“We need to talk!”
“Josh, we are talking.”
“Privately,” he growls, which sure gets my attention.
“We are on a plane heading to Boston, so there isn’t exactly anywhere private we can talk. We’ll have to wait until we’re in the hire car.”
He curses and lifts his phone to continue reading. “This isn’t easy.”
“I’m aware of that.” I glance at him from the corner of my eye, his whole body tense. “Josh,” I whisper, leaning closer.
His eyes focus on mine and his face comes closer until we’re a breath away from each other. “Mallory.”
Searching his gaze, I admit, “I can only do my job if I ignore you.”
He blinks, having not expected my words. “You can do that?” He moves closer. “You can ignore me?”
“I’ve been trying since you first came to my office,” I quietly admit. “Some days are easier than others.” I shrug and force myself to move away from him and back into my seat.
His eyes deepen with pleasure at my confession, and then his lips tilt upwards in a teasing smile. “I’d do better if you weren’t so close,” he says gruffly. “Because right now you are in touching distance, and every time you move your scent wafts me in my face. It turns me on.”
He’s so close that I’m tempted to grab his shirt and haul him closer until our lips are fused together. The only problem with that thought is we’d get arrested once the plane landed because I wouldn’t be able to stop with just one kiss. I’m not sure Joshua would either.
A shadow falls over us seconds before a woman who’s photograph I have in a file appears. I toss a magazine into Joshua’s lap to hide what is going on behind his zipper and frown at Agent Clarissa Redgrave.
Why is she on this particular flight?
“Fancy meeting you here.” She caresses Joshua’s shoulder with slim fingers with long, sharp nails attached. She could do some serious damage with those things—sure as hell not regulation.
Joshua winces. “Where’s your other half?” he questions, raising a brow.
“He’s asleep. We’ve been busy catching up. I think we should too. It’s been a while.” She smiles leaning in to Joshua who presses against his seat.
Having had enough of this agent who is supposed to be in a relationship with another agent for the duration of this operation, I clear my throat and find Joshua staring at me with a pleading look in his eyes.
The desperation I see there causes a chuckle to slip free—so unexpected that I quickly lift a hand to my mouth to hold it inside. Joshua grins. “Clara,” I say slowly to get her attention, “don’t you think you should be with Drake, instead of flirting over here.”
Her mouth falls open in surprise while Joshua continues to grin. Thankfully the stupid woman can’t see him.
“Oh!” Clarissa mumbles and bends over, making sure Joshua gets a look at the large boobs barely constrained in her blouse. She whispers, “He could be on the plane. I get it.” She straightens and quickly disappears.
“She graduated Quantico with you?” I asked unbelieving. “She actually graduated?”
Joshua groans. “She did.” He rubs a hand over his face. “She’s usually more professional than what we just witnessed.” He glances down the aisle before holding my gaze. “I have to say though, I loved how she got your hackles up.”
“She did not get my hackles up! It takes a lot more than, um, that.”
I move my gaze back to my phone and get into a more comfortable position, while t
rying to ignore the sexy man beside me.
He isn’t one for giving up, and whispers into my ear, “You were jealous.” His teeth graze my earlobe and my belly clenches in reaction. It wasn’t the only thing to clench either.
Closing my eyes, I take a deep inhale and slowly release the breath before I’m able to give him a scathing look. “Me being jealous will only give you a big head, and there is no way I’ll allow that.”
He chokes back a groan. “You always give me a big head. It just has nothing to do with the one on my shoulders.”
The sudden image of the head he’s referring to springs to mind, and I remember how he’d felt inside of me. Sliding in and out, fast and slow. He’d been so hard and thick that I’d been surprised he’d even fit. At the time I hadn’t thought that, I’d just wanted him to put the fire out in my body, but afterwards, in the quiet of my own apartment, I’d remembered every inch of Joshua McKenzie.