The marks behind her ear were slightly clearer from this position, the lines just touching the edge of her hair. He couldn’t imagine what had happened to push her down this road—turn her away from MI. She’d always excelled at gathering intel. Had a way of briefing people that put them at ease—gave them a vivid picture in their heads of what she was describing. And her facts had always been spot on. That’s why she’d moved around as much as she had. Damn near every commander had requested her. And, yet…
She’d left. Joined some clandestine unit, as Jericho had put it, and become an agent. Christ, was she a spy, now? Infiltrating enemy strongholds? Going undercover? Was she some sort of assassin?
None of that sounded like her. She’d always been about the intelligence side of things. Defecting to the CIA as an analyst made a warped kind of sense. Nothing he ever would have guessed, but not completely out of the realm of what was possible. Picturing her going into the field…
Made him wonder if he’d ever really known her. If anything they’d shared had been real. He’d assured Cannon that she couldn’t have been a plant. That Colt would have unearthed thetruth. That they’d been too close, too much in love for her to hide that much of herself from him. But now…
He wasn’t sure. And the damn uncertainty was killing him.
Another low groan. Hardly more than a whisper, but he felt it through to his soul. She was hurting. Obviously in pain from being bent over. But…she didn’t move. Didn’t try to straighten. Instead, her muscles tensed as if she was fighting through it. Using some of the tricks he’d learned to overcome the discomfort.
He let the shower head slip into the tub, then snagged the other towel—draped it over her head as he eased her upright. She connected hard with his chest, limbs going limp in his grasp.
“El? Shit.”
Ice was going to have his fucking balls.
Colt swung his legs over the tub, surging to his feet, when her fingers wrapped around his forearm. So damn small compared to him, they barely covered half of the width. But it stopped him cold. Had him looking down into her eyes.
She smiled. Weakly. But it loosened the bands around his chest. Allowed him to draw in a shaky breath. “You weren’t gonna leave me naked, were you?”
“You’re hurt. Probably pulled out some more damn stitches. I’ll lend you another shirt once you’re back in bed and Ice takes a look. I never should have let you talk me into this.”
“I’m not bleeding, and I don’t need Ice. Sheesh, were you always this much of a nursemaid? I’m?—”
“I swear, if you say fine, I’ll paddle your ass.”
“Didn’t know you were into kinks, now, baby. But if that’s how you roll…”
“Not getting distracted by all that sass, sweetheart.”
“Busted. But…honestly. I’m?—”
“Ellis Marie?—”
“Okay. Shit, I was going to say okay. Christ, you don’t need to pull out the big guns. Use my middle name. All I want is to put on some clothes, then, I’ll go back to bed. Or eat, or whatever.”
He glared at her, watching her face for any hint of deceit, but the girl was unreadable. The agent side of her bleeding through.
“You can’t even stand, but you think you can get dressed without smashing into the tub? Fat chance.”
“Put me down, and I’ll show you. Put that fifty bucks you lost to the test. Easy money, right?”
He shook his head but gently placed her on her feet. She swayed but managed not to tank into the sink or the wall as he retrieved her clothes. She arched a brow, motioning for him to turn around, but he snorted, then crossed his arms on his chest. Gazes still locked. Shoulders drawn back, chin high. If she insisted on being this stubborn, acting like a brat, he’d respond in kind.
Her lips quirked. “What happened to not cornering me?”
“If I turn around and you go sideways, it’ll be more than just a concussion when you smash your head on the tub. Or the sink.” He shrugged. “I can’t catch what I can’t see.”
“No one asked you to catch me.”
He didn’t reply, just stood there. Staring her down. Ellis rolled her eyes then leaned against the sink, bending just enough to step into the pants—tug them over her hips.
Knowing she was bare beneath the sweats prickled heat along his skin. Increased his breathing. When she dropped the towel, altogether, to slip into the bra, he thought his damn heart was going to stop. Or burst out of his chest because she was all pale skin with a hint of pink-tipped nipples atop perk breasts. They looked smaller, matching her leaner frame, but just as beautiful. As tempting as before. And god help him, they were hard. Tight little buds begging to be sucked.
Ellis cleared her throat. “My eyes are up here, soldier.”
Colt lingered a moment longer then dragged his focus up to her face. “I know. I wasn’t looking at those.”
