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WORM

W orm is reeling. This snarky, little spitfire has his blood boiling in the best kind of way. His cock has been hard since he first laid eyes on her. Thankfully he’s worn his heavy cargo pants instead of dress pants. He shifts in his seat, trying to discreetly adjust himself to a more comfortable position. Well, as comfortable as a man can be in his condition.

Allison Simpson is an unexpected development in what he’d feared would be a long, boring week. Now, he is more than looking forward to spending the week getting to know the feisty woman. It can’t go anywhere, other than a night, or maybe two, of some stress relief, but he could use a good time for a change. He hasn’t dated anyone or even had a one-night-stand since his dad passed. There’s been too much going on between his job on the team and his obligation to his family.

Worm’s mind drifts back to that awful time. His assigned team had been sent to San Diego for training. He’d been ordered to stay behind, because he’d been on loan to another team at the time. That team had been down a man and needed help. It had turned out to be a blessing even though he’d been disappointed to not be included in the training. If he’d been in California, it would have taken him much longer to reach his family when the accident had happened.

A wave of emotion washes over him, bringing everything to the forefront of his mind. The grief, anger, and fear threaten to overwhelm him if he allows it. He can’t allow himself to feel anything, so he tamps all the emotions down. He doesn’t have time to wallow in grief. His mother and little sisters are depending on him. Nothing will distract him from his duty to family…not even a beautiful, challenging woman.

Daily calls to his mother, sometimes more frequently, had been a necessity, in the beginning. Even though she’s been making improvements, she still needs reminders to manage things at home. So, he’d pushed his grief aside, even after he’d returned to active duty and was alone in his apartment.

Worm has considered turning in his papers several times so he can take care of them, but what would he do for a living? His pay as active-duty special forces is much better than what he’d receive in many secular jobs.

Be patient. He reminds himself. Put in the required number of years and get full retirement from his service. He hopes, in time, his mother will come out of her depression and begin living life again. In the meantime, he makes sure the bills are paid and groceries are delivered to their home, knowing his oldest sister, Leigh, will cook for them when his mom is having a bad day.

“Is something wrong?” Allison’s soft voice draws Worm out of his morose thoughts. Pushing his worries away, he places a grin on his face and glances over at her.

“Not at all, sugar,” Worm answers. “What makes you think something is wrong?”

“Well, you got really quiet all of a sudden,” Allison replies. “I thought perhaps I’d said something that upset you.” He shakes his head immediately, wanting to reassure her. She’d done nothing wrong. It was he who’d allowed his thoughts to drift to things he shouldn’t.

“You didn’t—” He pauses, not sure he wants to expose his secrets, but not wanting to lie to her either. “I was just thinking about why I hadn't been on the trip to San Diego.” Allison shifts to face him better, waiting for him to continue. A puff of air escapes him. He shouldn’t have said anything, but since the cat is out of the bag, he might as well spill it. “I had to take some time off to take care of my family.”

“Oh.” Allison turns to face forward. Her shoulders droop, and her face pinks as she frowns. She facepalms her head, shaking it slightly, muttering something, but he can’t understand her.

“What was that?” he asks, dying to know what is going on in her pretty, little head.

“Nothing,” she mumbles in reply, turning away to stare out the window. Minutes tick by without so much as a glance in his direction. He feels the tension in the air, but doesn’t understand why. Her mood has shifted from friendly to closed off, abruptly.

He has enjoyed their banter and fully intends to keep it going all week. He isn’t going to let her shut down, blocking him out. She may not want to talk to him, but he isn’t going to let her get away with this sudden transformation so easily. No way! Worm is no quitter.

He doesn’t have the right to demand she talk to him. Hell, they don’t really know one another, but he plans on remaining on the team for the foreseeable future and since she is Emma’s cousin, he figures they will be spending more time than just this week together. It’s better to clear the air now, than to let whatever has upset her fester into something that can’t be repaired.

“Come on, sugar,” Worm coaxes. “What’s gotten you in such a mood?” Allison turns to glare at him. Whoa! He’d been hoping he was wrong and reading something into the situation that wasn’t there, but obviously he’d been right. Something had upset her. She opens her mouth, but closes it abruptly. This happens a couple of times, to the point he’s beginning to think she’s just going to keep mimicking a fish and not say anything.

“Ugh!” she finally exclaims loudly, causing him to cringe at the volume. “You!” She points her finger at him angrily. What the hell? What did he do? “Maybe I’m just stupid or read things into our interactions that you didn’t mean, but I’m pretty good at reading people’s intentions, so I don’t think I’m wrong.” She pauses for a breath so he takes advantage to interrupt her tirade before it can continue.

“What are you talking about, sugar?” Worm interjects. Another loud screech leaves her mouth piercing his ears.

“STOP CALLING ME SUGAR!” Allison bellows at him. “This is what I’m talking about!” She points at him accusingly. “You are flirting with me!”

“Yes.” He agrees, evenly, not understanding why she’s upset. “Is that a problem?” She huffs indignantly.

“It is when you have a family!” she exclaims, her tone indicating he’s the most ignorant man alive. “I’m not some home-wrecking whore, Russell Chapman! I have morals and standards.” He is even more confused now than he was when she began yelling at him.

“I honestly don’t know what the problem is,” he confesses as she continues to fume at him.

“You have a wife and kids, but you are flirting with me!” She ends her statement in a tone that indicates a huge duh at the end.

“I don’t have a wife or kids,” he calmly replies, still confused as to where she came to that conclusion. She turns toward him wide-eyed.

“You don’t?” He shakes his head. “But you said you had to take care of your family,” she accuses. Understanding dawns on him.

“My father died unexpectedly, and I had to go home to care for my mom and my sisters,” he informs her. “My mom fell apart when Dad passed. I had to go home to make the funeral arrangements and set things up financially so I could keep everything paid until she’s able to handle them again. She and Dad married when she was barely eighteen. They’d been a couple since they were like fourteen. She couldn’t handle losing him. Some days, she still can’t…” He trails off, the reality of the situation hitting him all over again.

It’s been almost a year, but his mother still isn’t coping very well. He has been very successful at keeping all this shit to himself. He’s denied just how broken his mother is and what it’s doing to his little sisters. Why is he confessing all of this to Allison?

“Oh, Russell,” Allison sighs. “I’m so sorry about your dad and what your family is going through.” She looks at him sheepishly. “I’m sorry for jumping to the wrong conclusion.”

“You were jealous,” he charges, not wanting to discuss the loss of his father or the damage it has done to his family. Allison turns to give him an incredulous look.

“I wasn’t!” she denies, her cheeks turning ruby red, while her eyes shift to the right. All tells that give her away.

“Sugar,” he says, drawing out the pet name, letting her know he knows she’s not being honest.

“It’s rude to point out what we both already know,” she huffs, grumpily, crossing her arms in annoyance. Her lower lip protrudes in a pout. A deep chuckle escapes him, knowing it will likely piss her off even more.

“I like knowing you were upset thinking that I’m taken,” Worm crows with a grin.

“Of course, you do, caveman.” She gives him a shy smile.

“Guilty as charged,” he agrees. “Now about you being jealous…”