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“Contrary to your belief, I can actually walk on my own.” Her compelling eyes went flat. “I carry a pistol and know self-defense.”
“That’s not why I’m walking you to your place.”
She angrily turned and started for her building, a townhouse nestled in a group of five. She unlocked the door and turned toward him. “I don’t need a lecture.”
“I don’t lecture,” he said.
Her anger was quick and sharp as she faced him. “Good, because I?—”
“Do I have to remind you that we’re both on the same side here?” he cut in viciously. She went to go inside, but he grabbed her arm and she stiffened. “Lives are at stake. Your citizens’ and mine!”
She turned abruptly, something flashing in her eyes: agony, shame, guilt, and another gloss of anger. But when he let her go, she quivered in reaction but didn’t enter her home.
“I get it. We have to work together, but you should know I think all Americans believe they’re entitled and know everything. From my perspective, you don’t know shit.”
“I’ll take any honest thing you have to say, Kaiya, over this thin layer of bullshit your boss wants you to dole out. I deal in truth and whatever the hell gritty reality I’m in. This is as gritty as it gets. No Safe Haven isn’t your run-of-the-mill terrorist group. They manipulate people, threaten loved ones, kill indiscriminately, and if we don’t stop them, you’re going to have a large body count on your head.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and her face contorted with raw emotion. There was no denying her anguish. Her pain was palpable, her mouth as tight as her muscles, her fists. This was the driving force of her anger, this, whatever she was concealing, was the source of her shame.
“You reinforce everything I think about Americans,” she said, her expression fierce, her body language the epitome of frustration and rage. “You Big American SEALs had to come to our country and save us.”
“We will work together, come hell or high water, or I’ll have you replaced.” Her eyes flashed and her expression slackened. “There’s way too much at stake for us to bicker and undermine each other’s authority. Your territory, I get it. Our op. Do you get that?”
At his ominously quiet tone, she hunched her shoulders and averted her face, her body tight, as if she was trying to ward off pain. She lifted her chin, and Kodiak watched her. He knew he was backing her into a corner, and he wasn’t being very nice about it, but he also knew they had to finish this, one way or another. He wasn’t going to spend his time wrestling with her…or his goddamn feelings.
“You made your point,” she said, sounding far too defensive to be anything except defensive. The look in her eyes was enough to rip the heart right out of him.
Folding his arms, he stared at her, keeping his expression neutral. After a couple of seconds, she leaned back against the door, and let out a soft breath. He was a highly-trained special ops warrior. He was supposed to know better than this. All she was doing was trying to hold her own against what were obviously her demons. But everyone had demons. He juggled his own.
All he was doing was watching her, and he was getting hard. Her eyes were closed, her expression still tight, but not quite so strained as it had been moments ago. Some storm had passed?
Watching her, his eyes slowly adjusted to the faint glow of the city lights filtering into the shadow of her doorway.
“Do you have anything else you want to tell me, Kodiak?” she asked softly, a slight tremor in her voice.
Did he ever? Every breath she took caused an irrepressible longing to build inside him, making his chest tight. Fuck, it had been so long since he’d wanted a woman this much…if ever. He couldn’t think, couldn’t remember. They usually found him, and he’d gone with the flow, but Kaiya wasn’t like any of them.
And he’d noticed in a way that was impossible to ignore, deep down in his gut, viscerally. With the full moon above them, she looked up at him, and he suddenly noticed everything about her—the thickness of her lashes and the softness of her breath, the deep, rich copper of her skin and the racing of her heart, and he wanted her, even with her determination to tangle with him. She was so off-limits, especially with this chip on her shoulder and whatever had stirred her resentment and opinion of Americans in general. He let out a heavy breath.
Her brilliant eyes lifted, and she met his gaze, and everything shifted between them. The lights illuminated the deep, aching hazel color of her eyes, which had darkened with heat and acute awareness. Her pulse beat rapidly at the base of her throat. Her soft lips parted in unmistakable invitation, in direct contrast to the rage that still burned brightly in the recesses of her eyes. So many mixed messages as her breathing deepened, leading his eyes there as he appreciated every beautiful, feminine curve of her body. Her coat was open, and her tight nipples pressed against her sweater—from their provocative exchange or the chill of the night, he couldn’t be sure. Either way, he ached to find out how she fit against him.
He curbed his impulse. Just barely.
“We’ll need several vehicles and a bike.”
“You intend to pedal after the terrorists?”
He smiled slightly. “A motorcycle, one that’s powerful and easy to maneuver.” At the moment, he wasn’t thinking about straddling a motorcycle. The erotic thought made his dick twitch and ache between his thighs.
He was in deep trouble here.
The humorous moment gradually faded, and in its place something more intimate and sensual shimmered between them. Her eyes softened as she shifted, probably as unsettled by their attraction as he was. He knew in his gut he could kiss her, right here, right now.
He’d never been shy when it came to being with a woman, but this woman had no idea what she wanted or how to deal with what was so strong between them. But kissing Kaiya would be a huge, monumental mistake, because he was certain one taste of her wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the gut-level craving he was beginning to develop for her. Not to mention he would be overstepping boundaries he had no business crossing.
It could fuck him up and his career if she used those mixed feelings against him. One whiff of misconduct and he could be called up on charges. The Navy didn’t fool around in that kind of situation, whether locally or internationally.
So, as difficult as it was, he took a huge step back and shoved his hands into his pockets to keep them away from her.
