Undercover Engagement (Private Pleasures 5)

“I already explained—”

She held up a second finger to silence him. He wasn’t going to fast-talk his way out of this. “It’s okay for you to sleep off a rough night alone in your truck, but not okay for me to get a ride home from a bar with our targets.” Figuring her point worked better in threes, she held up another finger. “According to you, it’s okay for you to square off with an intruder, but I’m supposed to jump out the window and call for backup.” She dropped her hand to the table and splayed her fingers over the smooth wood. “You’re trying to protect me. You know firsthand that things can go sideways and get dangerous. Nobody was there to protect you when it happened to you, and it left scars. You’re trying to make sure it doesn’t happen to me.”

Instead of arguing, which she anticipated, he simply tipped his head. “I did take an oath to serve and protect.”

“So did I, Swain.” She couldn

’t quite hold the exasperation out of her voice. “Also, I’m not a seventeen-year-old kid with nothing to rely on but my wits and an unfit father. I’m a trained, tested, and duly sworn officer of the law.” She leaned back and crossed her arms. “These protective instincts of yours are misplaced when they’re aimed at me. I can hold my own just fine. Not only hold my own, Swain; I can protect you. That’s part of the reason there are two of us on this assignment, right?”

He dropped his head and ran his hand over the back of his neck, then released a breath and looked up at her from beneath his lashes. Those blue eyes held a resolve-melting mix of chagrin and “Aw shucks, ma’am.” “Right.”

“Right,” she repeated and did her best to hold onto her puddling resolve. “Glad we got that settled, because, at the risk of wounding your ego, in my opinion, it’s a hell of a lot more noteworthy than the sex.”

As soon as she mentioned sex, his expression shifted back to cocky cooyon and his blue eyes turned to strategic weapons of seduction. He braced his forearms on the table and leaned in. “My ego can withstand the hit. It’s been willingly taking a beating on your account since the first day of basic, but I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

As casually as possible, she slung her arm around the back of her chair and leaned away—anything to put some space between them, so she wasn’t tempted by the scent of freshly showered, freshly shaved Swain. “What secret?”

His eyes locked on hers. “It was noteworthy to me.”

“Yeah, right. You weren’t even sober.” She laughed, but something weak and stupid fluttered in her stomach. Damn blue eyes. “Go ahead and tuck it into the pages of your blurry memory book, along with your legions of other one-night-stands.” Since the harsh truth of her own words didn’t stop the fluttering, she grabbed her mug and stood. “Thanks for the coffee. I need to shower.”

He stood, too, still smiling, and moved his big, muscular, stupidly appealing self into her path. With a finger under her chin, he tipped her face up to his. “Wanna know why it was noteworthy to me?”

“You finally bagged a biracial chick?”

She didn’t know what kind of reaction she expected, but not a laugh, which was what she got.

“Nah, choux. That’s not it.”

Not it because he’d already slept with a veritable rainbow of women, or because skin color didn’t factor into his analysis of noteworthy fucks?

“Fine.” She lifted her chin away from his touch. “Enlighten me. Why was last night noteworthy?”

“Well, firstly, but not primarily, it’s noteworthy because I usually use protection—”

“I’m on the pill.” The flutter in her stomach stilled, thank God. She dismissed his concern with a wave of her hand. “And I’m healthy. You don’t have to worry about any downstream consequences.”

“I already knew you were on the pill, Eden, and I wasn’t worried about a thing. I mentioned it because I thought you might be worried, what with my legions of one-night stands. For the record, I’m healthy, too. I had a full physical before I started the academy. Further for the record, I’ve never ‘bagged’ a chick. I’ve dated. I’ve hooked up, on occasion, but however you want to put it, legions overstates things quite a bit. Gathering intelligence from the field on behalf of the Marines runs more to meetings in caves with a bunch of hairy dudes. It’s not exactly James Bond.”

His explanation made her feel petty for suggesting he man-whored his way through life—although, in her defense, up until now he’d definitely done nothing to discourage the impression. Unwilling to apologize for buying into his reputation, she focused on the other thing he’d said. “How did you know I’m on the pill?”

“We share a bathroom, choux.”

“Uh-uh. I put my personal things away.” Only a little offended, she nonetheless poked a finger into his sternum. “Stay out of my stuff, Swain.” As exit lines went, she didn’t think she could improve on it, so she stepped past him, intending to get on with her morning. He snagged her arm and tugged her around. She managed to stop short of bumping into his bare chest.

“Don’t you wanna know the primary reason I consider last night noteworthy?”

The grin was back, and the wicked glint in his eyes, and the drawl in his voice.

Aloof, Eden. You’re aloof to all this. “Not particularly.”

“Because I can’t stop wondering.”

She inhaled, just to prove his proximity did nothing for her, but the scent of soap and shampoo sent her mind into the shower with him. “Wondering what?”

His voice went low. “What it’s going to be like when I fuck you deeply and thoroughly—the way I neglected to do last night. Aren’t you wondering, too?” His breath caressed her cheek, and she very nearly shivered.

Oh, yes. Yes, she did wonder. She’d spent the better part of last night wondering so much she could barely stand to be in her own skin this morning. “No. Nope. No wondering here.”