But it wasn’t gratitude that had her wondering what it would be like to kiss his lips. It wasn’t a need to thank that stirred desire in her. Plain and simple, Leila liked Grayson as a woman liked a man. It astonished and frightened, for she’d convinced herself she was fine alone. Didn’t need friends or sex… or love.
It turned out she still wanted those things; she’d just been waiting for the right person to make her feel alive again.
With that realization came angst, though. What if her feelings were one-sided?
“Everything okay?” Grayson spoke suddenly and startled her.
“Fine. Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Bah. I only meant to shut my eyes for twenty minutes. Instead, it’s been an hour. Half the morning is gone.”
She giggled. “It’s barely past seven. How far are we from the lake?”
“I drove about three hours, so another two, I think, if I didn’t mess up.”
“I thought it only took about three hours from Arusha?”
“I took a scenic detour in case we were followed.”
“Good thinking.”
“You hungry?”
“Famished.”
“I grabbed some stuff at a gas station about an hour ago.”
“Gas station food?” she queried as he half turned in his seat to grab a plastic bag.
“The guy swore it was made just that morning by his wife.”
Leila peeked inside the bag and cooed. “You did good,” she declared, pulling out some mandazi, which many likened to a donut. Grayson even bought a jar of jam to dip the fried dough in, as well as some bottles of juice.
As they ate, the clouds parted, allowing sunshine to spill through, illuminating the landscape and bringing to life the vibrant colors.
“Damn, that’s beautiful,” he exclaimed.
“Never seen the sun before?” she couldn’t help but tease.
“Don’t laugh, but I actually didn’t—not very often, anyway. Most days I was already on the ice or in the gym before the sun rose and often left after dark.”
“The life of a workaholic. I get it. I’m guilty of it too,” she admitted with a laugh.
“I think we should make a point of trying to get out and enjoy a few rays every day. I’ll drag you out of your lab if needed. Or maybe we’ll get up early to catch a sunrise.”
“Or we could just lie in bed to enjoy it since my window faces east.” A rather strong hint that brought a big smile to his face.
“I love the way you think.” His remark brought heat to her cheeks. Guess her interest might not be one-sided.
“We should get going,” she stated, hating to ruin the moment.
But he saved it by adding, “Yeah, because the faster we get done with this mission, the sooner we can check out that sunrise together.”
CHAPTER 13
Grayson was fallinghead over heels for the woman sitting by his side. A woman he’d come close to losing. Barging into that room, after knocking out the two thugs guarding the door, and seeing Leila about to be sliced had just about stopped his heart.
Rage had engulfed him, and he wanted nothing more than to kill. Would have murdered the fucker, too, if she’d not stopped him. Hearing her story, the reason why she’d ended up at Tower, had only made him admire her more. How many women would have lacked the courage to escape? It chilled to know she almost died in her attempt to flee.
