Page 23 of Under Fire in Big Sky

Dr. Kelly wasn’t pleased that he’d left, but it wasn’t as if the hospital could stop him. Besides, he felt fine, and his intention was to return. He never would’ve left Liv to begin with if she didn’t need her things.

Eli held out the encrypted Iridium phone.

“Thank you. You’re the best.” Liv took the satphone from his hand. Their fingers brushed, and all the chaos and confusion churning inside him stilled at the contact.

His first instinct was to set aside the phone and interlace his fingers with hers, but then his gaze dropped to her lips and the urge to kiss her was overwhelming. He cupped her face and lowered his mouth to hers.

Liv’s lips were so soft, and her breathing hitched as her tongue met his and she pressed a palm to his cheek. The kiss was tentative and gentle. At first. Letting his fingers sink into her hair, he cradled her face and kissed her harder. Deeper.

He didn’t know any other way with Liv.

Don’t be a fool. This is a bad idea.

His brain kicked in, making his throat tighten and his palms itch. She pulled away before he could, like she realized the kiss was a mistake, too. He backed up, lowering his head.

Being near her felt as natural, as vital, as breathing. But he needed to find a way to change it. Was it even possible now that they were going to be linked through a child forever?

Maybe he was going to have to reconsider everything.

Turning around, not able to meet her eyes, he set the luggage down. He entered her usual passcode to open her suitcase, removed her laptop, set it on a bedside table, and plugged it in to charge.

She was watching him, her expression unreadable.

“Put the call on speaker,” he said. “I want to hear what Lauren has to say for herself.”

“Trust me, it won’t be much. The woman rarely explains and never apologizes.”

Eli sniffed the clothes. Fortunately, they didn’t smell like smoke. “We’ll see after I give her a piece of my mind about this assignment.”

He plunked down onto the other bed in the room.

Before he went to the hotel, he informed the doctor he planned to claim it as his for the night. He removed his Stetson, still in pristine condition since he’d left it in the hotel room.

“You can’t say a word,” she said, her eyes gleaming, her complexion a rich golden-brown once again.

The HBOT restored her hemoglobin levels. According to several doctors, Olivia and the baby were going to be fine.

He was going to be a father. Out of all the things he thought she wanted to talk about, things he’d braced himself to hear, that was not one of them.

“I’m serious. Laruen can’t know you’re listening in on the call. Violates protocol.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve broken the rules.”

Liv turned to him and gave him a look that made him want to cross the space separating them and pull her into his arms. Kiss her again. Make love to her one last time.

“This won’t be as much fun.” The corner of her mouth tugged up into a half grin. “Not a peep. Got it?”

He gave her a tired mock salute.

The call went through and was answered on the second ring. “Aegis Strategic Intelligence Group,” a male voice said.

“This is Kestrel,” Olivia said, giving the code name she only used with the home office. He thought it was kind of cool a kestrel was a type of falcon. “Code 333.”

He’d never heard her use those numbers before and tried to think what it could mean.

“Please hold while I transfer your call,” the male voice said.

Hesitant to speak, even if they were supposedly on hold, Eli grabbed the notepad and pen from the side table. He jotted down three dots, three dashes, three dots—Morse code for SOS—added a question mark and showed it to Liv.