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He snorted. “Uh-huh.”
Her jaw tightened and her blue eyes narrowed to slits. “Oh I forgot. None of you boys know what it’s like to have a real family. You all grew up as wild as your Gypsy ancestors.”
Bone-deep resentment sizzled up his spine. “It’s Roma. We don’t like the racist term Gypsy.”
She smirked. “Well, I don’t like people eavesdropping on my calls so we’re even.” With that she whirled around and strutted to the stairs leading to the jet’s cabin then hustled up them far steadier and quicker than a lot of women in sky-high heels could have.
The idea of having her with them on this mission didn’t sit right with him, but it hadn’t been his call. It had been Bianca’s, who had never poured stupid into her cereal a day in her life. Still, he had no fucking clue what she’d been thinking.
Chapter 6
Bianca
30,000 Feet Above Western Texas…
Thirty minutes after takeoff, Bianca left Vivi and Elisa in the cockpit and surveyed her team hunkered around the small woodgrain tables and lounging in the soft cream leather seats. Marko, Lash, Duke and Lexie were playing a cutthroat game of Spades. Taz and Tamara sat next to each other in the middle of the plane. Both had their eyes closed. Keir was pretending to read a book while watching her out of the corner of his eye. The guy had the subtlety of an Ed Hardy shirt. He didn’t need to worry. She wasn’t going to have any more contact with the happy fucking couple than was absolutely necessary.
Which is exactly why she kept her gaze tilted away from them as she made her way back to the bedroom that took up the jet’s tail end. It was the only place onboard where she could shut a door between herself and the rest of the team so she could finally catch the breath that had been kicked out of her with an emotional steel-toed boot.
The bedroom was small. There was enough room for a bed, a tiny closet and a dresser, but it was more than enough space for a little solo pity party and to regroup—or plot a murder if she took her girls’ advice. She pushed the door closed behind her, but it came to a stop before it latched.
She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. The truth was there in the way her heart hammered against her ribs, the way the butterflies began to swirl around in her belly and the way her body went soft and melty at the first inhale of his cologne.
The man wrecked her without even trying.
It wasn’t fair.
“We need to talk,” Taz said, his voice low and growly.
Not here and definitely not now. If there was a conversation meant for text, this was it, because face-to-face wasn’t going to end well. Snakes on a plane had nothing on pissed-off, lied-to ex-girlfriend on a plane.
“I thought the briefing covered everything.” She pushed against the door. It didn’t budge.
“It’s not about the mission.” Taz pushed the door open and walked into the bedroom.
He took up too much space in the crowded room. They faced each other, close enough that it hurt not to touch him. Even as pissed as she was, she couldn’t deny that bit of shameful truth.
Taz stared at her, a dangerous heat turning his eyes a stunning shade of emerald. His gaze traveled down her body in that slow, commanding way that left her panties wet and her nipples puckered.
This was how it usually started for them. A look so inflammatory it could be a touch. The unspoken challenge for control. The undeniable ache that teased and tormented and tantalized her every sensitive valley and peak. By the time he made the trip back up to her eyes, her entire body was smoldering—his lips curled into a smirk—and he knew it. The bastard.
Backing down wasn’t in her nature, but she needed more sunlight between them or she’d do something she’d regret. It was a coin toss on whether that would be a hate fuck or a hard slap. She backpedaled until the back of her knees hit the bed.
“The mission is the only reason you’re here.” She pushed the words out of her mouth, which wanted to stay frozen shut.
He nudged the door shut with his foot. “Getting Gidget has never been the reason why I’m on this case and you damn well know it.” Two long strides and he closed the distance between them, trapping her between the bed and his rock-hard body. “I’ve only ever been here for you.”
Part of her believed him. Hell, most of her believed him. But that didn’t change anything. His wife’s arrival—and all the secrets between them—had seen to that.
The truth sliced through her. She had just as many skeletons in her closet as he did and she hadn’t been any more forthcoming than he had been. It wasn’t part of her personality to get all touchy-feely emotionally, just like it wasn’t in his.
The reality was, she wasn’t meant for a real relationship. Maybe it was because her parents had abandoned her to that hellhole St. B’s when she was eleven. It could be because the Sutherlands didn’t put any fun in their family dysfunction. Then again, she might just have a personality disorder. Whatever the cause, the result was always the same: ending up alone.
Taz curled his fingers around her hip, setting off a fire she wouldn’t be able to control for long. “Bianca—”
She pressed her palm to his chest, cutting him off. The all too familiar shiver of attraction made her whole body tingle. “Leave it be, Taz. We’ll do the job, get Gidget home and then I’ll move out of the gym.”
He covered her hand with his, locking her in place. “You’re not going anywhere.”
