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Nate wrapped the blanket so it covered him completely and turned toward the fire. Eden looked completely uncomfortable and out of her element. She was probably thinking being naked was going to be pretty inconvenient if they’d walked into a trap and she needed to start running.
He’d already had the same thought and had made sure he’d palmed his weapons and hidden them beneath the blanket when it had been handed to him. He scooted closer to Eden, so they stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the fire, the wool blankets itchy but warm, and he passed her an extra handgun so Joe and Ahnah couldn’t see.
Some of the tension left her shoulders and she looked up at him with a half smile as she hid it quickly beneath her own blanket.
“That obvious, huh?”
“I just figured if I was worried about it, you probably were too.”
They stood in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes. He’d never been the kind of man to hold back when he was attracted to a woman. But she was different. She’d been hurt in unimaginable ways, and he realized he’d never put himself in the position of being another person to add to that hurt.
“This would be a really awkward situation if this were a first date,” he said to break the silence.
Her eyes got bigger, as if she wasn’t quite sure how to respond, but then she said, “I’ve never actually been on a date, so I wouldn’t know.”
She’d spoken so softly he wasn’t sure he’d heard her correctly, and he froze, unsure of what to say next.
“Never?” he finally asked. “In all the relationships you’ve had, none of them has taken you out on a date?”
Eden turned those big brown eyes on him and her mouth quirked a little. “It’s not like there’s a lot of time for that kind of stuff in this line of work. You don’t just slit a Jordanian prince’s throat and run off to the movies and share popcorn. There’s only work, and the agents who need to satisfy their bodies in more carnal ways establish relationships that suit them best. There’s no time for anything in between. And I think it’s wasted anyway.”
“I’m sorry. Did you just say romance was a waste of time?” Their heads had gotten closer together and their whispers more fervent. “Why do I feel like there’s an odd gender reversal going on here?”
“Is that your way of saying you’re a woman?” she asked, arching a brow.
Their bodies moved even closer, so his breath whispered across her skin, and he saw by the widening of her eyes that she wasn’t completely unaffected by the close contact.
“You want to be careful, sweetheart, about biting off more than you can chew here.”
“Did you just call me sweetheart?” Her eyes narrowed, and if he’d been less of a man, in that moment his balls would have shriveled to the size of acorns.
“Don’t even try it. You and I both know I could disarm you before you took aim. Don’t play games you don’t intend to follow through with.”
They’d gone from playful banter to something much more serious in the blink of an eye, and he moved back a step to let things cool down.
“And it just so happens I like going on dates. And I’d have no problem doing my job and then taking you out somewhere afterward.”
“Are you asking me out?” The color had drained from her face and she took another step away from him, as if she’d just realized where the conversation was leading. “Oh, no. No, no, no. Definitely not.”
“You forgotnon, nein,andne. Three of my favorite languages.”
“My job is to kill Jonah Salt. Nothing else is more important than that. He killed any possible feelings I could ever have for a man again.”
“Forever is a long time. It seems shortsighted to think you wouldn’t have those desires at some point during the rest of your life.”
“If I do, then I’ll deal with it. But I promise that part of me is as dead as Jonah is going to be.”
“That sounds like a challenge, Agent Kane.”
“You’re bound and determined for me to shoot you, aren’t you?”
He cracked out a laugh and shook his head, enjoying their short conversation more than he’d expected. A small smile tilted the corner of her lips and he realized she might not trust him—yet—but she accepted him as her partner. The other things would come over time.
“Hey,” Joe called out. “Chatterboxes. You want to eat?”
ChapterSeven
Eden sat at the little two-person table and huddled over the fish stew Ahnah had ladled into heavy ceramic bowls. Nate sat across from her—she’d stopped trying to figure out how to keep their knees from bumping beneath the table—and she settled in and tried not to think about what that small bit of physical contact made her feel.
