He was here. In her room. She was feeding her dog and talking to her roommate. She would be a little while, and her laptop and phone were right there, but was he doing his job and trying to figure out all of Kenzie Taggart’s secrets? No. He was studying the pictures on her wall. Her room was painted a cheery yellow, and it was so feminine it hurt. And comfortable.
It made him think about the apartment he kept in Toronto. It was bland and dull, with Spartan furniture because he was almost never there. His fridge was always empty for the same reason. If he was “home” he ate takeout.
Kenzie had a plate of cookies under a cover. The roommate had happily noshed down on one as they talked.
Kenzie had a life, and it was seemingly warm and open.
One whole wall was covered in pictures and posters. In some, Kenzie was young and surrounded by other kids. There were pictures of her family standing in front of a cabin in what looked like the mountains. It was easy now to pick her out from her twin. Kala rarely smiled in pictures, but Kenzie glowed like the sun.
He glanced over to her desk. There was a stack of books, and not aone of them looked like material she was reading for work. Unless their next mission had something to do with dragons.
She was bold and bright and not insecure. She was everything he needed in his life.
Could he keep her for any amount of time?
If he did find something, would he even use it?
Walking down the aisle with her…
It felt right. He thought he would get here, look at her, and remember all the bad shit she’d done. That was not what had happened. He’d looked at her, and something fell into place. Something that had been missing for a long time. He wasn’t even certain he could explain it properly, but being with Kenzie Taggart when they weren’t working was the most peace he felt in a long time.
And that was dangerous. He had to find a way to put up a wall between them—one Kenzie wouldn’t be able to sense—while he decided which way this would go.
“Hey.” She stood in the doorway, still in that dress. He was certain some women would look nice in a dress like that, but on Kenzie it should be fucking illegal. She was the sweetest treat, with her breasts offered up like fruit by the corset-like bodice, and those long legs highlighted by the high slit in the gown.
“Hey.” His cock was already hard as a rock, and they’d barely gotten back to her place. “Is your roommate okay with me staying?”
A brilliant smile crossed her face. She’d been a bouncy ball of sunshine all night. She’d held his hand and introduced him to all her friends and family, and his lonely ass had soaked it all in. Had been stunned that she could be this open and happy after what she did for her job.
But then maybe the difference was why they did the job. She seemed to do it because she believed.
He had joined up to take down Manny Huisman.
Where the hell would he be if he managed to do it? What would the rest of his life look like?
He shoved the questions aside because Kenzie joined him, sitting down next to him so close their hips touched.
“Bri? She’s cool, though you should be prepared to get grilled in the morning. She’s already got a list of questions for you. Just so you know she is not super into the whole ‘it’s classified and I can’t talkabout it’ excuse.”
“Uhm, why does she want to question me?”
“She’s an author. Well, she’ll tell you she’s trying to be an author, but she’s written a couple of books so I say she’s already an author.” Her expression turned serious. “Are we going to talk about it?”
He didn’t want to talk. “How about we chalk up the whole lying to me thing to a professional problem and move on.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Just like that?”
He shrugged. “Just like that.”
She’d see it as proof that he wanted her.
Her eyes closed and she sniffled. When she opened them again, she stood up. “Then you’re not really here for me.”
“What are you talking about? This has all been about you.” What was she trying to do? Manipulate him, almost certainly.
She stared at him for a moment, and Ben realized she had a hell of a dumbass-said-what face. “Let’s see if I can get this right. I’ve been thinking about it all night, and there’s a piece of me that wants to ignore it and be happy you’re here and be in love for a while.”
He would argue with the wordlove, but that was a battle he didn’t want to fight tonight. “And you’re choosing not to why? Was I not attentive enough? Did I not tell you what a goddess you are in that dress?”
