Page 20 of Deception and New Direction (Ranger Shield Security #3)

RUTHIE

We pulled into a steakhouse, which was a bit nicer than I was expecting, and that made me nervous. It wasn’t that I felt out of place because of how I was dressed—you could always go to a southern-style steakhouse in jeans and never be out of place. It made me nervous because it felt like a date.

We sat down and ordered our drinks before I perused the menu, since I had never been here before.

“What sounds good?” Jack asked me.

He probably expected me to pick a salad or something dainty, but that wasn’t who I was.

“Definitely steak. Just trying to figure out which side to go with—asparagus because it’s healthy, or loaded baked potato because it sounds better.”

He chuckled. “ What cut of steak is your favorite?”

“Probably ribeye. It’s a little fatty but worth it—kind of like me,” I said then quickly held up my hand before he could interrupt.

“ Stop . I know you’re going to say I’m not fat, because all guys say that.

It was a little self-deprecating humor, Jack .

I’m not body-shaming myself, though I do miss being able to go to the gym and do kickboxing class or run after work—neither of which I have been able to do since getting my cast.”

Knowing he would still step in to say something, because that was the type of guy he was, I decided to change the subject. “ What’s the weirdest thing you’ve googled lately?”

“Can a greyhound dog eat an entire stick of butter and still live a normal life?” Jack responded looking sheepish.

I gasped. “ Dash ate an entire stick of butter?”

“More like two-thirds, but according to the internet, he will be fine,” Jack responded, his head slightly downturned, as if embarrassed Dash ate something bad under his watch.

I didn’t get too upset about it because Dash ate weird things all the time—sticks, pinecones, dandelions. There was nothing off-limits to my weird dog.

“What about you?” Jack asked. “ What the weirdest thing you’ve googled lately?”

“Can stress make you grow taller? I feel like short people would want to know that.” I grinned, making it obvious that the short person was me.

He laughed but didn’t say anything, so I asked a new question—a more challenging one. “ What’s a secret you’d never admit on a first date?”

He leaned forward, his elbows on the table as he thought about how to answer that. “ I can kill a man with my bare hands in less than eight seconds.”

I knew he was in the military and that he had even been Special Forces , so I knew he could be deadly when needed, but I hadn’t realized he could kill someone so fast.

Our server came to take our order before Jack returned to ask me the same question. “ Your turn. Secret you’d never admit on a date.”

“I sleep with my dog and cuddle him,” I told him.

He shook his head at me. “ That’s lame and not a big deal at all. Something else. Something you wouldn’t want a man to know. A man you were highly interested in and would be mortified if he knew.”

I swallowed, knowing exactly what I would say but not sure if I wanted Jack to know this. I thought about it and decided, Screw it . “ I have three different B.O.B.s , and I use them frequently.”

At his confused face, I realized I would need to explain more. “ B.O.B .— Battery Operated Boyfriend .”

Once realization dawned on him, I chuckled at the look on his face. It was a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and lust.

“Next question. What are…” I began to ask before he cut me off.

“Oh no, no, no. You don’t get to stop there,” he said, holding his hand up. “ I need details. All the details. Every last one. Don’t hold back on me.”

I chuckled as I sat back in the booth with my arms crossed, giving him my best nice try, but not going to happen face. “ No way, pervert. That’s all you’re getting.”

I was saved by the server bringing our food out and dove into my meal with abandon.

* * *

When we got back to Jack’s house, we both walked in to a very excited greeting from Dash , who sniffed us up and down, trying to investigate where we had been.

“I’m going to let him out,” Jack said. “ Why don’t you go get ready for the night and meet me in my bed and we can watch a movie?”

Did he just insinuate we were going to have sex again ? Don’t get me wrong… I enjoyed sex with Jack , but I didn’t care for men who just assumed that because you slept with them once that it would automatically happen again.

“Sweetheart, I’m not going to force myself on you or make you do anything you don’t want to do. I like women who are mutually attracted to me, want to spend time with me, and find me to be a nice guy. I don’t need to force it.”

Oh. Now I felt bad for assuming his intentions.

“Ruthie, you’ve had an intense day. If all we do is just lie in bed, relax, and fall asleep, I’m good with that.”

I felt guilty. I didn’t want him to think I thought badly of him.

“Jack, you are a nice guy. I just… With everything going on, I don’t want to complicate things more.”

Yeah, that sounded believable.

“Is that all this is about? Or do you just not want to take the risk of letting your emotions get involved?” he asked, and it irritated me that he could read me like a book.

I didn’t want him thinking that this was about my fear of emotional attachment—even though it absolutely was.

If I were being honest with myself, I wanted to sleep next to him again. Jack gave me a level of peace while I slept that I hadn’t known before, and after the day we had at my granddad’s today, I needed it, so I gave in.

After he let Dash out, we got ready for bed, and I assumed the position sandwiched between dog and male and fell asleep quickly and peacefully.