“Especially considering I don’t know your name.”
“Right? Soooo gracious.”
He laughs, then looks at me with a warm kind of suspicion. Like he doesn’t trust me—which he shouldn’t—but he likes me anyway…which I don’t deserve.
I throw a pea pod at him, and he catches it with a grin. “And you’re feeding me instead of handcuffing me to this chair.”
“The cuffs can come out later.”
Spanking, cuffs…I’m picking up the hints he’s laying down, and it’s not the worst idea that’s ever been proposed to me. Except for the minor pesky detail of I’d have no idea what I’m doing once I get naked, and he’d probably be traumatized all over again to find out that his Criminal Goldilocks is an uptight virgin, too.
When I don’t respond to that innuendo-laden suggestion, he shifts gears. “Let’s trade secrets.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Mmm. Tricky.” He rolls his neck. “But I’m good with secrets. The government pays me to have secret level clearance, in fact.”
“I’m better with them. I won’t even tell you who pays me or what my clearance level is.”
He laughs.
I’m not joking.
“Are you hiding from someone?”
That feels safe to answer. “Sort of.”
“Are you in trouble?”
I square my shoulders. “No.”
“You could tell me if you were, and I’d—”
I know he would. I know that deep in my soul, somehow. If I were in trouble, this big, bronze-haired fighting machine would have my back, even though I invaded his private space. “I promise, I’m not in danger.”
“Was I right about all this gear being brand-new?”
I make a face. “Yes.”
“Rookie error.” He shrugs. “Happens to us in basic training, too. So what drove you to buy out the Patagonia store?”
“I just…there’s a lot of pressure on me. And I need a break from that life.”
“And that life is…where?”
“I was in Portland.” Only for a few days, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“How did you get here?”
“Uber.”
He chokes. “That’s an expensive ride share.”
“I have a lot of problems. Money is not one of them.” Lie number…I’ve lost count.