Page 11 of Sawyer
Her bathroom door was wide open. It wasn't large, and the shower curtain was clear. She wasn't hiding in there. When he opened the door beside the bathroom, he found a coat closet-sized room completely filled with a stacked washer and dryer.
That left her bedroom, so, once again, knocking on the door, he took a step inside. He canvased the room, looking everywhere he could think of for her, but she was nowhere to be found.
Where the hell was she? Re-entering the main room, he stood still and listened. Muffled sobs came from the TV room area. She had hidden behind the sofa. Clever girl.
Standing at the end of the sofa, he made sure to tell her what he was doing before he did anything. "Lele, it's me, Saul. From the video bar? I've been there every night this week, and you've served me beer. Remember? I never meant to scare you, little one. I'd like to move the couch away from the wall a bit so you have more room. I promise not to touch you."
He gave it a count of five, and when she didn't object, he slid the end of the couch closest to him away from the wall. Stepping back, he moved so she could see him.
Even though she was the mark for this op, he felt like a first class shit for scaring her. She sat huddled in the far corner with her knees at her chest and her face on her knees. He could barely see two black ears sticking out to the side under her neck. He was glad she had her stuffie. Hopefully, it would help her calm down.
He continued to speak in a calm, soothing voice. At least he tried. "I'm not coming any closer. I'm just going to sit down here with you until you calm down." With that, he slid his back down the wall and sat at the end of the sofa.
Patience was a skill he learned well as a special forces operative. He practiced that now, even though it was hard, and prayed he hadn't ruined the whole op.
It took a few agonizing moments, but eventually, she glanced up at him. The second her gaze locked on his, he knew he was a goner. And he knew she felt something, too. He saw it in the flash of surprise that softened her breathing and painted a slow flush across her cheeks.
It disappeared a second later when she groaned, low and miserable, and buried her face back against her knees. Her arms wrapped tighter around herself before she clasped her hands behind her head in pure mortification. “Please tell me that did not just happen.”
He crouched beside her, careful to keep his movements slow and measured, like he would with a wounded kitten. That’s what she reminded him of, an adorable, frightened kitten. “I’d like to,” he said, voice pitched low with just enough Daddy in it to anchor her. “But I can’t lie to you. Thatdidhappen. And by the way, you did the right thing.”
Her head didn’t budge, but he kept going.
“I’m the one who screwed up. I should’ve never come at you from behind. I’ve trained female soldiers to react exactly like you did.” Well, sort of. The women he’d trained would have kicked him in the nuts. “You got out, got safe, and left me stunned like a damn rookie. I’m really impressed.”
Slowly, cautiously, she peeked up at him again. And that’s when he noticed her eyes. Not just brown. Warmer. Sharper. Russet and fire and the kind of depth that could undo a man if he let it.
His throat tightened.
Damn, he wanted to kiss her. Just lean in, close the distance, and taste the chaos and courage still clinging to her skin.
But he didn’t.
He couldn’t.
She was still shaking with fear. A fearhe’dcaused. And even if she wasn’t, she was off-limits and needed to stay that way. There were too many lines already blurring between them in his head.Stepping over this one wouldn’t just burn bridges, it would jeopardize everything he was trying to do for Jaxson.
So, he crouched there, silent, watching her. Letting the ache coil tight and low in his chest like it had a damn right to live there. Because, like it or not, it now did. It moved in the second she looked at him like he wasn’t a monster made of past sins and sharp edges.
He had to move. Now. Before he did something reckless. Before he forgot the reason he’d come in the first place and leaned in to taste the one thing he sure as hell wasn’t allowed to want.
Pushing off the floor, he stood. “If you’re okay,” he said, voice rough, “I’m gonna go. I’ve already done enough damage for one day.”
But because he was an idiot who’d never learned how to stop when it mattered, he added, “And don’t touch that mower again, babygirl. I mean it. Your lawn’s mine as long as I’m here. Got it?”
Her gaze snapped to his, those molten brown eyes wrapping around his chest. She stared at him. No fear, no anger, just a quiet confusion that everything in him wanted to explain away.
He should’ve looked away. Should’ve walked out before he made it worse. But he waited, frozen in place, like her answer had the power to break him.
And when she finally gave the smallest nod, he turned on his heel and got the hell out.
Because if he didn’t, he’d kiss her.
And if he kissed her, he wouldn’t stop there.
And that? That would ruin everything.
CHAPTER 5
