Page 18 of Hero of Mine (Men in Uniform 2)

“Well, you should watch it. It is hilarious,” she said.

“I don’t watch chick flicks.”

Her mouth dropped. “You’ve never seen one . . . ever?”

“Why would I?” I have a penis. He didn’t say that, though; he had some tact.

“Maybe with your mom or a sister or a girlfriend—”

“My mom and I watched Disney movies together when I was little, my sister is twelve years younger than me, and I’ve never had a girlfriend.”

Why was she staring at him like he was an alien? “Not even in high school?”

“I dated. We hung out.” We fucked. “But no, I’ve never had someone I’d willingly watch crap for.”

“They aren’t crap. They are funny, entertaining awesomeness, and you are missing out.” She scooted in closer to him, and their thighs touched, sending a jolt of awareness through him. “How are you feeling, buddy?” she asked Duke. “You don’t think that rom-coms are crap, do you?”

Duke made some kind of whimpering growl, and Tyler could have sworn the dog glared at him, clearly choosing sides.

“See, Duke gets it.”

“Only because he’s had his balls snipped.”

Tyler expected her to act like a typical woman and call him sexist or whatever, but she just laughed. “Maybe, or maybe he just likes getting rubs and scratches.”

Unfortunately, her words didn’t play as innocently in his mind as she’d probably meant them, and he imagined letting Dani give him all kinds of rubs and scratches. Just the flash of Dani in his head, her mouth open in a little O as her nails raked down his back, his dick buried inside her warmth, left him with a semi pressing against the front of his jeans.

“How long will his recovery be?” she asked.

Trying to think of anything besides his dirty thoughts, he stood up and took a few steps away from her. “About six to eight weeks.”

“Poor guy. That’s a long time to chill out in a cage.”

“He won’t be stuck in there all the time. He has a cast on, so he should be able to get around okay once the leg heals a bit.”

Dani closed the door and stood up. The way she was looking at him with those deep green eyes made him feel taller, stronger. No one had ever looked at him like that.

“Thank you for what you’re doing for him.”

“It was just a broken leg. He deserved better than to be put down for something that wasn’t his fault.”

Before he knew it, she’d stood up on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “You can shrug it off,

but it proves there’s more to you than you let on.”

She rocked back on her heels, and the heat of her mouth on his skin lingered. His gaze was fastened to those pink, plump lips, and if she had been any other woman, he’d be taking the invitation those parted lips offered.

But nothing had changed. He was the guy with nothing to lose, and she was a mom. Nothing was simple or easy, not where them hooking up was concerned.

“Well, um . . . I should get home. I have work tonight,” she said.

The moment over, Tyler didn’t know whether to feel relieved or to curse.

“How is Noah feeling?”

“Good, actually. No further complications.”

“That’s great. He’s a cute kid.”