All Tied Up

He slid a sheet over her shoulders, as if offering her shelter. His hands stayed on her shoulders. “We all have things we wish we could change about ourselves.”

She shifted her position to face him. “Yeah?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “What would you change?”

“Being too weak to kill Alvarez when I had the chance.” Constantine scooted to the edge of the mattress.

“That wasn’t weakness,” she assured him. “Doing what is right is harder than doing what you desire.” She knew this firsthand. Knew it because she’d lived a life where money and excitement, even sex, drove her actions. Where winning wasn’t about what was right. It was about what it could do for her.

He didn’t comment, and for some reason, she thought he regretted his admission as much as she had hers. She opened her mouth to ask why and shut it again—the sight of Constantine pushing to his feet, his jeans in his hand, stealing her words. He was naked and, with the flex of all that muscle, breathtakingly male.

As if he wanted to tempt her into an outright erotic fantasy, he gave her a show, pulling on his underwear and pants, his long legs, and tight ass, too spectacular to ignore. Amazingly, she managed to reach for her bra and slip it on, thankful it was almost dry. Somehow, she even pulled on her wrinkled mess of a blouse.

Her gaze swept the broad expanse of his chest, the bulge of his arms. She had slept like a baby in those arms, despite the cave. How long had it been since she’d slept in a man’s arms? Two years? Three? It doesn’t mean anything. Nor did the desire she had for this man. He wasn’t pulling her back into her old life, her old world. She was stronger now. She could separate her sexual needs and wants from her other choices. In fact, wasn’t Constantine helping her to see that?

Constantine grabbed his shirt and pulled it on, covering up the chest and arms she’d been inspecting. Nicole finished dressing, easing her pants over her hips. She had justified her actions by her need for a distraction. Who would have known a hot man could put an end to her claustrophobia, or at least put it in check?

Nicole was about to put her boots on when Constantine kneeled beside her and stilled her actions with his hand on her leg. He indicated a box beside the mattress. “There are bandages and ointment in there. It will help ease the pain.”

His touch sent a barely concealed shiver down her spine. “Thanks,” she said, cutting her gaze away from his too-attentive eyes.

While Nicole bandaged her foot, Constantine filled a backpack with supplies and then sat down next to her.

“Hungry?” he asked, offering her a granola bar.

Her stomach rumbled loudly and they both laughed. A smile touched his lips. He was handsome when he smiled, and the awkwardness of their confessions faded away.

“I guess that answers your question,” Nicole responded, pressing her hand to her abdomen and accepting the food.

He grabbed a couple of bottles of water from the fridge and they ate in silence. Nicole could barely wait to leave. She thought back to how understanding Constantine had been of her phobia. Her ex rarely crossed her mind these days, but he did now. He’d been impatient over her claustrophobia, irritated because their sexual escapades never included her being tied up, and embarrassed when she panicked on business flights. She hated those memories, but considering their current life-and-death circumstances, Constantine’s patience had been a surprise. He was a contradiction, demanding and hard, yet gentle and understanding. It made her curious about him.

“You must have spent a lot of time out here to know the land so well,” she commented, hoping for a look inside his past.

“I moved in with my grandmother when I was twelve. My grandfather died in Vietnam and she never remarried.” He cut her a sideways look. “My mother died of breast cancer and my father threw himself into his work after her death. He died a year later on an undercover assignment.”

“FBI?”

“Yes.”

“You must have been proud of him to follow in his footsteps.” She and her father hadn’t agreed on a lot of things these past few years, but he’d been her idol growing up. Seemed Constantine had felt the same about his father. She continued, “I went into law because of my father. Of course, I ended up choosing a different direction for my career. I’m sure you read all of that in my file.”

“I did,” he admitted, not appearing uncomfortable with her private details. “Must be awkward to have your ex still working with him.”

Nicole shrugged. “I’ve learned to accept being the outsider.” She fiddled with the paper wrapper around her granola bar. Even her mother acted as if she’d betrayed the family.