Page 26 of Winter’s Heart (Three of Hearts #1)

“Hey, babe.” Her heart kicked hard in her ribcage at his easy endearment.

No one else had ever called her babe. It felt…

right somehow. She circled her arms around his waist, and they stood for many moments in their quiet embrace as she absorbed the heat of him, desperately needing his strength.

“Are you okay?” he asked at last, and she lifted her face and kissed him fiercely, crushing her body against his, telling him without words how okay she was.

There were no regrets, no recriminations, only a feeling of calm and of being blessed.

What they’d just done had been wonderful.

Even if the rest of her life had gone to shit, this was one bright, shining moment she’d remember forever.

“I’m fantastic,” she replied. “You?”

“Is there a word for better than fantastic?” He murmured against her hair. “Because if there is, then that’s what I am.”

She sought his lips again, luxuriating in the simple feel of being thoroughly kissed. As their kiss deepened, a surge of heat rolled through her, pooling low in her belly, and she ground her hips against his, wrapping one leg around his thigh and batting her eyelids at him.

“We could go back to bed,” she suggested, tracing a finger down the side of his chiseled face, loving the way his pupils dilated as he stared back, hazel eyes going dark and dangerous.

“We could,” he replied, letting his mouth trail the length of her neck. But a loud rumble from his stomach shattered the moment, and she laughed, breaking their embrace.

“Maybe we should have something to eat first. To get our strength back,” she said with a sigh.

Thinking about it, she was famished as well.

They hadn’t eaten since a quick breakfast at the safe house in Lule?, and that was over twenty hours ago.

The coffee maker was already filling the kitchen with the familiar smell of her morning brew, so she put four pieces of bread in the toaster.

Even though it was dinner time, her internal clock was confused, and a simple meal was all she could manage right now.

Jacob went around to the other side of the table and took a seat, staring out the window into the front yard, a pensive frown on his brow.

Nikki leaned against the countertop and indulged herself for a moment, delighting in the rumpled, half-asleep version of him.

His back and shoulder muscles flexed beneath his shirt as he moved to rest his chin in the palm of his hand; muscles she could now recount every firm ridge and solid plane in detail.

Muscles that she’d had the ultimate indulgence of running her fingers over only a few hours ago.

And could do so again if she so wished. The idea was intoxicating.

She no longer saw him solely as the hardened, always-in-control cop who’d saved her life back in the snow.

Now she knew his body intimately. Knew what was between his thighs and the immense pleasure it brought.

Knew he had a gentle side that he never showed to the rest of the world.

Her perception of Jacob was forever changed.

For the past few days he’d been her savior, her protector, her shield.

But now he was so much more. He was a lover, a confidante.

A combustible connection had formed between them, driven by passion and deep emotion.

But she wasn’t sure how to process all that. Wasn’t sure what it meant.

It’d all been shaped by the understanding that it might never happen again.

The intensity had been real at the time, but what about now, in the cold light of day?

Was she falling in love with Jacob? No, it wasn’t realistic; they’d only known each other for two days.

Yes, they’d built an unshakeable bond, forged by forced proximity and dire circumstances, but that was all.

It was ridiculous even to be thinking about the L word.

Her mind swirled with all the knotted complexity of everything they’d just shared, but she was incapable of processing it all right now.

Whatever this was that they were doing, love just wasn’t possible. Perhaps if things had been different…

The toast popped with a loud bang, startling them both, and breaking her twisted thoughts.

Gosh, what had she been doing? This was no time to be wallowing in ifs and maybes; first and foremost, they needed to get out of this predicament.

She could think about matters such as love and relationships later.

“I can only offer you strawberry jam,” she said, hoping her voice sounded normal as she reached for the toast.

“That’d be great,” he replied, getting up from the table and taking the two mugs she’d laid out on the bench to the coffeepot to fill them. Once they had their toast and coffee, they each took a seat, and there was silence for long moments as they took great bites of their food.

“Best toast I’ve ever tasted,” Jacob quipped.

“That’s because it’s post-coital toast. And everyone knows post-coital toast is the best,” she quipped back.

They smiled stupidly at each other, and Nikki felt something expand in her chest. Why did this feel so easy?

So right? It wasn’t fair. She wanted to have the time and space to explore whatever was happening between them.

But the world had conspired against them, and she needed to remind herself that Jacob wasn’t for her.

Once this was over—whenever that might be—Jacob would return to Sweden.

And she’d be left here alone. That thought hit Nikki like a bucket of cold water, and the smile fell from her face as she turned toward her meal, which now didn’t seem so appealing.

Time to come back to reality. They needed to talk about what was going to happen next. How they might get out of this situation, if that were even possible.

“I thought they were saving me by bringing me home,” she said, staring down at her plate.

“They might’ve saved me from being shot by a bunch of hitmen, but that’s about all.

Now it seems they’re keeping me—us—prisoners.

But to what end?” She lifted her eyes and met his.

“Someone doesn’t want me to testify in that court case, do they? ”

“That’s the impression I’m getting,” he said, his gaze darting around the room.

“But who? And why? I mean, your deputy commissioner told me the government organized my military flight home, but I didn’t even think to ask what that actually meant.

Are we talking about one particular agency here?

Or one particular person? Someone high up, perhaps in the Senate or even Congress?

And what does that someone hope to achieve if Diàoyú Aquaculture gets to keep its fish farming licenses?

” Her mind refused to make sense of it all; there were too many permutations.

“I don’t know.” But as Jacob said the words, he put his finger to his lips, then pointed at the walls.

What the…?

“Oh.” Nikki drew back in horror as she suddenly realized what he was implying.

The FBI might have bugged her house. They were listening in on everything they said.

Was it possible? Oh, God, had they been listening as she and Jacob had made love?

The idea made her so angry she couldn’t sit on her stool any longer, and she got up to stamp around the kitchen.

But Jacob grabbed her arm and steered her toward the hallway. “I think it’s time for a shower, don’t you?”

What was he doing? Had he gone mad? Now wasn’t the moment for getting clean.

As Jacob guided them both into the small bathroom and shut the door behind them, Nikki was seething with both the audacity of the FBI and confusion as to what the hell he thought he was doing.

But when Jacob turned the sink faucet on full and then reached in and activated the shower as well, her confusion vanished in a flash of insight.

“They can’t hear us over the sound of the water?” she asked in a half-whisper.

“I hope not,” Jacob replied, perching on the side of the bathtub and patting a spot next to him, indicating she should sit. “But try to keep your voice down,” he added with a grimace. “It depends on what tech they’re using, and if they have video and audio.”

Nikki’s head sprang up. Did she now have to be worried that the FBI might have video footage of her and Jacob in bed together?

The grinding rage that’d been building in her gut turned to white-hot fury.

How dare they? It made her more determined than ever to get out of here and somehow make it to that courtroom in Norway.

If she could only testify, then she could spit in the face of those double-crossing agents.

She asked the question that was now burning brightly in her mind. “Is this still related to Diàoyú? Are they really FBI agents? Or are they some kind of Chinese deepfake decoy?” Could the company’s influence reach that far onto American soil? It was bloody scary if that were true.

“I wondered the same thing for a while too,” Jacob admitted.

“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but I think that’d be hard to forge.

They certainly looked and felt like the real thing.

Although who they’re working for is another matter completely.

” He cocked his head to the side and ran a hand through his hair as she watched his reflection in the mirror above the sink.

His brow wrinkled with the intensity of his contemplation.

Nikki trusted his judgment about the agents being genuine.

As a highly trained professional, she was pretty sure he’d be able to recognize the same qualities in another agent or officer.

But what was he saying? Was there corruption within the FBI?

And if so, where did the corruption stem from?

The team leader, the entire team, or an individual further up the chain directing the unit?

“So, do you think this mission to keep me from testifying is being driven directly by someone in the FBI?”