Men Of Honour. Lori Foster

“Spoilsport.”

      After Jett hung up, Natalie pushed to her feet, both hands planted on the tabletop. She got her voice back with a vengeance. “You want me to go with you to see your sister?”

      “You’re taking half responsibility for the dog, right?” That took her aback, but Jett continued anyway. “You need to hear what she has to say. What if Buddy is sick and needs some sort of treatment?”

      “I hadn’t thought…”

      So that she’d know he wasn’t shying away from financial obligations, Jett said, “I’ll pay for everything, but you should know what’s going on.”

      Her mouth opened twice without her saying anything. She steadied herself. “I will share the costs with you.”

      “Connie is my sister, so—”

      “She’s not my sister.”

      Seeing the mulish set to her mouth, Jett shrugged. No way would Connie charge them anyway. “All right.”

      At his easy capitulation, her eyes narrowed. “Well…good.”

      Jett waited.

      She clasped her hands together. “Do you actually think he might be sick?”

      “I’m not a vet, but he seems healthy to me.” Because Jett had her cornered and he knew it, he played it casual. “The thing is, we have no idea yet how he might react in a car.” He bit into another slice of pizza, a man without ulterior motives. “In case he gets upset, it’ll be easier with us both along for the ride.”

      Natalie couldn’t refute the logic in that. “What did you mean that your sister shouldn’t round up the troops?”

      “The rest of the family,” Jett explained. And then, while watching her, he added, “They’re going to want to meet you, Natalie. And if I don’t miss my guess, they’ll use tomorrow as an excuse to make it sooner rather than later.”

      NATALIE COULDN’T BELIEVE his cavalier attitude about this. They’d only just agreed to alter their simple sexual relationship into something more social.

      And now he expected her to meet his family! That was…well, wasn’t that a monumental thing? Like tipping the scales?

      She braced herself for sound arguments. “It’s not that I think your family won’t be…fine.”

      Jett took another giant bite of pizza, watching her with an enigmatic expression.

      “I’m sure they’re very nice people.”

      He finished off his cola. “I’ve always thought so.”

      Natalie heard a gnawing sound and, puzzled, looked under the table. “Oh no!” Buddy was chewing on a chair leg. Aghast, she crawled under the table and retrieved him.

      As she backed out with the dog in her arms, she glanced up and saw Jett with a brow cocked. Oh Lord.

      Hugging the dog closer, Natalie said, “He, ah…” She closed her eyes, unable to spit it out. But when she heard Jett shifting, she opened them again.

      He leaned down to look under the table, and she knew he’d just seen the gnarled wood. “Damn.” He didn’t sound all that angry, but he did look resigned.

      Natalie waited for him to get mad, and when he didn’t, she marveled at him. Buddy had just scarred one chair of a four-chair matching dinette set—but Jett took it in stride. In fact, he seemed more concerned with eating than with the damage to his property.

      Such an amazing man—in more ways than she’d ever considered.

      For some reason, she felt guilty about the chair. “Can it be repaired, do you think?”

      Jett shrugged. “I guess I better get him some chew toys first thing. My sister probably has something at her clinic.”

      His incredible acceptance of the dog momentarily sidetracked Natalie. Anyone could see that Jett was a man well used to female attention. He had a confidence streak a mile wide. In every situation, he seemed at ease.

      He was gorgeous, charming and he had that dreamy rock-hard bod. So he had to be a regular lothario, right?

      Yet that image seemed in direct odds to a family man, a guy who viewed any meddling from his sisters with warm affection. The freewheeling bachelor persona contrasted sharply with the man who shrugged off destruction of his personal property by a stray dog.

      Knowing she was fast sinking past the point of no return, Natalie sighed.

      “Is there a reason for that mournful sound?”

      She shook her head and continued to watch him. Jett always looked good to her. Better than good. His lean but strong physique was a big turn-on for her. And those eyes…

      She shivered. Jett had the most incredible eyes she’d ever seen on anyone. The man could look at her, and she felt seduced.

      But now, having unveiled new dimensions to his personality, she found him more tempting than ever. When she thought of spending the next several days with him, butterflies took flight in her stomach.

      She wanted and needed time to acclimate before being scrutinized by his family.

      Jett’s gaze remained on her, intent, watchful, as if awaiting something.

      She cleared her throat. “I can go along tomorrow in case Buddy is afraid of the ride. But considering how things really are between us, maybe it’d be better if I waited for you in the car instead of going into the clinic.”

      He tipped his head just a little, noting how Buddy rested against her. “How are things between us?”

      Being honest, Natalie said, “New.”

      “We’ve known each other for a while now.”

      “In bed, yes.”

      He countered that by saying, “In every intimate way possible.”

      Oh God, if he talked about all that they’d done together, she’d start to feel it, too.

      Her entire body flushed under the impact of Jett’s potent gaze. But then Buddy rested his chin on her shoulder and let out a loud doggy sigh. Absently, Natalie cuddled him. She hadn’t known that holding a pet provided so much pleasurable warmth and affection. Against her cheek, his fur was warm and soft, his whiskers tickling.

      Without looking at Jett, she said, “Everything is different now that we’re…shifting the way we spend time together.”

      The seconds ticked by and she couldn’t take it. Feeling Jett’s unnerving stare, she glanced up.

      Very slowly, he left his seat and came to her.

      He cupped her face. “You don’t come from a big family, so you don’t know how this works.”

      “How what works?”

      “I guarantee you that right now Connie is on the phone with one of my other sisters, and between them, they’ll make sure the whole family knows about you within minutes.”

      That idea staggered her. Why would they care? She was far from the first woman Jett had ever dated, and she knew she wouldn’t be the last. He had more experience than most ten men combined. Knowing what she did about him now, about his edgy career choices and daring lifestyle, only emphasized the differences in their lives.

      So why introduce her to his family?

      The idea almost panicked her. She knew zip about big families. As a teacher, she met parents on a purely professional basis. As a daughter, what she knew of parents was laughable. She and Molly were close, but it wasn’t like in most families.

      Most families didn’t include one parent gone and the other…uncaring.

      Natalie squeezed the dog tighter. “You told Connie not to alert them!”