Page 31 of Being Bold
“Are you sure? What she did almost got you—” Bo cut himself off, cursing internally. He shouldn’t have brought that back up. He doubted it remained far from her mind, and he didn’t need to up her stress level.
Her voice came out soft, and he had to strain to hear when she responded, “She made a mistake.” She shook her head. “Butwho hasn’t? It doesn’t mean you just give up on someone. Not when you care about them.”
He didn’t think he’d ever be so blindly trusting. Not when he’d seen what humanity was capable of. With a grunt that wasn’t really a response, he focused on the treacherous road. He’d make up his own mind about Yumi. Let her actions prove her loyalty because words were too easy to betray.
Jordy had them all fooled. For years.
Thinking about his TOP teammate, Bo felt the need to explain. With a disgruntled sigh, he told Selene, “We had a former CIA agent on our team at TOP up until a few months ago when he turned on us.”
She let out a small gasp.
“So my trust mechanism’s a little rusty. I just want you to be sure about Yumi.”
Her hand landed on his arm, and he nearly jumped before she squeezed it. She was trying to offer him comfort, but his dick saw it as a green light.
Fuckin’ A.
Bo gritted his teeth.
“I’m sorry that happened.” She dropped her palm back to her lap. “But Yumi’s different.”
For her sake, he hoped she was right.
Clearing his throat, he changed the subject. “Are you warm enough now?”
He’d removed his gloves but was starting to swelter with the heat cranked up.
“Oh, yes, you can turn it down.”
Not wasting a second, he adjusted the temperature. He knew he was going to hell, but he didn’t need to feel like he’d already landed there.
They rode the next few miles in silence, which typically wouldn’t have bothered him, but he couldn’t help wonderingwhat she was thinking. He didn’t do small talk, backstories, or hell, conversation, but he wanted to with her. He wanted to learn everything about Selene.
Because he couldn’t help but look, he watched her from the corner of his eye. She lifted her arm and her hand fluttered, like she would touch her mouth, but she dropped it, looking away and shaking her head slightly. Caught up, he turned his head, watching her. Was she . . . she couldn’t be thinking about the kiss, could she?
His hands clenched around the wheel.
Nope. Doesn’t fucking matter.It wasnothappening again.
“Bo! Look out!”
His gaze snapped forward to find Yumi stopped in front of them. He slammed on the brakes. The tires lost purchase, and they fishtailed.
“Oh my God!” Selene screamed when they came dangerously close to sliding into the guardrail blocking what would’ve been a steep drop-off down a snow-covered slope.
By the time he got the truck under control, his hands shook. He cursed himself for not paying better attention and being too wrapped up in thoughts of her that he had no right thinking. His job was to keep her safe, and he’d almost fucked that up.
Thisis why kissing her is out of the question.
“I’m sorry,” he growled, angry at himself.
Her breathing was rapid enough he heard each expulsion. “I think that scared ten years off my life.” She placed a hand over her breastbone, letting out a strained chuckle. “Did I mention I hate the snow?”
Bo let out a weighty sigh. He loved the snow, but he got it. She hadn’t had any good experiences with it yet. Glancing out the windshield, he tried to see if anything blocked the road, but it seemed like the SUV had just stopped. Shaking his head at thesituation, he told Selene, “I’m going to check on your friend. Do you want to stay here or . . .?”
“I’m coming,” she supplied with a sharp nod.
“Fine.” He’d leave the car running so she’d have the warmth to return to. “Here,” he said, leaning over. He intended to open the jockey box for his spare pair of gloves, but she went rigid as soon as he was in her space.
