Page 59 of Between Love and Honor

It took everything she had to meet his eyes. The apprehension she saw within them stole her breath. She cupped his cheek firmly. “I wasn’t playing a role.” She pushed the words out through her tight throat. “Never with you. What we had was real. I told you before, you are the only thing that was ever real in my life.”

A fission of unease crept up her spine as she watched his eyelids slam shut. Desperate for him to believe her, she anxiously willed him to say he did. With a sudden clarity she realized just how important his trust meant. How much she needed him. And not just to get out of this mess with Alexi. Even if she survived that, she was pretty sure she wouldn’t survive the rest of her life without Ben being a part of it. A major part.

Just as she was about to beg him to say something, his fingers gripped her head and pulled her in for a demanding kiss. She welcomed the invasion, answering with greedy kisses of her own. His hands found their way beneath the T-shirt she wore, branding her skin with his fingernails.

Releasing a soft cry, she nipped at his jaw.

“This is as real as it gets.” He panted against her ear.

“You and me.”

“Yes,” she breathed before sealing her lips over the pulse point on his neck.

“We already know we make a great team,” he murmured as his lips traced her collarbone. “Secretary Lyle practically ordered us to put our heads together to flush out the traitor, get my AI back, and destroy Ronoff for good.”

A lusty laugh escaped her throat. Leaning back on her haunches, she stripped the T-shirt over her head. “Given that we are after the same person, I guess I can get behind that assignment. As long as we put more than our heads together.”

His answering grin was a bit wicked. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

They proceeded to work out the details of their partnership with their hands and their mouths until both of them were slick with exertion and sated with pleasure.

* * *

QUINN’S SOFT BREATHING fanned Ben’s chest, her body covering his like a favorite blanket. Unlike the night before, her sleep was peaceful and deep.

The sign of a well-satisfied woman.

He, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to get his brain to shut down. Not that he wasn’t feeling very fulfilled himself, because he was. And it was more than that. He finally felt complete again after so many years of trying to put together the pieces of his shattered heart. Quinn was back where she belonged. With him.

Better yet, wrapped around him.

But he wasn’t foolish enough to think they could sail off into the sunset and have the happily ever after they’d planned all those years ago. Not yet anyway. She was a strong, independent woman who let her career define her.

He had a sneaking suspicion she didn’t believe she was deserving of his love. The very idea nearly broke him. He gently stroked his fingertips along her spine, so steely yet so vulnerable. Protecting her had just become his number one priority.

And that meant finding the damn traitor. He was more convinced now that Secretary Lyle was correct. Whoever was selling the list of names had to be masquerading as the Phoenix. Worse, the asshole was impersonating his alter ego, as well. All scenarios pointed to the person behind the sale of the supposed list of names being an integral player in the US counter-intelligence community. And there was no telling what information they would attempt to sell next.

His deep sigh caused her to stir, but not wake. He slipped out from beneath her warm, languid limbs, carefully resting her body against the back of the futon. After covering her with a blanket, he pulled on his board shorts and padded over to his bank of computers. He sank into the leather chair he’d used to pilot his mission as the Mariner for the past several years and simply stared at the blank screens.

It was over. Just like Quinn, the Mariner had somehow been compromised. Someone out there had burned his alias and was likely tracing every single one of his keystrokes. He couldn’t risk trying to track down whoever it was from these computers. Not until he’d done a bit of reprogramming. And that would have to be taken care of back at headquarters.

He was surprised he wasn’t angrier at the situation. The alter ego had become his refuge. In the past few months, he’d welcomed the assignments allowing him to camp out here. It gave him an excuse to escape all the damn wedding planning his buddies were cheerfully enduring. Not that he begrudged his two best friends their happiness—he could honestly say he loved Marin and Josslyn like sisters. But lately, he’d begun to feel left out. No matter what they said to him or how they included him, Ben had become the fifth wheel. The truth was, he’d rather bury himself in his work than spend time pondering his lonely future.

Quinn sighed as she shifted on the futon. He glanced over at her sleeping form and his chest actually swelled.

Suddenly, the future didn’t seem as bleak. He’d enjoyed seeing the lighthouse through her artistic eyes today. And she was right, his friends and family would love the place.

He wanted to share it with them. But mostly, he wanted to share it with her.

If he could convince her to stay.

Despite her enthusiastic lovemaking earlier, he sensed she was still skittish about letting him in completely. Her entire life has been a lie. He got that. Now all he had to do was make her understand it didn’t matter. Not to him. He saw the real Quinn. And he wanted her, warts and all. He had a freaking genius IQ. Surely, he could figure something out to convince her of that.

Reaching over to snag the container with the cake samples, he began to chow down. He always thought better on a full stomach. The sugar stimulated his brain. At least that was what he’d convinced his mom and countless other women over the years. Leaning back in his chair, he studied the night sky while pondering his next steps.

Priority number one was to find the traitor. Then he could secure the list so Quinn and her parents could live in peace. As grand gestures went, that was certainly a good one.

Getting his AI back from that asshole, Ronoff, was also on his list. Not to mention giving the Russian a little payback for his attempted murder of Quinn. Not that he wasn’t grateful to the dick, because had it not been for him, she wouldn’t be lying naked and sated in his lighthouse right now.

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