Page 29 of Lethal Illusion (Six Points Security #8)

He said it as if that explained everything. She’d have to take his word for it. Life-or-death experiences weren’t a part of her daily routine.

Gently, he gathered her into his arms, and the strength of his body, the scent of his skin, felt so right it ached in her bones.

She softened against him, grateful for the comfort he offered, and her breath left her in a sigh.

He rubbed soft circles up and down her back, and little by little, the jumbled knots of tension in her body unraveled.

If given the choice, she would have stayed locked in his arms forever, but eventually his hold on her loosened.

“Better?” he asked, his voice a low murmur.

“Yes. Thank you.” She glanced up, meeting his gaze, and it felt as though time froze. There was so much fire in his chocolate-brown eyes, so much restrained passion. It made her a little light-headed. And at that moment, she would have given anything to feel his lips on hers.

He raised one hand to cup her face, the tips of his fingers sliding into her hair, while his thumb caressed her cheek. His lips parted. Damn, he was close. Only a few inches separated them. But he didn’t move closer, not even a bit. Instead, he blinked, blinked again, and drew his hand away.

Sloane made a sound to convey her frustration. She needed more, needed him , and she sensed he felt the same way. Throwing caution to the wind, she stood on her tiptoes, linked her hands around his neck, and kissed him with everything she had.

Every muscle in his body stiffened for a second or two, just long enough for her to question the wisdom of her actions.

If she’d misread his feelings, things were going to get seriously awkward.

But then a low, rough rumble rose from deep in his chest. He angled his head, his tongue sliding over the seam of her mouth, and she opened for him, sighing because it felt so right.

His scent surrounded her, so familiar after last night, but now it mingled with the taste of his kiss to create an intoxicating combination. His arm snaked around her, drawing her close, and she could feel the undeniable proof that he was into this as much as she was.

“This is wrong,” he murmured against her mouth, but kept kissing her as though he needed her as much as he needed air.

His mouth was firm, his tongue slick against hers, while his beard stubble grazed her skin in a way that made her wonder how it would feel against other parts of her body.

The space around them crackled with energy, something new, and untamed, and so very powerful it energized every cell in her body.

“You don’t want this?” she said on the heels of a gasp.

“That’s not what I said. It’s just…”

However he meant to finish that sentence dissolved into a series of long, slow, drugging kisses that wiped all rational thought from her mind.

Her hands drifted down from his neck to his chest, and the feel of hard muscle beneath her flattened palms drove her desire even higher. A curl of heat unfurled inside her, starting low and spreading like wildfire, until it felt as though the only thing on earth that could possibly quench it—

Navarre tore his mouth away from hers as if he’d just been burned. His chest heaved with ragged breaths, his eyes wide and unfocused.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his voice frayed at the edges. “I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. That shouldn’t have happened.”

It took a few seconds for the words to register in her mind. “What? Why not? I liked it. I’m pretty sure you did too.”

His expression twisted, torn between anger and something far more dangerous. “What I like is irrelevant. I’m supposed to protect you, not maul you like a horny teenager.”

“But I enjoyed the mauling.”

“That’s not the point.” He raked a hand through his hair, leaving some strands sticking up at odd angles, and she barely contained the urge to smooth them down for him.

He stepped back, as though he needed to create a buffer between them. “My focus— my only focus —has to be on keeping you safe. I can’t afford distractions. Out here, one mistake could get us both killed. Wanting you…it clouds everything.”

“Fair enough,” she said, trying hard to keep her voice light. “When we get back, we can—”

“No, we can’t. There is no ‘when we get back.’ We’re coworkers.

That’s a recipe for disaster.” An edge crept into his voice.

“If we stop right now, we can blame this on the heat of the moment. Pretend it never happened. And maybe things won’t be too weird at the office every time we pass in the hall.

But if we let this go any further…” He dragged a hand through his hair again.

“Can you imagine how uncomfortable things might get if this doesn’t work out between us? ”

His reasoning struck a chord with her. Workplace romances were nothing new.

She knew a few women—like Nina—who’d met their significant others on the job.

But she’d also heard as many cautionary tales from women who’d hooked up with a colleague, only to have the relationship sour.

Talk about a toxic work environment. One of them even had to find another job because the workplace had turned hostile.

And although she didn’t think that would happen with Navarre, it was probably better not to risk it.

Still, it made her heart heavy, because she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d given up on something special. “So what do we do now?”

“Same as before: stay alive, evade the enemy, and find our way to civilization.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

His features softened, and the pair of lines between his eyebrows faded.

“I’m not going to lie and say I don’t find you attractive.

You’re smart, and funny, and sexy as hell, and you’ve handled all this much better than I expected.

And yeah, that kiss came pretty damn close to short-circuiting my brain.

If the circumstances were different, if we didn’t work under the same roof… ”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. She understood the point he was trying to convey. And on some level, she agreed with him, though she wasn’t happy about it.

“Just friends?” she asked.

He nodded. “It’s the best I can offer.”

In the grand scheme of things, she supposed it could be worse. They’d worked past their differences, and maybe one day she’d stop wondering what he looked like naked. She had other guy friends; she just had to find a way to lump him into that category and move on with her life.

She shook the hand he offered, trying her best not to notice the way her pulse quickened with the simple contact.

Overhead, the forest had awakened with a symphony of birdsong. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of trees, casting intricate patterns of light and shadow on the ground below. Pretty soon it might even be warm enough for the air not to fog her breath.

Navarre reached into his bag and pulled out a meal bar. “Hungry?”

At the mention of food, her stomach rumbled. More than twelve hours had passed since she’d eaten the last bar. But he’d only taken out one bar instead of two. “I’ll eat one if you do.”

He shook his head. “I’m not hungry.”

That couldn’t possibly be true. The man hadn’t eaten a bite since yesterday. But rather than argue with him, she tried a different tactic. “Then I guess I’m not hungry either.”

He arched one eyebrow. “Are you trying to guilt me into eating?”

“No, I’m emulating your pigheaded nature. How am I doing?”

“Surprisingly well.”

She beamed. “I’m a quick study. Now are you going to eat, or do we both get to starve?”

Navarre made a noise that was somewhere between a growl and a grunt. He reached back into the bag for another bar and tossed it to her. “Happy?”

“Delighted.” She tore the wrapper and bit off as much as she could fit into her mouth. This one was blueberry with little bits of walnut, and she was pretty sure it was even better than the one she had last night.

They ate in companionable silence, the only sound coming from the twitter of birds and the rustle of wind through the trees. She could have sworn she felt his eyes on her, but every time she glanced his way, he was looking in another direction.

“So which way are we going?” she asked before she took her last bite.

“Well, we were heading northeast toward Sierra’s estate, but since the mercs took off in that direction, we’ll have to change course.

” Finished with his bar, he stuffed the wrapper in his rucksack and took out a map.

He pointed out several locations. “We’re here, that’s where we ditched our vehicle, and they’re moving in that direction.

If we cut through this valley and go around the lake, it should bring us close to the road.

Then we can walk parallel to it until we reach this little town here.

It doesn’t look like much, but there should be a place where we can make a call. ”

If the map was correct, they’d be covering even more distance than they did yesterday. “That’s an awful lot of walking.”

At least he didn’t seem happy about it. He shot her a sympathetic look. “Yeah, I know. How are your feet holding up?”

“Better than they’ll be by the end of the day.”