Page 80 of Knox

Then she set the glass on the counter and headed for the pantry. Stood in the darkness for a while, rummaging around, making funny sounds of frustration.

He got up, moved over to the door, and flicked on the light.

“Oh!” She jumped, turned, her eyes wide. Mouth open.

He raised an eyebrow and reached up to the second shelf, right above her arm’s length, and pulled down the cookie jar. “Looking for these?”

His mouth tightened, and she lifted a shoulder.

He clutched the jar to his chest.

She made a move for the cookies, and he turned a shoulder into her reach, deflecting it.

“What are you, the cookie police?” she whispered.

She wore a long T-shirt and leggings, her feet bare. And her freshly washed hair hung in free tousles around her makeup-free face. It only made her eyes that much bigger, sparkling with that hazel-green glow, threaded with hints of gold, and for a second, he simply couldn’t breathe.

Glo, you are so pretty.

The words nearly tipped his lips, but like the professional he was, he bit them back.

Instead, “Maybe. But for the right password, I might give you one.”

She set her hands on her hips, considered him.

“What? Are you trying to decide if you can take me?”

“Maybe, Rambo.”

He smirked. “Oh please. Please make a move.”Please.

She gave him a look. “Fine. What’s the password?”

“Why did you hire me if you weren’t going to listen to what I said?”

“What—”

“I told you to stay put.”

“You told me not to get my knickers in a knot. That is hardlystay put, Shakespeare.”

He raised his eyebrow.

“Mean what you say. Be clear. ‘Glo, don’t leave the ranch. I’ll be back from my secret mission in three days.’”

“Fine, Glo. I’m the boss of you. Don’t go anywhere without me.”

Her mouth opened. “You’re hardly the boss of me.”

He took a breath, aware that his voice was shaking. “You could have died out there, Glo. Don’t you get that? And it’s my job to keep you alive. So, from now on, I’mabsolutelythe boss of you.”

Her mouth closed, and if she could shoot fire from her eyes, she probably would have.

Suddenly, “Fine.”

He stared at her. “Really?”

He had nothing when she closed the gap between them.