Trace:Yeah, it’s interfering with our alone time.
Screw Jack and Trace—they get enough alone time with their wives.
Hollander:Hadley has been searching the local security cameras to find the two of you at that food truck.
Me:Isn’t that illegal?
Hadley and Hollander fell in love while working together. Hadley is the best computer hacker I’ve ever met. Hopefully, my boss Sloane doesn’t find out she hacked into his security cameras around town—he won’t be mad, but he’ll try to poach her from Halo City Security.
Hollander:You know, Hadley, there’s nothing she can’t hack, and she’s the best at covering her tracks.
Rafe:Do we need Maddox to scrub your digital footprint?
Also taking charge, of course, Rafe, our former commander, would be the one to mention scrubbing information from the web. It’s a good thing he married Tara and loosened up a bit.
Me:No, it’s fine. It’s all part of our cover. I’m pretending to be Kat’s boyfriend.
Riker:A pretend boyfriend who just so happens to buy sexy lingerie for his equally fake girlfriend…right.
Me:I’m ending this group chat now.
Maddox:Let me know if you need me to scrub anything off the web for you.
Me:Finally a true friend that isn’t picking on me.
I think about how close Maddox and I have grown in the last few months. We’re the two outsiders. Once, the seven of us wereall thirtysomething-year-old virgins. Now, in less than a year, Maddox and I are the only two virgins left in our group.
Madoxx:I just want to make sure you don’t do anything stupid like send her a dick pic or something.
Me:I’m done with this chat. Goodbye.
“You seemed pretty intense texting. Was it your wife or girlfriend?” Kat picks at the diced mango chunks on her taco with a plastic fork.
“What? I don’t have a wife or a girlfriend—well, except you.” I glance around the area, making sure no one is close enough to hear. “That was just my SEAL buddies, giving me a hard time about the posts of us they saw online.”
“Oh, okay.” A smile crosses her face. “I was afraid I’d pissed off a wife or a girlfriend by posting that photo.”
“Kat, I know you don’t know me very well, but I would never pretend to be your boyfriend if I already had a wife or a girlfriend.”
“What about a boyfriend?” she teases, her eyes sparkling with mischief.
“I think he’d understand,” I joke back, loving the easy banter between us.
“Or maybe we could be a throuple.” She laughs, drawing attention to us—the curious stares remind me I’m here to do a job.
“We should probably head back to the cottage so you can get some rest—it’s been a long day.” I pile our empty paper plates and dump them in the trash. “One more thing.” I pull a surprised Kat into my arms and cover her lips with mine, expecting a quick, fake kiss. Instead, my tongue takes on a mind of its own and licks across the seam of her lips until they part.
With a soft moan, she opens to me, her tongue meeting mine stroke for stroke. My hand creeps under her hair, lightly gripping the back of her head and deepening the kiss. It isn’t until I hear the loud murmur of the other people at the tables around us that I realize I’ve taken our little show too far.
When I try to pull away and end the kiss, Kat runs her fingers through my hair, pressing my mouth firmly against hers. She has no idea what she’s doing to me. If we don’t stop now, I’m afraid we’ll end up putting on an even bigger show for our audience, which might include the two of us naked and me nine inches deep inside her. Reluctantly, I break the kiss, step back, and stare down at her well-kissed lips.
“Oh.” She runs her tongue over her lips like she’s savoring my taste.
Damn, this woman is going to be the death of me.
“Let’s go.” I take her hand in mine and lead her away from the food trucks and back to the cottage where I’m sure my self-control will be tested yet again.
five
