He liked looking at her? His words had made her think of him peering down his body to watch her worship his cock with her mouth which made her need for that to happen again. Whether her stupid brain thought it was a good idea or not.
And then there was his pronouncement that he’d take pleasure in her trying to kick his ass, which would’ve been hot all on its own. But it was even hotter now that she had firsthand experience wrestling with the man. She’d enjoyed that way more than she probably should’ve, especially since he’d bested her.
Somehow, though, feeling him wrapped around her and holding her tight, she hadn’t really felt like a loser…
All of which was probably why she’d taken more time than usual to put on some makeup after she’d showered at the gym. And now, here they both were at dinner, hanging out with her friends. Noah and his girlfriend, Kristina. Billy, who was flying solo tonight because his girlfriend, Shayna, was on assignment covering a story for her job as a photojournalist for the local paper. Sean, Mo, and Dani rounded out their regular gang.
Just like at CMDS, Jesse fit in really well here with everyone. And, damnit, it felt like the two of them fit well together. Maybe the fact that they were co-workers wasn’t that big of a deal. Then why did it feel like it was?
“So, Tara,” Sean said after everyone’s food had been served, “a friend of mine said good things about you earlier today.”
His comment pulled her from her thoughts, and she grinned. “Uh oh.” She took a bite of her fries.
“No, no, for real,” he said, which was useful since Sean was such a relentless teaser. You couldn’t hold it against the guy, though, because he’d do anything for any of them. And Tara figured his constant sarcasm and general smart-assery was an outlet for whatever stress being a firefighter caused. “You work with Jud Taylor, right?”
Her foot started bouncing as twin reactions coursed through her. First, surprise that Jud and Sean knew one another. Second, her belly made a slow descent to the floor in anticipation of where this was about to go. “Uh, yeah. We’re on the same dive team. Same one Jesse’s on now, too.”
Sean nodded, seemingly not picking up on her growing anxiety. “He said you pulled his southern ass out of the ocean after a diving stage came down on him.”
“Wow, that sounds scary as hell,” Dani said, respect plain on her face.
Tara nodded, even though her gut told her to deflect. “His ‘southern ass’?”
Laughing, Sean shrugged as he cut his steak. “His words.”
That sounded like Jud. “Uh, yeah, I guess. All part of the job,” she managed.
“Now you sound like me,” the guy said, winking at her.
Dani threw him a smirk. “When have you ever been humble, Riddick? Like, name even one time.”
Tara chuckled, hoping it didn’t sound as forced as it felt. A hand came down on her leg. She glanced to her right where Jesse sat laughing at the razzing suddenly being slung back and forth between Dani and Sean.
It didn’t look like he was paying attention to Tara, but it absolutely felt like he was. “How long have you two been together?” Jesse asked the pair, his tone amused.
The table absolutely erupted in pandemonium. Noah and Billy burst into laughter as Sean totally gawped like a deer in headlights before launching into a full-fledged denial. Meanwhile, Dani actually blushed, which Tara didn’t think she’d ever before seen. The two had always had a frenemies thing going on, but the past few months, it seemed to have ratcheted between them ’til it always felt like they were on the verge of fighting…or screwing each other senseless.
“We’re not together, man,” Sean said again, stabbing a piece of his steak.
“Hell, no, we’re not,” Dani agreed. Which, come to think of it, was like the first thing Tara had ever heard Dani agree with Sean about… “How the heck did you get that we were together?”
“Shit, sorry.” Jesse laughed, holding up his free hand. “I, uh, I guess I thought the bickering was like, I don’t know, an old married couple’s schtick.”
Noah’s face was bright red from laughing so hard, and Billy had tears in his eyes. For his part, Mo’s deep chuckle rumbled under it all.
“Uh, geez, I really stepped in it, didn’t I?” Jesse said, all self-deprecating.
Which was when Tara realized that he’d asked the question on purpose, suspecting it would derail the other topic of conversation. Something warm bloomed inside her chest—gratitude, connection, affection. Under the table, she placed her hand on top of his. His fingers curled around hers in return.
Tara’s heart squeezed.
“Y’all are fucksticks,” Dani said. “Every one of you. And I thought I was liking you, Jesse.” She pointed her knife at him.
“Newbie error,” Jesse said, smiling sheepishly. “Won’t happen again.”
“Good plan,” Sean said, crossing his arms. Which mirrored Dani’s body language exactly.
Even though it sounded like Dani was joking, Tara worried that she might really be upset that Jesse had put them on the spot, and no way did Tara want her to hold that against him. So she finally put on her big-girl panties and protected him like he’d done for her. “Don’t be mad at Jesse. He was only trying to change the subject because he knows that I didn’t really want to talk about yesterday’s rescue.”