“Then remember I don’t want that on my conscience. See if that will curb your need for revenge.”
He slowly shook his head. “It’s not enough to deter me.”
Iona blew out a breath. “Why not? I’m trying to keep you out of jail. Why are you fighting me on this?”
“Because I care about you, you stubborn woman. I can’t go into the past and erase what happened, but I can and will make sure they never do the same thing to another teenage girl again.”
What was she going to do with him? He broke her heart with his story about his horrible childhood and a minute later exasperated her with his stubborn determination to avenge her honor.
Iona moved slowly, giving him time to back away if he didn’t want this. He didn’t move, just watched her with heat building in his eyes. Closer and closer she came until finally her mouth touched his. Although she had intended the kiss to be a light brushing of her mouth against his, Elias had a different idea.
His good arm tightened and held her against him as his mouth crushed hers. On and on the kiss went, deepening by degrees until his tongue danced with hers. Heat exploded between them, fueled by their desires and their shared emotions. How on earth could she resist him? The simple truth was she couldn’t.
When they were both gasping for air, Elias broke the kiss and stared at her.
Stunned by the explosive chemistry, Iona gulped air into her lungs. “Holy smoke, Elias.”
“Yeah.”
“At the risk of starting another argument, tell me why you don’t want me to work this mission with you.”
He sighed. “Baby, I don’t want the ugliness of my past to touch you. You’re pure goodness and light. I grew up in the depths of darkness. I was trying to protect you.”
“We’re better together than apart, Elias. What if we compromise?”
“How?”
“We’ll all go undercover and watch each other’s backs like we always do. I won’t let you do this alone. To do that goes against everything I am. I care about you, too, and I won’t let you risk your own life alone because of your stubbornness.”
“You’re calling me stubborn? Iona, if you look up the definition of stubborn in the dictionary, you’ll find your picture right there as an example.”
She smiled. “Hate to break this to you, sweetheart, but your picture is right beside mine. So, are we doing this together, or not at all because those are our choices?”
He growled. “Fine. Together, then.” Elias held up his hand, palm out. “But I reserve the right to call an end to the operation if things heat up too much and it becomes too dangerous. Agreed?”
Since he’d have to bail along with the rest of them, Iona could live with that stipulation. “Agreed. How will we cement the deal? A handshake?”
A slow, heated smile settled on his mouth. “Come here.”
When she did as he requested, Elias plundered her mouth. There was no other way to describe it. Long minutes later, when he finally came up for air, Iona stared at him in stunned amazement. “Whoa. You’re dangerous, Elias Knight.”
“Back at you, Iona Byrne. I suppose we better prove to everyone that we didn’t harm each other.”
Right. As if her teammates would believe she’d let Elias get the better of her. “Let’s go.”
Together, they returned to Elias’ kitchen where their eight teammates stood around, trying to look casual. Didn’t work. “We’re fine. Everything is worked out. All of us are going on this op.”
“If I think the op is becoming too dangerous, I’ll pull the plug on it.”
Seth’s eyebrows rose at Elias’ stipulation. “Agreed. I’m surprised you have a contingency plan. Normally, I have to make you change course.”
“We’re family. No mission is worth losing even one of us.” His expression was grim. “Surviving this one will take every bit of luck and skill we have.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
ELIAS PEERED OUThis picture window at the quiet street. Something bad was coming. But when?
A second question plagued him, too. Would he be the only target, or would the team come under fire as well?
