Free Turn on a Dime - Blane's Turn by Tiffany Snow Page A

out of his thoughts. “Found him, finally. He was only twelve, maybe thirteen, at the time and since I was older, I was responsible for him. We made it up with moments to spare and then I wanted to kill him for scaring me half to death, though really it was my own fault. I didn’t lose track of him again after that.” Not even when Kade wanted him to.
    “Where is he now?” she asked.
    Good question. “He lives here in Indy,” Blane answered. Which was sort of true.
    “It must be nice to have family close,” Kathleen mused, reminding Blane of how very alone she was.
    “It can be,” he said.
    She was quiet then and Blane fell silent, too. It was nice, nicer than he would have expected, to be with her. Kathleen wanted nothing from him except his presence, a novel experience. Blane tried very hard not to think about how little she was wearing. Even the tiny shorts she’d had on before had been discarded. The way she was situated on his lap, she’d know very quickly if his thoughts turned carnal.
    “When were you in the military?” Kathleen asked.
    Blane answered automatically, his concentration focused on keeping control. “Six years ago.” Maybe if he resituated them . . .
    He moved, which was a bad idea. His arm brushed her breast and she shivered. Kathleen’s telltale response to the touch sent Blane’s imagination careening off into a decidedly non-platonic direction. If an accidental brush had caused that reaction, how responsive would she be to a more purposeful seduction?
    “Which branch?” she asked.
    Blane tamped down his wayward thoughts. He was acting like a horny teenager with nothing but sex on the brain, though to be fair, he was in bed with a nearly naked woman sitting on his lap. “I was a Navy SEAL,” he answered, though the past tense wasn’t really correct. Once a SEAL, always a SEAL.
    She was quiet at that and Blane thought he knew what she was thinking. “Surprised?” he asked.
    “A little.”
    She really knew how to take his ego down a few notches. “And why is that?”
    “It’s just that not many men like you join the military.”
    Ouch. “And what are ‘men like me?’” Blane was almost afraid of her answer, since she obviously thought so little of him, and perhaps his tone clued her in because she didn’t answer. He sighed. “I guess I can’t blame you for thinking that. My father was furious when I told him I was going to join the Navy. But he and I had come to a parting of the ways long before I decided to sign up.” And he’d died before they’d ever reconciled, not that Blane knew if they ever would have.
    Thinking about his father was an exercise in futility, and Blane leaned his head back against the wall with another tired sigh.
    Kathleen moved to sit up and Blane tightened his arms around her, hoping she’d take the unspoken hint. He liked her on his lap and he wasn’t keen to let go. She hesitated, then tentatively relaxed against him. Her body was warm and soft, the faint scent of her shampoo lingered in her hair.
    Blane stayed awake for a short time, just to make sure her nightmare didn’t resume where it had left off. But her breathing became deep and even, her limbs utterly relaxed. Carefully so as not to wake her, Blane shifted, turning so he could lay her down in the bed.
    The thought crossed his mind that he should probably go back to the couch. Blane slowly slid his arm out from beneath her.
    Kathleen immediately frowned in her sleep, murmuring something. She shifted restlessly and Blane curved his arm in the dip of her waist as he lay behind her. She stilled, a soft sigh escaping.
    It looked like he was stuck. Blane’s lips curved in a sardonic half-smile. Oh, what a terrible thing—he had to cuddle a sexy, half-naked woman in her bed so she could sleep. Yes, he led a difficult life indeed.
    Her shirt had twisted, exposing the warm planes of her stomach down to the tops of her little bikini panties. Blane’s hand rested on her belly, his iron