Claire made whimpering noises. This was worse than anything Matt would do. Way worse. She almost wished he was there.
“Yeah. Line of duty.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Megan!” Claire looked up to see her sister squinting at Grunt. Her eyes were aflame. There was no bringing her back. She was set on this.
Meanwhile, every muscle on Grunt’s body looked either poised to strike or flee. He held Megan’s eyes. “You would need to be a sick son of a bitch to enjoy something like that. The answer is no. I didn’t. I still see the faces and hear the screams of every guy I killed. I know it was necessary. I know it was my job, but if there had been another way, I would have found it.” He sat forward, placing his forearms on his knees. “I trained as a marine. We have honour. We don’t screw around.”
Claire’s eyes went wide. Marine? Weren’t they like the superheroes of the American armed forces? She wasn’t sure. She gnawed at her bottom lip and wondered if anyone would notice if she pulled out her phone and Googled the marines. She looked at the two hard faces. Mmm, maybe later.
Megan looked thoughtful. “Gold digger?”
“I have my own money. Savings. Investments.”
“What if Claire disagrees with you on something?”
He shrugged, relaxing back into the sofa again. “Then she disagrees. We work it out. We either compromise or one of us gets our own way. That’s how all relationships work.”
“So she’s allowed to disobey you,” Megan said.
Grunt actually laughed. “Who said I was looking for obedience? If I wanted a dog I’d buy one. She’s an adult. Got her own opinions. Makes her own choices. I’d be freaking bored if it was any different.”
Megan seemed to relax a little. “What are your intentions towards my sister?”
Claire looked at the ceiling and let out a long, low groan. When she looked back, Megan was frowning at her and Grunt was grinning. A delightfully sexy, knowing grin.
“My intentions?” He cocked an eyebrow at Claire, daring her to interrupt. She suddenly found her tongue was glued to the roof of her mou
th. “My intentions are to get to know her. To get her naked. To get her into my house. To get married to her. And to get her pregnant. That’s what I intend. Whether Claire wants that, or whether she likes what she sees in me, is something else, but I know my intentions.”
Claire sat frozen in Grunt’s heated gaze. Megan cleared her throat.
“Well, that’s very retro. As in 1950s mentality.” Megan lowered her voice. “Get woman. Keep woman. Woman must be barefoot and pregnant.”
Grunt’s lips quirked into a smile, but his eyes stayed on Claire. She felt the heat of his gaze melt her reserve.
Megan turned towards her sister. Claire smiled at her, but her eyes strayed back to Grunt.
“Claire, please tell me this is not attractive to you,” Megan said. Claire could practically hear her roll her eyes. “Does the word feminism mean anything to you? This is just like that movie The Faculty, where the teachers were possessed by aliens. There’s an alien in your body. It’s the only excuse for your loss of sanity over this guy.”
Claire grinned widely. “What can I say, Megan? It’s the muscles. I mean, look at those shoulders.”
Grunt playfully flexed his biceps for her.
“I think I just vomited a little in my mouth,” Megan said. “Fine, the interrogation is over. I don’t think he’s a serial killer, or a woman beater, but I can’t say for certain he’s sane.”
Grunt winked at Claire. She grinned widely. Out of the corner of her eye, Claire watched Megan stand. She headed towards the door. “I’ll leave you two alone, but I’ll be right upstairs if you need me. And remember. Keep your penis in your pants until the doc gives you the all-clear.”
Claire’s eyes broke away from Grunt to glare at her sister. “Don’t I get a say in whether he opens his pants or not? And will you stop saying penis? It gives me the heebie-jeebies.”
“Bloody hell, Claire, the more you hang around pre-schoolers the more immature you become. I take it back. You both belong in the fifties. Enjoy your little time warp together. And for your information, penis is a perfectly normal word. If you don’t stop complaining I’m going to start using all those other words that freak you out. Like vagina, vulva, cli…”
Claire wedged her fingers in her ears and sang nonsense at the top of her lungs. Megan rolled her eyes and left the room. When Claire looked back at Grunt, he was shaking his head at her as he laughed.
“Babe,” he said. “Is it only the official words you have a problem with, or can you say…”
Na, na, na, na. Clair shut her eyes tight as her singing and fingers blocked out the words.