Page 38 of Assassin's Game
“She’s amazing.” Eli turned his head to look at me, eyes dark. “She was kidnapped a couple of months ago, and she still has problems with strangers, but she’s getting there.”
Brooke’s laughter turned to squeals, and we both chuckled as we watched Diesel lick Brooke’s bare toes under the table.
“You raised Maris,” Eli said, still watching Brooke.
“How did you know that?”
“Deduction.” He shrugged. “Her mom died in childbirth, but I didn’t see any mention of another adult.”
“Just me,” I agreed. I went back to my salad but noticed Eli didn’t move, didn’t attempt to make his own. The silence between us built as I waited for him to speak, and a warm flush crept up my neck and onto my cheeks. Finally I risked a sideways glance.
Eli was staring—at me.
“What?” I gathered my bowl and plate, silverware, but couldn’t step away without looking at him again. “Eli?”
He shook his head. “I was just…” Another shrug showcased the thick muscles beneath his thin T-shirt. “I was trying to figure out what it is about you.”
The thump of my heartbeat got harder against my ribs. “What do you mean? What is what about me?”
He turned, leaning a hip against the counter as he continued to stare. “Every time I look at you, it’s like a fucking magnet,” he said slowly, a vee digging between his brows, “pulling me back time and again. I noticed it at the restaurant. Couldn’t stop thinking about it. About you. And now…”
Every drop of moisture in my mouth went dry, only I didn’t have a drink to wet it again. Every cell in my body screamed at me to run, hide, get away—and yet… “Now…what?”
“Now I know about you—a little of what you’ve been through, what you do, how you love your team.”
“They’re my family.” The amber glow of his gaze had me dropping mine.
Why was I looking at the floor? I wasn’t shy. I didn’t lack strength or confidence—maybe had a little too much sometimes, actually. And yet that look… God. It was his intensity, the way his gaze crawled inside me and uncovered things I didn’t want to think about, didn’t want to feel. Especially right now.
I couldn’t bear it; Eli Agozi was too much. Too big a threat—to me, personally, my emotions, my thoughts. He pulled me down paths I couldn’t afford to follow. Mere hours in his presence and I knew—
He was the biggest risk I couldn’t afford to take.
Eli’s calluses rasped my skin as he trailed a finger along my jaw, down to my chin. Up to the hollow just below my mouth. My tongue darted out before I made a conscious decision, wetting my dry lips. Coming so close to tasting him.
Stop! Step away, Nix. Don’t let him close.
But my feet didn’t move. And Eli’s stare…
I sucked in a huge breath.
“I don’t think it’s only that they became your family, though it’s partly that. It’s also just who you are, Beautiful.” That blunt finger tapped lightly before dropping. Eli leaned close until his nose barely brushed mine.Too close.“You fascinate me, Mikaela. I’m not sure why, and I’m sure as hell not certain where it will end, but I do know one thing: it’s gonna be a hell of a ride.” He nudged my nose, one side of his mouth tugging up. “I can’t wait.”
He moved around me while I stood, my mouth gaping open like a fish. A blast of cold air hit my back as he opened the fridge, but it wasn’t till the door closed and I realized he was about to return to the counter that I managed to unlock my knees and bolt for the table. The whole time we ate, every bite I took, every word that was spoken around me registered on automatic—all I could think about was hiding the churning going on inside me.
Because that magnet he’d talked about? It was a two-way street. And just the thought ofridingignited a roar of heat inside me.
Fucking A. I was in so much trouble.
OceanofPDF.com
Chapter Seventeen
Eli —
In the past two days, we’d made certain the plan was as ready as we could get it. Mikaela’s team had bunked in the basement, though we’d slept in shifts and worked through most of the night. We’d packed our equipment, checked weapons, and armed ourselves in preparation. There was just one thing we needed to do before we left—see Levi.
“We’re going upstairs,” I told the room at large, but my gaze was on Mikaela. She returned the stare, something swirling in the depths that I couldn’t put a name to. Only when she gave me a nod did I turn away.
