“Good enough. Now kiss me.”
I don’t know why, but I do as he demands and lean into him. The second his mouth presses to mine, I’m lost to him again.
“I’ll call you,” he says when he pulls back.
I climb out of his truck and turn to him. Just before I shut the door behind me, I say, “We’ll see.” And then I climb in my car and drive back home, to my life alone. It was fun, amazing even, but when Kyle gets back to his apartment, he’ll realize it was just that—fun—and tomorrow we’ll go back to the real world, where we live our normal lives.
Chapter Seven
Kyle
In her bed
She’s on my mind constantly. Her scent is lodged in my nostrils and I swear, I can still smell her on my skin. And the husky tones of her melodic voice are etched on my brain.
I can’t stop thinking about her. MacKenzie is everywhere I go. I see her in every woman that I pass on the street. My hunger for her has not lessened one iota even though I’m with her every night that I can be.
It’s been two weeks since I met MacKenzie in a bar near her base. If she was anything like everyone else, I would be over it—bored—and back to my everyday life. But MacKenzie is anything but boring.
She’s bright, she’s beautiful, and she’s dynamite in bed. But more than that, I just like being around her. So as I pull into the parking lot by the beach, she’s still on my mind. So much so that I almost miss Jackson Cole standing against the railing with his arms crossed over his chest.
MacKenzie Black has me so tied up in knots that I’m distracted, and in my line of work, distracted could mean dead more often than not. Maybe it’s the long drives between us, or the late nights in her bed that we spendnotsleeping, or maybe it’s just her. I’m so wound up in her.
I shut off my truck and pull the keys from the ignition before stepping out onto the blacktop of the parking lot. I slam the door closed and stuff my keys in my pocket before making my way over to Jackson. He pushes away from the railing and heads toward me.
“So that old heap is still running?” he asks good-naturedly as he holds his hand out for me to shake.
“That she is,” I answer, taking his hand. I haven’t seen Jackson since he was on the team, before he got married and took over the business world. Sure, our missions have overlapped some with those of his company, Cole Security, and his operatives, but I haven’t seen the actual man in years. Word on the street is he’s running a cosmetics company in Los Angeles and the day to day running of Cole Security has been taken over by his right-hand man as they expand the business.
“Good to see you.”
“Good to see you too,” I reply. “I was surprised to hear from you.”
“It’s been a long time since we’ve run into one another,” he says cryptically. Jackson Cole is not one to give it all away, but still, I can’t help but wonder why he looked me up out of the blue.
“So you wanted to speak to me?” I ask. I can’t help it, my curiosity is getting the better of me and we all know what happened to the cat so I shouldn’t push it, but still. My brain is all over the place today and I’m jumpy. I don’t like it.
He looks me over for a minute before answering my question with another question. “Take a walk with me?”
I’m eighty-eight percent sure he’s not here to kill me and they only do that shit in the movies, right? I, unfortunately, know that that’s not entirely true. Although I doubt he’s here to do any wet work and I haven’t given anyone a reason to kill me lately so what do I have to lose? My mom always said I was a curious cat, I just hope the rest doesn’t ring true.
“Sure,” I agree easily and motion for him to lead the way.
I follow him down the narrow concrete path in silence before the walkway ends at the sand. He turns to the right, away from the few people on the beach this afternoon. I can’t help but wonder if maybe he is going to kill me after all?
The sun is low in the sky and clouds cast a deceptive shadow along the shore, but the sand is warm on the soles of my feet. A cool breeze skitters along my skin and I take a deep breath letting it out before turning toward my old friend.
“You asked why I wanted to meet with you,” he begins.
“That is the million-dollar question,” I reply with a smirk.
“Your enlistment is coming up for renewal,” he says, and I can’t help but wonder where this is going or why he would be looking into me in the first place. I eye him warily.
I know my time with the team is coming to an end; I just haven’t wrapped my mind around it yet. Could he be here to offer me the solution to my problems? Probably not. I really think he’s here to kill me.
“I’m not here to kill you, dumbass. I’m here to offer you a job,” he says, rolling his eyes. About ten years my senior, he’s always been someone I admired, but the expression on his face right now, is eerily similar to the one my dad gave me all throughout my teen years. Or the one I give Sean when he wants to pregame with a bottle of Jägermeister.
“What?” I ask, a little startled that he read my mind.
