Page 27 of Callen's Captive
“I guess.” She let out a long and tired sigh as she wiggled to get comfortable.
He enjoyed having her head in his lap as she tried to sleep. Her presence definitely relaxed him. His hand wandered to her hair. She stilled for a moment as he petted her and then relaxed. The texture was as soft as the rest of her. Between her scent and the feel of her beneath his palm, he was getting aroused. They’d be good together, really good.
“Finally, we agree on something,” he said even as his cock stirred. He needed a distraction as his mind kept wandering to how much he’d like to peel her clothing off and taste her in every way.
“How long have you been waiting to say that?” she asked.
Those dark brown eyes of hers held a trust he hadn’t seen yesterday. God, he hoped he wouldn’t fail her. “Too long. Now, go to sleep.”
Several minutes later, her eyes remained wide open, but now she was staring at the wall. “Can’t sleep?” he asked.
“Thinking about how the WSSO has probably burned all my safe houses to the ground, or at least the stuff I left in them. It will take time to get a new passport after I create another false identity for myself.”
He frowned. “You mean Kate’s not your name?”
“It is, but that’s not what I had listed on my passports.”
“How many passports did you have precisely?”
She counted in her head for a second. “Ten. No, eleven.”
He raised a brow. “Paranoid much?”
She jammed her elbow in his thigh as she sat up, to which he jokingly grunted in pain. She laughed, carefree and pure Kate. He wished she’d laugh more, not carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. Maybe soon she’d let him in, so he could get to know the real Kate, the vulnerable one that didn’t hide her weaknesses from him.
“The WSSO has a long reach. I have passports issued from countries they’ve either been banned or are under extreme scrutiny. Sweden, Germany, U.K., Israel, Japan, Canada, and a few others, including Russia.”
Yep, she was like Damien. A long-term planner, with contingencies and safeguards in place. “I have a place you can go, somewhere off the grid where you’ll be protected twenty-four seven.”
“Very few places are off the grid.”
“My pack is. Our territory is west of here, near Devil’s Peak. No computers or cameras. No interference by the government or the outside world. We keep to ourselves and we protect our territory. We protect what is ours.”
Kate shivered, and he drew her close to warm her. The feel of her breasts against his chest, how well her body molded to his side was adding to those ideas he’d had earlier, ideas he shouldn’t have, least of all out here in the middle of a damn storage locker. There was an ease he felt with Kate that he didn’t feel with anyone else. It was as if he could relax and fully be himself with her, not worry about keeping up a show of strength and cunning he needed as the pack’s enforcer.
She tilted her head back, and he couldn’t pass up the invitation. His lips pressed against hers. He nearly lost himself in her warmth, her sweet taste, and all that was his Kate.
“I can’t,” she said, breaking the kiss and getting to her feet. Then he was right there, standing behind her, one hand on her arm lightly turning her to face him. A single finger beneath her chin had her watching him with wide eyes. He didn’t like the sorrow he saw there.
“Any place but the woods, Callen.”
Oh, so it wasn’t the kiss that had disturbed her. That was good. “What’s wrong with the woods?”
“I. . . I just can’t.” She started shaking, and she hugged herself.
His hand glided along her arm. “Hell, Kate, you’re like ice.” He stripped out of the dark green button-down shirt he was wearing and draped it over her shoulders.
“Hey, that’s not the clothing I bought for you.”
Her gazed traveled the length of him, taking in the too-short jeans and dockers. There hadn’t been a huge selection at that house he broke into, but it was better than walking through town naked. “I forgot to strip before shifting.”
“Ooh, stripping. Do I get a show at some point?” She waggled her eyebrows.
“That could be arranged,” he said, not bothering to hide his smile.
“Do you strip professionally?” Her question had turned serious.
“Me? Strip for money?” Wouldn’t that make Blade bust a gut laughing?
