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“You don’t think I can take it?”
“Let me finish, Nina,” I snapped back at her. I was anxious to get my words out before I lost my train of thought concerning our relationship together.
Her eyes widened after that, and she huffed before turning away again and marching out of the room. She slammed the door behind herself, but I followed, not willing to let this conversation go to bed just yet.
“Nina …” I touched her arm, but she shoved it against my chest to free herself.
“Let go of me, Jack,” she fumed. “You don’t want me to get hurt? But you hauled me all the way to the Middle East on false pretenses, and let me stay with you and some sheikh and his wife who are arms dealers?”
“You weren’t supposed to find out,” I defended.
“Of course, I wasn’t. I was supposed to be the loyal and calm wife who asks no questions and does your bidding, right? Too bad, I’m not that kind of girl, Jack.”
She folded her arms across her chest after pouring out her anger, and she finally met my gaze. Her chest still heaved with the sheer force of her exasperation, and I loved the crimson that crept up her neck.
It was then I realized Nina was wearing only a white shirt. Her legs were bare, and I couldn’t even tell if she had noticed herself because she was busy fuming.
“You’re getting it all wrong, Nina,” I said to her. “I’m sorry for keeping this from you, but it was for your own good.”
A slicing pain cut through my side then, and I groaned from the effect.
“Are you all right?” she asked with a frown when I looked at her again.
“I am,” I breathed out.
Nina dropped her arms, then walked to me and peered down at my side. “Did you really get shot? Like with a real bullet?”
A raspy chuckle left my lips, and I combed my fingers through my hair. “I guess so,” I told her. “We need to leave Jeddah though. The sheikh will be raging mad with the need to find us and end us.”
There was no expression on her face, and I couldn’t tell if she feared what I just said or if she was more fixated on staring at my abdomen.
“Nina …”
I put a hand on her shoulder at the same time that she raised her head. Our gazes met; everything I was about to say to her completely vanished, and all I could do was stare into her eyes.
“When we leave Jeddah,” I finally managed, but felt the tunneling of desire rush through me, making it difficult to think or breathe. “When we leave Jeddah I …” I repeated, then paused, and searched her gaze.
Her lips were so close to mine, I couldn’t breathe because she was too close, and the heat emanating from her affected me.
I lifted a hand and stroked her cheek. When Nina didn’t stop me, I tilted her chin towards mine and brushed my lips gently over hers.
I was supposed to tell her what happened next once we left Jeddah. The deal wasn’t complete yet; the sheikh hadn’t been arrested, and I was sure he would try to find me.
Jim and I still had to do more work, and we had to find a way to bring him down while the investigation into his ring continued. The arrested men would be detained and questioned.
There was a lot of work left to do, but at that moment, Nina was all I could think about. I deepened the kiss just before the door burst open and Jim entered the room.
“Oh, my God, I interrupted,” he said as we both jerked apart and put some distance between us. I rubbed my brows, and Nina stood with her back to me as she paced.
“Jim?” I called, and he slowly turned to face me.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he continued, and a slow smile spread out on his lips before he cleared his throat and spoke. “Flights are booked for your return to Denver. The agents and I will handle the rest of it and make sure to find enough evidence to bring the sheikh down. For now, you’ve got to leave and lay low.”
“You sure there’s nothing I can do?”
“The sheikh will be after you,” Jim answered. “Leaving Jeddah’s what is best for now. Don’t worry, I’ll be in contact. Our work isn’t done yet.”
He left the room after that, and I remained in one spot for some time before letting out a deep breath and closing my eyes for a second.
