Page 77 of Too Guarded to Love

“You’re making it hard to go back.”

Nic slapped his beret on his thigh as he stood in the hall in MedLab and waited for Olivia to finish getting ready for the president’s birthday party. He was such a chickenshit. What his response to her should have been when she’d said those words last night was, “Don’t go. Stay with me forever.”

He hadn’t been joking or charming when he said he couldn’t stop thinking about her while he’d been away. Now he couldn’t stop thinking about how she felt about him beyond wanting to “explore their connection.”

The connection didn’t need exploring. He damn well knew it was there and what it meant. Its power hadn’t lessened at all with distance. Even across an ocean, he’d still felt her hold on him.

He dropped his head and laughed. Fuck if he didn’t love it.

“I’m ready.”

The ability to speak retreated as he lifted his gaze. Was this how sailors who had been at sea for months had felt when they spotted a mermaid on the rocks?

He blinked, the sirena before him didn’t disappear. She wasn’t a myth. She was real, breathtaking in her strapless gown—the color of a clear blue sea, hugging her curves—all his, even if she hadn’t realized it yet.

He took her hand. “If I were in the Navy, I’d say you look like every sailor’s dream. But I’m a soldier, so I’ll have to stick with this.” He brought her palm to his lips. “You look simply stunning.”

She let go of him and spun. “I thought you might like it.”

“Your eyes are the same color as the dress.” He picked up a thick curl of hair that rested on her shoulder and twirled it around his finger. “I can’t wait to dance with you tonight.”

She tucked her little silver purse under her arm. “Ooh, do you think there’ll be dancing? I hope so.”

“I have no idea, but I was talking about a private dance when we got back.”

Chris yelled from down the hall to move their asses.

Nic offered his arm. “Shall we, Doctor Darren?”

“Yes, Captain Romero, we shall.”

A half hour later, he stood next to Kane in the White House ballroom surrounded by his VIPER family, the president and the First Lady, and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In a few hours, once the party was over, they’d demo the wearable weaponry to the folks who funded it. Anticipation coursed through his veins, but he wasn’t thinking about the presentation.

Kane sidled up next to him. “Stop staring at my sister like that.”

“Sorry, hermano. I can’t.”

He tensed as he waited to face the consequences for speaking the truth.

Kane slapped him on the back of the head. “Dude, watching you look at my twin with those pathetic puppy-dog eyes is gross. If you’re going to date my sister, cut that shit out in front of me.”

Nic jerked his head up. “You’re okay with us dating?”

“You heard me.”

Nic eyed his brother, waiting for some sort of caveat. “You’re not afraid I’m going to break her heart?”

“Not anymore.” He glanced at Beth. “Based on the way you watch her like she’s your entire world, and the look on your face when you think she’s in trouble, like you’d take on the entire Diablo cartel by yourself to protect her, is how I imagine I look at the woman I love.”

As if she knew they were talking about her, Olivia turned from her conversation with the First Lady and smiled at him from across the empty dance floor.

The connection between them sparked into a flaming tether that snaked through the ballroom. President Bradley was going to be pissed if it burned down the White House.

Olivia half listened to the First Lady and one of the Joint Chiefs debate who was going to win the Army vs. Navy football game this year.

As promised, Nic had danced her breathless, but not as breathless as he’d made her when she first saw him in his dress uniform. If the Army put him on a recruiting poster, females would flock to enlist for the chance of being stationed with his unit.

Her dad would have approved of the spit and polish jacket that spread across his broad shoulders and hugged the delectable V of his torso. Well, he wouldn’t admire the body underneath like she did, but he would respect the medals and ribbons hanging on Nic’s chest and appreciate the crease in his pants that rivaled the sharp shine of his shoes.