Dixie Under Siege (A Warrior's Passion #2) - Natasza Waters Page 0,9
clicked her vehicle fob and the older than dirt BMW sports car beeped and the driver’s door unlocked with a click.
“I’ll follow you home,” he stated.
Dix spied a black Dodge pickup parked at the other end of the narrow lane. A waist-high hedge bled through the mesh fence, separating the alley from a ramshackle house.
“That yours?” she asked.
He lifted his hand and clicked his own fob. The lights on the truck flashed once. Guess that was a “yes.”
“If you don’t want to go home, we can head over to Breakers for a drink,” he suggested. “Looks like you need one.”
Loud music and rambunctious sailors grinding their stuff on the dance floor was the last thing she needed. “I’ll pass. Besides, aren’t you SEALs all about physical fitness and healthy lifestyles?”
He grinned. “I’m healthier than ten athletes put together, Dixie. If I have a beer once in a while, doesn’t mean a one-way ticket to Hell.” He paused. “Believe me, I’ve seen Hell. Many times.”
Dix had recently learned that Navy SEALs were sent on extremely dangerous missions. She’d scoured the internet to learn about the elite force after Josh showed up in her shop months ago. Seeing her old boyfriend had shocked her system, their reunion far from pleasant.
Since that first meeting, he’d kept his distance, although she’d seen him come into the Erotic Bean with other men, probably Special Operators like himself.
“I’m tired, Josh. Some other time.”
Instead of the khaki clothes he’d worn earlier when he’d found out about the notes, he wore Navy slacks, or whatever they called their camouflage-spotted uniforms. Her exposure to the military was negligible. Even though many of her customers worked at the base, she didn’t know the nuances between the Forces.
Regardless, her ex certainly suited the alpha warrior persona and looked hot as hell in a uniform.
“Are you hungry?” he asked.
“I am, but way past exhausted. Crackers and cheese is about all the prep work I want to worry about.”
He grinned and their lengthy hiatus evaporated. The creases around his eyes and across his forehead had deepened over time. Blessed with perfect white teeth, his smile served as a calling card and used to attract every girl in high school. Josh wore his thick, brown hair in a style longer on the top, but short on the sides. Nothing like a buzz cut that many of his ilk wore. At eighteen, he’d been cocky. Now, his assuredness surrounded him like a shield of strength. But she did notice one thing. His dark blue eyes held secrets in their depths. The weight of his experiences in the Special Forces had stolen his innocence. His cocky aura had altered to cautious. An air of calm control radiated from the guy she’d once played with as a girl, then loved as a young woman.
“I’ll pick up some Chinese on the way,” he said.
“Not if it’s deep-fried everything.”
She tried to consume healthy, whole foods. Hamburgers and fries were a naughty indulgence she resisted—most of the time. The same would go for the rapid pulse Josh caused in her veins. Ignoring her sizzling attraction would be the smartest choice.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Head home, I’ll be right behind you.”
When he’d trapped her in the hallway outside her office today and whispered an erotic tale of their future in her ear, a nearly forgotten flame roared through her body. She’d doused her sex-starved libido quickly, but the embers still glowed.
Dix didn’t know him anymore. He didn’t know her.
Sighing, she looked up at him. “I get that you’re a take-action kind of guy. Probably more so now that you’re a SEAL, but staying at my place isn’t necessary. I’ve been dealing with this guy for years. I doubt he’ll reveal himself.”
Josh chuffed out a short laugh. “I humbly disagree. The notes he sent in the past have always indicated a sense of distance. Today’s note took a different turn. A physical one.”
“Do you think he’s watching me all the time?” Her ex-fiancé’s gaze kept circling the buildings, even the rooftops. “He’s a stalker, not a sniper, Josh.”
“What?” The creases next to his eyes deepened and he chuckled. “Get your stubborn ass in the car, Dix.”
After opening the driver’s door, she asked, “Don’t you need my address?”
He shook his head. “Got it already. I’ll be there soon. Any sign of trouble, call me.”
His effort to help her didn’t make sense. They hadn’t parted on good terms all those years ago.
She tossed her clutch purse onto the passenger seat. “No one can