Madelaine quickly shook that thought right out of her head a nanosecond before Jack hugged her close and kissed her like he meant it.
Still, it didn’t matter if they were a match made in heaven. She didn’t get to keep him. She knew that.
And regardless of his attitude on the annulment she was sure to have to get, per the Paladin Cabal, she would love him until the day she died.
Though the kiss had stopped, Jack didn’t release his secure embrace. “Thank you for trusting me to get us through today, Madelaine. It means a lot to me.”
She looked into his intense gaze. “Of course,” she said. “You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t trust you, Jack. You’re the only man I do trust completely.”
Jack held her gaze.
Something unspoken passed between them—something deeper than the mission, deeper than the danger.
“You did more than that,” he said. “You let them obliterate you as a person. A lesser someone might not have been able to pull that off. You really are quite something.”
Madelaine’s emotions trembled. She did what she had to do. What she’d been trained to do.Don’t be soft.Remember what you had to do to get here. Who you need to protect.
“For the package,” she said, nodding toward the sealed container on the table beside them. “And the mission.”
A pause. Then, softer, “And for you.”
Jack’s jaw tightened, just for a second. Then eased.
“I’m proud of you,” he said.
No hesitation. No deflection. Just the absolute truth.
Madelaine blinked at that.
“Careful,” she said, a hint of a smile tugging at her mouth. “I might start thinking you’re getting sentimental on me.”
“Maybe I am, but it doesn’t make me soft, you know,” he shot back, but there was warmth there. Real warmth.
“Of course not. I would never say that about you.”
Her gaze dropped to the package.
Still untouched.
Still sealed.
“I’m supposed to open that. It likely has information about our next destination.”
“Yeah, ‘our’ next destination.” She smiled when he emphasized the wordour. It wasn’t lost on her that she had begun to consider him a partner in his venture. They’d gotten married, for space potatoes’ sake!
She didn’t reach for the package or pull herself out of his comfortable arms. Not right away. Instead, she looked at him.
“I could,” she said slowly, “do it myself. That’s the rule, as you and I both well know.”
“Yep. But it’s your call. I say you get to decide. You’ve definitely earned it.”
Madelaine studied him for another beat. “As I said before, I trust you.”
Jack smiled at her words, but didn’t move to touch the matte black container. He held her loosely in his arms, as if he wasn’t quite ready to let her go. She wasn’t ready, either. Even as the weight of her mission tried to insert itself into her warm, calm, post-kiss moment with…her husband.
“We could open it together,” she suggested.
His eyes flicked to the package and back to her. Searching. “You sure? I would understand if you need to take it to another room and then possibly call the Secret Keeper, depending on what you find inside.”
