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He grunted. She apparently took that as a yes.
Her touch was feather-light, but it sent all kinds of signals all over his body. “You were so lucky.” He didn’t move. Didn’t even want to breathe.
She dug her fingers into the tissue around his spine and began to massage his muscles. “I can feel the knots. You need to stretch this out. A massage once a week for the next few months would help tremendously. You don’t want this to be permanently knotted if you can avoid it.”
Her fingers were giving him relief in his back but excitement shot through his body and he was getting hard. What was the protocol here? If Mac were any other woman, he’d turn around and kiss her. But she was, for lack of a better word,the enemy. At least for now.
Her palms and fingertips were warm as she moved her hands over his back. “Your muscles are really tight. We need to sign you up for a regular Pilates class.” Her touch flitted over his skin, then disappeared, then came right back. She was running her fingers over his scar. The destroyed nerve endings didn’t feel a thing as she skimmed the actual scar.
“I just can’t imagine…” she breathed as her fingers repeated the here-gone-here sensation.
He was doing his best to be still, but his dick missed the damn message. It was going to be pretty damn obvious when he turned around, and there wasn’t a fucking thing he could do about it.
“Ah, Mac, I’m not sure what…” He turned slowly.
She stood, looking up at him. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve crossed all kinds of boundaries here. I just had the urge to touch your scar. I’m…” She cleared her throat. “To have a broken back and now you’re back on a spec-op team. That’s incredible. Your scar just looks so red and angry. I…I had the urge to try and smooth it out. Soothe it somehow.” She shook her head. “Sorry, I am losing it.” Her cheeks were tinged pink as she pressed her hands to them. “And now you must think I’m a total nutcase. Here I’m touching you. God, I’m so sorry. It was just instinct.”
When she started to move away, he touched her arm. He bent and captured her lips. They were warm and soft. She opened them under his touch, and he slid his tongue into her mouth, pulling her against him.What was that they said about keeping your friends close but your enemies closer?She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her hips against his. Their tongues danced as he ran his hands over her butt, grinding her against his hard-on.
Suddenly, she gasped.
“What?” He looked to see what had captured her attention. Beans was on the island. He had one paw up like he was getting ready to scratch.
“Um, your cat pulled my hair.”
“Oh, God, I’m sorry. Dude’s got a mind of his own.”
She chuckled and took a step back. “It’s all good.” She cleared her throat and went around the island. Picking up her tea, she said, “I’m just gonna go to bed. I’m…I’m sorry about…” Her cheeks turned pink. “I don’t know what came over me. It… I won’t… Er, goodnight.” With that, she was gone.
He stared at his cat. Should he give Beans a treat for saving him from doing something stupid? Or should he put the cat outside for interrupting the best kiss he’d had in a long time? He cursed as he grabbed his tea and headed back to bed. Life was getting interesting. Too bad ‘interesting’ always had a funny way of blowing up in his face.
CHAPTERTWELVE
Mac leaned against wall next to Mrs. Mahelona’s door and watched as Dane and his teammates got ready to enter her apartment. She had wanted to be the first one through the door, but Dane pointed out that this type of thing was what they were trained for. She wasn’t actually a Coastie. Most of the CGIS Special Agents weren’t. Her job required a background in law enforcement. She was trained to investigate, not breach doors. Back in Minneapolis, they had SWAT for that. While she understood why they excluded her, it still burned that she couldn’t participate. It washerapartment.
She tensed, shoulders tight, as they got into formation. Dane had called out his team this morning after they’d gotten up and he made coffee. Four hours sleep was better than none, but it wasn’t much especially after the very hot kiss they’d shared. Thinking about that wasn’t helping her tension and the nervous leaps and pirouettes happening in her gut. Neither was watching Dane in his ass-hugging faded jeans and a blue T-shirt that matched his eyes. The fact they put on their tactical gear and strapped on several guns just made him all the hotter while boosting her internal thermostat.Damn him.
Using her key, they unlocked the door but didn’t open it. From where she was standing her line of sight was obscured. Too many strong, hot bodies between her and her apartment door. She slid along the wall until she was almost directly opposite her door.
“On three,” Cain called. He was at the back.
Dane was crouched low on the right side of the entry point, and Tac stood upright and poised to breach on the left. Dane would turn the knob and then push the door open with his hand while staying crouched. Tac would go through once it was open. They would all pour in and clear her place in seconds. Then the real work would begin. She had to find whatever Probert—if it was him, although Dane seemed pretty damn sure—had left behind. A bug, something incriminating. Or maybe he’d been looking for something, but for the life of her, she had no idea what it would be. She’d puzzled over it while she’d been lying in Dane’s guestroom but had come up empty.
“One,” Cain counted. They tensed and got ready to move.
“Two,” said Cain. Dane put his hand on the knob. At “three,” Dane turned the knob and pushed open the door.
The explosion smacked her hard against the wall. The boom was deafening. She was on her back, staring at the ceiling in the hallway. The loud, high-pitched buzz in her ears muffled all other noise, and her head hurt. It took her a second to work out what had happened.Dane.
She tried to get up, but the world tipped sideways, so she flopped back. She turned her head. There was a boot not too far away, but she couldn’t tell if it was attached to anything.
“Dane?” she called. “Dane?” But with the ringing in her ears, she couldn’t be sure she was making sounds.
Someone groaned.
Someone else started to laugh. “That sucked,” Jace said. “Everyone alright?”
“Motherfucker,” Cass said. “I got a hole in my favorite jeans.”
