Page 60 of Silk Shadow

He took a step toward her. "We got you back. No harm done."

"True." She sobered, the weight of their situation pressing down. "Do you think we'll ever catch who's doing this?"

"Pat and the rest of the unit are very good," he said, after a short pause. "If anyone can figure it out, it'll be them."

"I hope so,” she breathed. “I don’t want to live in fear my entire life."

"It won't be like that," he reassured her, his voice firm. "We'll get to the bottom of it. You'll get your old life back. Don't worry."

Izzy fell silent, content to float gently. The calm of the pool contrasted sharply with the chaos they’d left behind. Viper did the same, treading water in the deep end. She could feel the water moving outwards around him, caressing her.

"This is a nice change," she murmured, after a brief pause. "Not having a million people around. No phone beeping. No emails to respond to. It feels surreal."

"Enjoy it while you can. All too soon it'll go back to normal," he said, then turned on his back and kicked down the length of the pool.

She watched as he swam toward her, admiring the way the water glisten on his smooth, tanned shoulders. The muscles rippled as he moved, and she unable to help herself, she followed the line of his washboard abs down to where they disappeared beneath the water. "How long were you in the Navy SEALs?"

He was silent for a moment. "Almost seven years," he said finally.

"Why'd you quit?"

"I got shot."

She hesitated. "The marks on your back?"

"Yeah. And another in the thigh. After I got out of the hospital, they declared me unfit for duty. I never went back." His face looked so stricken she wanted to reach out to him, to comfort him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

He shrugged, but she could see it still bothered him.

"Do you miss it?"

He nodded, the water rippling around him.

"So, you've gone from that to me?"

He managed a weak smile. "It could be worse. I could be guarding some boring diplomat in the Middle East."

"Instead, you're hiding out at a luxury resort in Mexico." She burst out laughing, the sound echoing off the water. "Crazy, right?"

"It's not what I expected." He smiled at her, the tension easing from his face. "But I'm glad I was here when it counted."

She grew serious, the laughter dying on her lips. "Me too."

The water seemed to sizzle between them. Slowly, she swam toward him, drawn in by the intensity of his gaze, the same color as the water around them. Looping her arms around his neck, she looked deep into his eyes. "You don't mind, do you?"

He shook his head, his gaze never leaving hers. No words, just those eyes burning into hers.

Tentatively, she stood on her tiptoes, her lips brushing his. At first, she thought he wasn’t going to respond, but then his powerful arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her firmly against him.

CHAPTER 25

The moment Izzy’s lips locked with his, Viper knew he was in trouble. Seething desire raged through his blood, igniting the feelings he’d tried to bury this whole time. This woman had upended his entire world, and now she was in his arms, kissing him like he’d only fantasized about.

He shoved aside all the reasons why he shouldn’t be doing this and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close, kissing her hard. He delved into her mouth, exploring her, tasting her, devouring her.

She gasped at the sudden power shift, then reciprocated, matching his passion with her own. Her arms around his neck tightened, and her legs wrapped around him under the water, anchoring her body to his.

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