Page 12 of Wrong Number Right Grumpy Navy SEAL

“Stay with me tonight.” My voice is raw.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Dahlia pulls me back in, and this kiss is deeper, slower. Her hand cups the side of my face, and her thumb strokes my jaw. My body jolts from a touch that barely weighs anything.

She moves her lips up to my jaw and scrapes her teeth there, light, testing, and my fingers flex hard into the muscle of her thighs. Her lips find the scar on my collarbone and press there, soft and unhurried.

We freeze at the sound of a key in the lock.

Her legs are around me, my hands under her thighs, her shirt on the living room floor, mine somewhere behind the couch.

The door opens and Jared stops. Looks at Dahlia and me, Gerald next to us on the couch. His face turns hard.

“What the fuck is going on?”

CHAPTER 6

DAHLIA

Nobody moves for what feels like an eternity, then everything happens at once.

Cole sets me on my feet and steps in front of me, not hiding but shielding. I clamp my arms over my chest because I’m naked from the waist up and I’m standing in my brother’s living room while he glares at both of us.

Jared drops his bag. He doesn’t look at me. He’s locked on Cole, and the expression on his face is one I haven’t seen since he caught Tommy Devlin trying to look up my skirt in eighth grade. Jared got suspended for punching him. He crosses the room in three strides and gets right in Cole’s face, chest to chest, a vein popping out on his forehead.

“That’s my little sister.” His voice is low and dangerous. “My little sister, Cole. You want to tell me why the fuck you had your hands on her?”

Cole doesn’t step back or flinch. “Jared...”

“No. You don’t get to Jared me right now.” He shoves Cole’s chest, one hard push that barely moves him. “I let you stay in my apartment. I trusted you. And I walk in and she’s on your lap with her—” He stops. His nostrils flare, mouth pressed into a white line. “She’s my sister. She is off-limits. She has always been off-limits.”

“I’m right here, Jared.” I step around Cole. His arm comes out to block me, but I push past it. “Stop talking about me like I’m not in the room.”

Jared’s eyes snap to me and then away because I’m still covering my chest with my arms. Cole hands me his T-shirt from where it was hanging on the back of the couch. I turn around and yank it over my head, smiling as his scent envelops me.

“You weren’t supposed to be back yet,” I say.

“Yeah, well, surprise.” Jared’s voice is tight. “Tony puked on a blackjack dealer. They kicked us out of the hotel, and I drove straight back.” He drags a hand over his face. “Seeing my little sister half-naked on my best friend’s lap is something I need to bleach from my memory. Last fucking thing I ever needed to see.”

“I’m not your property, Jared. I’m a grown woman, and I get to decide who—”

“You got out of a relationship three days ago!”

“Because my boyfriend was cheating on me! For months!” My voice comes out louder than I intended, and I don’t pull it back. “Everyone knew. Maybe every friend I had, and I don’t know who is still my friend besides Marisa. I was the last person to find out, standing in a bathroom stall at his friend’s engagement party while two strangers gossiped about me like I was a punchline.”

Jared’s face changes. He didn’t know that part.

“And the man you’re about to put through a wall is the one who showed up for me when I texted the wrong number in a panic. He drove to a restaurant full of strangers because he got a text from someone in trouble. He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t hesitate. He walked in, found me, and took me to Marisa’s. He helped me move out of Jason’s apartment. He’s made me feel like a person again after two years of living with someone I thought I might marry, but who didn’t respect me enough to break up with me. He cheated instead!” I’m shaking and yelling. I don’t care. “So back off.”

Jared stares at me, then at Cole. His fists are still clenched, but the look in his eyes softens. I know he’s still mad, but he’s also sad for me.

His gaze lands on the couch. Specifically, on Gerald. “What the fuck is that?”

“I took her to the fair,” Cole says.

Jared closes his eyes. Opens them. “You took my sister to the fair.”

“Yes.”