Chapter 3 #2
Her insides clenched at the sight of him—until she glanced up at his expression.
His brows were lowered over eyes resembling a smoke storm. She pushed off the side of the hot tub and scooted onto the seat, deliberately stretching her arms along the tiled side so her breasts thrust outward.
He crossed to her in jerky strides and stopped beside her, thrusting out the robe. “Wrap this around yourself.”
At that moment Sinner made it a point to slam the small refrigerator shut to let them know he was there. “I’ll just give you two time to talk.”
Liam’s only response was a tightening of his jaw. Her gaze was immediately drawn to the crease and the tendon she knew would be leaping under the tension.
He pinned her in his stare. “Elin—”
She waved a hand to dismiss his warning and slowly glided to her feet. She took her time emerging from the hot water. As the cooler air struck her skin, it pebbled.
She told herself the reaction was not because of Liam’s closeness. That he couldn’t affect her that way anymore.
Except her body betrayed her. Her hand shook as she reached for the robe, and she tugged it from his grasp.
He didn’t look away from her as she took her sweet time slipping her arms into the sleeves.
She didn’t bother to knot the belt and left it open to reveal the line of skin that used to drive him to the brink of insanity.
He forced air through his nose and let his eyes droop shut as if studying the inside of his eyelids for patience.
She wanted to test him—to leave him drowning in the same longing and quiet torment she’d lived with for two long years.
When his gaze found her again, she lifted her hands deliberately, gathering her damp hair from the collar of the robe and letting the fabric fall open just enough for one bare thigh to slide into view.
He didn’t follow the movement with his eyes, but the muscle in his jaw flexed so hard it looked about to snap at the hinges.
Elin turned fully to face him, acutely aware of every inch of skin the robe didn’t cover—the curve of her breasts, the line of her stomach, the high-cut edge of her bikini bottom, and the sweep of her legs. She didn’t move to hide a single inch of it.
“You scared off the one guy who would actually talk to me.”
He made a noise, deep in his throat, part growl, part grumble.
That sound sliced straight through her, awakening parts of her she thought dead.
She took a step closer. And she knew those long arms could easily reach out and close around her.
Yet he didn’t attempt to touch her.
His throat worked in a hard swallow. “We need to talk.”
She tilted her head, forcing composure she didn’t feel. “Couldn’t I have done that from the hot tub?”
His jaw flexed again. This time she heard it pop. “No. Elin, I know you came to the base because you found me.”
For years she’d lived with her insides knotted tight, trying to convince herself she’d moved on. But the invisible rope between them—one she thought she’d finally cut—snapped taut again, making it hard for her to breathe.
She tried to smile, but it came out a grimace. “I’m here to stop the attack on a power grid. To make sure thousands of people can still reach emergency services and patients in hospitals don’t die. To protect innocent lives.”
His eyes, that impossible smoky blue, burned into her. “You wouldn’t be here if not for me.”
Something inside her broke. “Quite the feat then,” she bit out, “since you’d rather die than date me.”
He flinched. “It wasn’t like that.”
“You ghosted me for real, Liam.” Her voice cracked before she could stop it. “Not metaphorically. Not emotionally. You literally vanished. A folded flag, a coffin with nothing inside. I mourned you.”
“I can explain.”
Her laugh was sharp, brittle. “Oh, I bet you can.”
Liam straightened, military training snapping back into place, and he slammed the door on any emotions that ever existed between them.
“We’re going to have to work together. Be professional.”
That fury inside her shifted to something more wounded—and more dangerous. She felt as if she’d guzzled gasoline and Liam held the lit match.
He held her stare. “You should go inside. We don’t have much time, and Cipher’s shifting patterns.”
Her throat closed around a hundred things she wanted to say. None of them mattered. She reached for the armor she wore best—work.
She issued a throaty laugh. “If anyone can find a dead man, I can.”
Their gazes locked for another long beat, then two.
“I’ll get right on it.” Voice clipped, she tipped her jaw.
Liam took a step toward her, the harsh glint in his eyes softer. “Elin—”
She focused on the steam rippling across the patio. “Whatever was once between us died along with you.”
The words struck harder than she intended. From the corner of her eye, she saw his expression slip. Pain and regret flickered over his rugged features.
Before she broke and threw herself at him, she rushed to the door. She was surprised that her legs were steady and her breathing didn’t give away how upset she was because inside she was trembling.
She told herself she’d regained control of herself, the situation, her feelings.
The hollow ache in her chest promised otherwise.
Far from it.