And Kaya was smart.
It was the only way she’d survived this long.
She gave Aric a wry smile. “I’m sure the women of Washington, D.C., will be delighted to have you back.”
He stared as if he wanted to say something more, then thought better of it. “Actually, I don’t expect I’ll stay in D.C. for long. The plan has always been for me to join one of teams in Seattle once I’m cleared for patrols.”
Which would put him even farther away from Montreal. And so much the better. “What’s in Seattle?”
“Rafe’s father, Dante, heads up the command center out there. He and my father have been like brothers for the past twenty years. It only seemed fitting that I serve under Dante since Rafe is normally a member of one of my father’s teams in Boston.”
“You mean, when he’s not being sent off to Ireland with you to rescue random damsels in distress?”
Aric grinned. “Something like that, yeah.”
“How very chivalric,” she tossed back, enjoying their back-and-forth despite her determination to keep him at arm’s length for however many hours he would remain in Montreal. “I guess chivalry’s to be expected when we’re talking about the Order’s golden prince.”
He scoffed. “Prince?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t pretend you don’t know. The only name that carries more weight in the Order than your family’s is Lucan Thorne’s.” Kaya studied his handsome face, all those sharp angles and broad slopes that combined to give him a classic, regal look that few women could resist. “Who else do you know who can say they’re not only the son of the first daywalking Breed female in existence and the hero of the Order who killed that madman, Dragos, two decades ago?”
“My father would never take all the credit for that. He had the entire Order with him that day, including Niko and Renata.” Nevertheless, Aric’s eyes danced with familial pride. “And there is one other person I know who can make the same claim as me. My sister, Carys.”
Kaya nodded at the mention of his fraternal twin. “Is she a lot like you?”
“Too much,” he said, a loving smile tilting his sculpted lips. “My sister is a force of nature, always has been. You’d like her, I think. The two of you have a lot in common.”
“Such as?”
“Intelligence. Determination. Courage. Beauty.” He smirked. “Carys got all the good traits between us. I guess that makes me the bad twin.”
Kaya smiled. “I don’t know about that,” she said, weathering a wistful sense of envy for the way he spoke so adoringly about his sibling. “I think you’ve got a few passable qualities too.”
“Care to elaborate? I’ve got a couple of hours to spare.”
She laughed. “No way. You don’t need anyone helping to make your head swell. Least of all me.”
His grin widened. “Why not let me be the judge of that?”
It wasn’t until he started to move closer to her seat on the edge of the bed that Kaya realized she was losing control of the situation. It was so easy to get swept up into banter with him. Easier still to forget that they really weren’t friends, that they would never be something more either. She could not allow that. Not with anyone, but especially him.
Because after just one day Aric Chase had done something no other man had managed before him.
He’d made her feel safe with him.
And that was the most dangerous thing of all.
When he came to stand in front of her, Kaya dodged, stepping down onto the floor. The soft rug was cushiony beneath her bare feet, but that didn’t keep her from wincing with discomfort.
Aric scowled. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.” His brow rankled further. “Sit down. Let me see your feet.”
He didn’t give her a choice. Taking her shoulders in his strong hands, he set her back on the edge of the mattress then crouched in front of her on the floor, taking one of her feet tenderly into his hands.
He sucked in a hissed breath as he examined the contused and lacerated soles of her feet. “Jesus Christ.”
“It’s not that bad.”
His gaze flicked up at her, sober, even angry. “You should have said something to me. I wouldn’t have pushed you so hard through those woods, Kaya. For fuck’s sake, I could have carried you--”
“Like hell you could have.” She scowled at the suggestion. “I never would’ve asked you to do that for me.”
“No shit. You’re far too stubborn for that.”
The gentleness in his voice only made her outrage spike hotter. She tried to draw out of his grasp, but he held her ankle firmly in the palm of his hand. His touch was warm, careful. His handsome face grave with concern.
She didn’t want to acknowledge how good his hands felt on her, nor how even his light touch as he continued to inspect the cuts and bruises on her skin made her heart race in her breast, her blood rushing like molten liquid through her veins.
When he glanced up now, she could see some of the same tension and awareness in his taut expression. And in the faint flicker of amber that lit the depths of his bright green irises.
He swallowed as if his tongue had become thick in his mouth. When he finally spoke, there was a rasp in his deep voice that caressed her senses like velvet.
“I’ll ask Rafe to come see you before we leave. He can heal this for you.”
Aric’s touch lingered even after he said it, his thumb idly stroking the fine bones of her ankle. God help her, she could hardly breathe under the friction of his fingers on her skin. She wanted him to touch her everywhere. To kiss her without the pretense of a covert mission.
She wanted these things even though she knew any one of them could be her undoing.
“Aric . . .” she murmured, uncertain what she meant to say.
The sound of their comm units buzzing at the same time saved
