Page 33 of Recon Rendezvous

Her words, spoken in a deep monotone, send a jolt through me. My jaw is so tight my molars grind, as she wipes under her eyes again and her expression softens a bit as we gaze at each other, my eyes drifting all over her beautiful face and before I can say something I may regret a smirk lifts her lips.

“Did you really call me a stalker? I was here first.” Brushing my hand aside, as if to say she’s fine, I fight the desire to be skin to skin again as I rise to my feet. Allowing her to move past whatever this is and back to what’s familiar for us.

“I don’t think so. I work on this block, so I’m here quite often. What’s your excuse?” I ask, pulling out my phone as I slide into the available seat across from her.

“If you must know.” She gives me an eye roll that pulls a grin to my lips. “I had a job interview nearby. And of course, it went well.”

“Whoa, so you’ll be close by every day? We’ll get to have these little coffee dates often then.” I waggle my brows.

“This is not a date. You’re totally intruding on my time.”

Ignoring her lies, I tap away on my phone, before meeting her eyes. “Everyone at Best Buds loved you.”

Beautiful eyes dart away at the compliment.Interesting.

“They were great. I’m happy Ty asked for my help. He’s doing great work over there. You all are.”

I shrug. “What makes it great is, none of us consider it work. It’s just something we all enjoy doing.”

Her expression softens as she recounts some of the more outgoing kids, and we share a few laughs before my phone vibrates on the table.

Glancing at the incoming text, I lean back in my chair as my eyes roam over her. “So, you’re free for a little while.”

She snorts, shooting me a glare. “I’m never free, but I could make myself available.”

“We’ll dissect that later, but I wasn’t asking. Do you want another coffee before we go?” I take a look at her table and the left-over remnants of her pastries before adding, “Or can Istuffyour mouth with something just as sweet?”

That mischievous grin is back. “Stuffedis an overstatement, full-on exaggeration. A nibble. A small bite, if I recall. I’ve had much more delicious andsubstantialthings stuffed in my mouth since.”

I laugh, rising to place an order to go but not before bending to whisper in her ear, “Liar. You never even tasted my crème filling. I think you need to give it another chance and really go for it for a proper comparison.”

Laughing with a shake of her head, she points to her brownie wrapper in response to my raised eyebrows in a silent question, and I quickly turn to place an order of brownies and bottled waters.

Refusing to be away from her, even for a few minutes while I wait for our order, I return to our table as she avoids my eyes.

“I need to freshen up. Excuse me.”

Moving to pull out her chair, she offers a tight smile but once she stands, I don’t step back. Instead, I let the warmth of her body seep into me, her sweet fragrance wrapping around us. Unable to resist, I inhale deeply, filling my lungs.

She shakes her head as her hand comes up to push against my chest, but I capture it as it flattens against me. Covering her hand with my own, I continue to block her path so she can’t walk away, and I allow my eyes to skim her face again before meeting her questioning eyes.

“You’re beautiful. Pink is one of your many colors. If this is what you wore to your interview, I’m sure you had them eating out of the palm of your hand.”

She doesn’t realize how cute she is when she gives a little headshake. “Sir, I’ll have you know, I had them eating out of my hand because I’m a boss, not because of the way I look.”

“Oh, I know. You’re such a fucking boss. They’ll be lucky to have you and look at you…” I lean in, running my nose up the column of her neck as I inhale that kiss of vanilla on her skin. “And smell you every day.”

She gives a little shiver before she can catch herself but too quickly, she retreats. “Give me a sec.”

I watch her long after she hurries into the restroom before my phone vibrates in my hand. Smiling at the confirmation, I grab our order and wait for London. The excitement for what I have planned starting to bubble in my gut.

Sure, there are a few nerves. I’ve never done something like this for a woman before. Granted, those situationships didn’t keep throwing us together like this and I’ve never had to consider feelings outside of the bedroom or wherever we just happened to fuck. But there’s something about London. Asmuch as I want to push her face into a pillow and fuck her until she can’t walk or she submits to me, I love her biting words. That fucking confidence to give as good, if not better, than she gets. I swear, her voice, when it gets all haughty when she’s telling me to fuck off, gets me harder than the filthiest porn I’ve ever watched. And even though we aren’t fucking, I want to see her, spend time with her every day.

Striding toward me, her head held high, London holds my gaze the entire way, and the impish little smile that splits her face as she nears sends a twinge to my chest. She’s refreshed her makeup, but she was just as perfect before.

“Alright, Xander. I’m trusting you not to fuck this up.”

“Never. Have you met me? Let’s go, babycakes.”

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