Page 16 of Savage Hearts
He lifts a muscular shoulder. “Occasionally.”
“Yeah, me, too. Only when they twist my arm, though. I much prefer working for MI5.”
“Six.”
“Excuse me?”
“MI6 is foreign intelligence operating outside the UK. MI5 is domestic.”
“Oh, right. I always forget. It’s hard sometimes to remember all the different intelligence agencies I spy for.”
“Tell me about it.”
That makes me grin. I love it when people play along with my silly games.
At the end of a long corridor, we stop outside a closed door. Declan leans against the wall, folds his bulging arms over his chest, and smiles down at me. My ovaries sigh in contentment.
“I’ll let you get settled in and give you girls a chance to catch up. If there’s anything you need, just pick up the phone.”
“I don’t have a cell. I’m philosophically opposed to technology that can stalk me.”
“I meant the phone next to your bed.”
When I cock an eyebrow, Sloane says, “It’s the house phone. Tell whoever answers what you want, and they’ll bring it.”
I look back and forth between the two of them. “Who is this person who’ll answer?”
“Whoever’s on shift,” says Declan.
“So, you havestaff,too, not just an army of bodyguards. Kinda likeDownton Abbey,except with guns.”
Declan chuckles. “You’re a lot like your sister.”
“Don’t tell her that. She’ll break off the engagement. Speaking of engagement, Sloane, why aren’t you wearing a ring?”
Declan turns to her and says mildly, “Good question. I can’t wait to hear the answer.”
She rolls her eyes. “Technically, I haven’t said yes yet.”
I almost punch her in the face.
“What?” I holler. “Are you crazy?” I make spokesmodel hands at his overall gloriousness. “He’sasked you to marry him, and you haven’t said yes? What iswrongwith you?”
Stifling a laugh, Declan says, “Amen.”
“Also, hold on a minute, because did you or did you not say you wanted me to visit because you’d be getting married any day? To yourfiancé?”
Exasperated, she says, “Wewillbe getting married any day. When I finally say yes.”
“You act like that makes any kind of sense. Spoiler alert! It doesn’t.”
“I ask her every day if she’ll marry me,” Declan interrupts, his voice throaty. “She always says not yet. But one day soon, she’ll agree, and we’ll go straight to the courthouse and make it official.”
He looks at her with hot, half-lidded eyes.
How she manages to stay upright under that smoldering look and not melt into a flaming puddle of hormones is beyond me.
Indignant, I turn to her. “Are you deliberately leading him on? Because that’s not cool.”
