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beats.  I couldn’t think, I couldn’t move.  Everything in me wanted to rush into his arms and have him hold me, rubbing myself all over him, claiming him as mine.
    Very slowly , I pulled my hand from his and stepped back a few inches, but it was enough for me to clear my head.
    “Are you hungry?”
    “Sure,” he purred.
    I had to force myself to breathe.  “Then let me treat you to dinner.”
    His expression never changed.  He just stared unblinking into my eyes.  “You already paid for the repair.”
    I bit my lip.  I wasn’t going to get to be smooth and sneaky with this guy.
    What a relief…
    “I was trying to look for a reason to spend some more time with you… and not drag you upstairs into bed.”
    I stood there, mortified.  I’d really just said that, hadn’t I?
    He chuckled, a surprised look on his face.
    “Plus I’m starving ,” I continued.  I had to get as far away from what I’d just said as possible.
    Jake licked his lips and moved to the side, out of my way.
    “By all means, buy me a meal before you drag me to bed.”
    Shit…
    I winced and closed my eyes as I passed by him.  I heard his boots pad behind me as we headed for my front door.
    I was pretty sure he had his eyes glued to my ass.
     

Chapter 6
     
    BRAD AND ANGELINA WERE trying to kill each other.  Brad had a handgun, Angelina a shotgun.  They even got some remodeling done on the house while they worked out their domestic problems.
    “ Mr. & Mrs. Smith” played on the enormous televisions scattered over the walls of the Damon’s where we’d gone to eat. I guess when there wasn’t any actual sporting events on the management defaults to movie hybrids: half action, half romance.
    I had a rack of baby back ribs with seasoned fries and coleslaw.  I ordered some spicy queso to dip the fries in.  I chewed a big bite of sauce soaked pork with glee, and finally washed it down with a swig from my Corona.
    Jake had a steak the size of Florida on his plate—well done, thank god.  I didn’t think I could have made it through watching him hack into a slab of raw and bloodied meat.  He also had a baked potato with butter and sour cream, and a side of broccoli.  To my surprise, he was eating the green with the artery clogging stuff too.
    I just could n’t imagine where it all went.  I mean, I didn’t see an ounce of fat anywhere on the man.
    It wasn’t fair.
    I almost stopped eating, but then my stomach growled and I realized that wasting a culinary wet dream like this wouldn’t help my waistline, my thighs, or my butt. 
    Jake smiled and held up his Heineken for me to clink my Corona with.
    I gulped down my swig of Mexican beer and pointed at the gargantuan television screen.
    “This is my favorite part!”
    Brad said, “Come to daddy.”  Angelina smashed him in the side of the head with a huge metal urn wrapped up in a drape, and then she kicked him across the room where he smashed into some glass cabinets. 
    “Who’s your daddy now?” I said along with Angelina.  I turned to Jake.  “She so could have taken him.”
    This was where I was sure he would object.  Guys just wouldn’t admit that a woman, no matter how badass, could beat a man in a fight.  It was just how they were hardwired.  My male chauvinist pig of a brother had only said, “I’d let her take me anytime.”
    I sat there and waited as Jake smiled at the screen and chewed his steak, and then he looked back at me and nodded.  “Her character was obviously way better trained, so yeah, he wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
    My mouth fell open and I know I looked mentally challenged… but, damn .
    “What?” Jake said, looking oddly self-conscious.   
    I shook my head.  “Nothing… you’re just rapidly becoming the most interesting man I’ve ever met.”
    He smiled wickedly, his dimples really showing.
    “Wait till you hear me burp the Pledge of Allegiance and my ABCs.  You’ll see I’m just as immature and macho as the next