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“Like a GPS coordinate?” Halo asked.
“More general, a city. Deidre dragged me along to Switzerland to get her birthday destination site. And the woman told me I was to go to Tallinn, Estonia, on my birthday. We were already in Europe, so we thought, why not?”
“On your birthday. Today.”
“Yup. Be in Old City, Tallinn today.” Mary held back that it was supposed to change all three parts of her life – her career, her love life, and her life’s trajectory. Could this man be the change? If Mrs. V was right to send her here—not that Mary was looking for a husband—but the solace of a man’s arms, the strength of someone having her back. She’d never really had a relationship with a man who would be around. It could be him. Maybe.
Halo leaned in, painting a finger down the side of her face. “Happy birthday, Mary.”
She closed her eyes and kissed him. It was a warm honey kiss, sweet and rich, decadent and filled with goodness. She’d never had a kiss feel that way before. Her heart was racing in her chest. With her lips on his, she maneuvered her way closer. His tongue laced with hers. Slow.
The kiss was glorious, but the angle somehow dug into a tender spot, and she grimaced.
“You’re in pain. Of course, you are.” His lips were so close that his words were a warm breath on her cheek. “What can I do?”
“Kiss my booboo and make me feel better?” Mary had said it playfully, but Halo took her quite literally.
He scooped under her knees and laid her out on the bed, crawling onto the mattress beside her. He lifted her foot to his lips. “Your poor foot.” He kissed. “And the inside of your ankle.” He kissed.
Mary’s entire body heated, melted, and awakened.
Halo snapped his finger and pointed to the crate. Dutifully, Max jumped down and went to his bed.
Halo rested a finger under her chin, tilting her head so he could look her in the eye. “Can you tell me what you’re thinking? What do you want to happen here?”
Mary hesitated. This next sentence was going to be the most spontaneous thing she’d ever said to a man who was a stranger just a few hours before. “I was wondering if you might have a condom with you?”
Chapter Nineteen
September Fifth
Tallinn, Estonia
Their day in the bog had gotten the green-light.
Mary was off to her room to get changed and would meet him in the lobby.
With Max by his side, he took the elevator to meet Nutsbe, thinking about what Mary had said after he’d made love to her. He had thought the experience was exquisite.
Perhaps because of the connection they’d made as they worked to not just save that young family but to save each other that made the sex such a rich, intimate, amazing feeling.
But when Mary left the room, she said, “Thank you again for our talk last night.” She’d smiled. “And thank you extra for the very lovely distraction.”
Halo wasn’t sure what to make of that.
Was that what happened?
The sex was a stress relief? A distraction from bad thoughts?
If that’s what it was for her, that’s what it was. Halo couldn’t make someone feel what he was feeling. He’d just thought that there was a deeper connection there. That something between them clicked into place when they were in survival mode together. That they’d forged a bond when he first caught her eye, and there was an acknowledgment that they needed each other to stay alive.
The very lovely distraction—that was a kick in the gut.
But Halo wasn’t sure how American women phrased things. And, for sure, he wasn’t going to press her. He was just going to let the day unfold.
“Morning.” Halo lifted a hand when he saw Nutsbe at the table, computer open, papers stacked neatly to the side.
“Mary?”