Page 155 of Covert Mission

She whips her head toward him. “Are you going too?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Someone’s gotta be there to keep you two from killing each other.”

She glances at me, before she looks at him again, wearing an unreadable expression. “You think we can’t get along?”

“I think he’s going to be a protective bear, and you’re gonna get pissed.”

Camile pinches her lips together. “He does have a way of running all over me.”

I grab her around the waist and drag her out of her chair, onto my lap. “You know you love it.”

“That’s my cue to get out of here. See you at dinner.” Scout takes off.

Given how she’s acting this morning, I half expect Camile to wiggle off my lap, but she doesn’t. She does sit stiffly, though.

I glide my hand up her back, massaging her shoulder. “You’re pretty bound up here.”

A rough sigh follows. “That knot has your name on it.”

She moans a little, and some of the tension eases out of me.

After a quiet beat, she asks, “So, what are we going to do tonight?”

I dig my thumb into her trapezius, working the knot. Firm, but not too hard. “We’ll scope the place out, pick the lock, slide in, have a look around. Grab some documents or you can get some images. All depends on what we find.”

She shivers in my hold. “You make that sound so easy. I’ve been trained for this kind of thing but have never actually done it. I’m kind of embarrassed to admit that. But then I realize there’s no room for hiding now. Things could get dangerous fast. You need to know my limitations.”

“That’s right. That’s part of being a team.”

“Aren’t you the least bit nervous?” She pauses. “Wait, why would you be nervous—you slid down a rope from a helicopter into the middle of a possible gunfight, stole a motorcycle, and after driving like a stunt driver, you rendezvoused for an extraction. This is nothing.”

I brush my mouth against her ear. “Cake. Speaking of, we have some time to ourselves. I’d love another taste of your sweet little body.”

Her reaction is immediate. A stiffening. A withdrawal. Her energy goes chaotic.

“What’s wrong, babe?”

She pulls out of my arms. “I need to keep my focus on work. Now, if you’d give me some time to do that alone, I’d appreciate it.”

Never being one to back down when things are tense, I follow her across the room. When she stops at the small kitchen sink, I frame her in with my body. Dropping my hands on either side of hers.

Her fingers cleave onto the countertop.

I snake one arm around her middle and brush a kiss over her temple. “If you tell me what I did to upset you, I can make sure not to do it again.”

She hangs her head and lets out a slow, rumbled sigh.

When I graze my hand over her breast, she murmurs my name.

I don’t stop there. I slide my hand up until I wrap my fingers around her jaw and turn her face so I can kiss her.

She softens against me as she growls in her throat. But she opens for me.

I need her kiss. Need to know she’s not shutting down on me.

Her hand clutches my arm as she accepts the glide of my tongue and even returns it with her own.

Her body shudders.