Cockpit: A Second Chance Romance by Joanna Blake Read Free Book Online Page B

important?"
    I shook my head.
    "No."
    "But-"
    I stepped towards him and ran my fingertip down his chest.
    "Do you want to talk? Or do you want to kiss me?"
    He stared at me in the darkness.  
    "Kiss. Definitely kiss."
    I slid both of my hands up his chest to his shoulders and smiled.
    "Good."
    He stared at my lips hungrily as he came closer... closer... with a moan he pulled me against him. I sighed as we came together. Our lips and tongues were seeking, stroking, twisting against each other. He held me by the waist, molding my body against his.
    I'd said it before but it bore repeating.
    Jagger was one hell of a kisser.
    This was different than any kiss he'd given me before though. Tender. Caring. Possessive.
    Devoted.
    I was clutching his shoulders for dear life after just a few minutes. Then he froze. Jagger jumped back and I stared at him, wondering why he'd stopped so abruptly.
    The front door of the house had opened.
    "Niffer? Who's this?"
    I opened my eyes and saw my father standing in the open doorway with a very, very unhappy look on his face.
    Uh oh.
    Jagger was about to meet the General.
    Maybe I should have warned him after all.

Chapter Eight
    Jagger
    ✈

    I stared at General Reeds where he filled the doorway with his broad shoulders. He didn't just fill the space either. He ate it up. He loomed.
    I did the only thing I could do.
    I saluted.
    Everyone knew General Reeds was the toughest motherfucker to set foot on American soil. Or Middle Eastern soil. Or anywhere there had been a conflict in the last thirty years or so.
    The man was a fucking legend.  
    "'Niffer? Care to explain what you are doing with this young man?"
    "Dad, this is Sergeant Derek Jagger. Jagger, this is... my dad."
    I looked at her and back at the General. Then back again. I nodded to myself, as if something had just fallen into place.
    Of course, she was the daughter of the guy who ran the entire damn show. Naturally that was the particular pile of shit I would land in. He was looking at me like something he'd scraped off his damn boots. After he'd stomped on it.
    This wasn't going to be easy.
    But it was worth it.
    She was worth it.
    "At ease, Sergeant."
    Now he was giving me a piercing stare. Like he was a farmer and I was the weasel in his henhouse. And he wasn't far off. I had been kissing the beejesus out of his daughter. Hell, I'd been ready to toss her over my shoulder and take her back to my lair, caveman style.
    This was it. Time to man up. It was now or never, Jagger. I stood up straight, my eyes clear and my voice strong.
    "Sir, I would like to call on you at a more convenient time and state my intentions toward your daughter."
    He looked at me. Then he nodded.  
    "I hoped to take her to dinner tomorrow night."
    "Tomorrow evening then. Be here at eighteen hundred hours. Then we'll see about you taking my daughter out. Come inside, Jennifer."
    "Honestly, you two-"
    "Come inside 'Niffer. Now."
    Jenny gave me an exasperated look. She looked irritated by the exchange. I wanted to kiss her until she was melting against me again.  
    But I restrained myself for obvious reasons.
    "Tomorrow night, Sergeant."
    "Yes, sir."
    "Don't be late."
    "No, sir."
    He pulled Jenny inside and shut the door in my face.
    All the same I was whistling as I walked down the walkway to the sidewalk. I glanced back at the imposing house and shook my head.
    After all this time, all this wondering, all this waiting, I finally had her last name. I had her number now. There was no more chasing my own damn tail.
    Her name was Jenny Reeds.

Jenny
    ✈

    "Dating? Don't you have other things to worry about, young lady?"
    I sighed, closing Hallie's door behind me. I'd gone in to check on her before dealing with my dad. I gestured for him to follow me to the kitchen, where I put a kettle on for tea. Then I turned to face him, bracing my arms against the counter behind me.
    "Yes dad. But it's complicated."
    He gave me a hard look.
    "Does he know about the child?"
    I