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

permanent. "I'm just not sure that we…"
    "I told you that I wouldn't take advantage of you," he said, stabbing a forkful of scrambled eggs and lifting them to his mouth. They disappeared. He chewed for a moment, repeated the process, and looked up at me as he swallowed. "If you don't want to have sex, just say so, Angie. You do remember me mentioning no strings, don't you? You don't have to worry about your job. Even if you don't want to have sex with me, you are my nurse and you can stay until you decide you want to leave."
    I suppose he’d said the words to reassure me, but they did exactly the opposite. In fact, I felt my heart sink with disappointment. Did he seriously not have any feelings for me whatsoever? Not that I expected him to fall in love with me or anything, but still. The thought that I meant absolutely nothing to Jax made me even more certain than ever.
    What the hell was I doing? What the hell was I thinking… that someone like Jax would become interested in someone like me? Oh, I wasn't suggesting that there was anything wrong with me or that I wasn't attractive enough or smart enough, but Jax didn't seem to be ready to settle down or even commit to one person. Why, look at Stephanie. And then there was the Swede. And me. And who knows how many others.
    "What's bothering you?"
    I glanced up, startled to find him watching me, his frown deepening. "I… I'm not sure, really," I admitted.
    "Look, Angie," he said, placing his fork down on his now empty plate. "It's just sex. If you don't want to do it anymore, just say so. I won't be mad."
    So that was it. Just sex. Nothing less, nothing more. I didn’t know what to say.
    "Well, I need to get going. I'll be gone most of the day. I have a meeting with the guys up at Fort Jackson—"
    "Fort Jackson?" I asked, shaking my head. "Jax, that’s more than ‘not so far’. That's a two and a half-hour drive!"
    "So?" he asked. He stood and stepped toward the bowl on the counter that held the car keys.
    "Jax," I said, also standing. "You can't drive that far. Let me just get my purse and I’ll drive you."
    He shook his head. "I don't need you to drive me, Angie," he said. He took a step to the garage door, reaching for the alarm keypad. He glanced over his shoulder. "After I leave, key the alarm back in. If you have to go somewhere, you know what to do, right?"
    I frowned. "Jax, seriously. You shouldn't be driving across Hilton Head Island, let alone making a five hour round trip from Fort Jackson. Let me take you—"
    His face hardened. "I don't need anybody to take me."
    "One of your friends can come pick you up—"
    His temper flared. "I'm driving, Angie! And I don't appreciate being treated like a baby!"
    I stared at him in shock. "I certainly don't mean to—"
    "I have things to take care of, Angie, and you can't come with me. That means I drive.”
    His eyes darkened and he clenched his jaw as if he were trying to rein in his temper. I stared at him. I had never seen him so much as raise his voice, and now he stood there, scowling down at me as if I were nothing more than a pest.
    “Got it?"
    I said nothing, but merely nodded. What in heaven’s name had gotten into him? He turned his back to me and keyed off the alarm, stepped through the garage door and then slammed it shut. I stared in shock. I heard the garage door slowly opening, and then the car pull out. Seconds later, the garage door shut again.
    I don't know what got into me at that very moment, but I knew something was up, and I wanted to know what it was.
    A secret rendezvous with Stephanie?
    Was he really meeting the guys?
    What was he up to?
    Leaving the dirty dishes sitting on the kitchen table, I quickly stepped to the bowl and snatched up my own car keys. To hell with my purse. I knew I could get a ticket if I got pulled over and didn’t have my driver’s license with me, but I didn’t want to waste time rushing upstairs to get it.
    I didn't go through the garage, but quickly headed to the