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And she kisses them back.
“That’s not fair,” she huffs at their retreating backs before turning those pretty blues back to me.
And now we’re alone.
She stalks forward, a plan clearly in mind. “They don’t fight fair and you can get any idea you might have of following in their footsteps out of your head. I don’t need my fire killed or my candles snuffed out. What I want to know is why you’re here?” She rounds the kitchen island and I can tell she’s gunning for the box I’m emptying.
Undeterred, I grab a few bottles of water from the boxes of supplies and turn to open the refrigerator and then freeze. I’m left a little speechless at what I find. Or rather what I don’t.
“Nothing but wine and water?” I reach in. “Is that a deli sandwich?”
I turn to look at her and see she’s hot on my ass, putting the bottles of steak sauce and plates I’ve unpacked right back into the boxes I’m trying to unload them from.
She waves a hand in front of my face. “Don’t worry about what is and isn’t in my fridge. Not your problem. And there’s no way you’re staying and neither are your two goons for friends.”
She plucks the bottles of water from my hands and tosses them back in, and that’s when I catch the soft hint of vanilla still clinging to her from all those damn candles she had lit.
She shoots me a humorless grin. “There ya go. You’re all packed again. Better get going before the rain floods the roads.”
I cock a half smile, causing the pink flush across her cheeks to turn a deep rose. She might think she is in control, but the little spitfire has no idea we’ve come with a plan in mind. No matter how much she huffs and puffs.
I shake my head and take my box from her hands. “Mercy, that’s not gonna happen,” I say and snatch the bottles back and pass them to Cain who walks through the door.
One thing about Mercedes Bray is that she likes to be in control. Something we have in common and we’ve butted heads over in the past. Knocking her off-kilter is the first order of business.
Her long-winded sigh, tells me she’s resigned enough to know we are not budging and her hard shell is starting to crack. “Fine. How long are you guys staying?”
“That depends on how long you are staying.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
I close the fridge and prop my hands on the countertop. Cain and Linc standing off to the side in silence. Fuckers. Leaving me to do all the dirty work. “Everything actually.”
She tilts her head up and puts on one of those smiles that says she’s about to read us the law and blanks her expression. Scary as fuck. I’ve never seen someone totally erase any trace of emotion that fast. “Then your stay is going to be very short-lived,” she coos, and doesn’t she sound so smug?
She turns, arms crossed and climbs the stairs, but I’m right behind waving a hand to the guys to give me a minute.
Upstairs I find her in the first room on the left taking clothes from the drawers and neatly folding them into an overnight bag. She’s a blur of green and white going back and forth.
I lean a shoulder on the frame of the door and cross my arms. “Where do you think you’re going?” I point at those weird-looking pants. “The crotch of those pants is around your knees, for god’s sake, woman. You’ll trip over something before you make it to your car.”
“We can’t all be Rambo ready like you are, Grant. My pajamas are none of your concern. And since you refuse to leave, I’m getting out of here before the rain floods my way out.”
Like hell she is.
“Really and then what? Drive the four hours back to the city?”
She turns those blazing blue eyes on me, and my heart wants to hit the fucking floor she’s so damn beautiful. “Wherever I want to, thank you very much.”
“You don’t want to give me a hug? Where’s my hello kiss? Don’t I get one of those anymore?”
She stumbles on her way back from the bathroom, and I reach a hand out to steady her. As insignificant as it might seem, throwing her off balance finally reveals a few cracks along that tough exterior enough to get her to stop and see me for the first time since walking through the front door. Me and not the past.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen you. Why don’t you get over here and wrap those sweet arms around me?” My voice pitches low. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”
It’s the truth. Seeing her makes all the emotions I shoved down to do my job for Uncle Sam surface and they are damn near choking me with how thick they are in my throat.
“I…I… can’t, Grant. I don’t—”
