Page 27 of Covert Temptation

She rolled her eyes, smiling faintly.

God help her—the SEAL was impossible.

At least when they were enemies, she knew where she stood.

Now she wasn’t so sure.

FIVE

The second she stepped on the floor, Dante was wide awake.

Light and tentative. But not quiet enough to get past him.

Years of training had taught him to wake without flinching, to keep his breathing even and his body still while every sense went razor-sharp. In the dark quiet of the Hudson Valley hideaway, the sound of Kennedy’s footstep was as loud as a gunshot.

He didn’t move. Didn’t twitch. Just listened.

Another step. Then two more.

The woman was up to something.

His first thought was that a desperate person would go for his sidearm. But Kennedy was only desperate to leave—he didn’t get any vibes that she wanted to hurt anybody.

Maybe she going for the keys to the SUV.

He could hear the soft scrape of her bare feet on the old wood floor, a sharp contrast to those little high-heeled boots she had on before. He stayed perfectly still, waiting to hear the glide of a drawer opening, or the metallic clink of keys.

But there was nothing but three more footsteps. Great—now she had him counting too.

The silence stretched for another heartbeat before his covers tugged tight across his body and the mattress dipped beside him.

What the hell?

She was crawling into his bed.

Jesus Christ.

His jaw tensed as her body slid in next to his, warm and real andunbelievablyclose. She fit against his side like she belonged there, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

He turned his head slowly, voice low and rough. “What are you doing?”

“I was cold,” she murmured, already tucking into the crook of his shoulder.

“You feel pretty warm to me.”

“Shh.” Her breath was a soft puff against his skin. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

Then she tilted her face up. Her lips were close—close enough he could taste her breath, warm and minty andunbearablytempting. Her hand brushed across his stomach, fingers grazing bare skin just above the waistband of his sweatpants.

His gut clenched.

Heat poured through him,unyielding.

He’d been holding this in—his reaction to her. Keeping a wall between them, reminding himself of the job, the mission, the consequences.

But her lips were right there.

And her skin was soft where it pressed to his side.

---