Page 10 of Evening Shadows

Ken waited for her to sit.

She wanted to blurt what she’d learned and toss the reports at him and demand that he tell her the truth, but the impact of the intel was still too raw, and Bev promised more information soon. Instead, she focused on his curious visit. “Can I get you something to drink?” she asked like a prim and proper Southern hostess.

“I’m sure you can, but will you?”

To keep from lunging at him, she bit her tongue—hard enough she probably had blood flowing. He constantly corrected her on the proper usage of “can” and “may” along with “could” and “would.” While aggravating, she understood that things like that—wordplay—on an op could make a big difference in the execution of their mission. But she wasn’t on an op. She was in her friggin’ apartment.

Instead of responding, she headed into the kitchen and yanked two bottles of water from the refrigerator. Hands full, she strode back into the living room and handed him a bottle on her way to sink into the sofa. After she settled, he dropped into the armchair.

She waited for Ken to open his bottle and drink. Her emotions were in turmoil almost every time she was alone with him. How could he have done such things as the army said? Could he have been so incompetent? It kept her head, her heart, and her body constantly at odds and always battling out her next move.

Waiting for the reason for his visit, she continued to sit quietly until he decided to speak. When he did, his words left her speechless.

“Would you like to grab a bite with me?”

Not only did she stare, but her mouth also dropped open at the question. Normally, she’d immediately grab her purse and have dinner with him. Now? Could she?

“Whatever night is good for you,” he added. As he tilted the bottle to his lips, Sam noticed a slight shaking of his hand.

How could this tough man be nervous? That’s what it had to be unless he had a medical condition she didn’t know about where trembling or shaking was a side effect. She couldn’t imagine that. He had to truly be nervous. Intriguing.

A vision of the two of them at a table covered with a white tablecloth and a rose in a vase in the middle sprang to mind. The romantic atmosphere seeped through her imagination. Then it came to a screeching halt. In no way could that happen. She reminded herself she had to reconsider where she went from here, no matter how much her body craved his touch.

She cleared her throat to keep away her true thoughts. “I don’t think that’s wise. You’re my… my team leader.” My friend had been her first thought, but it made her feel ill that she could’ve trusted him with not only her life but Lance’s.

He didn’t appear to realize her change in acceptance of his previous dinner invitation from “Sure” to this time “No.” “I wouldn’t be if you’d do some sort of desk work or quit.”

He did not just say that.Indignation flared up, rousing an inferno burning through every cell in her body. After all she’d done to get here and prove herself, she could choke him for being such an obstinate man. “Why are you so set on my no longer being a part of the team?”

“Because—”

Something inside her knew he’d made a promise to her husband and that must be his goal. Although being a sniper was tougher than being a police officer on the streets or SWAT. She grumbled, “Sexist bullshit,” under her breath. When he chuckled, she pointed a finger at him and narrowed her eyes. “Lance would’ve supported me no matter what.”

Ken sobered and shook his head. “No, Sam. Lance didn’t like you being a police officer.”

With that blow to the stomach, she wanted to curl up into a ball. She could’ve gone to her grave without knowing the truth of it. If Ken, her husband’s best friend, knew that, why hadn’t her husband told her the truth?

That same hurt, plus a bucket load of humiliation, kept her from conceding the point. She jumped up from her seat to emphasize the strength of her response. “Bullshit. He never would’ve married me.”

Ken rose as she did but remained silent and still.

She raised her brows in victory. “What, nothing to say?”

Ken closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he rushed ahead with words he would have known would tear at her very being. “I’m telling the truth. It isn’t sexist like you think. Lance never approved of your profession because he feared you’d never come home one day, but he loved you too much to let you go.” He stopped for a moment as if in conflict. Eventually, he sighed and continued. “His plan was to get you pregnant as soon as possible so you’d give it up. He wanted you safe.”

All her bluster rushed from her and she dropped back on the sofa, fighting the anger welling inside her. “You say it’s not sexist, but it sounds like moronic and sexist ideals to me.” In the next moment, before he could respond, her mood flashed and she turned on him, pissed off. She couldn’t believe he’d make this story up to bolster his own standing with her. This change in his behavior reiterated what she’d read. “You’re lying.” Lance had wanted to get her pregnant to keep her from her job instead of for the normal reasons—family, etc. He wasn’t that type of man.

Ken dropped down on one knee in front of her and took her hands in his. “I’m sorry, Sam. I really am. I didn’t need to be so blunt. Who knows? Maybe Lance would’ve changed his tune and been your biggest supporter on this job. I promise I’m not sexist. I know you can do the job, but I also know you can die on the job.”

With wet eyes and tears sliding down her face, she looked at him. Die on the job. Could it be that easy?

After dropping one of her hands, he clung to the other as he stood and pulled her up with him. Standing so close her breasts touched his chest, neither said a word. Her breathing quickened and their gazes locked with a fire lighting and flaring between them. The one thing they’d been dancing around since she’d joined HIS.

Slowly, he leaned his head down, his lips covering hers. But it wasn’t the chaste kiss she expected. It was full of red-hot passion that tried to make up for the last ten years of separation.

He teased her lips, and with no resistance, she parted them, then welcomed his tongue into her mouth. She mimicked his tongue’s movement, putting every positive emotion she had for him into this foreplay before he deepened the kiss.

Her response came swiftly. Needing to get closer, she slid her hand up his rock-hard chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. When her breasts fit snuggly against him, Ken pulled her closer until sparks of pleasure drove through her.

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