Serving the Soldier - Part 4 (An Alpha Military Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

certainly fond of each other, that old man and I, I always realized that I was the outsider. I was forever on the outside periphery of family, and in my field. I didn't really have a sense of belonging anywhere. Actually, I was a substitute. I was a substitute for day care, affection, and help that a spouse, an adult child, or a parent would give. I was a good nurse, and yet I had become comfortable in my job as more of an overseer than a vital member to a medical team. I wondered if it was time to make a change… a big change.
    Blindly stirring the eggs, I frowned. I had never thought of myself in this way before and it disturbed me greatly. If I were to make a change, what would it be?
    "Do I smell something burning?"
    I startled out of my musings and refocused on the eggs. Several of them were turning black around the edges. "Oh!" I quickly turned off the burner and moved the pan away as I glanced over my shoulder. To my dismay, I was rather disappointed to find Jax wearing clothes. "You feeling sick or something?" I asked.
    "What?" He frowned as he walked to the stove, glanced down into the pan, and then shrugged. "They're okay."
    He turned away from the eggs and looked at me. His brown eyes looked like a Hershey candy bar. I refocused.
    "Why would you think I was sick? Don’t I look okay?"
    I gave him a smile and nodded. "You look absolutely perfect," I said, and then inwardly cringed. Oh God, did that sound a little possessive, or worse yet, needy? "I mean, you look perfectly fine… I mean you look well, healthy wise."
    He continued to stare at me and then gave a slight shake of his head. "Then why would you ask?"
    I made a face. "Just a poorly worded joke," I said, sounding lame. "I was attempting a bit of humor since you actually walked into the kitchen with clothes on." I turned to retrieve two plates from the cupboard.
    "You want me to take them off?"
    If I'd moved my neck any faster glancing at him over my shoulder, I would've given myself whiplash. "No! No, I didn't mean that at all." I felt the heat of a blush moving up my neck and into my cheeks. He laughed and my belly clenched as the deep rumble seemed to vibrate through me.
    I busied myself filling his plate with scrambled eggs and bacon. I'd never seen anyone put away as much bacon as he did. If he didn't watch his fat content, he was going to end up with hardening of the arteries by the time he was forty. Then again, when he was healthy and active, he probably burned it all up, so it probably didn't make much of a difference, at least not for now.
    "I've got to go out for a while today," he said, sitting down at the table.
    I placed silverware and a glass of orange juice in front of him, then walked back to the counter for his plate. "Okay, where to?" I asked, setting his breakfast down.
    He shook his head. "I'm going alone, Angie. If you have any errands to run, you’ll need to take your own car."
    "Jax, you know you shouldn't be driving yet, don't you?"
    He shrugged and dug into the scrambled eggs and bacon. "I'm not going far." He glanced up at me, an eyebrow lifted, as if in challenge.
    I sat across from him and picked at my own food. I love bacon just as much as anyone else, but I couldn’t enjoy it this morning. Jax seemed subdued, distracted by something, withdrawn even.
    Could it have been the sex last night? Did he think it had been a mistake? Was he thinking that perhaps things were getting out of hand? This is exactly what I had been afraid of. Then again, was I reading more into it than was there? I didn't want to be a booty call. He could get that anywhere.
    "Jax, about last night…"
    He took another bite of bacon and glanced up at me. "What about it?"
    "I think we should…" I hesitated and realized my hands were trembling. I knew my next words might slam the door in my face, but I couldn't allow things to continue the way they were going. I was becoming increasingly involved with him, and I knew that our situation was anything but