Page 21 of Gunn's Mission

She placed a lid over the simmering sauce, checked the pot filled with boiling water and noodles, then poured herself a cup of coffee. “You finish with the installations?”

“I did.”

She leaned closer to whisper, “Am I going to be able to see the cameras?”

Gunn’s mouth twitched as he leaned toward her. “No more than you’ve seen the cameras that were already there.”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously?” she hissed.

“As a heart attack.”

“Where?”

“Same places I put mine,” he said, then sat back and gave her a look that said that was all he was going to say. But he was teasing her.

Her frown as she sat back in her chair was fierce but made him grin. After a couple more sips of coffee, she leaned forward again, then arched an eyebrow to tell him silently that their whispered conversation was far from over.

When he bent closer, she asked, “Did you remove the old ones?”

“No.”

She blinked. Then she leaned in again. “Because you don’t want them to know that you know?”

He gave her an approving nod.

“Can they hear us?”

“I’m not sure. I didn’t touch their devices because I didn’t want them to know I found them.”

“So, how are we supposed to talk? Will we have to wait until we’re outside every time?”

“Or in the shower,” he said.

She snorted. “That would look weird.”

He kept a smile from stretching his mouth. Weird to whom? Any man watching would completely understand the desire for a little private time with Maddie.

She eased back in her chair again, and her fingers drummed the table. She appeared irritated. And he could sense her thoughts were racing a hundred miles per hour.

He drank his coffee and waited her out because he knew she wasn’t done with questions. And since he had all the time in the world with no place to go, he waited, enjoying the quiet and the little game they played.

Then he wondered why he’d thought that. What game were they playing?

Well, he was pretending not to be amused and focused on her reactions…to everything. He’d seen the way her face had been alight with pride as she’d shown him around her little icy fiefdom. Pride had shown through in the way she’d talked about the research they were conducting. Maddie was definitely an activist at heart, ready to sign on to causes that would help people and the planet. He had to admire someone with that kind of dedication.

As for the game…? He suspected she might be as interested in him as he was in her. The glances he caught when she didn’t think he was looking had him believing that at least she was attracted to him in a physical sense. So, was all this handholding, the private sightseeing tour, just a way to get to know him better?

The drumming stopped, and she leaned forward again. “Maybe we need an excuse in case someone discovers us in the shower together—when we’re talking privately,” she added quickly.

He pressed his lips together to stop a bark of laughter. Instead, he nodded. “Good idea. What kind of excuse do you have in mind?”

She gave him a baleful glare. “Anyone here, well, the women, anyway, would completely understand why I’d want some alone time with you.”

“Ah,” he said, pretending to have just caught on to her suggestion. “That would work. Any guy would get it—from my perspective—too.”

Her blink told him she hadn’t expected him to find her equally attractive.

The distant sound of the outside door slamming echoed through the building.

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