Wilde Nights in Paradise (A Wilde Security Novel) (Entangled Brazen) by Tonya Burrows

looking.
    “So what? I like getting inked.”
    “I don’t mind.” When he looked at her sharply, she fumbled. “I mean, uh, I like the phoenix on your arm. When did you have it done? I thought the Marines have a strict policy about tattoos not showing under their PT gear.”
    “They do.” His expression softened. “I had it done the week after I got out. I’ve spent the last month getting the ink I wanted but couldn’t have before. Next I have plans for a sleeve.”
    “Well…” Her mouth went dry. She should not find the idea of a tattoo sleeve at all sexy—but she did. Oh boy, did she ever, and she couldn’t help but imagine what it’d feel like to trace all of those inked designs with her tongue…
    Jude was staring at her hard, as if waiting for something.
    “Oh.” She fumbled for words, realizing she’d been lost in her forbidden fantasies. “I just wanted to tell you they’re all beautiful, but that phoenix is a work of art.”
    He reached out and brushed his knuckles over her cheek in a shockingly tender caress. “It reminds me of you. The colors, the spark…”
    “Me?” She gave a nervous laugh and backed up a step. She hugged the cat to her chest like a shield. “That’s not me. You must have me confused with one of your other women.”
    “My other women. Yeah,” he scoffed, and all hints softness in his expression disappeared. Her calculated barb had hit its mark, but she refused to feel bad for it when it was the truth.
    Jude grumbled something under his breath and continued toward the sliding patio doors. He seemed to be moving more stiffly than before, his once graceful walk stilted as if he were trying not to limp.
    Jeez. With everything else that had happened, she’d all but forgotten he’d hit the ground hard when he pulled her out of the way of that car. His body was probably one giant throb of pain right now, and he hadn’t said so much as “ow” in complaint.
    “Are you okay?”
    “Will be.”
    “Do you need anything?” She didn’t want to be concerned, but couldn’t help the note of worry that crept into her voice. Especially when he turned to look at her and she caught sight of the bruises coloring his right leg a deep purple.
    “Aw, Libs. Are you worrying over me?”
    The cat wiggled, and she set him down. Her arms felt empty and awkward now that she didn’t have Sam to hold, and she wasn’t sure what to do with them. She finally crossed them over her chest. “You were almost hit by a car. I would be heartless not to worry a little.”
    “And you’re definitely not that. If anything, you have too much heart.”
    Okay, that surprised her. Was he being sarcastic? He looked pretty damn serious, but she couldn’t tell for sure. Before she could decide how to respond, he gave a smile half the wattage of his usual grin. “I just need a soak. Maybe a beer.”
    “Beer? You can’t drink.”
    He lifted one brow. “Watch me.”
    “I mean, on the job. You can’t drink while you’re working.”
    “I’m a private investigator. I can do whatever the hell I want.” When she scowled, he added more softly, “A beer or two is not going to prevent me from protecting you, and we’re perfectly safe here. Nobody except Seth, my brothers, and your father know where we are. And Seth just thinks we’re on our honeymoon.”
    Her stomach twisted at a sudden, painful memory she’d long since buried. He’d promised her this. Exactly this. The house tucked away in a tropical garden, the in-ground pool, the hot tub, Key West. The morning after he asked her to marry him, he’d promised to bring her here, to his friend’s vacation house, one of his favorite places in the world, for their honeymoon. And she, foolish girl that she was, had drifted through her classes that day on a cloud of naive happiness, showing everyone her ring with its pathetic diamond, dreaming of the wedding, the honeymoon, their life together. By the time her friends took her out to celebrate that