She glanced at the notification and groaned.
“What is it?” His voice came with an edge that made her meet his stare.
“It’s another task. The couple I walked the dog for gave me a five-star review.”
“That’s good.”
“They want me back tomorrow.” She groaned. “Sounds delightful. Maybe he can take out my other knee.”
His rumble of amusement shot sensations through her whole body. Her nipples pinched, and she resisted the urge to squeeze her thighs together.
She took another bite and then another, chewing more slowly as the day began to fade to the background. “I walked into an office this morning pretending to care about budgets. I spent my lunch break watching street corners for anybody who could spot me prescription pills. After that, I got dragged a mile by a dog.”
He glanced up at her, eyes warm. “Sounds productive.”
She snorted. “If this op doesn’t get me fired, nothing will.”
He applied the bandage and rose. She watched him, the easy way he moved…and remembered how he moved over her in bed.
He put away the first-aid kit and returned to lean against the counter beside her, handing her a second slice of pizza. As shetook it, their hands brushed, leaving her with another trickle of need deep in her core. He took a slice for himself and they ate in silence, her sitting on the counter and Sinner leaning on it.
She couldn’t remember a time she felt so…at ease. A gorgeous fake husband who made terrific pizza and was good in bed?
What took place between her and Sinner might be more dangerous than anything she’d face on the streets.
TEN
Sinner’s back was legitimately sore by the time he made it back to the hotel room. Not the fake hitch he adopted for the job, but a deep ache earned by hauling materials day after day and proving to a crew of skeptical men that he could, in fact, pull his weight despite his injury.
When he opened the door, he stopped in the opening as the sweet scent of Opal’s perfume hit him.
His body stirred. But after patching up her knee, he hadn’t been able to shake a different kind of warmth, the type that filled up his entire chest.
After they ate together at the little table, throwing each other loaded looks, Sinner declared he was taking a quick shower. What he didn’t tell Opal was the shower would be cold. Ice cold. Still, it didn’t stave off his want for her.
Days had passed since he touched her, but he needed her to make the first move. Judging from the looks she gave him, she wanted it too. So what was holding her back?
When he stepped out of the bathroom, he saw Opal on the bed, fast asleep.
Watching her sleep only made things worse, because a new warmth settled inside him, undeniable, as he stood staring at her beautiful face.
As soon as he came home from work the following evening, he sank onto the cheap couch and propped his phone on the chipped coffee table. When he hit the secure call for check-in, he expected Con’s face to come into frame. Instead, it was Ash.
“Well, well.” Ash leaned back in his chair. “How’s domestic bliss?”
Sinner huffed. “Where’s Con?”
“Out. Unavoidable call.” Ash lifted a brow. “I’m in charge…”
“Movin’ up, man.”
“…of the phone,” he finished.
He gave his buddy a hint of a smile. “God help us.”
“I haven’t even begun to show you guys the kind of hard-ass I can be.”
From the first time Angelo Ash entered the Charlie base, Sinner saw secrets in the man…and a darkness he kept locked down under his rigid, disciplined exterior.
