Page 16 of Covert Temptation

She’d been close to Dante on several occasions now, but she never got used to his size. The SEAL was absolutely huge, stacked with muscle.

She stole another peek at his fingers, still able to feel his touch on her upper arm when he steered her toward the waiting chopper. Those hands could kill a man, yet his touch on her had been soft. Almost gentle.

She knew firsthand how true the old saying of “looks can be deceiving” was. She’d spent the past few years in the world of politics. And before that…

Kennedy buried the thought of the world she’d lived in for years deep down inside her, and focused on what lay ahead. Soon they’d arrive at the safe house and she’d be reunited with the only thing she had left in the world—her belongings.

They drove another ten minutes before Dante pulled into the alley behind the safe house. It was the same way he’d brought her in weeks ago, and the same way she’d walked out. Was that only today? It felt like a lifetime ago.

He parked and turned his head slightly without meeting her eyes. “Don’t get out. I’ll come around to get you.”

Her exhale was noisy enough to make him grunt in response.

She watched him walk around to her door. When he opened it, she pulled her coat tighter around herself. The frigid wind plucked at the fabric and tossed her hair around her face. Dante’s hand twitched toward her.

Then he pulled it back.

She followed him to the back entrance and up two flights of stairs barely lit by a flickering light. He tapped a key code to unlock the door and entered the apartment first, flipping on the light immediately and going into protection mode.

One hand lay along his spine, over the weapon he carried in his waistband, and his broad shoulders were an impenetrable wall.

She hung back in the entry and tried to come to grips with the weeks she’d been locked up here. The sparse and sterile space left her feeling vacant. The heater rattled in its usual unsettling way, like ghosts dragging chains across her nerves.

After satisfying himself that no one could be hiding under the mattress on the floor or behind the table with uneven legs, Dante turned his head to pierce her in his stare. “You left the TV on?”

“I was in a hurry.”

“I thought someone involved with the ambassador would have more sensitivity towards conserving energy.”

“That’s Alyssa’s wheelhouse, not mine.” Her focus was on the table and the items she’d left behind when she packed the tote earlier that day. “My friends!”

She rushed to the stack of clothing and shoes in silky bags. She snatched up her most prized possession—her Chanel bag in the caviar color, quilted, with gold hardware. It was still in the tissue paper she wrapped it in after every use.

The bag had taken her a year of saving. It had been all over the world with her, to special events and special places. Carrying it felt like being with a good friend.

“Yourwhat?” Dante’s voice sounded unnervingly close to her.

She shot him a dirty look. “These are just things to you, but to me they’re friends.”

He didn’t need to say anything. His arched brow held all the judgment. “What’s in the tissue?”

“My favorite bag.”

“Okay, why do you wrap it up?”

She clutched it closer. “Because it’s lambskin and I don’t want it to get any marks or scuffs.”

“Jesus.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Pack it up, Bloom.”

“Fine,King,” she bit off just as sharply. Some people just didn’t understand attachment to things others worked so hard for because they were just handed everything they wanted.

She set her Chanel aside carefully and reached for her suitcase. Then she took her time folding her clothes, starting with her best tailored trousers. Piece by piece, she settled the garments in the suitcase. Finally, she rolled her cashmere sweater so the fibers wouldn’t break and it would last longer.

Dante’s gaze followed her every move.

With her garments packed away, it was time for her shoes and bags.

“Can you hurry it up?”

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