“Hey.” Hands cupped my face, steady and large. “Callen.” His voice was rough. “Open your eyes.” The command was there, pulling at me, urging me to do just that. “I swear if you don’t open—”
Two things happened. Both shut him down immediately.
My eyes sprang open, and I launched at him, wrapping myself around his body. My mouth connected with his. The warmth of his lips made me groan, and I pressed against him, opening my mouth. My tongue dipped out, and Thatch’s matching groan uncurled a wave of desire, sending it racing through my body. His hand was on my neck, holding tight. I shivered under the contact and brushed my lips against his. One more swipe of my tongue and then I gasped.
There was a metre between us.
Fingers to his lips, he trailed over them, his eyes on me, wide and alert. It was the shake of his head that brought me stumbling back to earth.
Should I apologise? Should I leg it? Hell, should I try again? None of those options sounded right. His chest rose rapidly, almost as quickly as mine. But still, me pouncing on the guy was no doubt the most ridiculous action I could have taken. I knew what I’d been thinking… well, what my damn dick had been thinking.
Embarrassment crawled over me, unnerving and humiliating. After clearing my throat, I pressed my lips together and forced myself to stand straighter. The water sent a new ripple around me. “We should head back so we can finish off—” The whites of his eyes gleamed with how wide he opened them. I twisted my lips, trying not to laugh. This was ridiculous. My reaction was ridiculous, as was his deer in the headlights expression. “—so you can finish telling me about the night. The pizza guy’s probably wondering where the hell we are too.”
His expression shuttered. Not quite casual, not quite relieved, but quite possibly something in between. “I could eat.” The corner of his lips lifted a little, his voice guarded.
I snorted. “Yeah. Come on. I promise not to pounce on you.” Relief swept through me when a more natural twitch of his lips appeared this time. His cheeks hollowed a little, as though he was trying not to laugh. This reaction I could handle. Distract the discomfort with pointless humour. I was so down for that.
“Perhaps you should walk ahead, or maybe to my side.”
A snort escaped. The man had jokes, huh. “I’m sure I can resist your arse.” I hoped. God, I hadn’t taken a good look at the damn thing, and all I could think about was how phenomenal his backside was in jeans. I cleared my throat. “Erm, yeah. Maybe I’ll go on ahead.”
His grin did nothing to alleviate my boner.
After a fairly awkward walk back to the house, we arrived to see the pizza boxes on his porch. The security guard must have placed them there. Hungry, I took no time in swiping them off the welcome mat, heading inside. I placed them on the hall table and bounded upstairs, aware I was leaving wet footprints in my tracks. “I’ll come back with a towel to clean that up,” I shouted over my shoulder. I needed pants. Stat. I threw some jocks on first. There was no way I could go commando tonight, something I preferred when relaxing. Getting changed, I considered how I’d screwed up, and while Thatch had done exactly the sensible thing by stopping the kiss, the rejection stung.
Even though I was sure there was something between us, in reality, I had no idea if that was two-sided or not. I’d thrown myself at Thatch, which was so not cool. Mortified, I considered that I didn’t even know if he was into guys. There had been that groan, sure. But truthfully, I couldn’t be certain the sound hadn’t really been my own. What the hell had I been thinking? I scrubbed my hands over my face, aware I’d already answered that question. Idiotic moments were not something new to me, but still, this seemed like a major one.
A deep breath out, and I shook off the desire and the shame.
Food. Then back to the case.
CHAPTER FIVE
ALL WAS GOING ACCORDING to plan. I ignored my grimace, hoping fate wasn’t tempted by my assessment. Just like clockwork, the employees punched out, leaving behind a security detail of two. A vampire and a lion shifter. It was an unusual combination, especially as lions were not known to play well with others.
Now it was our turn.
The green light was given. A single word: “Go.”
Our team of four moved forward, all at our appointed entrance points. Kent—our eyes—had our backs. Like the genius she’d very vocally professed to be—sometimes four times a day—she’d come up with the goods and got a true lead.
As soon as we entered our access points, I focussed on my task. The lion. Jenson had the vamp. Thatch ran point on Cartwright, with Michaels as backup.
“Callen, clear in the lobby.” Kent’s voice, while quiet, was clear. I nodded at the camera in the corner behind the lobby desk, aware she was watching. Instructions and all-clears were given all round. Not needing to hunker down, quick, steady steps took me to the left corridor, towards the front lab. The lion would be positioned there.
I cracked my neck, preparing myself. The aim wasn’t to get in a fight. Incapacitation was my goal. Then move on to the server room. Kent, even with her kickarse tech powers, hadn’t been able to get through their walls, so I would be grabbing them the old-fashioned way.
The corridor was clear, as expected. I moved forward. Pulse pounding, senses spreading out wide, it only took a handful
