up in my bed. A quick glance let me know that she wasn’t in the kitchen or the living room, although spotting the sofa there, with one cushion on the floor, made me smile as I remembered the sight of her body bent over it, her sweet little ass in the air, just waiting for me ...
Taking the steps two at a time, I went upstairs. My bed was empty, which disappointed me for the span of about ten seconds before I realized that the shower was running. Yeah, I’d hoped that Samantha would be waiting for me between the sheets, but finding her wet and willing under the shower spray was even better.
I opened the door cautiously, knocking at the same time, not wanting to startle her or interrupt anything personal.
“Samantha? It’s me. I’m home.” The words sounded even more intimate than I’d expected.
She was standing naked under the showerhead, and she gave a quick gasp, pressing her hand to her heart. “God, Max, you scared the hell out of me.”
“Sorry.” I toed off my shoes and kicked them toward the closet that was attached to the bathroom and then stripped off my shirt. “I called out when I came in the front door, but I guess you were in here already.”
Her hair was wet and plastered against her head. My eyes traveled down her body, to where the drops of water clung to her puckered nipples and ran in intriguing drivels down her flat stomach to the tops of her legs and to her mound. She reached out one hand to wipe a circle clear of the steam on the glass.
“What’re you doing?” She sounded as suspicious as Shaw had.
I peeled off my socks and untied the drawstring to my shorts. “What does it look like I’m doing?” Hooking my thumbs into the waistband, I dropped the shorts and underwear, kicking them away in the general direction of my hamper. “I just got back from PT. Now I need to shower. And that’s what I’m going to do.”
Samantha leaned against the glass, her breasts pressed into it. She passed one hand over her eyes, taking in my naked body, including the erection that I’d been sporting at some level since I’d opened my eyes and found her in my bed.
“Is a shower all you need?” She quirked one eyebrow at me challengingly.
“Hey, I’m an easy guy.” I opened the door and stepped inside, leaning into the spray. “I’m happy to share my shower ... and if the opportunity for something else happens to pop up, I’m flexible.”
“You look sweaty.” She reached for the shower gel, pumping it into one hand. “You probably need some help washing up.”
“Well, timeisof the essence. Of course, anything you can do to speed things along would be appreciated.”
“Oh, are we looking for speed this morning?” Samantha rubbed the gel between her palms, building up a lather. “I should get the job done quickly? Expediently?”
My dick got harder. “Well ... not that fast. I mean ... don’t feel pressured or anything.”
