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Freya whirled around.

Sylvie waved a hand to show the men in the doorway into the room. “They just arrived, sir.”

The doorway framed two imposing men. An aura of quiet competence radiated from their stance. They were dressed in black tactical gear, their boots polished to a military-grade shine.

The closer one sported a wild beard threaded with silver, below startlingly blue eyes that were sharp and assessing.

His companion, taller and equally formidable, studied her, his face a mask of professional neutrality. He was a big man, six-feet-four, she guessed, with dark skin and keen brown eyes. Her scientific mind couldn’t help but catalog his features: strong jawline, high cheekbones, full lips—objectively speaking, he was extremely handsome.

What am I doing?

She should look away, but she couldn’t.

I’m a scientist. I’m trained to notice details. Like his smile.

He was smiling at her right now. A slow, confident curve of his lips that radiated charm in mega-watt proportions.

It’s just a smile and what I’m feeling is a completely ordinary physiological response to a symmetrical face. Nothing more.

But these men who looked like they’d escaped from a Bond novel were undoubtedly the security team she’d just finished insulting. Within earshot.

Freya lifted her chin. There wasn’t room for niceties where her work was concerned and if that meant a few bruised egos, so be it. “I’m sorry you had to hear that, gentlemen. No offense was intended. Just an observation of facts.”

“None taken.” The taller of the men drawled.

She shifted, uncrossing her arms, then crossing them again. No position felt comfortable, and her cheeks were inexplicably hot. This was most unlike her.

Einar broke the tense silence. “Ah, gentlemen. Impeccable timing. Freya, meet your new security detail.”

The man with the beard stepped forward, his voice smooth. “Dr. Jonsdottir, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Thom Fox, and this is my colleague, Abe Knight.”

Sylvie, watching the whole debacle from the corner of Einar’s office, let out a small, appreciative sigh. “Oh my, your English accent is lush.”

Freya shot Sylvie a withering glare.

“Sylvie. Perhaps coffee?” Einar smoothed tufts of hair on the top of his head.

Sylvie bobbed and exited the room, but not before giving both men a final appreciative once over.

Seriously? Freya swallowed a sigh of her own as she directed her attention back to the bearded man. Thom Fox.

“Just Freya is fine. We rarely use surnames in Iceland.”

“Informal it is then.” The bearded man nodded. “You can call me Fox, and my colleague here is Abe.”

Abe held out his large hand. His scent teased her nose. Another intrusion in her ordered life. Citrus soap. “Freya. I look forward to working as partners with you on this mission.”

Freya ignored his outstretched hand, clasping her hands behind her back. “I just want to be clear that I did not choose you as a security detail.”

A glance fired between the two men.

“Noted.” Abe’s voice was deep and rich as he withdrew his hand. Sensuous. It slid over her, smooth as aged brandy, which was utterly disconcerting.

Einar gestured for the two men to enter fully. “Please, gentlemen, come in, come in.” His voice held a forced cheerfulness that grated on Freya’s nerves.

She pressed her teeth together, the pressure building in her temples. This really was happening. She’d been overruled. There will still be ground rules. She cleared her throat. “I want to be clear that we are not partners. My word is final with the transport of the archive.”

Einar looked dismayed, but Freya didn’t care. He’d already pulled the rug out from under her.

Abe’s eyebrows climbed while his partner, Fox, attempted to flatten a smile with little luck.

“Is this how you treat all your staff?” Abe’s tone was maddeningly calm. “You give them orders and expect them to jump?”

Heat flushed the back of her neck. “If you simply do as I say, there won’t be any need for jumping.”

Abe’s lips twitched.

Was he enjoying this?

“Don’t worry, I’ll assess every situation and if your orders are the best course of action, I’ll follow them, but if not, I’ll let you know and we’ll follow an alternative course of action.” He paused, studying her with an intensity that made her breath catch. “Just as science is your speciality. Protection is mine.”

Air deserted her lungs. “I think?—”

Abe winked at her.

Winked .

What the ? —

Then he cranked the power on his smile up to full solar. “I think we’re going to get on just fine.”

It was a smile that would fell most women, leaving them weak-kneed and breathless. She understood that. It won’t work on me.

Beside her, Einar sucked in air with a sharp whistle. He hunched his shoulders as if he were battening down the hatches to prepare for an impending storm.

Carefully constructed and witty retorts spun haywire in her head, but none of them coalesced into anything coherent on her tongue.

Words never failed her. Yet here she stood, momentarily struck dumb by a smile and a wink.

“Freya?” Einar sounded perplexed.

Abe watched her with an intensity that made her skin prickle. Indignation flared through her, and beneath it, a tiny flicker of something else. Something unknown that she refused to name.

The sudden bang of the door flying open made her jump. Beaming, Sylvie pushed a steel trolley into the room, the wheels squeaking against the polished floor. “Coffee, gentlemen.”

Freya breathed a silent sigh of relief as the men’s attention shifted to Sylvie. She fussed over Abe and Fox, offering them cookies studded with chocolate chips that she must have raided from the management offices. Freya poured herself a glass of water from a carafe on the trolley and drank it, grateful for the opportunity to avoid speaking for a few moments.

What was wrong with her?

Maybe the tear gas had affected her more than she realized.

She finished her water, her attention drawn to Abe as he accepted the coffee from Sylvie. His hands dwarfed the delicate china, looking large enough to?—

Circle my waist.

She jerked her gaze away and set her glass down with a shaky hand.

Tear gas had addled my brain.

Of course.

That’s what this was.

Tear gas fallout.