“I could be. But I'm not that good a fucking actor.”
She grabs the front of my shirt and yanks me close until our mouths are almost touching.
“I still don't trust you,” she breathes.
“You’re smart.”
“So why do I want to kiss you so badly?”
Heat explodes through my veins. “Then do it.”
For a hot second, we're dancing on a knife's edge. Her grip is tight on my shirt, my hands cup her face, both of us breathing hard.
Then something dark shadows her expression and she shoves me away.
“No.” Color floods her face. “Not like this. Not when I still have questions.”
She pushes past me, heading for the door.
“What kind of questions?” I call after her.
“The kind you won't answer honestly.”
She disappears, leaving me alone with a hard-on and the scent of her shampoo lingering in the air.
Fuck.
She wants me. That wasn't strategy or games. That was pure fucking need.
But she's also smart enough to know something's not adding up. I’ve given her too many evasive answers, deflected too many times.
And if she starts digging too deep...
The mission gets complicated fast.
But standing here, thinking about the way she stared at my mouth, the way she grabbed my shirt like she wanted to tear it off...
I'm starting to realize the mission's already more complicated than I can handle.
17
TIERNEY
“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay today?” I ask when Connor hugs me.
He gives me a squeeze and pulls away.
“Stop worrying, Tier. I can’t take a piss without those two knowing about it.”
He points to the plain clothed security waiting at his apartment door.
“All I’m doing is meeting with admissions advisors about transferring my credits and then taking a tour of the university. That’s it.”
“Fine.” I fold my arms across my chest and follow him out. “Just be careful.”
We all get in the elevator and sink to the forty-second floor, where I get out alone and offer my brother a two-finger salute as the doors slide shut.
Apparently, I’m allowed to move around the condo on my own because the Viacava security has cameras on every floor and inevery service area.
