"Sin?" She sounded hurt.
He shook his head. "I shouldn't do that. I'm a priest, Rissa. I'm not allowed to get too familiar with my angel."
"But we're friends."
Those damned eyes of hers were killing him. "Wrong type of familiar. I meant like kissing."
Her eyes narrowed in innocent confusion. "It's not a sin."
"No, but the part that comes next is. I'm apriest, and I've taken a vow to save my body for God. I shouldn't have touched you like that, and I'm sorry."
"Did you want to?" she whispered, her eyes on his.
With a lazy smile, Sin pretended to ignore that. He flicked the end of his smoke to the concrete, then grabbed her shoulders, stepping away from the car. It wasn't often he got the luxury of one. Luckily for them, Rob had been issued one from the Legion for another responsibility tonight. The timing of that was almost divine.
"I also need to get you back to OutLink," he said. "Wouldn't want either of us to get in trouble for this little escapade."
She nodded, letting him guide her to the passenger seat. The entire time, his heart was pounding in his chest. He didn't know why this woman affected him the way she did, but itstill happened. For years now, he'd been focused on God and the needs of others, but something about her—something he couldn't even explain to himself— made him want something.
Her trust. Her friendship. To justknowher. He wasn't sure which it was, but he felt the need and knew it could be a problem. The question was why this woman, out of all the ones he'd cared for in his life, made him want just a little more.
Maybe it was because she was so gentle, or naive? Was it because her trust made him feel special? Could it simply be because he'd never seen her face? That ruled out lust over her beauty, since all he knew about her was the color of her eyes.
Her mind, however? That was what he wanted more of, and these rare moments when she didn't hold her tongue did something to him. He hoped she couldn't tell, but the glint in her eyes said she knew. She knew, and she liked it.
The bigger problem was, he did too.
They said nothing else until they arrived at OutLink. As his hand closed on the latch to the after-hours door, she reached out and touched the back of his bare fingers, the cybernetic ones.
"Thank you for not leaving me alone." She looked at him with her silver eyes, scanning his face for a reaction.
"I would never do that to you, Princess," he promised. "I actually want to keep you safe—in body, mind, and soul. Now, let's get you taken care of for one more day, ok?" She nodded, and he unlocked the door with a flash of red against his cybernetic eye. But he paused before pulling it all the way open. "The answer to your earlier question is yes. I did want to, and I'm sorry." He pressed his lips together. "I also need to talk to Daniel Briggs."
They entered the receiving room, and a man in a head-to-toe blue plastic clean suit hurried out to greet them. "You have the Ingénue!"
"She had an exciting day," he told her technician. "Six dead, and we had to lose her distinctive uniform."
"Is she damaged?"
"Nah," Sin assured him. "The data was delivered, but we took a very long way back. I called in four others, but the only damage was to her robe."
"She didn't wipe?" he asked, looking between them.
"I never received an order to wipe," Rissa said robotically.
"I never gave it," Sin told the man. "You all pay me to deliver what she carries in her head? Well, at least she's obedient. Briggs still here?"
"Wait here," the technician told Rissa, gesturing for Sin to follow him to a panel at the side.
He tapped at the screen and then scrolled through a list of names. "He's in a meeting, it looks like."
Sin nodded. "Ok. If you hear shooting, it's just me."
"She's ok, though?" he asked, looking over Sin's shoulder at the girl.
"She's fine. I even managed to make her almost smile, I think."
The man sighed. "Don't let her fool you, Legate. She's not like the others. That's why you're assigned to her."
