Free Wyne and Dine (Citizen Soldier Series Book 1) by Donna Michaels Page B

mixed up, but one thing was clear, he couldn’t do both.
    The colonel drove them to the lake
where they hiked, then a few of the women played a bit of Frisbee while the men
talked more shop, but after watching Lea jump a few times, Ben realized it
wasn’t such a good idea. He couldn’t take the bounces. They rippled through him
with a power punch to his libido.
    “Time for the rowing I owe you,” he
said, needing her to stay still so he could calm his mind and regroup.
    After helping her into a wooden
dingy, he stepped in and carefully pushed them from the dock. The urge to
distance himself from something had taken over. Problem was, he had no idea
what he was distancing from, but he already felt better. As he rowed them
toward the middle of the lake, he concentrated on the horizon, using
controlled, even strokes, and not paying any attention to the woman lounging in
front of him, with her head tipped back, eyes closed and a look of pure rapture
on her face.
    No. He wasn’t paying any attention
to that, just rowing and rowing, and waiting. Jesus, was she really not going
to talk to him unless he started the conversation?
    He pulled the oars out of the water
and set them inside the boat. She still didn’t open her eyes. Ben crossed his
arms and waited. Finally, after another minute of silence, she opened them and
lifted her head…and a brow, but said nothing.
    Damn, stubborn woman. “Spill
it. What gives? What’s wrong?”
    “You stopped.”
    He dropped his arms and expelled a
breath. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
    Her shoulder lifted. Was she trying
to get a rise out of him?
    It was working, damn it.
    “Is this about last night?”
    Color rose up her neck and settled
in her cheeks, enhancing the blue of her eyes.
    “No. Not really, Ben. I’m just
trying to keep things on an even keel, pretending to be your girlfriend like you
asked, but not hanging all over you.” She stilled, then narrowed her gaze.
“Why, did you want me to hang all over you?”
    Yes . He did. Damn. “No.”
    “Then what’s the problem?”
     That was the problem. “I
just wanted to make sure things were okay between us,” he said, realizing it
was the truth. A truth he didn’t want to delve too deeply into, but knew for
some reason it was important.
    “They’re good.” Her gaze dropped to
the hands curled tightly in her lap.
    She was lying. But he chose not to
pursue the issue. Mostly because she was right. Things had changed between
them. Not better, not worse, just different.
    “But if you want to make up for
last night, then you better get rowing,” she said, smile tugging her lips
upward. “I’m not getting any younger.”
    He laughed, adopting her friendly
attitude. “Yes, ma’am.” They were going to be all right. “Let’s put all of that
aside for now and just have fun today, okay?”
    “Okay,” she replied with a nod.
“I’d like that.”
    Ben picked up the oars and started
to row, shoulders feeling a little lighter after having cleared the air, even
if it was only in a small way.
    Things were good until Lea reached
for the buckle on her pants, then the zipper. The sound ripping straight
through him as he sat there, unable to move, or think, or row.
    She frowned at him. “What’s wrong?”
    “You’re stripping. Why are you
stripping?”
    “Because I want to take advantage
of the sun.” She pointed to the cloudless sky above, then turned an almost
wounded gaze on him. “Don’t worry, I’m not making a move on you. I’ve learned
my lesson. Trust me, that will never happen again.” She yanked off her tank top
and pointed to her bikini. “See? I’m wearing a bathing suit. It’s all good.
You’re virtue is safe.”
    To hell with his virtue. He was
worried about his sanity. Any shred he’d managed to hold onto landed in a heap
on the bottom of the boat—with her pants.
    Damn.
    It had been close to a decade since
he’d seen Lea in a bathing suit. She and Brandi had been swimming in