Touch Me by Melissa Schroeder Read Free Book Online

to me. You trying to rearrange my schedule is like me showing up and telling the Marines not to deploy you."
    He waited a couple of seconds, then he nodded. "Agreed."
    She let loose a breath she didn't know she had been holding. “It’s a hot button issue for me.”
    “No problem.”
    “So, I take it you have been deployed?”
    He nodded. “Right now it is damned hard to deploy me, but yeah, I have been.”
    The time lengthened and she realized he wasn’t going to elaborate on that. In fact, he seemed to be rather stingy with comments about his work. She could understand that. A lot of men weren’t. More than one of them had tried to lure her to bed with tales of their valor. Not Jack Johnson.
    “Jack? Is that short for something?”
    He nodded. “Jackson, but I rarely use it. Only my Nonna and MJ get away with it.”
    She smiled. “And I am pretty sure it’s because you’ve done something bad.”
    “They say. Well, Nonna is always right. My sister though…last time she used it with me was when she was dating Leo.”
    “Leo?”
    “Her now husband. I found them necking in the car.”
    “Oh, my.” She giggled. “I bet she wasn’t happy with you.”
    “For some reason, she took exception to me knocking on the car door window to get them to stop.
    “You are a nightmare to have as a brother.”
    He jerked a shoulder. It was a gesture that she found endearing. “It turned out good in the end. They got married and now I have two nieces.”
    “And your brothers, both married?”
    “Yep. I’m the last Johnson standing, for now.”
    She didn’t like the tone of that, so she chose to ignore it.
    “You really have no relatives?” he asked when she said nothing else.
    “Yeah, it’s weird to people, but I’m used to it.”
    “Listen, I know you’re nervous around me, but the truth is, I might look like I am ready to pounce on you at times, but I won’t. I am serious about getting to know you.”
    And that was the problem. He didn’t understand what kind of danger they would both be in if he found everything out. That danger would extend to his family and Hannah couldn’t have that.
    She would never forgive herself if it happened again.

Chapter Ten
     
    Her nerves were still sparking when they reached her house. Or their houses, or whatever. Lord, she even sounded like an idiot in her brain. When a person started to sound insane to themselves, there was something really, really wrong.
    “I had a nice time.”
    “Oh, don’t make it sound so exciting,” he said. His tone was sarcastic, but when she looked at him, he was smiling.
    “Okay, so nothing bad happened. But I didn’t say it would. What I said was it was a bad idea because you lived right next door.”
    He nodded. “True, but it doesn’t mean it’s all bad.”
    If he only knew.
    “So, I want to thank you for dinner.”
    There was scratching at the door and she knew Hercules had heard them.
    “Great.”
    “What’s the matter?”
    “He’s going to be upset when I come in the house alone.”
    He shook his head. “You don’t have to make up something to get me to come in. I’m happy to.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Please. I know that.”
    “Oh, do you?”
    Before she could think of what that meant, he had her turned around and pinned up against the front door. Her pulse quickened and she couldn’t seem to catch her breath. He put a hand on either side of her face caging her in. Normally, this would make her mad…or scare her. With him, the only danger she had was to her heart.
    Wait. No. She wasn’t falling for him. That would be beyond stupid.
    “Now, want to tell me what you think you know?”
    The demand was uttered in a deep, dark sensual tone that had her heart racing and her head spinning.
    She licked her lips. His gaze followed the movement. When she pulled her tongue back into her mouth, he looked up to make eye contact.
    “Got nothing to say?”
    Drawing in a deep breath, they both groaned when her breasts brushed