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Damn. Just what he needed. More affirmation of his own concerns. Because Wade had learned one hard-and-fast truism over the years. He could always count on the instincts of his team.
His gaze landed on Sunny, on the vulnerable curve of her neck and the bold brace of her shoulders, with long brown hair cascading down her back. Damn straight he had to get her somewhere safe, and soon, although he suspected persuading her would take some major maneuvering. Whatever it took, he was sticking to her side.
Details first, however.
“Hey, guys, I do need a favor.” He hooked an arm around each man’s shoulder, McCabe on one side, Franco on the other. “Which of you can dog-sit a seventy-five-pound husky mutt on crate rest?”
***
Sunny was ready to jump out of her skin.
If they didn’t let her out of this teeny-tiny room soon, she would lose it. Seriously lose it. Lasky may have said she was free to go, but there was still the technicality of getting through that freaking metal door. She never would have thought herself claustrophobic, but after so long living in the wide outdoors, this interrogation cube on a military base with fences and guards… She shuddered.
The soundproof walls were closing in on her faster and faster by the second. More than her hands were shaking. Her teeth chattered. She was trembling from the inside out.
The thick metal door opened with a hiss. She jolted in her seat, almost toppling the cold metal chair.
God, had they vapor-locked her inside this room?
She righted her chair just as Wade strode through the yawning portal. His big, muscled body filled out his camouflage uniform with invincibility. She never would have guessed just yesterday he’d suffered an injury that would have sent most people diving for bed rest for at least a week. She also barely recognized the uninhibited, wildly passionate lover of last night. The man before her was all military precision and rigid focus.
Wade whipped out a steel chair from the other side of the table and turned it smoothly around, sitting, resting his forearms on the back. Waiting for him to speak, to take her cue from his tone, Sunny stared at him, but he didn’t say a word. Just watched her through his chocolate brown eyes, the same eyes that had devoured every inch of her naked body by firelight on a bear rug. She wanted to return to that pocket of time, to that accessible, sensual man rather than this remote wall of cool professionalism.
But she knew it was impossible. Things had changed irrefutably. She didn’t have the time or luxury of indulging in an affair with Wade.
Sunny nudged her coffee aside, liquid sloshing over the side. “I want to go home.”
Still he didn’t speak. Muscles twitched and bunched under his uniform until the camo pattern along his arms took on a serpentine life of its own while the man himself still sat stone-still.
She dabbed up the spilled java with a napkin before leaning forward, elbows on the table. “You don’t look surprised.”
“I’m not,” he said simply, voice gravelly, the only outward sign of all the physical strain his body had endured over the past few days. “Although I don’t think it sounds like such a good idea.”
“Agent Lasky said I’m not under arrest. Is there some law enforcement mandate for me to stay in town?” Panic seeped into her, claustrophobia spreading. She felt as if she were talking to a brick wall.
“Of course not. But it wouldn’t hurt to keep a low profile for a while, until things clear up and we can be sure you’re safe.”
Low profile? “That’s what I said. I want to go home.”
“You aren’t hearing me. You need to stay clear of anything associated with your village until we find out for sure exactly what happened to your friends.” He covered her hand with his, his skin callused, his touch warm and familiar. “Sunny…”
She chewed her bottom lip, the barely banked fire from last night rekindling inside her. “What?”
He leaned closer, his back to the one-way window. “Let’s go off together,” he said softly, low and gravelly with unmistakable desire. “We can forget about everything else except each other, being together.”
His whispered words tempted her as much as his touch. And that was a lot.
She had to strengthen her resolve. There was danger out there threatening her family, her friends, and she couldn’t turn away. “I have to go home.”
One dark eyebrow cranked upward and his hand slid from hers, cool air chilling her skin and deeper.
“Okay,” he said slowly, although his face turned stony again, not offering much encouragement that he’d actually conceded. “You’ll need to stay in contact for the rest of the investigation. Can you do that from your middle-of-nowhere town?”
They had a satellite phone, not that anyone had picked up when she called the number. That happened sometimes, depending on the weather. She would figure that out when she got home, once she talked to her brother, hopefully her sister too. “I can arrange it when I get back.”
“Nuh-uh.” He shook his head. “They’re going to want your contact information. Hell, I wouldn’t mind a little of that myself.” Irritation flashed through his eyes, the first sign of any real emotion since he’d walked through the door. He thumbed up another dry napkin and slid it across the table. “I’ll even settle for your number and address scrawled right here.”
Were there people out there listening to their conversation? Was he acting as some kind of interrogator, in spite of his understated sexual overture? She chilled from the inside out even in the heated air wafting from vents above.
