Page 6 of Pursuit of Honor

“Yeah, I do.”

“Better not be an inappropriate question,” she warned, narrowing her eyes.

“I didn’t come here to overstep,” he reassured her, holding up his large hands as if to show her he meant no harm. “It’s just...I saw you at the bar counter and couldn’t stop thinking about you. Had to work up the courage to come over here before you disappeared. Didn’t want to lose out on talking to you, darlin’.”

“You had to work up the courage to talk to me?” she asked, unable to hide her amazement. Between his uniform and that air of confidence, she didn’t think anything could intimidate a guy like him. Certainly not her. But now that she could see him up close, she sensed that his confidence masked a type of vulnerability she’d never encountered before.

“See, this is something women don’t seem to understand. Men have to work up the nerve to talk to you,” he told her.

“Even military men?” she asked.

“Are you kidding? If anything, chatting up a pretty girl is harder for us. Everything is like a mission in our heads.”

“So, talking to me is like a military operation?” she pressed. “Am I really that scary?”

“You? Scary?” He took a moment to size her up, his gaze sending her heart fluttering as he took the time to drink her in. “No, you’re not scary. What’s scary is striking out with you. Screwing up my chance. Losing out on getting to know you.”

“Who says you have a chance?” she fired at him as she crossed her arms.

“I might be a schlub, but you haven’t told me to leave yet.”

There it was. That confidence. Not arrogance exactly. Something much more self-assured. Law didn’t seem to believe he was God’s gift, but he did appear to think that he had something to offer.

She smiled in spite of herself. “What did you want to ask me?”

In response, the smile returned to his eyes. The barely scrutable expression on his face hadn’t changed, but she saw every shift in his eyes. Flinty gray had been heated to silver, a combination of blatant curiosity and sense of achievement in those depths. As if he’d been pursuing something and was now on the verge of getting it.

“What I wanted to ask you was, what are you celebrating?”

Oh, that was not what she’d been expecting at all. It wasn’t inappropriate or a lame pickup line. Law’s question was just more evidence that he’d actually, truly seen her. Listened to her while she’d been at the bar counter not fully understanding the depth of his interest in her. Law had distinguished her from all the other girls in the crowd. He’d overheard her mention that she and her sisters were here at Liquid Courage to celebrate, and it seemed to have intrigued him enough to want to talk to her.

Her chest tightened as her temperature rose. Suddenly, she was aware of every part of her body and the way it reacted to him. That was when Piper realized she was in very dangerous waters. Because even though might have been physically safe with Law, her heart was not. In fact, her heart was the furthest thing from safe.

Chapter 3

“What am I celebrating?” Piper repeated to give herself time to regain her composure. With her mouth going dry, she reached for her cocktail and took a fortifying sip. “Nothing really. I sold one of my pieces.”

Renewed interest flashed in his mesmerizing eyes. “What do you mean?”

She set her empty glass back down, but she didn’t release her hold on the stem. “Well, I’m an artist and I sold my favorite piece to a collector—”

“Wait, you’re not kidding, are you? You’re actually an artist?” he interrupted. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say he sounded impressed. Which was ridiculous because the only people who cared about Piper’s art were Piper herself and devoted online fans who had become customers.

“Yes, well, I make mostly fine art ceramics and pottery. Decorative bowls, plates, vases, figurines. That kind of thing. Anyway, it’s taken a while, but word of mouth is finally working and I’ve started to sell more through my online store.” It dawned on her that she was babbling and probably dominating the conversation, so she stopped. This was the opposite of a flirty topic which meant that she was no doubt boring him to death.

“Go on.” He stretched his arm out across the back of her chair, making it easy for her to pretend that he was aiming to wrap his arm around her shoulders.

If she did lean back in her chair, she really could have his arm wrapped around her. He was so close now that she felt the safety of his body. Caught the clean, exhilarating scent of his aftershave. A scent that made her think of fresh ocean air and sea salt.

Anxious from a combination of her usual shyness and this newfound breathless anticipation that had seized her since Law’s arrival, she nervously fiddled with the glass stem. “What?”

“Go on,” he repeated firmly, gaze intensifying to something smoldering.

“Oh, um...” Piper was used to her enthusiasm about her art being politely dismissed by her family. They’d only started to come around now that she’d been steadily making enough money to pay her bills. That was why her sisters had convinced her to come out tonight. To celebrate her sale instead of staying home to work on her art like she often did on Friday nights. “It’s nothing spectacular. I sold a wall plate that I handmade and hand-painted.”

“That’s incredible,” he said in a low tone. “Congratulations.”

“It’s no big deal,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “My crazy dream is to have my creations in homes and stores all over California. Maybe even the whole country. Or the whole world. Like a globally recognized brand.” Piper started to come back down to earth when she realized she’d probably said too much. “I know it’s pretty ridiculous.”