Submission Impossible (Masters & Mercenaries Reloaded 1)

Hutch would talk to her. Well, he would have talked to her. This was about the case, though. Perhaps he would have to talk to her, and she could come to some understanding of why he’d gotten upset.

You know why he got upset. He got upset because he felt what you did, and he wanted to go with it. He wanted to go all in, and you couldn’t trust it.

She still couldn’t. This wasn’t a feeling she could trust. She was in danger and he was safe. He was pretty much her perfect man, and she hadn’t even realized what she wanted until she’d met him.

No one fell for a person this quickly. It never worked.

“I need you to let me know if anything else happens,” Jessica was saying. “We need to keep everything quiet because the last thing we want is publicity. You understand that we need our investors to know we’re a solid company.”

“Of course.” She needed to think about everything that had been said. There was something more going on here. “We are a solid company.”

Jessica’s smile went bright, and she stood again. “We are. All right. You can meet with legal tomorrow. Why don’t you head home and get some rest? I’m excited about this new experiment.” She turned to the door. “Are you sure you want the geeky one? Don’t get me wrong. He’s cute, but his brother is divine.”

She followed Jessica’s gaze and then her heart skipped a beat because Hutch was standing in the outer lab talking to Kyle. He was wearing jeans and sneakers and a T-shirt that said something snarky, she was sure. His hair was a bit long and he brushed it back, showing off those ridiculously strong arms of his.

He might not be as showy as Kyle, but she’d seen him naked and knew how demanding the man could be in the best of ways.

His eyes caught hers, and a stunning smile crossed his face.

“Nope. He’s the one I want,” she said, wishing that she could actually have him. But she wasn’t stupid. They came from completely different worlds. Maybe somewhere down the road they would find themselves at Sanctum and she would be ready for someone like him.

Of course, he would have moved on by then.

Jessica waved him in. “Well, I suppose I should be grateful for that. Kyle, I’m going back up to the office. I’ve got a date tonight, so you can knock off early. Bentley can take me upstairs.”

Hutch walked straight up to Noelle, his eyes warm on hers. “Hey, baby. I missed you all day. I hope you don’t mind me coming by. I wanted to head home with you.”

She would have said something, but his hands were on her and then those lush lips of his were covering her own, and he wasn’t holding back. The night before rushed into her brain in vivid clarity, and every hormone in her body flared to life. By the time he stepped back, she was completely breathless.

“Okay, maybe I get it.” Jessica winked her way before turning. “Don’t forget that report.”

The door closed and Hutch’s face fell.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I thought I should…” he began.

It was for their cover. Of course. It was all for their cover, and at least now she knew he wasn’t going to leave her high and dry. “It’s okay. I understand. She was watching.”

“Pretty much everyone is watching,” Kyle said with a frown. “So could we not fight again?”

Hutch gave her a sad smile. “We’re not going to fight at all. Noelle, I’m sorry for how I acted this morning. I…turns out I’m fond of you and far more capable of feeling jealousy than I thought I was. I moved too fast, and I hope you can forgive me and we can be friends.”

Wasn’t that exactly what she wanted? So why did the idea of being friends with him feel like a letdown? “Of course. I would like that a lot.”

“Good. Then maybe the third time will be the charm.”

Third time? She supposed it was. “Friends then.”

“I’ll believe that when I see it,” Kyle said under his breath.

Hutch gave her a nod. “Friends. Now kiss me again, friend, because we’ve got a fake relationship to maintain. Let’s head back to your place and I’ll cook us all some supper and we can talk about what we learned today.”

She glanced over and most of her techs were staring into the room as though they couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing. Didn’t think she could get a date, huh? Well, she mostly couldn’t, but she’d gotten Hutch. She wished there had been a way to keep him. She brushed her lips against his and then put her laptop in her bag.

Hutch picked it up. “I’ll take this. And I think I saw some chocolate chips in your pantry. Any way I could convince you to make some cookies? I’ve got a sweet tooth.”