Her Marine Read Free Page B

name.”
    Brody nudged the plate again and she picked up the cheesy appetizer. Dipping it once into marinara sauce, she lifted and ate it. Aware of his approving gaze, she chewed thoughtfully.
    “Good?” He spun the plate until the sticks faced him and the potato skins were closer to her.
    Everything smelled good. It was all terrifically bad for her, but her stomach didn’t give a damn about nutritional value. Finished with her first selection, she picked up a potato skin and two barbecue wings to add to her plate. She couldn’t help another smile at his nod.
    “Yes. I am such a mess.”
    “You’re hungry and you’re nervous, and I’m a complete stranger. But that has its benefits, too.”
    He was just so damn matter-of-fact. He picked up one of the barbecue wings and ate his way through it with absolute neatness. She watched his lips move against the saucy skin. They were firm, determined, and sumptuous. Especially when his tongue flicked out to lick his lips. Her calf relaxed fractionally as his leg leaned on hers. Or maybe her leg was leaning against his.
    “Besides looking at a living piece of art, I’m not sure what the benefits are.”
    He stared pointedly at her plate and she let out a little huff then picked up the potato skin, nibbling the edge until the flavors of crisp potato, melted cheese and bacon caressed her tongue.
    “You can say anything you want, I’m not going to judge. You don’t have to see me tomorrow. There’s a lot of freedom when it’s only about tonight.”
    “But you came here for sex.” She said the word “sex” a lot louder than she intended as the music chose that moment to dip into a low note. Heat filled her face and she covered her mouth.
    His soft laughter stroked her from across the table. “I came here to meet a beautiful woman, listen to some sweet music, and eat dinner.”
    “I guess two out of three isn’t bad.”
    “This can be dinner, it all depends on what you’re in the mood for.” His mouth quirked and she heard the gentle rebuke. He wasn’t letting her get away with dismissing her own looks. But she knew she was far from glamorous like the women on stage, or as provocative as the women dining around him. Heck, the waitress looked more seductive than she did.
    Why hadn’t she worn a dress? Or something more attractive?
    “You’re too nice.”
    He shrugged. “I don’t have time for pretty words or empty compliments.” He added more food to her little plate before wiping his fingers on a napkin and taking a drink of his beer. “Do you want something else to go with this? Steak? Chicken? Fish?”
    “What is it with you and food?”
    “You’re nervous. Which means you probably didn’t eat much today. You’re cold. Which means your system is crashing. You’re sweet. Which means you are sitting there feeling bad about not being something else instead of just relaxing and being who you are. Food can help with two of those and we’ll work on the rest. Now, eat.” The conviction and honesty in his words laid her soul bare and she reacted to the order.
    Again.
    She picked up a barbecue wing with both hands and turned it around in her fingers before taking a bite. Brody was right. He was a stranger. He’d come there, vetted by 1Night Stand, just like she had been. He wasn’t a crazy or a psychotic. He was beyond kind, orders notwithstanding. But she didn’t even reject the command in his tone, if anything it just made him sexier.
    “I was raped.” She admitted this to the chicken wing, careful not to look at him. “I don’t remember it. I don’t remember him. I don’t even remember who it could have been.” The words slid out of the rusty vault on a hint of tears, but she blinked them back. Five years of therapy might finally pay off. “I was at a party and then I woke up, in my own dorm room, naked, used, and bruised. No one saw me leave with anyone, and no one reported anything amiss. It took me three days to even call it in and by then it