Determination glinted in his gorgeous green eyes, and his expression told her he still wanted to talk. Still had something to say about that kiss.
Shit.
Swallowing jerkily, she desperately looked for a way to avoid the coming catastrophe as the meeting broke up. Chairs scraped. Coffee mugs clunked. Individual conversations sprang up.
Aha! she thought as Fish pulled Hew aside. Just the distraction I need!
After quietly slipping away from the conference table, she took the stairs to the third floor two at a time.
Coward, that little voice chided.
Fine. She was a coward. But she needed a second to breathe. A second to think.
She might just blurt out the truth if he started grilling her, pushing for a more thorough explanation.
And if she thought kissing his neck had changed things between them, that was nothing compared to what admitting that she was in love with him would do.
She’d barely closed her bedroom door, leaning against it in momentary relief, when a sharp knock sounded.
Oh, god.
Remember when she said she was having a good day, all things considered?
She retracted that statement.
26
Sabrina opened the door, and Hew narrowed his eyes.
She’d bolted upstairs after the meeting, and he hadn’t missed the tight set of her jaw or the pale cast to her face. It was clear that all the talk of Black Widow and Bishop had shaken her.
“Y’okay?” he asked.
“Fine.” Her voice was thin. Not brittle, exactly, but close enough to have him arching an eyebrow.
“I hate callin’ bullshit. But…bullshit.”
Her sigh was theatrically breathy. “Come in.”
She stepped back, holding the door wide.
His boots sank into the plush rug as he crossed the threshold. He blinked when she shut the door behind him with a solid thud.
She never closed the door when they were together in her room. He’d always thought it was because she didn’t want the others to get the wrong idea about them.
“Okay.” She lifted both hands in a come-on gesture. “I’m ready. Give it to me. Lock, stock, and two smoking barrels.”
“Huh?” His pulse kicked hard enough to have him blinking rapidly.
“Let me have it,” she said. “I’m ready.”
Surely, surely, she didn’t mean what it sounded like she meant. Although images of him giving it to her and letting her have it crashed through his brain like a rogue wave in Penobscot Bay.
“I…uh…” He swallowed. Or tried to. Mostly, he just made a strangled sound.
Her beautiful mouth turned down. “I know I haven’t given you a chance to say your piece. So here’s your shot. Give it to me.”
Ayuh. That.
