Page 10 of Elven Lies

His silver eyes pulsed once with darker light when they flickered toward her lips.

Rebecca was certain her legs were about to give and surprised when they never did.

“We agreed to be a team that night,” he said. “To work together. And this time, we’ll be walking through the front door instead of sneaking around in the dark. Allegedly.”

Rebecca could hardly think anymore with him looming over her like this, standing so close, drowning out every thought of what she was supposed to do for this mission she’d approved for herself.

Then everything in her awareness was replaced by what shewantedto do, which stood right here in front of her…

Somehow, she still had the presence of mind and enough control of herself to ask, “Is that all?”

She could have imagined it, but it sure felt like Maxwell was moving even closer, leaning in. Her body erupted with thatflaring heat again and the tingling presence of something else there between them—so strong now, it almost made her laugh.

“No.” Maxwell’s response dropped into another growl. “This time, I won’t try to stop you. Assuming, of course, that you don’t keep fighting me on this.”

By the Blood, she didn’t want to fight him at all. More than anything, Rebecca wanted to give in to whatever this was tugging at her core and leading her ever closer toward the shifter who just couldn’t let anything go when he set his mind to it. Right now especially, he seemed to have set his mind on taunting her.

Had he been responsible for making her feel this way about him all along? Had he been controlling her, somehow?

It seemed more than possible at first, until Maxwell’s lips parted and a shuddering exhale escaped them.

That was when she realized she’d been staring at his lips and that her Head of Security had no more control over this, whatever it was, than she did.

AndRebeccawasn’t responsible for it.

That awareness had no effect on what her body wanted, or on the next wave of goosebumps rising across her flesh beneath the still-growing heat, or of how, even with him standing so dangerously close, every physical cell within her screamed that it still wasn’t close enough.

No, Maxwell wasn’t in control of this thing. He was victim to it just as much as she was, and even that surprisingly lucid realization didn’t stop her from taking one small, sliding step closer.

She’d meant to, but the second she moved her foot, the toe of her boot bumped against something small and lightweight to send it skittering across the hardwood with a metallic jingle.

The sound made her freeze before she glanced down to find its source without even meaning to.

Then the discomfort of all that bottled heat with nowhere to go came rushing back into her. The spell was broken. The moment was over.

And the only thing she wanted now was to get as far away from Maxwell Hannigan as possible before she broke another one of her own rules.

Already, she’d let him get way too close.

Then her brain registered the key she’d kicked across the floor.

“What was that?” Maxwell whispered before clearing his throat and taking a staggering step backward.

Clearly, he’d almost lost himself in the moment too and had snapped out of it right behind her.

“It’s a key…” Frowning, Rebecca stooped and reached for the object. Her voice hadn’t sounded like her own, and the sight of her outstretched fingers closing around the cool, hard, solid iron in her vision seemed as if they belonged to someone else.

But then she stood, staring down at the key instead of into the shifter’s glowing eyes, and finally felt like she could breathe again.

Maxwell took another two steps away from her with a barely audible snort, and though she knew he tried to hide it, she still noticed a quick shake of his head, as if he were trying to clear it.

And how did she know any of that without looking at him?

Just like she always knew where he was in a crowded room, or how much he didn’t approve of a situation, or whenever he drew closer out in the hallway while she was in another room…

At the same time, the effects of his closeness faded, until everything felt returned to normal.

Like nothing had ever happened.

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