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Neither Ike nor Myra moved. He feasted on the warmth in her deep-brown eyes. How would he get through this op? He might have to go on the hunt for the Star Stabber, because he was going to lose his mind if he had to keep fighting this longing for Myra in close quarters.
“You two act like teenagers with your first crush,” Beau said from far too close by. “How long have you been dating?”
“Two weeks,” Ike said.
“Two months,” Myra said at the same time.
She grimaced, and Ike tried to think how to cover that one. “She’s right, of course.” Ike smiled at Myra. “But we’re often on assignment away from each other and the time goes so fast when we’re together. It feels like it’s only been two weeks.”
“Ah, that’s right, shnookums,” Myra teased.
Beau laughed. “You two. I’m glad we’re all feeling better this morning.” He strutted to the leg press.
Ike shared a smile with Myra. It hadn’t been the two of them that were off last night. Yet … Ike felt like a conflicted mess where Myra was concerned. Maybe he was in as deep with her as Beau was with Bermuda.
“I’ll just …” She eased past him to the rowing machine. “Warm up.”
“Okay,” Ike managed, watching her go until she looked back at him, then he hurried to grab some fifty-five pound dumbbells and slowly curl them. He only checked a couple times to see if she was watching. She was.
Ike worked out extremely hard. He was dripping sweat from trying to show off and lift as heavy as possible while still maintaining good form so it was obvious that he knew what he was doing. His gaze strayed to Myra far too often. Coincidentally, she was doing back and biceps as well.
“Looks like we’re on the same workout schedule,” she said when they both headed for the lat pulldown machine at the same time.
“Yeah,” he managed. Real eloquent.
“You go first.”
“No way. Ladies before gentlemen.” It was cliché and he instantly knew she’d hate it. She was a tough girl; he loved that. A woman like Bermuda Gray felt like she’d snap in his arms, but Myra had substance and grit. Not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, and spiritually as well.
She arched her eyebrows and gave him a challenging stare. “Age before youth.”
He smirked at that. He was only four years older than her. Tippin had given him that much information about his new partner.
He stepped in closer, hoping he didn’t stink, and was rewarded with her gaze going slowly over his shoulders and chest. “Beauty before brawn,” he said.
“Brawn before talent.” She smirked.
His eyes traveled over her beautiful face. Those dark eyes yanked him in, and he found himself placing a hand on either side of the weight rack and penning her in. She smiled up at him, seeming to enjoy their teasing. Was she only teasing with him like the other guys or did they have something special like he imagined?
“Talent before experience,” he murmured.
“Battlefield experience?” Her eyes narrowed. Had he upset her? He had years more battlefield experience than even Aiden.
He nodded. “Is there any other kind?”
She swallowed and he found his gaze riveted to her pulse point. She’d kissed his pulse point in the Escalade yesterday morning. Was it time to return the favor?
“On the job experience,” she said.
“I probably still have you beat.” He smiled to try to soften that. Did it have to be a competition between them?
“Dating experience,” she said. “Kissing experience.” She swallowed again and his entire body revved up.
“I’m a little light on both of those,” he admitted. When should he tell her about Sadie? Shouldn’t the very thought of Sadie have him backing away from her?
Her dark eyes sparkled, lit up like he’d just handed her a diamond ring. Now he was the one swallowing. Diamond ring. What was he thinking? Sadie had been buried with the simple, classy, one-karat round diamond set in white gold. The perfect ring for sweet, beautiful, loving Sadie. He found himself wondering what kind of diamond ring a man would buy for a woman like Myra—exquisite, teasing, strong, and tempting Myra.
Ike backed away then. He was being a fool again. He wasn’t buying diamond rings for Myra. No commitments. Not again.
