Page 52 of Too Guarded to Love

Nic left Olivia speechless as he slid from the cart at the end of the tunnel. Earlier tonight, when she’d brought up a deal, he’d been intrigued. Once he learned it entailed proving the sizzling connection between them was just simple attraction, he couldn’t stop himself from conjuring naked, carnal ways to prove her theory. And now, when she’d explained why she’d kept her identity a secret, not with excuses but from her heart, his defenses melted just enough to take a risk.

Even though he sensed she wasn’t sharing everything about her motivations at the beach, he yearned to know why.

Walking to her side of the cart, he noted the room number the soldier at the door assigned them to and reached for Olivia’s bag.

“Nic, the type of deal I had in mind was just a⁠—”

“Quiet.” He slung her bag over his shoulder and extended his hand.

She sat back and crossed her arm over the sling. “Is that an order too?”

Cocking an eyebrow, he tilted his chin toward the top of the door. “Do you want to have this conversation in front of the cameras?”

He ignored her huff as she took his hand and climbed out. With alert efficiency, born from years of training, he guided her through the tunnel exit and into a brightly lit hallway. Two left turns and another right brought them to a door marked “Suite A.”

He opened it and ushered her through. A small common room held a couch and a couple of recliners. Two open doorways on the back wall led to a bathroom and a bedroom. Nic nudged Olivia to the door on the left and tugged her in. Inside, two beds, barely big enough for one person, stretched against the walls on either side of the room. A footlocker sat at the base of each. A long desk with two chairs took up the area between them.

He dropped Olivia’s bag by the door and slammed it shut. Edgar had given him orders to stick with Olivia, and he planned to follow them to a T. “Now, about finishing what you started.”

“Nic, I…” She bit her lower lip. “I just wanted a kiss so we could realize once and for all that there’s nothing special between us.”

He backed her up against the door, careful of her arm. “Good idea, but too bad for you because we’re going with the deal I’m offering.” He didn’t care about Kane’s warning to stay away from his sister. Maybe an orgasm would demolish his desire into so many particles it would be scientifically impossible for them to merge into a flaming lust storm again. She’d be out of his life soon anyway. She clearly didn’t want any part of life inside VIPER.

“Nic, let me explain.”

He braced his forearms on either side of her head and bracketed her in. “Nope. You’ve explained enough.”

She didn’t retreat from his dominance, and that made him want her even more.

“You’re not being very charming.” She tilted her chin. “Or reasonable.”

“That’s the thing.” He leaned close enough to feel her hot breath ghost over his lips. “I’ve been using my God-given charm all my life to survive. When it comes to women, I’m just playing along. They’re the ones that fall all over themselves to flirt with me.”

“That should sound cocky. Why doesn’t it?”

“Because you know it’s the truth.”

“But you flirted with me. You called me a cute nickname.”

“Baby, there’s nothing cute about the kind of sirena you are.” He twirled a curl around a steel finger. The soft strands felt like a feather and looked like the sun on the darkest day. “You’re beautiful and dangerous and you’ve stolen my ever-loving sanity.”

He grazed his flesh-and-blood knuckles along the waistband of her jeans. His grin felt feral as she sucked in a breath. Even if they were ordered to Level Hell, he wasn’t leaving this room until he’d gotten Dr. Olivia Darren out of his system.

She glanced down as his fingers dipped into denim. “You suck at letting others lead.”

“No, I excel at letting others think they’re leading. As for the sucking part…” He scooped her up and carried her across the small room and deposited her in front of the desk. “I’ll initiate the execution of this deal like a gentleman and get on my knees.”

She snapped her head up. “Wait. What?”

“Silence.” He pressed a finger to her mouth. With a whimper he could barely hear, she opened her lips and touched her tongue to his steel. The sensation shook him harder than the garage explosion. “I mean it, Olivia. The only sounds I want to hear are your moans, begging for more.”

“I won’t beg for a deal I never agreed to.”

Denial had never sounded so sexy. “Oh, you will.”

He skirted his steel hand down her flat stomach and snapped open her jeans. Slowly, as if her brother might not be banging on the door any second, looking for either of them, he pulled the zipper down. Desire thrummed in his body as she shook beneath his hands.

“Nic.”