With Honor (2 page)

If only she’d dreamt him up. A figment of her imagination. A moment of insanity brought on by bitterness and loneliness.

He certainly wasn’t a dream. Here
he
was. In flesh and blood.

His laughter faded. Something about him, in his eyes, made him seem sad. The tense set of his jaw and the lines on his forehead made him appear almost distant or preoccupied. What was he thinking?

Jasmine shook her head. His thoughts and emotions were none of her concern. There could be no emotional connection. That would only make her next step more difficult. Time to speak to him. She contemplated how to approach him. Would he respond with anger when he saw her? He had looked at her earlier, but ignored her. Had he not recognized her?

If she got him alone, they could talk in private. Yet, how could she do that? Fate took a turn in her favor. He left the table and headed for the back hallway.
Now or never.
Getting up in haste, she knocked over the empty glass. The clang drew a few stares, but Jasmine hurried after him. Her breathing grew heavy as she realized what she was about to do. Not by choice, but necessity. Emotionally, she was in an upheaval and physically exhausted.

He disappeared inside the men’s restroom. Looking from side to side for bystanders, she saw it was clear. Pushing through the heavy wooden door, she barely had time to click the lock behind her when his deep voice echoed off the walls.

“I think you’re lost, sweetheart.”

With a deep breath, she turned to face him. Caught by the clearest, bluest eyes she’d ever seen, she went wobbly in the knees. Somehow she didn’t remember them being so blue, almost jewel-like. There were a lot of things she didn’t recall. He was taller than she’d thought, at least a head taller than her.

Staring was about all that she could do. He remained silent. His eyes lit up, as if he found this humorous. Wasn’t he the least bit bothered that she’d cornered him in the bathroom? She cursed the fact that he seemed calm while her insides quivered. Her heart beat fast and hard against her ribs. Every nerve ending came alive. Her life was about to change, again.

Back straight, she hoped she caught him with her best stern look. “No, I’m not lost,” she said.

His face went blank.

Time seemed to stand still, until finally he gave a nonchalant shrug. He turned to the urinal, unzipped his pants and continued with his business, all while she kept her eyes on his broad back. Disbelief and anger shimmied up her spine. How dare he!

Finished, he turned and crossed the small distance to the sink. Arrogantly, he kept his gaze on her while he washed his hands. “Well, help yourself then.” He nodded toward the white basin. “It might be a tad uncomfy though, with those heels.” One corner of his mouth lifted in wry humor.

“I didn’t come in here to use the bathroom, thank you. I like your wit, though. Too bad I’m not interested in playing games.”

The area between his brows wrinkled. “Then what? Since I can’t entertain you with my games, what can I do for you?”

She slid her fists to her hips and cocked her chin to the right. “What do you mean by that?” Did he think this was funny?

Finishing washing his hands, he flicked off the excess water and grabbed for a paper towel, still keeping his ice-blue gaze securely on her. And then, to send her irritation through the roof, he started laughing and nodding his head. “Okay, okay. I get it. Did the guys put you up to this? How much did they pay you to come in here?” He tossed the used paper into the wastebasket and then closed the area between them. “What’d they ask you to do? Seduce me? Is this a gift or a joke?” His eyes slowly slithered down her body. “At least they have good taste.”

“What?”

Reaching into his pocket, he produced a wallet and opened it.

She watched in horror.

“I’ll pay you double.”

Her gasp echoed off the ceramic walls.

Shrugging, he said, “Or triple, but that’s as high as I will go. Even a hot woman like you isn’t worth more than that, when all I plan to do is send you back where you came from with a goodbye and sincere good luck.”

“How dare you! I came in here to talk to you.” Her palm ached to slap him senseless. He deserved it. Anger boiled her blood. Her teeth clenched until she heard a gritting noise warning she’d break a tooth if she didn’t relax.

* * * *

Looking down at the woman who stood glaring at him, he wasn’t sure what to think. She looked like she could pop a vein. Her lips were pinched and her steely green glower nailed him with the intensity of a gun. Shuffling through his brain, back and forth, up and down, he tried figuring out whether he knew her. Nope, he’d remember if he’d ever met her. A woman like her, with her long, dark hair, pretty green eyes, and petite curvy body, would be unforgettable–even if she seemed a bit loony. Maybe she’d tipped the bottle a little too much that evening. He could understand that, although he hadn’t been drunk in years. Once he’d hit his thirties he’d had no use for getting drunk. “Did you say ‘talk’?” he asked.

“You’re lucky I don’t scream.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

Without a doubt, this woman was crazy. He didn’t need drama. He’d had enough over the last few months. Instinct told him he needed to cool off the situation before it got out of hand.

The strange woman’s face grew redder with each passing second. Did she mean him bodily harm? Not that he feared a five-foot, one hundred-pound woman, but he did wonder. In fact, he found it somewhat entertaining, although he didn’t dare laugh. Hell, he guessed she’d flip her lid and he didn’t want any part of that. “Can we please cut the drama? Can you just tell me what I’ve done, or said?”

Pointing her finger into the middle of his chest, she said through tight lips, “You’re unbelievable.”

“Okay.” Now he was totally lost.

“Are you going to stand there and pretend that you don’t know me? What type of man are you? And you call yourself a soldier? I have a few words I can think of to describe you. You might think this is amusing, but I assure you there is nothing about this situation that you’ll find worthy of a smile.”

Closing his wallet, he pushed the leather trifold back into the side pocket of his ABU pants. He sighed in growing irritation. If he found out his men had put this woman up to this as a joke, he’d kick their asses. “Look, lady–”

“Lady? Lady?” She all but screeched the word.

“Okay, sorry.” What piece of information was missing here?

Her mouth fell open. Her eyes teared up. Would she cry?

His heart sank. He could think of nothing worse than a woman in tears. Somehow he knew this wasn’t going to be a winning situation. Instinct told him he had just taken a front seat on a roller coaster of horror.

“You slept with me. Remember? Jasmine Sinclaire? Do you understand? Apparently it’s true. Men think with their parts…” Her attention dropped to his zipper and then back up. “Not their brains.” Her jaw cocked. She looked like she would puke or release a pent-up demon. He didn’t want any part of either one.

Confusion growing thicker, he leaned back against the sink, crossed his legs at the ankles and tucked his arms across his chest. “Jasmine…” Nice name. “That’s a flower, right?”

“A flower and a name…my name,” she snapped.

“A beautiful flower,” he murmured. Some of the tension released from her jaw and he got a better look at her. She was beautiful, no doubt. And because he felt a manly twitch in a lower part of his anatomy, he decided to roll with the conversation a bit longer. It’d been a while since he’d been with a woman. He’d only been back from Iraq for a short time and the opportunity for sex hadn’t presented itself. He’d been busy and not exactly in the right mind. If he’d had to choose between watching a pretty woman or listening to his buddies talk about cars, women and proving who had the biggest cajones, he’d choose the former each and every time without hesitation, even if that particular woman had lost her mind.

“I’m at a little bit of a disadvantage here, Jasmine. I believe you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” He felt sorry for the poor soul she looked for, because the man would have rip marks from head to toe after this woman finished with him. He’d like to be witness to that. A man getting his balls busted was always entertaining as long as it wasn’t his jewels in a sling.

“Sergeant Conner, right? Stationed here at Lackland, thirty-nine years old, served in Iraq and Afghanistan? A fighter pilot for the Air Force. Mother Jean, father Jarold.”

Had she just read his obituary? The woman did mean him harm.

How’d she know all that? Yeah, he had to admit, those stats caught him off guard. But then he realized that information was public record. Anyone with half a brain could look up those details. “Sorry, but those aren’t deep secrets.” He shrugged, ready to call it a finale.

“You grew up in Ohio, on a farm, where you used to skinny dip in a fishing pond. When you were ten, a group of girls caught you buck naked, and I’m sure a little embarrassed. Considering it was chilly coming out of the water, and we know what cold does to certain sensitive parts, you were nicknamed Tiny.” Her gaze dropped with precision to his zipper before nailing him again. “After that, you swam only if you had shorts. And then people wondered if the name Tiny held any truth.” She laughed.

Sadly, he knew the story…but it wasn’t
his
story.

Oh fuck
. Suspicion and concern mingled through his veins. He went on hyper alert. What else did she know? “For the last time, did my men put you up to this? I’m through with the games.”

“Do your men know about your tattoo?”

“Tattoo?”

“The one on your ass.” She shook her head and her hair bounced around her shoulders.

All oxygen left his lungs. Her accusations suddenly were coming together to form a big case of misunderstanding, one he didn’t need at this moment in his life. Saying the next words hurt. “A cross?”

She nodded. Her eyes narrowed. “Do your men know about the cross, or is it possible I do know you? We slept together. As pissed as I am that you don’t remember me, I think I’m more pissed because I drove here and wasted my time. But since I’m here–”

“There has been a mistake–”

“You bet there’s been a mistake.” Her eyes were glossy and wide. “I lowered myself to sleep with a man who apparently is a big loser. I bet you’re a real charmer to all the women, aren’t you? I bet you stack them up and watch them fall like dominoes. I’ve seen your type.”

“Where did I meet you?”

Crossing her arms, she snorted. “You did the piece in
Razor Hot Topic.
” Her brow popped up in accusation. “Are you high? On drugs? Have I crossed over into the Twilight Zone?”

The error came together all too clearly now.

She’d confused him as his brother. Identical twins, he and his brother always had been mistaken for each other. In fact, as teens, they’d taken each other’s spots on dates just to see if they could get by with it. They’d done everything together, including getting matching tattoos when they joined the Air Force.

A lot had transpired since his brother did the piece for the magazine. Shane had been deployed for secret duty, disappearing in days, suspected of foul play. After pleading with higher ups, Shawn was brought in to cover as Shane. Shawn had left deployment, come to Lackland, and took up as Shane.

Shawn didn’t believe for a second that his brother had been involved in any illegal activity. Reports said he’d taken a trip off course and then crashed. He hadn’t been heard from since. Shane had also been blamed for stealing secret maps and information from the government. Shawn knew Shane as well as he knew himself, and both of them bled red, white and blue. Neither if them would ever do anything to hurt their country.

And now, coincidentally, this strange lady showed up with a story of how Shane slept with her. How could he trust that this woman told the truth about the circumstances? How could he trust anyone right now? He didn’t know her. Yet, she knew private details about his brother.

Maybe he should tell her that he wasn’t Shane. But he couldn’t possibly, even if she deserved to know. The best he could do was try to convince her to chalk the experience up to a lesson learned and move on. Then he could get back out with the boys and see if any of them had any pertinent details.

Before Shawn could open his mouth to persuade her to leave, a loud thud sounded at the door. “Hey in there!”

Jasmine didn’t move a muscle. She just stared at him. Whatever his brother had done, he’d definitely burned his bridge with this woman. Shawn decided the knock might just be his savior. “Are we going to hold the toilets hostage much longer?”