“Stop being so head issue-y. One day at a time, as long as all your days are spent thinking about me.” Kreed gave that sexy chuckle that made Aaron snicker too. “Kiss me. I can’t keep my eyes open.”
Aaron lifted his head and had to push up on Kreed’s chest to get close enough to kiss him. He placed a small kiss on the deputy marshal’s lips. Kreed’s eyes didn’t open again. A few minutes ago, he’d been tired too, but not anymore. Worry was stronger than caffeine at keeping a person awake. Aaron moved his arm and Kreed tightened his embrace. He was beginning to expect that from Kreed; it was sweet and a little smothering as his face got buried in Kreed’s shoulder. He wiggled around, fought the hold until he was looking down at a sleeping Kreed, trying to etch his gorgeous relaxed face deep in his memory.
The sound of Kreed’s soft snores made him smile. Aaron lifted a finger, tracing the pad over Kreed’s brow before sliding his finger across the forehead to brush away a strand of hair. It was funny to think, but he was beautiful—one of the most handsome men Aaron had ever laid eyes on. Even stranger, he’d been able to draw the attention of someone like Kreed.
There was no question that he loved this man—a life-altering kind of love. He’d remember this time with Kreed for the rest of his life. Aaron suspected that the pain that always slashed across his heart when he thought of having to leave Kreed would just grow more pronounced until he eventually died from his broken heart. Even if he could stay, Kreed’s career—his entire life, everything the man had worked for—would be on the line if word ever got out that the deputy marshal was shacked up with a fugitive. Kreed would lose his credibility, and so would Mitch. He had more to consider than just Kreed. Ruining someone’s life might be a little too much to overcome.
On that depressing thought, Aaron started to roll from bed, but he couldn’t force himself to leave the comfort of the arms holding him. Instead he put his cheek on Kreed’s chest, memorizing how his warm skin felt against his face. He gently moved up and ran his jaw along Kreed’s. The stubble had grown in, and, God, did he like the feel of that. The cadence of Kreed’s even breaths lulled him, somehow making him feel so safe and secure. After a few more minutes of just staring, he whispered so softly he could barely hear his own words, “I love you, but I’m not who you think I am. I’ve got too many skeletons to make this work. I’m so sorry.”
His heart almost stopped in his chest when Kreed’s eyes opened, and he was suddenly staring into those dark chestnut pools that saw too much. “I already know that. I could tell you’re hiding something. You just don’t understand, Aaron. Your secrets don’t matter to me. I know what’s in here.” Kreed lifted a hand to Aaron’s chest, covering his heart. “At some point, you’re gonna realize you can trust me. I’m willing to give you that time.”
Aaron was absolutely certain his face must have morphed into a million different expressions before he pulled his mask in place. He’d thought Kreed was sleeping. No, he knew Kreed was sleeping, but he’d been wrong. He should have known years in Special Forces would allow him to pick up a few survival skills. Aaron started to move away, but Kreed’s arm became a vise, holding him in place.
“Don’t leave.”
“I can’t sleep. I was gonna see if I could get some work done so we could spend the day together.”
Kreed kept the intensity in his gaze, staring at him long and hard before he removed his arm, but lifted his hand to Aaron’s head, drawing him closer until Aaron moved the rest of the way on his own to kiss Kreed’s lips. “I meant what I said. It doesn’t matter. When you’re ready to tell me, we’ll figure it out.”
“Okay, thank you,” Aaron responded and moved off the bed, covering Kreed up behind him.
“Leave the door open. I’m getting protective where you’re concerned. I need to be able to hear,” Kreed said, turning again to his back and draping an arm over his eyes.
Who even knew what that protective comment meant, but he left the bedroom door open and also the door to the spare room where he’d set up his equipment. Aaron took a seat at the desk and logged on to see several hundred unanswered messages. Without question, he knew he wasn’t pulling his weight. It had to be freaking his crew out. He was always the one to push and barrel through every job, keeping everybody on track each step of the way.
Aaron scanned through all the messages, didn’t deem anything that important, and by-passed them all. Instead, he decided to look a little closer at Derek Sinacola’s death. Kreed had brought his brother up a couple of times, and Mitch had once said they were having a hard time getting information on what had really happened in the friendly fire explanation the military had released. Those answers were something he could give Kreed when the time came to call this quits. At least he could give Kreed a little something back, because the guy had given him so much.
Finding the openings was what he did best. He’d broken into the Marines’ network too many times to count, and they never fixed their shit, so it didn’t take long at all for Aaron to get back inside. It took the longest for him to dig through the files to find Derek’s case. Aaron yawned. He was tired, but he needed to do this for Kreed. He pulled the file, made a quick copy, and got out of there before the system detected the intrusion.
Aaron propped his feet on the desk, leaned back in his chair with his keyboard on his lap as he started to sift through the hundreds of pages of information. It was the regular, standard military bullshit. Lots of words, all very official, that meant nothing at all. Legal bullshit that taxed the brain and gave someone a job, but the answers were hidden in all the mumbo-jumbo, so he had to keep going.