Page 162 of Covert Mission
How could I let a woman that does this to me just walk away?
“Nowyou’re thinking,” she teases.
“Time to lay it out there. If we’re going to learn how to do this relationship thing together, then we’ve got to talk. I’ll go first, but you have to follow.”
I take a breath as she tenses. I get it. “Honey, I’m running on adrenaline here. Mostly, I’m afraid I’ll really mess this up. I want you, us. I want a future together. Whatever that looks like. Now, I want to know what made you try to push me away because I need to know how to fix that.”
She hides her face against my stomach.
I let my fingers slide through the dark red tendrils of her hair.
Finally, she speaks. “It was me being foolish.”
“Were you worried about what happens after tonight’s mission?”
Instead of tensing, she pushes up, until she’s propped on her hand, staring down at me. “I am worried.”
“We figure it out as we go.”
“What about your team…”
“What about them?”
“I know you don’t want to leave them.”
I study her worried expression. “You’re right.”
“But this is not my life. I have things I want to do. Need to do.”
“I understand that.”
She blinks down at me. “Just like that. You understand it? Don’t you worry about how we would make two careers work?”
“No. I know if we’re in love, we’ll figure it out.”
Her mouth slides open, then she closes it and closes her eyes. “Lucas.”
Love. Yes, I said the forbidden L-word.
“Yeah, sweetheart?”
Her fingers curl against my chest. “How can you be so matter-of-fact?”
“It’s something I learned in the SEALs. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. You can literally figure anything out with enough brainpower and enough time.”
That gives her pause. And just like I expected, she’s going to challenge me. “What if we don’t have time?”
“We make it.”
She frowns. “Do you have an answer for everything?”
“Pretty much.”
Her hand slides down, and she gasps when she touches my erection.
I chuckle as her face heats with a blush.
With narrowed eyes, she turns to look at me. “What’s this the answer to?”