HIS Desire: An H.I.S. Novel (H.I.S. series Book 1) by Sheila Kell

caught red-handed, and there was nothing my parents, who were criminal defense attorneys, could do to win his case. He blamed them for his conviction and threatened the family. My parents had been threatened before and didn’t take it seriously. It cost them their lives.” And more to her.
    Jesse grabbed another handful of popcorn from the large bowl they shared. “And did he?”
    She knew exactly what he meant. “Yes.”
    He nodded and stuffed his mouth full of popcorn.
    Now that she knew he was available, she thought about what Rylee had said. Could she just go for it? She tried to convince herself it would be okay. No, she couldn’t do it. For some unknown reason, she knew it had to be a relationship or nothing with him.
    She mentally shrugged and turned her attention to the game. She’d see what happened.
    “Yea!” They both yelled as they jumped up from the couch and gave each other a high-five as the O’s hit a homerun.
    “Looks like they might get rain.” Kate took a sip of her beer. “I’m glad we aren’t there.”
    “Fair weathered fan?” he joked.
    Before she could respond, he jumped up from the couch.
    “Bullshit! That was clearly a ball!” He threw popcorn at the television.
    She giggled. Actually giggled. What the hell?
    “Shit. I’ll pick it up.” He took it to the kitchen and tossed it in the garbage can. “Want another one?” He held up his beer bottle.
    “No. I’m only halfway through with this one.”
    “Lightweight. This is an O’s game. Lots of beer is required.”
    Lightweight? She picked up her beer and chugged the remainder. “Give me another one.”
    “That’s my girl.” Jesse smiled and returned to the couch with her beer.
    His girl? What did he mean by that?
    He handed her a beer, sat and tapped his bottle to hers. “Go O’s.”
    She looked up when their hands touched in the popcorn bowl, and the smoldering flame in his eyes startled her.
    She withdrew her hand quickly and turned away. Get a grip. “Um, tell me about H.I.S. When did you start it? Why?”
    He shrugged. “Two years ago, Matt and Devon, my brothers, and I decided to form Hamilton Investigation and Security, Inc., or as you know us, H.I.S., where we put together our skills to solve the complex problems of our clients through any means necessary .”
    It didn’t go unnoticed how he stressed the last four words.
    He grinned. “That’s our slogan. As to why? We were tired of red tape, stupid orders, you name it, and we were through with it.”
    She waited for him to expound. When she realized he wasn’t, she said, “Tell me about the role your brothers play. I know you were an Army Ranger and FBI agent, so you have excellent security and investigative skills.”
    “Ah, Kate, was that a compliment?” he teased. “If so, you forgot that I’m an excellent marksman, too.” He winked at her.
    Was that joking and playfulness? From Jesse? Butterflies formed in her stomach as his mouth curved into a silly grin. She liked this Jesse. A lot.
    “But, seriously, as you said, I’m security and investigation, but since I’m the oldest, I get to be the boss.” He took a swig of beer. “I didn’t give them a choice.”
    With the exception of talking about Reagan, she’d never seen him smile this much. She had never seen him enjoy himself this much.
    “Matt is an ex-SEAL and leads our protection and security division, and Devon is an ex-CIA agent and our computer forensic expert. Last year, Brad, Matt’s twin, left the secret service and joined up with us. He does a little of everything. Well, except work with the computers. No one dares mess with Devon’s computer setup.” He shook his head and chuckled.
    Hmm, must be an inside family joke. “What all, besides show up the FBI in a murder case, have you done?” She felt like a reporter rushing out questions, building up to what she really wanted to know the answer to.
    “You sure you want to hear all of this?”
    She nodded. “Yeah.”
    “We’ve