His hand skimmed up to where her arms were wrapped around his neck. Silently, he pushed his Glock into her hand.
If the guard became a dire threat, Juliet was going to have to be the one to take him out.
There was no doubt the man was armed. Like the other patrols they had seen, he carried a modified HK-33 submachine gun. The guard might have orders to shoot on sight. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that, but Juliet had to be ready.
Evan trusted her to be.
Why was the guard still stopped? Did he see something? Sense something was off?
Juliet relaxed minutely against Evan when the man lit a cigarette in the darkness. He didn’t know about them at all; he was just trying to get away with having a smoke on the boss’s dime.
Evan and Juliet waited as the guard took drag after drag on his cigarette. Although Juliet didn’t relax, she knew there was no way he would be casually smoking if he suspected there was anyone hiding nearby.
Evan obviously knew it, too. Because Juliet could feel his fingers begin to trace up and down her back. All of a sudden she was very aware of all the places their bodies were touching.
All the places.
Evan ran his hand down her spine and splayed it over her hip, pulling her the slightest bit closer. His hot breath rushed across her neck.
The guard finished his cigarette and reported in on his radio that all was clear and he was headed to the south end of the property.
Juliet and Evan didn’t move from where they lay, although she relaxed the arm that held the Glock. Evan’s hand remained on her hip, his hard body pressed up against hers.
She couldn’t hold back a little sigh when she felt the breath against her neck turn into little kisses there.
Evan rolled onto his back, but didn’t release her, so she rolled over on top of him. Neither spoke as he threaded his hands into her hair and pulled her lips down to his.
There was no hesitation, no faking, no fear. Only heat. Evan kissed her as though he couldn’t get enough of her. A knot of need twisted inside her.
They broke apart from the kiss, breathing heavily. This was neither the time nor the place to give in to what they were feeling. Evan pulled her in for one more brief kiss, then got up from the ground and helped her up, too.
With a minimum of words they set up the amplifier/detonator close to the wall and began the trek back to the car. They saw no sign of the guard.
Juliet handed Evan’s weapon back to him. “I’m glad I didn’t need to use this.”
“Yeah, it would’ve been weird kissing you with a dead body lying right next to us.”
Juliet rolled her eyes at Evan’s black humor. “Not to mention the two dozen guards that would’ve been chasing us once they heard my weapon fire.”
They reached the car and Evan turned to her, cupping her cheek. “You did good, Jules. You kept your head, didn’t panic, didn’t fight me when we had to roll under that log.”
“Well, I was pretty scared.”
“It’s all right to feel scared. It’s what you do when you’re scared that’s important. You handled it like a trained agent. Nobody can ask for more.”
Juliet didn’t say much on the way back to DC. There was too much she was thinking about. Evan was right; she had handled the situation with the guard well. She hadn’t panicked, not even when Evan had grabbed her and all but threw her down.
Because her mind was used to Evan. Not him throwing her to the ground, but him being around. His presence. His touch. Even his smell.
Evan had been gentling her over the past two days as if she were some sort of wild mare. Accustoming her to his touch, getting her mind to accept his presence as normal.
And although Juliet didn’t like to compare herself to an animal, damned if it hadn’t worked. After a split second of fear, she hadn’t even worried about Evan’s proximity; had only focused on the real danger: discovery by the guard.
The scene kept playing through her mind as they returned the borrowed car to Omega Headquarters and headed back to Evan’s town house. For the first time Juliet felt assured about her abilities as an agent as they went undercover at Cady’s mansion tomorrow. She might not be completely up to speed, but she would be able to get the job done. They would be able to recover the drone codes before anyone was killed.
She and Evan walked through his front door. He took off his jacket and hung it over one of the kitchen bar stools. How had Juliet never really noticed how ripped Evan was? His black T-shirt didn’t do much to hide the muscles of his biceps, pecs or abs. Thank God.
Evan turned to the fridge for a couple water bottles. He took a big sip out of one, leaning back against the counter.
“You want?” He held up a bottle, his dimple showing with this smile.
Looking at him, Juliet realized she did indeed want.
Evan. Right now. Tonight.
She knew he wanted her, too. That much had become evident while hiding under the log. This wasn’t just an undercover op for Evan. She wasn’t just an undercover op for him.
This time she didn’t plan to take no for an answer. She had let the attack steal too many months of her life. She didn’t plan to let it have even one more day. She wanted Evan and she knew he wanted her.
What was that saying? Leap and the net will appear.
Juliet leaped.
She slid her own jacket off and walked over to him. “Yeah, I want.” She took the water bottle out of his hand and put it on the counter.
She pressed herself flush against him and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. His hands instantly moved to her hips.
