He didn’t stop, didn’t call her name, just moved faster, catching up as she turned then froze. She straightened, shoulders back, her weight on her toes as if bracing for a fight. He slowed.
She bit her bottom lip, a few tears dotting her cheeks. “Coulter, I can’t?—”
He stepped into her, both hands lifting to her face, cupping each side as he lowered his mouth, cut her off mid-word as he slanted his lips over hers, kissing her.
Heat shot through his veins as her hands landed on his chest, fisting his hoodie before yanking him closer, holding him tight as she moaned against his mouth, tangling her tongue with his once he’d shifted, delved inside.
The light overhead flickered, the familiar scent of warm rain mixed with a hint of gun oil smothered his senses, the aroma he’d thought he’d lost forever, as he turned, pinning her against the wall. Neve gasped in a breath as he kissed his way down the curve of her neck, biting at her shoulder muscle before inching back up, reclaiming her mouth.
He lost himself in the play of her lips on his, on how she made soft, purring noises, her fingers sliding into his hair, locking him against her. He couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe beyond the taste of her mouth, the way her body molded perfectly to his.
Deep pants raked across his face when he finally came up for air, his forehead resting on hers, his chest heaving as his heart hammered against his ribcage. Their breath mixed, a hint of coffee paired with a sweet heat that was all Neve.
He brushed his thumb across her cheek, hating the hint of wetness. “I should have done that the moment I woke up. Hell, out in the rain at the facility.”
He dipped down, kissed her again. Softer. As if she’d shatter if he pressed too hard. “I’m not quite ready to let this go. To move past the last thirty days. How it felt laying a rose on an empty grave. How those damn shots echo in my head whenever I close my eyes. Knowing I’d let you down. That if I’d just gotten my head out of my ass, I might have been there. Had more than empty promises to keep me warm. But I’m just so fucking happy you’re alive.”
She sighed, her fingers falling back to his hoodie. “I can wait until you’re ready.” She traced her thumb along his lower lip. “You’ve always been worth the wait.”
He closed his eyes, breathed her in when footsteps stopped farther up the hall. He clenched his jaw, looked up the hallway.
Zadie stood near the entrance, arms crossed, mouth quirked at the corner. “If you two think you can come up for air, I just intercepted a signal. Ramsey’s heading out with a team to retrieve and sanitize that downed UAV. Confirmed he’ll be on sight. I’ve got the coordinates. We leave in fifteen.”
Coulter sighed, easing back enough that Neve could slip out. He hooked her arm when she went to walk away. “I meant what I said. We’re not done. And the next time I have you in my arms, I won’t let go.”
CHAPTER SIX
Rain drizzled from the sky. Not hard, just an annoying, steady mist that soaked through clothes, left the vertical scree field a slick, unforgiving mess. Fog lifted off the rocks as if it had been born there, barely rising more than twenty feet before leveling out, covering everything in a thick, eerie gray mass. Early dusk painted the hillside in hints of indigo, the shadows washing into the creeping darkness.
Neve scrambled up the sheer face, her vision limited to the wet rock and rotted root-ladders sliding beneath her hands. Every handhold shifted within her grip, teetering on the side as if waiting for the right moment to succumb to gravity. Wet lichen covered half the stones, the light green color providing a hint of depth in the surrounding gray as they switchbacked through the boulders, the scent of crushed pine coating the cold, alpine air.
Scout had taken point, her silhouette a dim shadow amidst the mist. Zadie and Wynn followed, keeping pace as Scout inevitably picked the best line as if she saw a route etched along the rocks. Coulter brought up the rear, an ever-present anchor on Neve’s six. He moved in perfect sync, his rhythmic breathing like a physical tether behind her, keeping her grounded despite the way his simple presence gnawed at her senses. Like a low-frequency hum only she heard.
It took her back to their years of missions together. The familiar cadence of his stride. The comforting weight of his massive body behind her, guarding her six. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed having him as part of the team until right now.
And she wasn’t sure if she could go back to living without him.
The wind gusted over the exposed ridge, every subtle change swirling a hint of cottonwood and aged leather around her, rearing fleeting memories of their kiss in the hallway. How his fingers had smoothed over her skin, holding her captive as he’d claimed her mouth. He’d tasted like coffee and promise, and she’d been reeling ever since.
She gave herself a mental slap. She needed to focus on the mission, on the cold press of the rocks, the way the fog wove across the ridge line. Not on the lingering memory of his hard body pressed against hers, how he’d made her feel safe for the first time since that clusterfuck of a mission.
Scout veered left, cresting a hint of a ledge that wove along the cliffside, bypassed a nasty section of jagged rock. She waited until they’d all clambered onto the narrow path, then headed off, one side skimming the ridge, the sheer drop-off on the other fading in and out of view amidst the fog.
They continued for another hundred meters when the ledge vanished, remnants of it spread across the lower half of the ravine. Scout peered over the edge, eyeing the drop, before breaking out a length of webbing — knotting it around a hemlock branch. She added a length of cord, wrapped it around her wrist then took a few running steps, swinging across the opening and landing smoothly on the other side.
Zadie glanced back at Neve, looking as if she wanted to cap Scout in the ass, before copying her approach, nearly tipping over the edge when her momentum didn’t quite reach the other side. Scout snagged her belt, tugged her the last few inches onto the rock. Wynn went next, barely giving the dizzying height a second look as she swooped over, swung the line back.
Neve handed it to Coulter, holding it hostage for a moment. “You sure your ribs can take this? We can bypass it. Find another way.”
He looped the cord around his right hand. “Not my dominant side, but I think I can manage.”
He tested the line, grimaced when he twisted to accommodate his massive shoulders, then jumped. No extra steps, no hesitation, just a push and his body flying across the opening. He landed without a sound, his mouth pursed tight, no outward emotion cracking his stone facade.
And she hated that his unyielding resolve impressed the hell out of her. That having him as part of the team felt more than right.
It gave her hope.
Coulter returned the line, barely giving her any space to land as she gripped the cord, slipped over, the rush of dangling above the fog-choked chasm quickening her heart rate. He hooked her arm, holding her close, as he stared into her eyes, the blue in his edging toward more of a slate gray.
