Page 41 of Complicated Past

“Witness protection? You think that could happen?” That possibility hadn’t occurred to her.

“Potentially.”

“For how long?”

“I don’t know. Whatever would be too long.” His voice cracked as he lightly stroked Jalen’s head.

The implications of what that would mean for Jalen getting the services he needed, as well as separating Linc from his sister and nephew, sucked the air from her chest. No wonder he was more focused on getting her home than bringing down the cartel. “Why don’t you put Jalen in the bed for now? Then you and I cantalkwithout disturbing him.”

“Talk?” Based on the way his lips curled into a sexy smile, they were thinking some of the same things.

“We did get interrupted before.” Staying in the living room was a safer alternative than inviting him to the bedroom.

He tucked one of the pillows under Jalen’s head as he maneuvered from underneath, then lifted him in both arms.

The moment Linc disappeared into the bedroom, her stomach began doing acrobatics. She took two deep breaths.You can trust him. You can trust him.

She went to the kitchen and filled a glass with water.

Linc joined her a minute later. “We’ll see if I can move him later without waking him because he’ll want ice cream and might be up for another hour or three.” He rolled his shoulders and popped his neck.

“Your muscles a little tight?”

“Between the flight, sleeping on the couch, and the stress, more than a little.” He reached to knead the area between his neck and shoulder.

“Sounds like you could use a shoulder massage.”

“If you are offering, I would lo—” he paused, “I would gladly take you up on that.”

“Have a seat here.” She touched the nearest kitchen chair.

He moved closer. Rather than sit, he stared into her eyes, the smile on his face melting her fears. He angled his head, and just when she thought he would kiss her, he took a seat. Her heart pounded, and she had to make an effort to breathe—but all in a good way.

His shoulders relaxed as her thumbs worked on knots near the base of his skull. “That feels good.”

She applied pressure to the sides of his neck with her fingers. His shirt gaped. She could only make out what looked like the furry ears of a dog tattooed high on his back, though she wanted to see what was hidden under his T-shirt. The feel of his solid muscles under her hands as she massaged his shoulders and back ignited the need in her. Locating another knot, she used her elbow to dig into it. He winced.

“Let me know if it’s too hard.”

“I can take it. You are good at this.”

“I’m not trained, but my cousins used to beg me and my sister to give them massages after ball practice.”

“Ah, I think you got it.” He rotated his shoulder. “But you don’t have to stop.”

“I wasn’t planning to yet.” Not when every inch she touched was firm and muscled. She ran her palms down his biceps, imagining doing so from a front-facing position. Him, shirtless. The tingling sensation he prompted became a full-on electrical current and sent energy to every erogenous zone in her body.

She wanted to touch him everywhere. And do more than touch. None of her prior relationships came close to this level of physical chemistry. Before she lost control and crossed some line, she tapped his shoulders. “I hope that helped.”

“It did. Thanks.” He rose from the chair. Turning, he captured her hand and studied her face.

“Would you kiss me already? Please.” The smile that broke across his handsome face made her all the more desperate to discover if kissing him in real life would match her imagination.

“Definitely.”

That one word, spoken in a soft, confident timbre, was probably the sexiest sound she’d ever heard.

Anticipation built as he raised a hand and gently tilted her face up. His other hand slid low on her hip. Resting her hands on his biceps gave her a sense of remaining in control and kept space between their bodies, for now. Their lips met at the perfect angle.