Big Easy Temptation Read Online Free PDF Page A

stop her heart. “I didn’t want to interrupt.”
    Jim had gone a nice shade of red. “Captain Spencer, it’s good to see you again.”
    Dax didn’t seem fazed at all that he’d overheard them talking about him, but then
     he was likely used to it. He simply gave Jim a friendly grin. “Now I’m absolutely
     sure that’s a lie. I’m sure I was a pain in the ass and the last couple of months
     without me have likely been pleasant. How about I promise to be respectful this time
     around. I wasn’t in a good place the last time we talked.”
    “That’s understandable,” Jim allowed, holding out a hand. “Let me know if I can help
     you, and welcome back to New Orleans.”
    Dax shook his hand with a nod. “Thank you, Agent Kellison. I promise I’m not going
     to make your life hell.” Jim left with a friendly wave, and Dax turned his attention
     to Holland. “I called him a lowlife cocksucker who deserved to have his entrails eaten
     by a gator. I might have been in a bad mood at the time.”
    “It seems so.” Why did she sound so breathy? She wasn’t the vampy type.
    “You look good, Holland,” he said. “Did I ever thank you for coming to my father’s
     funeral?”
    She shot him a startled glance. “I didn’t realize you’d seen me there.”
    “Sweetheart, there were so few people I couldn’t have missed you. I truly appreciate
     it. I know my momma and Gus did as well.”
    As Holland’s heart continued to race, she thanked goodness the office door stood open
     and she could see people moving out in the hallway. She wasn’t sure she could handle
     being alone with him, knowing the last time she had been she’d kissed him. The press
     of their bodies and lips had been the single most erotic moment of her life. She’d
     slept with men and not felt as close to them as she had to Dax Spencer in that one
     moment.
    Sometimes she could still feel the way his tongue had moved against hers, sliding
     in a silky dance. She could feel his hands on her body. He’d been subtle, but she’d
     felt the possession in his grip. If Admiral Spencer and Constance Hayes hadn’t barged
     in, she’d likely have found herself on top of that desk with her legs spread and clinging
     to Dax Spencer as he drove into her.
    “Why are you here, Captain?”
    “Can’t you call me Dax? You have dinner with my mother twice a month. You see my sister
     every time she’s in town. Can’t we at least be on a first-name basis?”
    Her reticence sounded ridiculous when he put it that way. They actually did run in
     the same small circle. She simply avoided him at all costs and had since the moment
     she realized she wanted him in a way she’d never wanted any man. “All right. Dax,
     welcome back to New Orleans. What are you doing here?”
    He cast her a sidelong glance. “Well, Holland. I’m in the Navy and I was recently
     stationed at the Joint Reserve Base New Orleans in a training capacity. I’ve been
     involved in new training methods on modern ships.”
    “Yes, because Captain Awesome really wants to spend a month writing training manuals.”
     That was the moniker the sailors had given him after his wartime bravery. He’d been
     creative and smart and he’d stood by his men. They loved him. They would lay their
     lives on the line for him. He was everything the Navy looked for in a captain.
    Dax’s eyes widened in surprise. “Captain Awesome? Are you serious?”
    As a heart attack
. “It’s what everyone calls you. After what you did in Operation Iraqi Freedom, can
     you doubt it?” In the middle of unexpected enemy fire, he had devised and implemented
     a battle plan on the fly. He’d used his ship in a way that had shortened the skirmish
     and saved lives.
    His gorgeous mouth turned down. “That was supposed to be classified.”
    He wasn’t that naive. “Nothing that cool is classified, Captain. Dax.”
    “Captain Awesome might be the worst call sign I’ve ever heard.” He shook his head