I let the towel drop. “Would that be so bad?”
She stares at me, running her eyes down my body to my cock, thenlicks her lips. It’s not blatant, but a subconscious, involuntary thing, and that’s somehow worse.Fuck. I’m not sure I could get any harder right now.
Then her blush intensifies, and I’m wrong. She’sthe most arousing creature I’ve ever had in my life.
She turns away first. “Put some clothes on,please. I’m naked under here, and I don’t want to make a…”
Mess. Down her thighs. Of my pickup.
She doesn’t say it, but I hear it clearly. Judging from the way her cheeks flush, her throat, even the top of her chest tingeing red, she does too. She gives a cute little squeak of consternation, and walks to my window, staring outside with her back to me. Doing her best to ignore me.
It would be more convincing if she wasn’t trembling with the strength of her desire.
I shake my head and laugh. “I hope we can concentrate enough to ride.”
“Won’t be a problem for me,” she mutters. I’m not sure I fully believe her, but she sounds like she’s taking it as a slur on her professionalism, and in that light, Idobelieve her. She’s totally focused when she’s on her bike.
Her response is enough of an example to get myself back in control, and I head into my bedroom to get dressed. Clothes in a bag, a few toys from my dresser drawer, and a glance toward my closet, and the burner phone buried beneath it. It’s Thursday; I’ll be missinganotherSaturday check-in. But Mercer knows the score now. They’re a stupid risk anyway; I’ll have to get them cancelled.
A minute later, bag over my shoulder, leathers over my arm, we’re ready to go.
“Is that all you’re bringing?” she asks.
“My helmet and bike are at your place.” I tilt myhead. “It’s safe, right?”
She looks offended. “Of course it is.”
I raise my free hand. “Sorry. Of course it is. Natural reaction.”
“I get it, don’t worry. I’d feel the same.”
And that’s the truth, right there: wearethe same, in so many ways. But different enough for it to matter. She’s not just the most alluring woman I’ve ever seen, she’s mysoulmate.
That realization lands hard. This isn’t just love, this is commitment. Fully at odds with the Bureau, with Mercer, with who I am.
Going native? The thought makes me laugh. I’m so far pastnativethat IamHale. And the reason is wearing nothing more than heels and a raincoat.
But that undermines her. It’s not just sex, it’s not even really how well-suited we are. It’s worse than that, and better too: it’s obsession. She’s all I care about, and everything else has to fit in with that. Renner, Mercer, my job, mylife—it all takes second place to ensuring that I walk out of this with Raven at my side.
Right here, right now, the promise I make to myself is simple: from this point forward, Raven’s mine, whatever it takes.
Twenty-Six
Declan
Raven sitting next to me in my pickup is the most distraction I’ve ever had while driving.
I grip the wheel, if only to keep my hands to myself, but her bare legs constantly catch my eye. The damn coat barely reaches the top of her thighs. I want to touch, but if I do, I won’t want to stop.
Raven’s phone vibrates, and she checks it.
“Is that Kurt?” I ask.
“Yes. He’s set up the jump training for Sunday. That buys us an extra day.”
“Good.” I click my tongue. “It also puts a limit on our time in San Fran, but we should still have a reasonable window to scout our routes.”
“We’ll need to split up, of course,” Raven says.
