“I do.” Reaching over, he covered her hand with his. “Tell me.”
“Hypothetically …”
Talon’s mouth curved faintly. “Dangerous word.”
She tilted her head and pretended not to notice his scrutiny. “If someone noticed that certain shipments from … let’s say … a site in South America weren’t lining up perfectly?—”
He set his beer down, listening carefully. “Hypothetically, of course.”
“Yes. Hypothetically.” She met his gaze evenly. “Would that be something worth … flagging?”
Talon studied her for a long moment. Her shoulders were loose, her tone casual, but there was something in her eyes. Not fear. Caution.
“Depends,” he said finally, “on who is doing the noticing. And how loud they plan to be about it. But hypothetically, I’d need to know more. I’d need to see proof and understand the scope.”
Her smile came quickly again, that smooth PR veneer sliding back in place. “Makes sense.”
Talon didn’t call her on it. Not yet. They lingered over dessert, their conversation drifting back tosafer ground. But as he walked her back to the SUV, the faint thread of tension was still there, woven between her words and her silences.
CHAPTER 14
The road back to camp was quiet, the kind of quiet Riley had missed. Talon’s hand was warm against hers on the console, steady and grounding in a way she hadn’t realized she still needed. The hum of the truck filled the silence, and for once, she didn’t feel like she had to fill it with words.
At the gate, she should have stepped out. Should have wished him goodnight and walked back into the cocoon she’d built for herself in the months since she’d returned. But instead, she looked toward the low-lit road leading to the housing block and heard herself say, “You want to come in?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “I do, if that’s what you want.”
“Turn off the SUV, Talon.”
Her apartment was small, with just two neat rooms. A few of her favorite books sat stacked on the shelf. A mug she hadn’t bothered to wash waited by the sink. Her soft blanket placed over the arm of the couch was the only touch of luxury she’d brought with her. The air carried the faint citrus scent of the candle she’d blown out before dinner.
She toed off her shoes, setting her keys in the chipped ceramic bowl by the door. “I’d offer you coffee, but I’m pretty sure anything in my kitchen would be an insult to your taste buds.”
His voice was low from behind her, a thread of heat running through it. “I’m really not here for the coffee.”
Her breath caught before she could help it, and she stepped closer. The room felt smaller, the air warmer as he wrapped his arms around her. She’d waited long enough. All her questions were answered. She wanted to know him. To feel him.
Her hand found the front of his shirt almost without thought, fingers resting against the beat of his heart. “I missed you,” she whispered.
His hand caught hers, holding it there. His other hand slid to her jaw, calloused fingers warm against her skin. “Missed you, too, beautiful.”
The first kiss was soft, slow, like neither of them was on firm ground yet. It was a little unsteady, a bit of a testing moment. The second kiss, well, that one stripped away any hesitation, leaving her breathless.
Somehow, they ended up on the couch. She tried to catch her breath between kisses as his mouth traced a path lower, and those kisses set her nerves alight with a fire that consumed her. His touch wasn’t rushed. God, no, it was deliberate. His fingers were calloused, yet every brush felt like a promise. The nerves she’d had the first time they’d met dissolved into hope and anticipation. Every one of his kisses answered questions she’d been carrying for months.
When he pulled back just enough to look at her, she cupped his face with her hands.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked, voice lighter than she felt.
“I can’t believe you’re real.”
The words hit deep, warming places she hadn’t let herself touch in months. “I’m real. I’m here, in your arms, and I want you.”
He pulled away a bit. “We can wait.”
“I don’t want to wait. I want you.” She swallowed hard. “Don’t you want me?”
He leaned forward and the answer was obviousas his hard, stiff cock rested against her stomach. “Never doubt how much I want you, but I need you to be sure. This is the long game for me. Yes, I want to make love to you, but only if it feels like the right time for you. I will wait as long as it takes for you to know that I’m yours, I’m not going anywhere, and I love you.”
