Page 32 of Forbidden Access

That kiss—oh my God, that kiss—had been a mistake. A ginormous lapse in judgment.

Why? What was it about him that made her react so irrationally? She thought about Christine. Maybe that was just the effect he had on women. He was the spikey, dangerous rock that they smashed themselves against, driven to a frenzy by his stormy gaze and lethal charm.

She gritted her teeth. That meant she was no different than his assistant. No more immune than Christine was.

Thorn inhaled deeply, then blew out the air, forcing herself to relax.

One week, then they’d fly to Miami, and she could put this behind them. She removed a blade of grass from her hair. All she had to do was keep Damian alive long enough to install his crypto update. A task that was getting increasingly more difficult with each passing day.

Damian was waiting for her when she came out. “Thorn, can we talk?”

“About what?”

He hesitated. “About what happened earlier, in the bedroom.”

“Oh, you mean that kiss? I thought that meant nothing.”

His eyes narrowed. “You overheard?”

She shrugged. “Forget it. It’s not important.”

His voice was a low rumble. “You know I had to say that. It didn’t feel like nothing to me.”

She sighed, feeling the sense of responsibility press down on her. “Look, it was a moment of weakness on my part. I should never have allowed that to happen. It’s against all the rules.”

“Bullshit. I?—”

“Forget about it, Damian,” she said softly, cutting him off. “It should never have happened. I could get fired if the others find out. Thank God you managed to shut her up in time.”

“They won’t find out,” he said quietly. “Not from me, anyway.”

Christine might still mention it, but an FBI agent was unlikely to care. “My only focus now is to get you somewhere safe so I can keep you alive until you get to Miami.”

He glared at her for a long moment. “Why are you being like this?”

“Like what? This is who I am. My job is to protect you, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

He hissed out a breath. “Was it Christine? Are you worried I’ve still got feelings for her?”

She scoffed, masking the ache in her chest. “No, of course not. I know she meant nothing to you.”

He frowned. “I wouldn’t go so far as to say she meant nothing.”

“Well, I know it obviously wasn’t as serious for you as it was for her.”

He stood very still, his eyes darkening to a gunmetal gray. “If you know it wasn’t serious, why are you pulling away from me?”

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself.

Pulling away from me.

Why did he have to make it sound so… intimate?

“Like I said, Damian, it should never have happened. There’s nothing to pull away from. I’m sorry about that, but can we please just move on?”

His eyes probed her face, then finding nothing, he gave a tight nod. “If that’s the way you want it, sure. No problem.”

“Good.”

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