Page 74 of Shadow Sabotage
I looked her straight in the eye. “There is nothing weak about you. I’ve known it since the moment we met.”
“I was weak today,” she admitted, that look of shame flushing her face again. “One conversation and I fell apart. Clung to you like some helpless damsel in distress. Couldn’t even face my family.”
I shook my head. “Don’t you dare think you’re weak for that. It wasn’t ‘one conversation.’ It was finding out that someone you trust, respect, and put your faith in isn’t who he said he was. I’ve been there. That’s enough to shake the strongest person alive.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “For understanding.”
She tentatively stretched her fingers across the table, touching mine. I flipped my hand over, taking hers inside my palm, and stroked my thumb over her wrist.
She didn’t pull away. And I didn’t let go.
I stared at her hand in mine before looking up to meet her eyes. Eyes that made me want to get lost in their emerald depths.Eyes that made me want to throw away the rulebook and explore the vast, swirling ocean that was her.
We were crossing lines, holding hands like this.
I couldn’t find it in me to care.
“I like you, Claire Hawkins.” I let the words out before I had time to overthink them.
Her lips twisted into the teasing smile that had become so familiar. “Too bad I can’t stand you.”
The look in her eyes was playful.
But I wasn’t interested in playing games.
“We both know you’re lying right now.” I kept stroking my thumb along the inside of her wrist.
“Am I?” Her eyebrows shot up.
“I know your tells. Plus, I can feel your pulse skyrocketing.” I smirked. “You like me more than you want to admit.”
She jerked her hand away and grabbed the scotch, taking a swig straight from the bottle. “I thinkyoulikememore thanyouwant to admit.”
I leaned forward until my face was close to hers, lowering my voice to a dark whisper. “I just admitted it, didn’t I? I like you, Claire. I like you so much I don’t know what to do about it.”
The sassy smirk disappeared when she realized I wasn’t joking. Her lips parted slightly. Her chest rose and fell in shallow breaths. She leaned closer. So close that her lips were just a breath away.
“You’re the most fascinating woman I’ve ever met,” I whispered, bringing my thumb to her cheek, stroking it down her jawline until it hovered right beside those lips I was dying to taste.
“Should we be doing this?” she asked, her own voice a whisper matching mine.
“Probably not.” I dropped my hand and swallowed hard, telling myself to pull back.
But she moved in and brushed those lips against mine.
One taste and the spark between us ignited into flame. Any hesitation she’d had vanished as she practically climbed into my lap, taking control of the kiss. She nipped my bottom lip, then let out a little moan that almost undid me.
I matched her intensity, using my tongue and my teeth to tease. To claim.
I tangled my fingers in her golden curls, swept up in her scent. Pineapples and coconuts, like she really was a mermaid who belonged in the warm ocean waters that mirrored the ones in her eyes.
A mermaid that tempted me to abandon everything I’d worked to build just so I could swim in those depths with her.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Claire
Vance liked me.And not just as a partner. Hearing it had made me lose control and throw myself at him, letting loose all the feelings I’d been working so hard to contain. I started it, but he quickly took charge. One hand tugged at my hair, while the other went to my thigh, his fingers gripping me tightly. His lips were like a hot fire, sending flames through my body.
