Page 18 of Too Guarded to Love (Project VIPER #3)

Fighting the chemistry that struck him like lightning every time they were in the same room, and sizzled when they were apart, would be easier if she’d stop doing things that made him respect her so goddamn much.

Still, the need to find out what she wanted to offer clawed at him like the buzz in his neck.

He should hightail it to the recreation room where he’d been ordered.

Better yet, find an excuse to skip the debrief. He’d fulfilled his promise to Kane.

Stay with my sister. Keep her safe.

That commitment expired the minute he’d delivered Olivia to headquarters in one piece, but why did visions of punching her weenie ex-boyfriend sound satisfying? And why was he jealous that Edgar got to walk her back to her room?

And earlier, when she’d passed out, he’d wanted to sweep her in his arms and carry her to bed.

That move would have earned him another jab to his face.

If Kane wasn’t the one to deliver it, he’d punch himself.

A super soldier should have the strength to combat possessiveness he had no business feeling.

Olivia’s door opened. As she stepped out, he forgot about the reasons he should keep his distance.

If he didn’t possess a super leg made from unyielding steel, he’d be the one on his knees right now.

She’d changed from the baggy sweatpants and sweatshirt.

Now faded jeans hung low on her hips. Her worn brown boots peeked from beneath her pant legs.

The hem of her dark-pink T-shirt stopped a half inch above her waistband, offering a glimpse of smooth, taut skin.

A denim jacket in a lighter pink that matched the blush in her cheeks completed the casual, sexy look.

And now he knew how many shades of blonde and brown mingled in the thick curls that hung past her shoulders.

Her mouth dropped in a sexy O as she spotted him. His cock remembered the last time she’d opened those lips on his behalf.

Adjusting his stance, he nodded to her feet. “Feel better with your boots on?”

She clicked her heels. “Yes.”

The movement exposed another inch of her belly. His cock jerked its appreciation again. He willed his body to relax and snapped his gaze to her face.

So much for calming down. Her blue eyes sparkled with life and energy, resilience and excitement, and so many other emotions he couldn’t define.

She hooked her thumbs into her front pockets. “Let’s get this meeting over with so I can sit with Gran and convince her to wake up.” She walked down the hall.

He cradled her elbow and nudged her in the other direction. “The elevators are this way.”

“Oh, I’ve been so tired since I got here, I haven’t paid attention to my bearings.”

He guided her past Patience’s office and around the corner. The scent of flowers and rain tickled his nostrils. “And you aren’t tired any longer?” She seemed ready to hit a honky-tonk.

“No, remember Edgar said that Patience had something special for me?” She stopped and faced him. “It was a shot of some special healing concoction. She didn’t share details, and I didn’t ask.” She patted her backside. “I just let her shoot me up and now I feel so much better.”

Great. Now Patience was back on his list of people he was jealous of who got to spend time with Olivia. He scratched his neck. It didn’t buzz, but maybe he could claw out the hold Olivia held on him with his steel.

Olivia slowed her steps. “Are you okay?”

He placed his hand on the small of her back and nudged her through the exit and to the elevators. Smooth skin met his fingers. “Yeah.”

“Are you sure? I’ve noticed that you rub the back of your neck a lot, and you seem to do it when you’re mad or anxious.” She stopped walking. “Look, I’m really sorry for not telling you who I was, but I saw this arm and I wanted to touch it and examine how it worked, and…”

She ran her fingers over his steel bicep. The heat traveled through his T-shirt and into his veins. Curiosity, anger, and unadulterated desire boiled to near breaking. He needed answers, and so much more.

Now.

He tugged her into a vacant office and spun her to face him. With a kick, the door slammed at his back. “And what, Olivia?”

She looked over his shoulder. “Isn’t Edgar expecting us?”

“He can wait.” If the president were here, he’d have to wait too. “What were you thinking when you realized who I was?”

He held his breath as he waited for her answer, half praying for a response that would please him, half hoping she’d say something to send him running.

“I wasn’t thinking at first.” Slowly, she grazed her fingers down his arm. “Curiosity and amazement kidnapped me.”

He sucked in a breath as she detoured to his abs.

“And then I saw these, and…” She traced each ridge under his shirt with her nail.

His cock screamed to forget his fears born from past mistakes. To forget she was Kane’s sister. Right now, he just wanted her to be the wild sirena from the ocean he could try to tame. “And then you discovered something south and helped yourself. ”

The blush in her cheeks darkened. She looked at her boots.

Nic raised an eyebrow. Now that was different. In Gran’s room, she seemed so confident about what she wanted.

Him. She’d wanted him.

A rush of macho pride expanded his chest. Charming a woman into his bed was easy. He’d been blessed with good looks and an inherent charisma he turned on to get what he wanted, whether it was an extra slice of pizza when he’d been in foster care or information vital to national security.

He’d never been a guy who craved the chase. Never had to pursue women. They flocked to him. But he’d let Olivia lead, and this damn blistering attraction he couldn’t shake scared him more than his need to rip apart the sniper who put a bullet in her beautiful body.

He stepped into her. She backed up against the desk. An inch of space and a bottomless well of anticipation sizzled between them. Wrapping a hand around her neck and his fingers through her hair, he angled her head with a firm jerk. “If you hadn’t been shot, what would have been your next move?”

A gasp slipped through her lips. A sound like that from a woman usually resulted from some type of kinky play. Olivia’s reaction to the dominance he only let loose in the bedroom—if asked and discussed—thrilled him more than any other woman he’d held in his grip.

He dipped his head to her ear. “Tell me. What would you have done next with your pretty mouth?” His hand at her waist snaked under her T-shirt. “Would you have stayed on your knees, taking all of me until I hit the back of your throat and your eyes teared?”

She arched into his body. “That was my plan.”

“And what would you have done when the sight of you at my feet and the feel of your hot mouth wrapped around my cock made me explode?”

A soft moan sang from her throat.

Christ, he had to stop talking like this or he was going to come in his pants like a teenager.

She pressed her palm into his steel hip. The tips of her fingers grazed his hard length. “I would have tasted all of you.”

“Fuck, Olivia.” He skated his lips over her cheek and stopped centimeters from her mouth.

Her hot breath triggered another surge of desire as he pressed his hips into her.

She’d already witnessed the effect she had on him.

Now he needed her to feel it. “Are you going to finish what you started? Is that the deal you were going to propose? I wouldn’t want you to regret missing out on something you craved so badly. ”

“I thought you were angry with me.”

He brushed his lips against hers. “I’m furious, but my body doesn’t seem to care.”

Footsteps sounded outside the door. A moment later, Kane and Edgar’s voices filtered through.

Olivia stiffened. “We need to go.” She moved her palm from his hip to his chest and pushed. “Kane and Edgar will be looking for us.”

Nic backed away. Even though every breath, every move she made said she wanted to take this further, he retreated. When a woman said no, playtime ended. Except he wasn’t playing with Olivia. He didn’t know what he was doing, but he was nowhere near done.

She looked around the room as if someone was watching them.

“Uh, about what I said about a deal. Forget it. I was tired and worried about Gran.” Shoving a curl from her face, she averted her gaze.

“It’s a lot for a girl to get run off the road, get shot, and learn that her ex-boyfriend is a pathological liar all in one day.

Forgive me if I’m a little unhinged and just pretend we never had that conversation, okay? ”

Nic shrugged. “What deal? Already forgotten?” He beamed a smile at her as he opened the door and ushered her into the hallway. His neck buzzed again, but not because he was uneasy. It buzzed because he was planning something stupid.

If she could lie, so could he.