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Natalie grabbed them automatically as Kyle guided her into the bathroom. He followed her inside, taking up far too much space in the tiny room. “Hands on the wall.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me, Duchess. Hands on the wall. I need to check you for wires.”
“I’m not wired.”
“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.” His hazel eyes turned cool. “Now, put your hands on the wall before I put them there for you.”
Jaw clenched, Natalie did as he asked, bracing herself for his touch. She expected sparks and fireworks, given the simmering attraction between them, but it was more like sputter and fizzle. His movements were all business, going down her arms then up her legs, patting quickly and efficiently. He even removed the clip from her hair and crushed it beneath his big black combat boot before tossing the remnants in the trash. “Okay, now off with the clothes.”
“Like hell.”
“I need to check your skin for trackers.”
“Seriously?” She raised a brow. “Go to hell, Kyle.”
“I have, more than once. Made it back alive. Now, are you going to take those clothes off, or am I?”
He stepped nearer, the hard glint in his eye saying he’d have no problem following through on his threat—and that it wouldn’t be fun for her if he did.
She backed away as far as she could, until her butt smacked against the vanity. “Fine.”
The past and their attraction stretched between them like a lit fuse, ready to explode if she wasn’t careful. She needed to think of this like any other operation, another day at the office. He was doing this purely for security reasons, she knew. If she were in his position, she’d order the same. Unfortunately, that didn’t stop her pulse from racing or her skin from anticipating his touch.
She turned around, unable to do this face to face. Even so, with him so close, time stretched to something liquid and languid. Slowly, she unbuttoned her white blouse and lowered it off her shoulders. She could’ve sworn she heard Kyle gasp as the material slipped away and her back was exposed. Her pants were next. She unbuttoned and unzipped them with shaky fingers before tugging off the black slacks, leaving her shivering in only her bra and panties.
“You need these off too?” she asked.
“No.” Kyle’s normally smooth voice sounded rough and deep as midnight. “I’ll check through the fabric.”
She started to protest, then went silent at the first stroke of his fingertips down her spine. His touch was light, slow, nearly a caress. Up, down, around her sides, over her quivering stomach and across her sensitive ribcage. A moan rose in Natalie’s throat, but she forced it back down. She’d never felt more turned on in her life, or more embarrassed.
She hazarded a glance in the mirror and saw Kyle behind her, his gaze lowered and his expression grim. He looked about as excited as an ant on extermination day.
Talk about a mood killer.
Finally, he stepped back and crossed his arms. “You’re clean.”
“Told you,” she croaked out past her constricted vocal cords.
“Change,” he said, then shut the door in her face, taking her work clothes with him.
Natalie’s tense shoulders sagged. Okay. Not exactly a warm welcome, but then what had she expected? With a sigh, she stared down at the bundle of clothes Spencer had given her. Jeans, a plain gray T-shirt, white socks, a pair of generic Chuck Taylors in black. Not bad at all. And she understood the logic behind it. Not only was there a chance of trackers hidden in her clothes, but this also meant that anyone searching surveillance camera footage for her wouldn’t know what she was currently wearing. She’d asked the Agency to stay out of this until she summoned them, but she knew the odds were high that her request would be ignored. Kyle probably did too.
Decked out in her new duds, her hair loose around her shoulders, she exited the bathroom. Gage was sprawled across the overstuffed, brown leather sofa while Spencer sat in an armchair across from him. On the other side of the space, Scotty stood in the kitchen, pulling ingredients out of the fridge. Kyle leaned against the granite breakfast bar, watching her with his too-perceptive gaze, her phone dangling from his fingers.
“Hope you’re not too attached to this,” he said.
“Why would I be?” She tucked a long curl of dark hair behind her ear and did her best to sound calm. “It’s just a phone.”
“Good answer.” He dropped the device on the floor and stomped on it hard. The sound of crushed glass issued from beneath his heel. “Now we can get down to business.”
Natalie exhaled. She could get a burner phone if she needed to call her team. Those things were cheap as hell and everywhere these days. “What’s our first move?”
“Well, the first move would be you telling us why the hell we should trust you when you’ve been lying to us for as long as we’ve known you,” Gage said, pushing to his feet and moving closer, his expression granite tough. “That was not cool.”
“I was on an assignment when I met you,” she said stiffly. “I’ve been on assignments ever since. Do I really need to explain to a special ops team what it means to be involved in something classified?”
