Page 40 of Savage Beauty

“Aren’t you lucky. Rich parents?”

“No, not particularly.” Her eyes glaze over, and I get the sensation there’s a conversation going on in her head. Or a memory playing. Happens to me all the time, so I wait while keeping an eye on the beauty to my right and the entrance to the gravel parking lot on my left. “My personality is such that I do better in solo situations.”

“Nah, I call bullshit on that. We’re all stronger as a team. With a team, you got backup.” Another car enters the parking lot. This one is a convertible Mercedes. The man getting out of it has bright white hair, pressed paisley shorts, and a polo shirt. I’d bet money he’s a golfer. Sloane isn’t paying him any mind. “Does he work with you?” I prompt, showing her the image in the viewfinder so she can get a closer look.

“I think he rents one of the office spaces on the ground floor in the back. I don’t know his first or last name, if that’s what you’re going to ask me.”

“Other than Dr. Kallio, was there anyone here you worked with closely?”

“No. I told you. I prefer to work alone.”

“Well, you know, this is where the benefits of a team come into play. If you didn’t work alone, you’d have other people you could get in touch with.”

“Or they’d be missing, like Dr. Kallio.”

It’s true that we don’t know where her boss is, but “missing” isn’t a term I’ve agreed to apply yet. I pick up my phone and turn it on. Yes, I’m antsy. Yes, I’m breathing in a light, fragrant scent that I suspect is the soap Sloane used this morning in the shower, and I’d rather not think about why I am so aware of everything Sloane.

“Why aren’t you married?”

There are no updates. And I’m officially stuck with twenty questions that, if I’m not careful, will stray into sexy questions that will turn my semi into a full hard-on pressing uncomfortably against my zipper.

“Why aren’t you?”

“I asked you first.”

I side-eye the bullheaded woman. I’ve been on ops where a team would’ve been able to listen in to this inane banter. Thank god this isn’t one of those ops. “I’m not the type to get married. But you are.”

“Who says you’re not the type?” She sounds mystified, which is snort-worthy.

“I do. Pretty sure I know myself. Now, come on, what’s your story?”

She’s sexy as fuck, and she seems to like to fuck. And she said she doesn’t cheat. That’s three in a row for a win in my book. She opens her mouth, and there’s a devious sparkle in her eye. Fuck. For once, I know exactly what she’s going to say, so I stop her with my index finger. When it presses against those soft lips, I jerk back. For one, I felt that touch in my groin. Second, in a small space, touching isn’t a great idea.

“Don’t want to hear any more about excelling at solo play,” I tell her in response to her adorably quizzical expression. “As for me, I almost got married.” That would’ve been a mistake of epic proportions.

She says nothing, but the silence prods me to spill more. “Bought a ring.”

“She said no?” Surprise rings her question.

“No.” I twist my head. There was a time when this shit hurt. Now it just stings. “I’d been deployed. Came back. She found someone else.”

Her eyes widen. “You walked in on them?”

“Shit, no. If I’d done that, I’d be serving time for killing the douche. No, she didn’t meet me at the airfield, so I knew something was up. Twelve-month deployment, and at some point during that, she’d fallen in love. Didn’t want it to play with my head, so she didn’t tell me ’til I got back.”

“That’s awful.”

“Was a pisser, that’s for sure.” Wouldn’t have been nearly so bad if nearly every guy I was with overseas hadn’t cheated on his girl back home. But not me. I’d been the angel. That part still pisses me off.

“I’ve never had a boyfriend.”

“Really?” This surprises me.

“Not a real one. Sage and I sometimes share book boyfriends.”

“You share them?” Intriguing.

“Not like that.” Her eyelashes flutter, and she smiles. When the corners of her lips turn up, she drops her guard, the defensive one who claims she’s a solo girl and doesn’t like other humans. “But we talk about them. Sage is the only reason I read those mindless books.” She lifts one long, lean leg and rests the ankle on her knee. “Now that Sage is dating someone, do you think she’ll still want to read those books?”

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