Page 2 of Liaising Kai

His mind reeled, his feet rooted to the spot as he watched her struggle. He’d never seen Kai like this; she had always had her professional demeanor in place, but this was a moment when she thought she was alone, showing her soul-deep and painful vulnerabilities that kept him from getting too close. He should have gone, but instead he closed his eyes and released a hard breath. He just couldn’t leave her like that, and he damned himself for caring so much. No good could come of it for either one of them.

He flagged down the bartender. “Two scotches,” he said and waited while the bartender poured them. Then he turned and walked toward her table like the stupid ass he was.

As he approached, she didn’t acknowledge him, didn’t look at him, unaware that he was even there. He couldn’t exactly see what that dress was covering from the bar, but up close, his mouth went dry as the full effect of her outfit hit him full force. The barely-there dress showed a lot of skin, cleavage, and left no room for her to wear a bra. The soft fabric molded to her sweet breasts, as well as the curves, all the way down to mid-thigh. A diamond-studded belt was loosely slung around her waist, which matched the exquisite choker around her throat, and the thought of removing everything but the choker made him hard as stone. Then there was her footwear. God help him. She had on a pair of fuck-me boots, reaching just below her knee, dominatrix black with stiletto heels, metal grommets all over the upper portion, showing her skin beneath.

He groaned and shoved those images right out of his head as he came to a stop across the table from her. “Special Agent Talbot,” he said. “Of all the gin joints, you had to walk into mine.” He went for levity because he suspected she didn’t want to talk about what was on her mind right now, and she certainly wouldn’t be receptive to him, a man she knew and had spurned, witnessing what was an emotional meltdown.

Her head jerked up and she focused on him, then stiffened. Those defensive walls of hers quickly went up. “Davis,” she said, using his first name. Something she hadn’t done…ever. Why now?

“I was sitting at the bar, and I got stood up,” he said, putting a mock sad look on his face.

Her expression evened out, the initial shock receding.

“I’m sure that was quite a blow.”

“Twice,” he said for effect.

“That must have put a kink in your…ah…after dinner plans.”

He smirked. “They were both guys,” he said for even more effect.

She cast him a dry look and returned her attention to her wine. “I’m sure you’re not on that path.”

“There are many ways to get to a destination, and I’m pretty focused on my own way. It was a friend from work and my dad.” Her eyes widened. “Yeah, I have dinner with my dad every week, and my coworker and I have been friends since the Coast Guard Academy.”

She inclined her head as an invitation to sit. She focused on the two drinks.

“You looked like you could use something a little stronger than wine. Scotch was invented for times like these.”

“Times like these?” she said softly, curling her hand around the glass he set down in front of her.

“Want to talk about it?”

She blinked quickly, as if she were afraid to take her eyes off him for even a fraction of a second. But she held her ground, brave as always. And his heart squeezed painfully, and he clenched his jaw against it. Tension rattled through them like the portent of thunder booming in the distance. There always seemed to be danger when it came to Kai. He was torn between the need to protect himself from this woman, and his need to learn all he could about her.

She picked up the glass and downed the scotch, swallowing as it burned its way down her throat and into her stomach. She set it down and smiled with pain and secrets lodged in her eyes. “Nothing to talk about anymore.” She looked at the glass, then said, “Another one, please, Davis.”

He heard the strain in her voice, and he wanted to comfort her so badly it made his teeth ache. Just the way she said his name made his body twitch to life all over again. He understood that there was a wealth of things to talk about that was attached to her mood right now, but he let her slide. It really wasn’t any of his business, just a chance meeting in a bar.

“How about dinner to go with that?” he asked, concerned about her reckless expression. Alcohol never solved anything, not a goddamned thing.

“You turning this into a date?” she asked. He could hear it in her words. I’ve turned you down so many times. Why don’t you give up?

“Just two people who know each other having a meal together. Nothing on the line. Simply a good time, good conversation. Connection. What’s so bad about that?”

She leaned forward. “Nothing bad about it, and I’m not opposed, but it’s not why I came here looking like this.”

She was here for a hook-up. That was clear to him from the outset and his presence at her table put the kibosh on any other guy approaching. That suited him fine. In his youth, he’d been looser, but he’d lost the urge for one-night stands a while ago, when he’d come to realize sex for sex’s sake left him feeling empty and craving something deeper that had so far been elusive to him.

His pulse kicked up, and his body tightened in immediate response. He debated on whether to get into it here or wait to see how things panned out. Any advantage with this woman would be good, but with that look on her face and the dark shadows in her eyes, Kai had unknowingly robbed him of any action, and quite easily, too.

“We’ll see where the night takes us, Kai,” he said, opting for blunt honesty. After all, it had gotten him pretty far in the world.

Her eyes widened and her throat worked, but when she responded, her tone gave no indication of how she felt about his unwanted presence. Still the cool beauty.

They ordered dinner, and he got her another two fingers of scotch. “So, how goes it at NCIS Pendleton?”

“I have the best agents working for me. Derrick and Emma are doing great, as is Austin and Jenna.” Derrick Gunn had married Emma St. John. She was the sister of Petty Officer Lily St. John whose son had gone missing. They had fallen in love on that case. Austin Beck had also fallen in love with and married a woman from his case, a murder investigation into the death of Sarah Taylor, Jenna Webb’s cousin who was a Navy pilot assigned to the Blue Angels.

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