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It was Mitchell.
A small eep escaped and she covered her mouth with her left hand.
“Hello, Flykra.”
The wind blew through his hair and she longed to have permission to do it herself. God, he looked so good. An ache in her belly grew the longer she looked at him.
“Mitchell? What are you doing here?”
The hatch opened and he took the luggage from her hand, and the pile by her feet, and loaded it for her. Then he was in front of her. God, he was so close, it was all she could do to keep her hands to herself.
He held his hand out close to her chest and her heart stuttered. Eyes locked on her, he pushed his fingers between her shirt and the strap of her bag before lifting it over her head and setting it in the back.
“I’m taking you to your hotel.” He closed the hatch and opened the rear door.
“And you think I’m going to let you chauffeur me around? Stuffing me in the back like you can’t be bothered to be seen with me? Afraid I will ruin your reputation?” She fisted her hands. “What happened to the blather that you spewed to the press?”
His jaw clenched as he gripped the doorframe. “Get your ass in the car, Dr. Roman.”
Ooohh, he was pissed.
She moved to stand in front of him and tipped her head to hold his gaze. “Are you going to put me in there if I don’t? Spank me if I refuse?”
Every single one of her synapses fired simply being so close to this man.
He dipped his head and whispered against her ear, “Don’t tempt me, Flykra. I would love to get my hands on you again.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mitchell Anderson wasn’t a praying man, not by any stretch, but right now, right here in this SUV as he drove the woman who owned him heart, body, and soul, he prayed.
Prayed that he could keep his hands on the wheel and not pull them over on the side of the road to haul her into his lap. He should have had her up beside him, then she wouldn’t be directly in his line of sight as he checked the rearview mirror.
An act he did more than necessary, but damn it, he couldn’t stop looking at her. The amount he’d missed this woman couldn’t be quantified. She sat there, ramrod straight, lips drawn in a flat line as she kept her gaze out the window and not on him.
Exhaustion lined her full features and he bit back his question, which he had no doubt would come out as a snarl. She wasn’t taking care of herself.
Flicking on the blinker, he smoothly maneuvered them through the lanes, heading for an exit. As they went up the ramp, he stole another gaze.
She was on her phone, brows drawn together in concentration.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Of course.” That was it. No elaboration. She didn’t even look up from the device she held in her hand, her cold tone doing a spectacular job of erecting a wall of ice between them.
Tough shit. He’d brought a flamethrower and he was going to melt it so there wasn’t a thing to keep them separated.
“What were you doing?”
“We were making a report on sea grass meadows, this time in the Philippines for the BBC. Discussing how with photosynthesis the grass absorbs about ten percent of the ocean’s carbon, not to mention how it’s providing a much-needed habitat for a multitude of fish and other marine creatures.”
He flexed his hands on the wheel and slowed for the light at the top of the ramp. The Hope he recalled from the bed and breakfast rang through when she spoke about her work. Checking his mirrors, he edged over another lane and licked his lips.
“Who’s we?”
Damn it. I don’t mean to sound like a domineering asshole, even if I am one.
Her gaze flicked up to his.
Finally!
“Others in my field.” That was it and she ducked her head once more. Not because she was being shy, no, this was pure dismissal.
City traffic took his attention but there remained a part of him that would forever be in tune with the woman in the vehicle with him.
“Did you run into trouble there?”
“No.” A brief pause. “Why?”
“You said you had to wrap up a story. I didn’t think it would take almost a month.”
This time her gaze was turbulent with anger. “You know how it is with us gold diggers. We have to figure out our next moves before we go in, make sure all of our plans are in place.”
Yeah, he couldn’t even snap at her for that.
She muttered something under her breath and he wanted to demand she say it again, but he restrained himself. The goal here was to get her to talk to him, not piss her off more. He pulled into the hotel and parked. The valet walked up as he got out and without hesitation he passed over the keys, then he opened the rear door and reached out his hand for her.
