Indulgence (339 page)

He talked to Kyle and Cooper about the deployment coming up,
while Christy and Libby fawned over Gina, taking her aside and asking her
questions Armando tried to overhear, but couldn’t. There was way too much
giggling going on. At last he had to break away and go rescue her from the
wives of two of his best friends.

“Don’t start filling her head with frog-hog stuff,” he said
to the ladies.

“Armando, she’s very pretty, like you are,” Christy smiled
in Gina’s direction. “We think you make a perfect couple.”

The air just left the room. It was getting hot.

“Oh, look, he’s blushing,” Libby pointed out.

Armando scowled and pursed his lips.

“He’s got a very sensual side, Gina, but then, I’m sure
you’ve already found that out,” Christy said as she fingered his nose. Her
tight dress followed every delicious curve of her as she grabbed Libby by the
arm and the two vixens joined their men…who hadn’t stopped staring in their
direction.

“The wives are gorgeous,” Gina giggled. “Nice too.”

Armando was still following them with his eyes, nodding to
their mates when they successfully traversed the floor. “Most women,” he began,
“seem more preoccupied with the men.” He stood close to her, facing her
head-on. “But then I wouldn’t want that, would I?”

“You not the jealous type?”

“No. I’m confident.”

“I seem to remember that. One of the many qualities I enjoy
about you.”

They smiled in tandem as a small roar started in the
background. Fredo had entered the room. It surprised Armando when Mia came in
right behind him. She had a scowl on her face until she spied Gina and then
shot right over to them.

“Oh, thank God. I thought he told me you were gonna be here
just to get me to go out with him,” Mia said. Armando winced, holding his hand
over his heart.

“Fredo wouldn’t do that,” he said.

Mia started to give him a glare and then turned back to
Gina. “I was glad to have something else to do tonight.”

“Surprised Sam let you out of the house.” Gina whispered.

“Whoa,” Armando interrupted. “Sam, as in the Sam creep who’s
stalking you, Gina?”

Mia drew her eyebrows together and drilled Gina with a
stare. “Stalking? Gina, he’s stalking
you
?”

“No he’s not. Armando is exaggerating a bit. I’m sorry, I
shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Where were you this afternoon? I texted you a dozen times.”
Mia’s comment was laced with an undertone of fear.

“Sorry, I was…” Gina stopped, and Armando knew she was
unable to go on.

“She was with me,” Armando admitted. He hoped the look the
two girls shared favored him in some way. What women did with their emotions
was a huge mystery to him. Unsecure territory for sure.

He didn’t have to wait long for a reaction. He could tell
from the look on their faces, he’d managed to piss off both the ladies in his
presence.

“What?” he said. “Did I say something wrong?”

“You better behave, my overprotective and
testosterone-supercharged SEAL brother. The field is getting a little crowded,
or do you like it that way?”

He didn’t like any of her comment.

“Not on my watch, Mia,” Armando answered, working to keep
from getting angry. “I’m a one-girl guy, but then you know that, don’t you?”

“Mia,” Gina began, “Your brother and I are just good
friends. He’s helping me with the insurance case I’m working on. Nothing to
worry about.”

Armando wasn’t sure whether he disliked the lie or the easy
way Gina was able to deliver it. Flawlessly.

“There you go, Mia.
Just friends
,” he repeated.

“Shows you don’t know women very well,” Mia answered.

She had a point.

“Enough!” Gina interrupted. “Would you both just leave it
alone?”

Armando could see Mia wanted to spit out something angry,
but was at a complete loss for words. Her legendary Latin temper was sputtering
in her chest. He noted her irritation, followed by her self-control. And he
liked this change in his sister.

He began to understand what Mia’s issue was. She wanted to
be in charge, and things were spinning out of control, and she didn’t like it.

Could you be sprouting some natural instinct to be
decent, Mia?
God, he hoped so.

He could see she was weighing her options. She rolled her
shoulder, fisted and un-fisted her fingers, shifting her weight from side to
side. She was searching for something to say to Gina. In the end, she gave up
and addressed him.

“Be careful, Armando. Things aren’t what they seem,” Mia
continued.

“I hardly need protection, Mia.”

“That makes two of us, brother,” she returned. Staring into
Gina’s eyes, Mia still addressed him, “You’re a son-of-a-bitch sometimes,
Armani, but I don’t want to see you get hurt. That wouldn’t be right. Besides,
if I wanted that, all I’d have to do is mention it to Sam. He has a major
hard-on for you. Now I can see why.”

Mia left, slipping into the crowd that closed behind her.

So if the ex was really the ex, then why was he so
over-the-top obsessed with Gina? And what was making his sister jealous of her
best friend?

“More secrets, Gina?” he asked.

That was such a dumb question.

Gina was worried this would be the last time they could be
together. Armando was quiet, pensive. Once they were back in the car, he headed
for her home.

It served her right. Things were all messed up. Sam was a
loose cannon. She was running out of lies to tell everyone. If she wasn’t
careful, something would get leaked that would blow the lid off the whole
operation.

Maybe it’s best we just end this.

It wasn’t what she wanted. In a perfect world, he’d be just
the right guy for her: handsome, self-assured, attentive to her needs while
being private and secretive. She knew she would always be able to count on him
if things got really bad. He’d be her safe haven, not that she needed one. He
knew about honor, doing the right thing. Maybe she should do the right thing
too, and let him go.

But this wasn’t a perfect world, either. It was time to make
a decision. Would it be a career or her heart? One of them was going to take
the hit.

They had driven down her street. Armando slowed the Hummer
and carefully studied both sides for parked cars.

“Everything looks okay. No black motorcycles lurking about.
I’ll walk you to the door,” he said. The words felt like a hot spear lodged in
her chest.

Her impulsive side was screaming to be heard. She made the
mistake of giving it a little too much attention. “Armando,” she heard herself
say. He’d grabbed the door handle and was ready to get out. “Can we just go
somewhere and talk? Someplace where there isn’t a bed?”

The leather seats groaned as he swiveled in her direction.
She didn’t dare take her gaze off the parked car straight ahead of her. She
could feel the warmth of his eyes melting her all the way down to her knees.
Her breathing became slightly ragged and she encouraged ice-cold thoughts and
cold-water nerves to regulate her. She needed calm. But her insides wanted to
burst into tears or say something she knew she’d regret.

“So you want ice cream or a drink?” he asked.

She could smell his lime aftershave. His gentle words sent a
vibration down her spine.

Damn. Walk away, Gina. You know that’s what you’re
supposed to do.

“I think I’d like one of those strawberry margaritas with
tons of whipped cream.” She still didn’t look at him, but could see from the
corner of her eye he broke out in a huge smile.

“Very well. She chooses wisely. Again.”

Why did he have to say that? Was she lost already?

You can do this, Gina.

Several swift minutes later they were seated in a booth at
Cajun Joe’s. The pink flamingo napkins had been placed on the dark tabletop by
deft fingers decorated in hot pink nail polish. Gina didn’t have to look at the
waitress to see if she was pretty. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered except
the feel of the warm thigh that pressed slightly against hers in the booth. He
didn’t force himself on her, but damn, he was so freaking hard to ignore.

“Penny for your thoughts, Gina. You want to tell me what’s
going on?” he asked.

So she looked at him for the first time since they’d left
the party. It was the wrong thing to do.

“I think we both know there is no future in this
relationship,” she began. “I’m not saying I don’t enjoy your company, but you
and I both know neither one of us really want a serious relationship.”

He was following the movements of her mouth.

Damn.

“I agree. Timing’s all wrong. We’re deploying in four
months, anyway.”

Something inside her screamed, and that was ridiculous.

“You might have misunderstood things, Gina. A little
harmless sex and some fun evenings don’t a long-lasting relationship make. I
never said I was out for commitment, or did you misunderstand me?”

Why was it so freaking awful to her that he was saying the
exact things she was going to say? Did he possess the ability to read minds?

“Right. I was just thinking the same thing. Wanting to clear
the air…”

Their drinks arrived just in time. Hers was ridiculously
large, with a huge dollop of whipped cream on the top. Armando’s beer was in a
long-necked bottle, local artisan brew. He held his up, and she did the same
with her drink, spilling some of it on her hand as they clinked.

“To a future that isn’t.” His smirk was sexy, except it was
honest and very, very sad.

The sweet strawberry drink gave her a brain freeze.

“I hate those,” he said. He handed her a glass of water.
“Here, drink this.”

She grabbed it, sliding her fingers across his thumb as she
did so. “Thanks.”

“So you were telling me about our lack of a future. Why am I
here, then, Gina?”

“I just wanted to explain things…”

He reached over, grabbing the back of her head with his
powerful right hand and kissed her, demanding she shut up.

Of course she should shut up. What was the point of
coming here in the first place?
A million scenarios drifted through her
mind as she felt herself open to him, as his tongue slipped along her lower lip
and found hers. His warm breath on her cheek made her nipples knot in pain.
Instantly, she felt vacant, needy, and desperate to find a way to be with him.

When they parted, he studied her carefully, toying with her
earlobe between two fingers. He clearly wanted an answer.

“What is this?” she asked.

“I think you know,” he said.

“I’m not sure if coming here was a really good or a bad
decision,” she mumbled.

“Most decisions in life are that way. Hard to tell until the
end of the story.” He rubbed his thumb across her lips. “There are a lot of
things about you and I that don’t add up. I’m not sure you’re telling me the
truth half the time.” He grinned that little stupid lopsided grin that brought
out the dimple at the side of his mouth. “But for some strange reason, I don’t
seem to care as much as I think I should.”

Her heart was thudding in her chest. Surely he could hear
it.

“I don’t think I want to hear another story,” he whispered.

His fingers slid down her arm, giving her the chills. She
closed her eyes as she felt him take hold of her hand and kiss her knuckles.

“Drink up, sweet Gina. Then, I’m going to take you to my
place. Unless you say no. But you’ve got to decide tonight which way it’s going
to be. I don’t like all these indecisions and stories. I’m not interested if
Sam is even slightly in the picture. I don’t share, honey.”

“Thought you didn’t want commitment,” she whispered. It was
dangerous to say, but she had to know.

His dark eyes scanned her face. The lines were getting
blurred between who she was as a cop and who she was as a woman.

“All good things start with trust. At some point the stories
and the lies have to stop, and we’re left alone with the truth. When I’m seeing
someone, I expect that she isn’t seeing anyone else on the side. I think that’s
just trust and respect, Gina. Not commitment.” He sighed and stared down at his
beer glass. “I need to know where you stand on this.”

She saw why he was so good at his job. He had the ability to
know the difference between what he was feeling and what he needed to do. He’d
had the training. She did not. He was able to make those tough choices she was
struggling with.

“If you can’t decide, then I wait until you do. But I don’t
sleep around and I won’t let you either.”

She heard the lyrics and music to an oldies song she’d heard
growing up.

He slid away from her, leaving the space between them cold
and empty

The pink drink with the topknot looked ridiculous. She
grabbed it with both hands and gulped away, dipping her nose in the whipped
cream.

Before she got to the bottom of the drink she could feel the
effects of the alcohol. He was still staring at her.

“What’s it going to be, Gina?”

“There isn’t any Sam. There really never was.”

“So, make a clean break of it. Get your work done, and get
away from him. You won’t be happy until you confront the way he haunts you, and
why.”

“Does anything haunt you, Armando?”

“Lots of things, baby. But you have to decide which dog
you’re going to feed. You let the dog of fear starve. You feed the dog that
brings you joy.”

“I’m ready to face some of my fears. Can you help me with
that? Do you
want
to help me with that?”

He didn’t touch her, but she knew he wanted to.

“Absolutely.”

“No more lies,” she said.

“No more lies. Just the truth,” he answered.

She wanted to believe those words, but there were still a
few secrets she needed to keep. For now. Just for a few more days. Then she’d
explain everything and he’d understand.