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Her grin was pure evil.
He stammered. “I don’t… There’s no way… I barely know her.”
“The heart wants what the heart wants.”
His stomach bottomed out and he shook his head. “Thisis what it feels like? I’m so screwed.”
“Yesterday, when I thought Ian might be dead?” She shuddered. “God, Rory. My whole world crashed down. Everything just stopped.”
And here it was again—these women in his life bringing out his need to protect and comfort. Sighing, he put an arm around her shoulders, giving them a gentle squeeze. “But he’s fine. He’s got good instincts, too. He sent me a photo of a guy he saw that tripped his radar. I ran it through facial recognition software and got a hit.”
She pulled back a couple inches to look at him. “And?”
“Airports are like small cities. Criminals seek the weakest targets, and our guy is on Interpol’s list for stealing travel documents to conceal his identity and cross borders undetected. He’s high up in a human trafficking cartel and he’s already being questioned by the FBI and Homeland. Interpol will get a turn at him as soon as they’re done.”
The corner of her mouth quirked. “Because of Ian.”
He unwrapped his arm from around, stood, and helped her up. “He’s going to make a damn good spy. I’ll see to it. So will Parker and the rest of her division. You can count on that.”
“Thank you.” She slid her feet back into her shoes. “I know I can’t protect him from everything, and I know that he doesn’t need me to, but it’s damn hard not to grab my bubble wrap and put him in the basement with you.”
Rory opened the door, nodding. “Totally understandable, but no way in hell. I’ve got enoughhelpas it is.”
She took his gripe for the teasing it was meant to be. “You’re leaving?”
“I need to think over what you said.”
“Have you scripted it? Becoming intimate?”
He shut the door again, giving her a chastising look. “Jesus, what if she was in the hallway?”
“I would invite her in for a session with us. Seems we need more couples counseling around here.”
He shook his head in disbelief, but honestly he wasn’t surprised. “No, I haven’t.” That was sort of a lie—he’d certainlyimaginedabout every position and place they could try. “Not exactly.”
“You should. That always helps, right?”
He started to leave, paused. “We’re talking about scripting a sex scene.”
“Why not? Script a whole bunch of them, taking into account that there are dozens of things that could change the trajectory of such an encounter. It will help you feel confident and prepared, which are your hallmarks. And”—she gave him a lascivious wink—“fun, besides.”
Like always, she was right. Goddamn woman.
“Let me know how it goes.” Another wink.
He narrowed his eyes. “Not gonna happen. In that same vein, let’s pretend this conversation never did either.”
“You know your secrets are safe with me. This room is like a confessional—nothing goes beyond these walls.”
“But these walls have ears and gossipy schoolgirls, in case you haven’t realized.”
“Families are that way—in each other’s business. We’ll be at the new compound before you know it. I bet you’re looking forward to having that incredible Ops center I saw last week at your fingertips.”
A few months ago, it was all he could think about. He’d obsessed with where the contractors should run the cables, the placement of the servers, the layout of the cubicles, especially his bat cave.
Now, all that paled in comparison to what was happening with his heart. He rubbed at his chest where the damn thing seemed to be triple-timing it. “You’re sure? About the love thing?”
“You’ve truly never been in love before?”
