With one look,he knew he was done for. He’d never thought that by scrubbing off her makeup Penny would reveal the one thing he was powerless to resist.
“What are you staring at?”
She scrunched her nose at him before she leaned over and kissed him lightly. The freckles usually covered by her makeup were a beguiling pattern covering her pert nose.
Freckles. His Penny had freckles.
Yeah, he was done for.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
WHEN PENNY PULLED open the front door of Matt’s house the next morning, she’d only been intending to get one of her bags from her car. She wasn’t sure who was more surprised, her or the group of people standing on the doorstep.
“Hi, we’re here to see Matt Simmons.” The guy in the front was tall and well built. He was clean-shaven and wore his dark hair razored extremely close.
Military, Penny thought. As she observed the man standing behind him, she got the same impression.
Penny blinked several times before her brain kicked in. “Oh, yes. He’s here.” Before she could turn around, the group let out a collective whoop. “Ace!”
She whirled around to see Matt standing directly behind her. To her surprise, he kissed her squarely on the mouth before he reached around her and opened the screen door. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”
The group filed past them and into the house. Penny backed up slightly until she was half-hidden behind Matt. Surreptitiously, she patted the top of her hair down. She was seriously regretting her decision not to put on makeup and comb her hair before leaving the house.
“Penny, these are some of the guys from my old unit. This is Tommy McCann and his wife Danielle. And this is Saul Shepard and his wife Cora. Guys, this is my girlfriend, Penny. She’s the physical therapist I told you about.”
A warm glow rose to her cheeks as she observed Matt’s pride in introducing her.
“So you’re the physical therapist?” The guy he’d introduced as Tommy picked her up and spun her around.
“Wow. It’s nice to meet you, too!” Penny clutched at his arms when he finally set her on the ground.
“Guys, don’t scare her off yet.” Matt put a possessive arm around her shoulders.
Saul chuckled. “You can’t keep her hidden away forever. We’ve all been hearing about your miracle worker. Look at you, man. I’d never know you got hurt looking at you now.”
Matt led them into the living room. Penny dragged in a few extra chairs from the kitchen.
“So, you’re all in the same unit?” Penny asked.
“We used to be. Matt was reassigned last year.”
“There are so many stories we can tell you about Ace,” Tommy bragged.
“For starters, why do you call him that?”
There was a chorus of voices then.
“Oh you haven’t seen his competitive side yet?”
“He always has to be number one.”
“I don’t care what it is, from shooting to bowling, he has to be the best. If he isn’t, he’ll practice until the day he can beat you.”
Penny laughed along with the others. She’d gotten a small glimpse of his competitiveness in the bedroom. The man was an inexhaustible sex god. He’d been determined to make her feel so much pleasure that her eyes had almost rolled to the back of her head.
“I’ve seen how hard he works in therapy. He hates to lose.”
It was a good thing too, she thought. It was likely the only reason he hadn’t given up on her.