Serving the Soldier - Part 3 (An Alpha Military Romance) Read Free Page B

tried to keep my cool as I stepped toward the stove where the pots of gumbo and rice still sat on the back burner.
    “Are you guys hungry?” I asked, trying to keep the atmosphere as a low-key as possible. I knew that Jax, and most likely the others, would most certainly notice if I appeared nervous, so I had to appear perfectly at ease. That turned out to be more difficult than I would’ve imagined. I hadn’t grown up with brothers and didn’t have much experience hanging around a bunch of guys, and certainly not guys that looked like this.
    “We’re always hungry,” Michael said, still leaning against the garage door frame, arms crossed over his chest and legs crossed at the ankles. Like Henry, his gaze traveled from Jax to me and back again.
    Did he know? I wondered.
    While I made myself busy setting the table and reheating the gumbo and the rice, I listened as they joked around, flirted with me, and then laughed when my face flushed red with embarrassment. There was really nothing I could say, so I didn’t even try. I knew there were teasing, trying to get a rise out of me, and there was nothing I could do about it. I decided to accept it in good humor and laughed along with them when the heat of my face burned so deep that Jakob burst out laughing.
    “Okay, okay you guys, leave her alone. She’s going to pop a vein if we keep teasing her.”
    I turned and shook my head. “It’s okay. I can take it.” I glanced at Jax and saw him smiling. I didn’t see him smile very often, and it was amazing what a difference it made. Too bad he didn’t smile all the time. It completely transformed his persona from a man who had seen too much of war and violence to one who knew how to enjoy the little things in life. I shook myself out of my reverie, thinking that Jax was who he was. He was a soldier. Special Ops, as were the other men in this room, or at least I gathered. As far as I was concerned, they had the typical look of Special Forces, but then again, I could have been wrong.
    I served the guys, giving a look to Michael, who still stood by the garage door, and gestured for him to sit down. I returned to the stove, placing the pot back on the burner. “You guys help yourself to seconds if you want. There’s plenty.”
    “You’re not joining us?” Henry asked.
    Jakob tsked-tsked.
    I smiled. “No, I’m not hungry and you guys have things to talk about.” Liar , I said to myself. “I’ll be up in my room if you need anything.” I realized how that sounded, especially when I saw the grin that passed between Henry and Jakob. Again I felt the heat of a blush and amended my statement. “I mean, just holler, and I’ll be down.”
    Jax nodded and the four of them focused on eating. Not much conversation as I left the kitchen and headed up the stairs. My curiosity got the best of me and I paused at the top of the stairs, wondering if Jax could tell I was still on the landing or if I had ventured further toward my room. I walked to my room and half closed the door, then once again changed my mind. Staying close to the walls, I tiptoed back to the landing. He would have to leave the kitchen and walk down the hallway and look upward and over his shoulder to notice me standing there, so I didn’t think I would be caught eavesdropping.
    More shameful behavior on my part. Now I had resorted to eavesdropping!
    Before long, the topic of conversation turned from food to the attack on Jax and me. Jax described the incident verbatim, not leaving anything out, even complimenting me on how I’d handled the SUV as it left the road. For some reason, I felt a veritable surge of pleasure and pride. He had complimented me!
    “That’s why I called you guys,” Jax said. “We needed to have a powwow.”
    “You didn’t notify the police?”
    “Hell no,” Jax said. “The minute they stick their noses into it, they’d call the Feds and this will turn into a cluster—”
    “We all came in one vehicle, but we were all