Page 93 of Silver Elite

“No, you guys stay. I’ll be fine walking back on my own.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay.” She throws her arms around me in a tight hug. “I’m so glad you came!”

I nod. “See you tomorrow.”

Bidding the others goodbye, I push my way through the crowd. I’m halfway to the door when the hairs on the nape of my neck tingle and rise.

I get the sense I’m being followed, but when I glance over my shoulder, all I see are soldiers laughing, chatting, and drinking. I quicken my pace to the exit, seeking solace in the deserted corridor.

I don’t hear footsteps other than my own. I don’t glimpse movementother than the shadows I’m casting myself. But the sensation that I’m not alone refuses to ebb.

And so I’m not entirely surprised when he grabs me.

I barely have time to blink before I’m pushed deeper into the shadows and suddenly there’s cold concrete against the bare flesh at the small of my back. I know who it is. Even in the darkness, I recognize Cross’s woodsy scent and broad shoulders. A large hand splays across my stomach, pressing me to the pillar. His other arm is above my head, palm flat against the stone.

It’s too dark to read his expression, but I feel his eyes boring into me. His lips are millimeters away. For a moment, silence ripples between us, the air thick with tension.

I swallow through the lump in my throat.

“What did I tell you about touching me without permission?” It’s intended to be a taunt. But we both hear my voice shake.

“It was just to steady you.” He gives a deliberate stroke to my stomach before removing his hand. Then he leans close to my ear. His voice is velvet dipped in honey. “Tell me to put my hand back.”

My breath is stuck in my throat. “You’re drunk,” I tell him.

“Maybe a little.”

I choke down a laugh. “Is this what you do when you drink? You trap your recruits in the dark?”

“I’ve never even looked at a recruit before.”

Before you.Is that what he’s implying?

“I must be special.”

He doesn’t answer.

I could move. He’s no longer restraining me. Yes, his hand still rests on the pillar. Yes, his tall frame is still inches from me, so close I can feel his body heat.

But I could move.

“I can’t make sense of you, Dove.”

“It’s not your job to.”

“Actually, it is.”

Cross peers down at me. My eyes are adjusting to the darkness. I glimpse the shadowy planes of his face. The perfectly shaped lips. When I inhale, the scent of pine and spice fills my nostrils, alongwith the sharp smell of blood, a reminder that only minutes ago he was slamming his fists into another man’s face.

He’s silent for so long that I can’t help but mutter, “What is it?”

“Any other woman would have asked me to kiss her. We’d already be heading back to my quarters.”

My core clenches. Tempting. It’s so tempting, my mouth runs dry.

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