She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not (The American Soldier Collection 8)

Seno handed her margarita and they started talking about starting a game of volleyball.

At one point Justice was watching her and kneeling in the little end of the pool. “Ellie, come here.”

She looked at Hunter and felt his palm gently tap her belly before he released her. She swam toward Justice and his huge chest and big muscles. Pulling her into his arms, he stared down at the cleavage of her breasts and then back up toward her face. Her eyes looked over his tattoos, his bulging muscles, and slight dusting of hair across the center of his chest.

“You’re just filled with surprises, aren’t you, spitfire?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, and he tipped her backward so she lay flat in his arms and he lifted her so that she was floating on her back.

“Well let’s see. First, this sexy body,” he stated, and his brothers added their comments.

“How about that belly ring,” Mace said and then reached over and gently wiggled it as he held her gaze.

“Or maybe this tattoo?” Justice said as he used his thumb to press along part of it and then he pressed under the material making her swat at his hand and then wiggle free.

They laughed, but Justice held her hand making her stay close by.

“I’m just teasing you, baby. You look incredible.” He turned her in his arms so her back was pressed against his front. As they engaged in conversation about subjects she simply couldn’t concentrate on while Justice pressed kisses to her neck, she started to feel overwhelmed. But then Seno told her about his special freelance job working as a criminal analysis for the Texas Rangers. Mace explained about his multiple jobs after retiring from the Marine Corp as a hand-to-hand combat instructor and coordinator for a nearby military training facility. His job sounded incredible and had her eyeing over his muscles along with the small scars here and there over his chest and a few by his sides. It appeared that he had some battle wounds, but before she could drool some more Seno teased him about his obsession with John Wayne.

“I love John Wayne. He was like the coolest cowboy ever.”

“So that’s why you were wearing that T-shirt,” she said and smiled. She could understand the whole collector thing. She had a thing about collecting very expensive, limited edition shoes from famous designers.

“Yes, I have a lot of cool stuff autographed by him,” Mace stated.

“Yeah, you should see the one room in the house that’s filled with John Wayne memorabilia and also swords,” Seno told her.

“Swords?”

“Yes, I collect specialty swords and knives.” As he said “knives,” she felt that bit of anxiety and fear grip her. Pulling from Justice’s hold, she started to make an excuse to leave, but Justice pulled her back and wrapped his arm around her waist. The four men stared at her.

“He’d never hurt you. None of us would,” he whispered against her neck. She felt her nipples harden as she saw Seno, Hunter, and Mace stare at her.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she whispered.

“Is that what happened to you? Did your ex pull out a knife on you?” Justice asked and she pulled from his hold.

“Don’t. Don’t talk to me about it. Don’t ask me questions. Please, just leave it alone.”

Mace took her hand and pulled her to him. “I’ll get rid of all it. I don’t need any of it,” he told her so very seriously, and by the way his brothers explained about his collections, she knew that would be unfair. But she was deeply touched that he would say such a thing. She reached up and laid her hand against Mace’s cheek.

“That’s not necessary. I know what it’s like to collect things. To have a love and appreciation for something specific like that.”

“You do? What do you collect?” he asked, and she smiled, feeling better to have gotten away from a potential interrogation by these men.

“Very unique, limited edition, designer shoes.”

He smiled.

“Oh God, that’s not being a collector, that’s being a woman,” Hunter teased her. She gave him a mean expression.

“Not the kind I collect.”

“You mean like Jimmy Choo, Christian Louboutin, Giuseppe Zanotti, or Givenchy?” Mace asked.

“Oh brother,” Justice stated aloud as Seno laughed and Ellie smiled wide, holding on to his shoulders.

“How do you know about high-end women’s shoes?”