“I have to go.” She was already walking away.
Jogging, he caught her and took her arm. The speed with which she pulled away, dropped, and swept his legs almost caught him off guard. Almost. Too much training went into the provocative swing of her hips. He hooked his arm around her even as she took out his legs. He went down, but he twisted to take the brunt of her fall. With an elbow jab to his midsection, she broke his hold and rolled to her feet. Not willing to let her go that quickly, he caught her ankle and jerked.
What followed were a series of blows which threatened to emasculate him. He blocked most, and took two. One set his teeth rattling, but he got his arms around her and managed to dodge the head butt to the face. Locking his legs around hers and keeping her arms pinned, he had to cant his head to the side to avoid the jaw-cracking slam of her head to his shoulder. The bruising force hurt.
When she stopped struggling, he didn’t trust her cooperation. “I want to offer you a deal,” he said instead. “A follow up to my earlier suggestion.”
“Apparently, I’m listening.” Anger burst like firecrackers in the handful of syllables. Oh, he’d pissed her off. A kernel of joy settled in the pit of his stomach. If she’d stayed cold and divorced from the situation, he’d have worried she might kill him after the takedown. While she still might, anger gave him a crack in the door—something he could wedge open.
“I’m going to let you go. Idon’twant to hurt you, but I also don’t want you to walk away.”
“Boo hoo for you.”Snark.He could handle snark.
“Don’t be pissy, Copper.” He took a chance and nuzzled her earlobe. A shudder shook her, and he forgot about the fact they sprawled on the grass at the edge of a parking lot or that people dined a few dozen yards away. He forgot about the cars and the rocks digging into his spine. Sherespondedto him. Another piece of information to catalog. Whatever she was into or wasn’t—whatever the hell she had going on—what happened between them was between them. “Seriously,” he said, forcing himself to release her earlobe. “I like you.”
Then, putting his life in her hands, he let her go. She didn’t waste time. She went from being quiescent against him to straddling his chest with a gun pointed at his chin. Her expression was full of cold fury. “You have a really fucked up way of showing it.”
“Do I?” He put his hands on her hips. “I had you, fair and square. Iletyou go.”
“You do realize I could blow your head off, and no one would know, right?” Irritation discolored her words. More tone, more—her, and less the cool operator.
“I do. I’m also trusting you don’t want to.” Since she hadn’t objected to him touching her, he rubbed his palms along her thighs. The gun didn’t move. “Have coffee with me. Let’s do this right.”
“I can’t.” Not didn’t want to, butcan’t.
“All right. Maybe later?”
“I won’t be here later. You need to forget about me, Gabriel.”
He stilled at the use of his name. She made it sound like a caress. He’d pay money to have her say it again. “Not possible. I haven’t forgotten you once in two years, and then I only saw you walk through a room. How the hell do you expect me to do it now?”
With a sigh, she said, “Because if you don’t, it’s going to get ugly for you. I’m bad news, got it?”
“I dealt in bad news, sweetheart. You are anything but bad.” In fact, she was…amazing.And I apparently need my head examined.
“What the hell is wrong with you? Most men aren’t this stubborn.” It seemed she agreed with his conscience.
“I’m not most men.” Sitting, he nudged her back to straddle his waist, then further until her ass rested on his thighs. The gun lowered a fraction, but he left it alone. If she’d planned on killing him, he’d already be dead. Adrenaline surged through his system. He’d forgotten how exhilarating it was to be in the field. His current state, however, had nothing to do with being in the field. “I want to help you.”
He did?
“You do?”
She sounded nearly as skeptical as he felt, but he hadn’t been lying. “I do.” Then, because what the hell else did he have to lose? “I’m pretty sure you’re Special Forces of some kind, and I’m getting the feeling you’re on the job. I spent a lot of years doing what you’re doing. Assets in the field are amazing. I have something you want, or you wouldn’t have been here in the first place.”
After re-engaging the safety, she stood and robbed him of the soft sensation of her ass on his lap. She stowed the gun in her waistband. He’d been right, the shirt hid it neatly. When she extended her hand, he accepted it, but only for the contact. He was perfectly capable of getting to his own feet.
Still holding her hand, he tugged her to him. “My suggestion is you use me.”
“You really are insane.”
“Certifiable.” He grinned. “But only for you.”
“Well, I’m really sorry,” she said, glancing down to where he held her hand.
“Why?”
The blow slammed into the back of his head, and he pitched forward. She caught him, and a distant part of his mind heard irritation in her voice. “Dammit, Merc. You didn’t have to hit him so hard.”