Without knowing why, irritation surged through me, and I charged toward him. “What the hell is your problem?”
“My problem?” Amusement flashed in his eyes. “You’re the one who followed me out here,Ara.”
I ground my teeth when he pronounced my name like he was trying to caress it. Mostly because I liked the way it sounded.
“Youkeep staring atme.”
Ramirez smirked, which deepened the dimple in his left cheek. “I think we keep staring at each other.”
“Seriously? You’ve been flirting with me since day one, so don’t try to deny it.”
“I have no intention of denying it.” He chuckled. “It’s actually kind of normal.”
“Normal?” I shot back.
“Yes,” he said, his smile growing wider, “it’s normal for a man to flirt with a pretty woman.”
I flushed even though I wasn’t surprised he found me attractive. And he was right. Under normal circumstances, it would have been natural for a man to flirt with a woman if he found her attractive. But these weren’t normal circumstances. I was in the program, and he was a Department of Fertility soldier. There was nothing normal about that.
“The question is,” he said before I could point out the obvious, “why do you keep staring at me? Is it possible you find me attractive as well?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re one of the only people I know in this place. That’s all it is.” I stumbled over the words, and my cheeks burned. He had to know I was lying.
“Sure, sure.” Ramirez’s grin widened as he fished in his pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.
“I can’t be around that.” I took a step back and waved to my wristband. “They’ll know.”
His smile faltered. “Really?”
“Yup. They know everything I do, thanks to this bad boy.” I flicked the cursed thing in irritation. “Not that it matters now, since I’m probably under constant surveillance.”
As if expecting to find cameras trained on us, I looked around, but there didn’t appear to be any. Although, it was possible Ramirez was the one who was supposed to be keeping tabs on me. And every other woman here.
“I’ll wait until you’re gone.” He replaced the pack before holding out his hand. “I’m Marcos, by the way. Marc.”
His hand was warm and rough, as if he did a lot of physical labor, and it swallowed mine even though he wasn’t that much taller than me. He was a big guy, though. Broad like he worked out. Probably he did. He was officially meet you,Ara,” he said, flashing me very straight, white teeth. And that dimple of his.
Reluctantly, I dropped his hand, then glanced at my wristband. It was a little after three. I still had some time beforethe dreaded meeting.
“Have somewhere to be?” He nodded to the band.
“Meeting with my minder.” I rolled my eyes to let him know how much I was looking forward to it.
“Not a fan?” he asked.
“Not a fan of any of this.” I waved to indicate the hotel and everything it represented. “Most of us aren’t here by choice, you know.”
“Yeah.” His expression sobered. “I get that. I’m not exactly either since it’s not like I asked to be assigned to guard duty in the middle of nowhere, but I knew getting a shit assignment was possible when I enlisted. You, though, had zero say in this.”
“Nope.” I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms to hug myself. “And now I’m stuck here for who knows how long, forced to be away from everyone I care about while the government tries to impregnate me.”
Marc’s gaze flitted down. “So, you aren’t…”
“No.” I flushed but didn’t know why. “Not yet, anyway.”
“Crazy stuff.”
“Crazy is right.”
