Page 26 of Silk Shadow

She chuckled. “Actually, yes. I guess I do. I’m a curious person and you’re… Well, you’re interesting.”

Interesting? Well, he guessed that was better than boring.

"Being in the military doesn't lend itself to long-term relationships. I'm away a lot, coming and going at short notice. It's not fair to put that on someone."

"But you're not in the Navy anymore," she pointed out.

He ground his jaw, refusing to let her see how much that statement bothered him. “No, I’m not.”

He was still getting used to being out. It was a hell of an adjustment, one he hadn’t been handling too well, until Blade had come along. He touched the scar on his temple, a permanent reminder of just how hard it was to adjust.

Her eyes softened. "Well, the Navy's loss is my gain."

"That's nice of you to say, ma'am."

"Don't you think you can call me Izzy now?"

He bit his lip. "I'm not sure. It doesn't sound right, ma'am. This job is important to me. I don't want to come across as unprofessional."

"Well, I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable."

She snapped her laptop shut and got to her feet. "I'm going to bed. Thanks for helping me with Hernández." She hesitated, like she was about to say something else, but then decided not to.

"You're welcome."

He watched as she disappeared through the connecting door to her suite and closed it behind her. He listened for the click, but it didn't come.

She hadn't locked it.

CHAPTER 11

"Don't look at me like that." Izzy pursed her lips in the perfect pout. "It's just a little yacht party." They were in his suite at the hotel, and she'd just broken the news to him about this evening's outing. As expected, he was not happy about it.

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to take any more risks."

"This isn't a risk. Casper is an old friend of Robert's. They studied together at Yale. I've met him several times before. He's harmless."

Viper ran a hand through his hair, clearly agitated.

"You can check him out, he's squeaky clean. Actually, scratch that. He's an investment banker—they're never squeaky clean." She scoffed. "But he has no ties to my father's business. No interest in the mines."

"It's not that," Viper said tersely. "It's being out in the open. Anyone could take a shot at you in the marina. It's unprotected, there are lots of places to hide. I can't be everywhere at once."

"We'll be on a yacht, moored at the marina. Nobody is going to get to me on board."

He hesitated, but she could see she was getting to him.

"Come on, this'll be fun. I don't want to stay cooped up here the whole time."

His chiseled jaw ground together so hard she could see the muscles moving.

"It's not like a bar or a club, it's a private yacht. I'll know half the guests there and the other half will be friends of Casper's."

He sighed, and she knew she'd won him over.

"Robert was only supposed to come next week," he pointed out. "Why the sudden change of plan?"

She smiled at his grumpiness. "He's tied up all next week, so he came for a few days this week. Suits me better, actually, because it means I'll have next week to myself."

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