Page 41 of All Twisted Up
“Forks are in the drawer right next to the stove and there’s some salsa in the fridge if you want it. Oh, and also, some red grapefruit juice if you want that. Sorry. That’s the only kind of juice I drink.”
“No problem. I love red grapefruit. How about glasses?”
“I’ll get them.” I watched him pull a couple of juice glasses from a painted, antique sideboard behind the small dining table and set them down.
“Thank you.” I grabbed the other items, noting the green avocado salsa was the one I liked from Vallarta market. The closest one to West Hollywood was all the way in Burbank which meant he had to travel out of his way to buy it. Oddly enough, I did the same thing since I could always count on a wide variety of fresh produce as well as their homemade, signature salsa bar with a ton of varieties.Huh. I brought the things to the table as we took our seats. The food looked and smelled wonderful. “God, I really am starving.”
He smiled at me. “Dig in.”
I pulled the top off the salsa and put a couple of spoonfuls on top of my eggs before handing him the carton, watching as he did the same. We ate happily for a few seconds before I pointed to him with my fork. “I’m sorry I interrupted you earlier. You were telling me about the guys on your team. You have a medic too, right?”
He nodded. “That’s Alain Joy. He’s also former SAS.”
I repeated his name slowly. “Alain Joy. Let me guess. You call him Almond.”
Nash grinned. “Now you’re catching on. But seriously, Joy is the sweetest guy. He’s the most soft-spoken of our group and a real gentleman. It’s rumored he’s a titled British aristocrat.”
I nodded as I ate. “That means he’s in the British line of succession somewhere?”
Nash chuckled. “Yeah, like if the King, all his relatives, and a hundred British lords all died at the same time.”
I laughed, loving the easy conversation we were having as we cleaned our plates. After a few minutes, I sat back patting my stomach. “That was amazing. Thank you so much.”
“You’re welcome.” He paused, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he sat back. “We have two new team members but they’re away at the moment…on their honeymoon in fact.”
“Their honeymoon?” I thought about that, trying to make things add up before I asked. “They’re married to each other?”
He nodded. “Yes, Miguel Huerta is our tracker. He’s also a RECON Marine, and his new husband, Raven Mathis, is a civilian. He’s the only civilian on the team without a military background. He’s also a tracker and he works at a desk these days, rather than out in the field with the rest of us.” Heeyeballed me. “Are you surprised that we have two married guys on our team?”
“Not really…just that Captain Sorensen is okay with two gay guys being on the team, especially when they’re married.”
“Yeah, he doesn’t care about that. He hires the most capable guys, that’s all.” He looked thoughtful. “Anyway, that’s my whole team other than the Viking himself.”
I furrowed my brows. “The Viking?”
“Captain Sorensen. He’s a former Green Beret.” He made a gesture like he was pulling at a long beard.
“Oh, of course. The Viking. Well, the name really suits him.” Of course, their team leader with the horrendous scar down his face was a Green Beret. It totally suited him and almost added to his intense looks. I thought for a minute. “Oh, that’s why you call him Candy…all the nicknames, I mean.” Something occurred to me as I mentally did a checklist of all the men his team. “Wait, you never told me your nickname.”
He grinned and I noticed how the expression made his pretty hazel eyes dance. “Twizzler, at your service.”
I laughed. “Twizzler…twisted,huh?”
He waggled his eyebrows. “You could say that. I’m all twisted up.”
I watched him closely as he left the statement hanging in the air. It seemed he wasn’t going to elaborate and somehow, I wasn’t sure I really wanted him to. I watched as he collected our plates in silence and then stood, taking them to the sink. I picked up my juice, downing it in one go as I contemplated the interest my groin had suddenly taken during our conversation. For several reasons, I was almost sure living in close quarterswith this enigmatic man was going to leave me with a hard on all the damned time.
Fuck.
Chapter Eleven
NASH
By the time we’d cleaned up the breakfast dishes and Marvin’s bowl, I was restless, unused to doing not a whole lot. I hadn’t been kidding when I’d said Candy made sure we spent a hell of a lot of time at one sort of training or another.
As Joshua settled down on the couch with a book, and Marvin curled up at his side, I checked messages on my phone. I’d noticed there were six on my home answering machine but hadn’t played them. I didn’t care about any of them and frankly, didn’t want Joshua to hear them. I’d eventually listen to them, but not until Joshua was in the shower or closed up in the bedroom where he wouldn’t overhear flirtatious guys leaving messages asking to hook up.
The very idea of sharing that part of my life with him bothered me. Since he’d turned out to be a really nice guy and not the young club kid I’d originally guessed him to be, it somehow felt wrong to let him know I had an active social life. Joshua was twenty-seven, an age where he should be going out and getting laid every night of his life, but instead, he held down two jobs, and by all accounts, was a great provider for his family.
