Page 12 of Exposed

“Touché.” She stared at the center of his chest, frowning. “I am sorry about that.”

“It’s okay. I’ve learned to roll with the punches over the years. Not much rattles me now.” He shifted slightly, careful not to step on her toes. “That’s what makes a SEAL so useful. Adaptability.”

“Is it hard for you, being home on leave, away from all the action and your team?” Beth looked up at him, her eyes reflecting the soft colored lights strung from the ceiling and her expression pensive. If he leaned in a bit closer, he could capture her lipsin another kiss, see if she tasted as sweet as he remembered, trace his tongue over her pink mouth, down her neck, into that shadowed valley between her breasts and…

Whoa. He cleared his throat and looked anywhere but at her. “It’s fine. After I got shot, the surgeon said I needed surgery and a few weeks to heal, or I’d risk permanent muscle and nerve damage. I can’t say I haven’t gotten restless, sitting around staring at the TV all day, but I’m handling it. Helps to know I’ll be back with my team in a few weeks. Makes me feel less useless.”

“You’re not useless. Not to me, anyway.” Her gaze flickered over his face. “Will you answer a curious reporter’s question?”

“I probably can’t stop you from asking, so sure, go ahead.” He smiled at her.

“What was it like, getting shot? I know you can’t talk about specific, mission-related details. Heath reminds me of that all the time. But…just in general. Was it scary? Or were you too caught up in what you were doing to even have a chance to react?” Her hand moved to his left shoulder, and he shivered beneath her gentle touch. She froze, looking up at him. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”

“No,” he croaked out, though there was a definite ache starting in his balls. Thankfully, the song ended, and an announcement was made that dinner was served. Before he led Beth to their table, he said, “I didn’t see it coming. One second I was fine, then just a beat later, my shoulder was on fire. Then the next thing I remember, I woke up in the medical unit. Sorry. That’s probably a pretty boring story for a gal like you, but it’s the truth.”

“I suspect there’s more, but I’ll wait until you’re ready to tell me.”

“I look forward to being interrogated.” He kept his tone light as he led her off the dance floor, but he knew the conversation wasn’t over. As they dug into the crisp veggies of their salads, Beth kept glancing his way, her assessing looks leaving him feeling decidedly unsettled. Which for a guy like him, who’d faced down snipers and lived to tell the tale, was odd to say the least. But there was something about Beth that left him twisted around and breathless and bothered in the best possible way. That also left him ready to spill his secrets and invite her to see the real him.

And that was the worst part of all this.

Beth was Heath’s sister. And yeah, they were both adults, but he didn’t want to go behind his best bud’s back like that. Heath had called him to look in on Beth, not to get involved with her. He was there as cover, as her protector, as her partner. Not as her lover. He needed to keep his head in the game and his heart out of the picture. Because his instincts said if he didn’t, this thing between them could be far more dangerous to the well-constructed barriers around his heart than any battlefield.

8

Beth spent the next morning uploading the photos she’d taken the day prior and emailing them to her editor, along with an update on what she and Eric had found so far, which wasn’t much. All she’d learned was that the resort was obsessed with WiFi, and that the reviews might not actually be a match for the guests’ experiences. They’d hung around the main building after dinner, hoping to overhear conversations between guests or staff, but it had all been a bust. The whole thing was frustrating as hell.

Maybe today, she’d find something…or so she thought until she consulted the schedule. Rock climbing was on the agenda for the morning. That didn’t seem like much of an opportunity to learn anything.

She tried to find her positive attitude as she changed into bike shorts and a tank top, put on her hiking boots, then met Eric outside. He looked more relaxed today than he had the night before, but no less gorgeous. He’d gone for a swim and run earlier, and his hair was still damp from his shower. The slick dark strands were combed back away from his face, highlightinghis high cheekbones and chiseled jaw. Man. If only he wasn’t her brother’s best friend, she’d be all over him like plastic wrap on leftovers.

As it was though, she was glad to have some physical exertion to help burn off her excess adrenaline. From the way Eric seemed to be chomping at the bit to get going, she would guess he felt the same. Or maybe he was always like this. How would she know? They were still fundamentally strangers, no matter how close she felt to him.

They walked up the boardwalk to the beach then followed the path up to the main building where the rest of the couples were gathering. This was another group activity, same as the therapy session the day before. The resort brochure called it “holistic intervention,” but Beth figured the benefits really boiled down to fresh air and sunshine and hard work. Period. A chance to get it all out there and build teamwork, since each couple climbed the cliff face together.

As she and Eric waited to board the shuttle that would take them to the far side of the island where the climb would take place, Beth couldn’t help noticing that Eric hadn’t really said more than two words to her since they’d returned from the party last night.

In fact, he seemed to be avoiding her altogether, if his averted gaze was any indication.

Never one to be ignored, Beth couldn’t let it alone. “What’s wrong, honey?”

Using the endearments still felt a bit strange, but repetition was good. With all the other couples so close by, they couldn’t afford to blow their cover now anyway.

Eric stared off into the distance and shook his head. “Nothing. Why?”

“Because you’re doing your level best to pretend I’m not here, that’s why.”

“That’s not true,” he said, putting his hand on her lower back as the line moved forward. “I’m just concentrating on the mission.”

“Really?” Something smelled around there, and it wasn’t manure from the composted flower beds either. “Is this about the ball last night? Because if you’re embarrassed about your dancing, I can tell you that it wasn’t that bad. I mean, I’ve seen some awful dancers in my time, like my last boyfriend, Devon. Guy couldn’t find the beat if his life depended on it. One time, we were at a friend’s wedding a woman actually asked him if he was having a seizure. It was that bad. So, if?—”

“It wasn’t the dancing, okay?” he said as they neared the door to the shuttle. He raised the mirrored aviator shades he was wearing to rest them on top of his head, and she got her first look at his warm brown gaze. The emotions lurking there—lust, loneliness, want, wariness—made her breath catch. Okay then. Definitely not the dancing making him so squirrelly. An answering heat rose inside her as well, causing moisture to gather in her core as she was struck by the certainty that he wanted her. The knowledge felt so forbidden and so fantastic. It had been so long, too long, since a man had looked at her like that.

Not since Devon. Stupid, selfish Devon.

He’d been her first long-term boyfriend in college and their relationship had been fine at first. At least until he’d received a job offer in Manhattan right before graduation, shortly afterBeth had accepted her first internship with a huge newspaper in Seattle. Devon just assumed she’d quit and give up everything to follow him to the East Coast. He’d been wrong. She’d loved him, yes, but she’d had dreams of her own to chase—and she couldn’t do that while following after him. They’d fought. The thing that really clinched it for her, though, were his words during their last brutal argument. He’d said that it shouldn’t matter if she quit now, since she’d eventually give it all up anyway to get married and have kids.

Such. An. Idiot.

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