Page 100 of Missile Strike

It terrified her.

But the thought of walking away from him terrified her even more.

She would be brave. Not just for him. For her.

“We stay. I trust you all to make sure I’m safe and the gala goes off without incident.”

She barely registered the rest of the conversation between the three men. The next thing she knew, Caleb and Tavari were leaving.

The front door clicked shut behind them.

Silence settled over the room.

Danny could have died today.

But he hadn’t, and she had to accept that his job carried risks he was trained to deal with.

“Hey.” Danny stood behind her, a solid wall of comfort when she felt like her life was spinning out of control. “Whatever you’re thinking, let it go.”

“I’m trying to be brave.”

“Oh honey. You already are.”

Something warm unfurled inside her. He thought she was brave.

Maybe he saw something in her she was only beginning to see in herself.

She leaned back against him. “What now?”

His breath caressed the shell of her ear, sending shivers through her body. “I have plans. Ones that involve us getting naked.”

The rough timbre of his voice chased away the fear and doubt sliding beneath her skin, replacing it with a need that begged to be sated. She leaned back into him, her pulse quickening for a different reason now. “What exactly did you have in mind?”

A low, sexy laugh disturbed the tendrils of her hair. He reached around her and plucked the romance novel from her fingers, holding the pages of a steamy scene open in front of her.

“Whatever you’re game for.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Isabella stood in her living room, Danny’s chest pressed lightly against her back. Rain tapped against the windows. The romance novel rested in his hand, opened to a dog-eared page she’d reread more than once, where the characters were engaged in activities she’d never dared try.

Was afraid to try.

Miran Hassan had abducted her when she was only twelve. Put zip-ties on her wrists and ankles. Locked her in a storage unit.

She thought she was past the trauma. Or most of it, at least.

But certain fears still lived beneath her skin.

What if surrendering to Danny meant reclaiming parts of herself she’d locked away?

Her fingers trembled as she took the book from him. Flipped through the pages until she got to the scene she wanted.

Held it up. “This.”

Behind her, Danny’s body went rigid.

Silence.