Page 46 of Damned
He seemed to be arming himself by rote. By the time he finished, Kruze was a walking armory that didn’t include, what Bree assumed, were the dozen or so pre-loaded magazines he’d stuffed in his pockets. But Lord, watching him strap on all those weapons was one of the hottest things she’d ever seen. This handsome man knew precisely what he was doing, and those lethal weapons were merely extensions of himself. He was like the guy in RoboCop, that old cyberpunk action film she’d never watched because she’d thought shows like that were juvenile. Her dad loved it, though. She might have to dig up a copy and give it a second chance.
“You need all those guns?” she asked, licking her dry lips at the totally masculine spectacle at her side. Why did Kruze arming himself trigger her innermost feminine responses? She was no helpless ninny, and he was no caveman. Err… Well… Maybe he was.
“Boy Scout motto, always be prepared,” he answered with a cocky grin. “Works for SEALs, too.”
“Why? Are we going into a warzone?”
“Sure as hell hope not.” He held out a small, pearl-handled gun, grip first. “Want one? You never know when it’ll come in handy.”
Bree shook her head, her palms up. “No thanks. I’ll leave the killing to you.”
He hadn’t stopped grinning. “You’re sure?” There was that bright-eyed, wide-open look on his face again. His laugh lines had turned into sunrays. She could’ve sat there and watched him all day. There was mischief in those eyes, especially when his hair fell over his face. But there was temptation, too.
“Positive. You’re the one who’s protecting me, remember?”
“Oh, sugar, how could I forget you?” The sly way he said that sounded like a come-on, and those cool greens were sucking her in, like they always did. Man, this guy had a lot of nerve. It had to stop.
“Easy.” Bree focused on fastening her harness, instead of how sexy Kruze looked smiling and handling all those deadly weapons. “You’ve never had a problem forgetting me before.”
That brought the lighthearted banter to a dead stop. Or so Bree thought. Suddenly, his wide body was inside the plane with her. One hand pushed her back into her molded seat, his mouth was in her ear, his breath hot, and his other hand squeezed her knee.
“That’s the problem, sugar. I never forgot you,” he whispered hoarsely, his too-long-for-Navy bangs hanging in his face. “Tried, but couldn’t. Yeah, I might not’ve recognized you in Turkey, but what the hell did you expect? You were in pretty bad shape then. Your blue eyes were black, and your peaches-and-cream complexion was mottled with bruises instead of sprinkled with cinnamon freckles. You’d dyed your hair this disgusting dish-water blonde, and you were thin as a rail, for fuck sakes. You looked nothing like the pretty redhead I remembered, and it was dark as shit in that cave.”
“You had a flashlight,” she reminded him, her heart throbbing at the lethality of his presence. Kruze seemed so much larger when he was angry. Lord, she wanted to run her fingers through his hair, then slap him, then kiss him. Then slap him again.
“Yeah, and I kept it out of your face, as much as I could. Should I have blasted that LED beam at you? Blinded you to double-check the color of your eyes, just because there was something familiar about you? That would’ve given you away, sure. I’d have known exactly who you were then. But you were so damned hurt, and I was trying to help by not scaring you more than I already had. Is that why you’re treating me like shit today? Just because I left as soon as that mission concluded? Kee-rist, Bree! Is that why you don’t want to go with me? Not even if I’m damned sure going to save yours and Robin’s lives, and end that bastard Berfende? Because that’s a gawddamned given, Bree. That asshat is nothing but a dead man walking.”
Bree dropped her gaze, her mouth devoid of saliva, and her heart racing like a runaway horse. There was too much fire between them, and even angry, Kruze was still charming the pants off of her. The power emanating off him was volcanic, so damned hot, and she was dripping wet. But he was right. Since the moment he’d rescued her from Josephus, all he’d done had been aimed at getting her safely aboard that rescue chopper. He was doing the same thing now, keeping everyone safe and promising to finish Berfende, once and for all.
Flaming embarrassment crept up her neck, even as her core wept for him. In that cave, he’d used his LED flashlight to remove the glass shards from her rear end. She’d been embarrassed, but he’d given her his jacket, for the love of God, and survived the cold night, while she’d slept in warmth and comfort for the first time in months. In every way, he’d put her first. But here she was, acting like a jilted lover instead of the intelligent woman she used to be. Why couldn’t she get away from the fool she’d devolved into when she’d been inside that deep, dark hole? Everywhere she went, the darkness still stalked her. Heck, she was carrying it with her, but she had no idea how to let it go!
“I… I over-reacted, I’m s-s-sorry,” she stuttered.Again and again, I’m sorry for everything!
Kruze eased down to one knee, his index finger on her lips, stopping the vicious rant building up inside her like steam inside that stupid, damned teapot. She was so close to exploding, spewing every last one of her worthless good intentions into his face. If only he’d kiss her.
“Shush, sugar, shush,” he murmured, his anger turned to gentleness that brought tears to her eyes. This was the man she’d fallen in love with, this gentle, caring, considerate beast. Why didn’t he stay with her in Paris? Why’d had he left her there like she was nothing?
“Please stop saying you’re sorry,” Kruze begged. “You have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing that happened was your fault. You’re just tired, and you need a good long rest. You haven’t recovered from Turkey, not at all. That’s what I hope you can do today, Bree, just rest. That’s why Robin went with her grandparents, not with us. You’re ready to drop, anyone can see that. Please, let me take care of you this one last time.”
Bree bowed her head, afraid if she kept looking at him she’d burst into a fountain of tears. “B-b-but, you should’ve told me where Robin was going.” Damn it, she would not play the stupid, obedient female. Not this time. “You should’ve told me!”
His hand moved to her cheek, the pad of his thumb softly skating over the bottom lip she was biting. His palm was so warm and... and nice. He forced her chin up, his green eyes shining through his dark, shiny bangs. “You’re right, I should have. That was wrong of me, and I’m sorry. I was so caught up in getting you and Robin to safety, that I jumped the gun. I made decisions without asking you, and I should have. I apologize.”
Lord, he was good at being a bad boy. “It’s okay,” she whispered begrudgingly, her voice hoarse and her head spinning at his nearness.Please kiss me. I really want you to. I need you, I do.
Instead Kruze leaned in and pressed his lips to the middle of her forehead. “You’ll see. The house I’m taking you to is off the grid, and it’s large enough for both of us. You won’t even know I’m there. I won’t bother you after we arrive.”
Her nostrils flared at the sweet, musky scent of this over-heated male. As much as she’d tried to hate him, Bree wanted Kruze. “Okay,” she breathed, his lips so close, she could almost taste them.
By then, Bruce was back at the door, waiting. With one last squeeze, Kruze backed out of the plane and stepped away from her. He shook hands with Bruce in one of those forearm-to-forearm guy-handshakes. Bruce handed Kruze a clipboard and a headset, and they walked to the rear of the plane. They were running through their pre-flight safety checklist. Kruze meant to fly this plane? Bree should’ve known.
With her heart still pounding at that close, almost intimate encounter, Bree’s mind skipped to Robin. Where was she now? In a plane? In that TEAM SUV talking a mile a minute with Persia? Never in Bree’s life had she felt so old, cold, and weary. So lonely. The last few months had done her in. Tipping her head to the narrow window-pane, Bree inhaled a cleansing breath, then breathed it slowly out. She was exhausted on so many levels. Not suicidal. Just hopeless.
The plane’s door slamming shut startled Bree awake. She’d dozed off. Bruce was nowhere to be seen, and Kruze was now in the pilot’s seat, strapping in, checking instruments, flipping switches, and doing whatever pilots did. Lifting one arm over his head, he handed her a headset without turning around. “This’ll dampen the noise. Put it on, and we’ll be able to talk.”
“Thanks,” Bree said as, once again, she did as she was told. That had to change.
“You want to come up front with me? Better view from the cockpit.”
“No, I’m good where I am. I’m going to take a nap. Tell me when we get there.”
He shrugged, as if it made no difference to him.
The twin engines revved, and the plane taxied to the opposite end of the little runway. When Kruze pushed the steering thing forward, the plane lifted smoothly into the air, and Bree was doing it. Flying in the opposite direction of the child she adored.
If that didn’t break her heart, nothing could.
