Taming GI Jane by Debra Webb

forward. And maybe you’ll ask me to join you. He thrust his hands into the pockets of his sweats and forced that wicked, though appealing, idea from his mind. He wasn’t being fair to Jane. She was here to teach these women how to get in shape, not assuage his personal needs. He licked his hungry lips. Hell, he had hardly noticed his needs in too long to remember until she came along. He frowned. What was it about this woman that tempted him so? Damned if he wouldn’t give most anything to find out.
    Sandra and the usual suspects that hung out with her—Mildred, Beulah, and Veronica—appeared to be engrossed in a game of Go Fish in their cabin. The rest of the ladies were watching video s in the recreation center. Reg was reading in the dining room while Hattie was finishing up for the night. The pair usually played a game or two of Rook before going to their respective cabins. Reg swore he knew nothing about what had happened to Tom’s clothes. And Tom knew the man well enough to know that he was telling the truth. That meant the culprit had to be one or more of the ladies.
    Despite the pilfering of his attire, all appeared to be in order, but Tom had a nagging hunch that nothing was as it seemed.
    “There’s no reason for you to walk me to the showers,” Jane argued when she turned to go, and Tom followed. “I can take care of myself.”
    Tom had no doubt that Jane could take care of herself, but he just wasn’t ready to part company with her yet. “I don’t mind,” he countered nonchalantly. “Like I told you, I take a walk every night anyway. I might as well get a head start on it now.”
    Frustrated with his persistence, Jane relented and headed for the showers. The image of Tom naked and aroused kept playing in vivid color across the private theater of her mind. How was she supposed to keep that picture out of her head? She moistened her lips. The man was gloriously male. Sinfully sculpted in hard muscle and tanned skin. Heat pooled in just the right place when she considered how it would feel to touch that golden skin. To glide her palms over that muscled terrain. To taste those full, sensuous lips. Desire barbed through her, making her moist where she was already too warm.
    Jane took a long, slow breath and forced her heart beat to return to normal. She stole a glance at the man beside her as they neared their destination. He seemed as tense as she. She supposed that having had his clothes stolen, then being exposed to a total stranger would leave him feeling a bit out of sorts. If she felt awkward, how must he feel?
    Disconcerted, she paused outside the door leading into the women’s shower facility. The bright light of the moon was mostly blocked by the trees, but a dim glow spilled from the open doorway, casting Tom’s handsome features in becoming shadow.
    “I…I want you to know that what happened this evening was no big deal,” she said carefully, forcing herself to make eye contact. She hoped the light was low enough that he couldn’t see the heat of remembered embarrassment rising in her cheeks.
    His gaze darted side to side before locking with hers once more. “Okay,” he said just as carefully, as if he wasn’t quite sure what she meant.
    Jane swallowed to clear her throat. “I mean, as a soldier I’ve seen plenty of naked men.”
    Tom nodded once. A mixture of confusion and amusement lit up those amazing blue eyes. “That’s good to know,” he replied politely, but the grin overtaking his lips belied his tone.
    Jane’s choice of words echoed in her ears. Her cheeks flamed red-hot now. “That’s not what I mean…I mean,” she stammered. “It was…it was no big deal.”
    His growing amusement more than evident now, Tom opened his mouth two full seconds before he spoke. “Oo…kay,” he said, drawing out the one word.
    She shook her head in self-disgust. “I don’t mean that either. I mean—”
    Two long fingers pressed lightly against her lips. “I know what you