Interesting.
And…fuck him…also arousing.
Walt tried to push all thoughts of sex out of his head. Something he didn’t usually have a problem with.
Today? The struggle was real.
Walt opened the door for Jakob and Annalise, then stepped in behind them, finally addressing Annalise’s earlier comment about the existence of the Pharmacy Museum. “This place is very real. According to the article I read about it, it’s a chemical odyssey. How could we miss it?” he joked.
Jakob glanced around, unimpressed. “Very easily.”
Annalise laughed as Walt said, “Was that humor, Jakob?”
Jakob narrowed his eyes, but there was no heat behind the look.
For the next two hours, Walt and his traveling companions toured the museum, pleased when they both got into the spirit of the place, asking intelligent questions and approaching each exhibit with the same enthusiasm he felt. The museum was every bit as cool as the article he’d read about it, a true journey through the medicinal past of Poland. When he’d suggested they tour the museum, he’d planned to put them out of their misery quickly, stealing as much time as he dared before setting them free.
Neither Annalise nor Jakob gave the appearance of boredom. In fact, it was Walt who’d had to move Annalise along from the medical implements exhibit.
Once they were back on the street, they meandered around Old Town—this was clearly the part of the visit Annalise had been looking forward to—taking in the shops and sights until Annalise suggested they grab something to eat.
Apparently Walt hadn’t been the only one to do a little Krakow research prior to their trip. Annalise suggested a restaurant she’d found online that she wanted to try, so they headed to Bunkier Sztuki. Thanks to the—relatively—warm January weather, they grabbed a table out on the large patio where sunlight and small heaters kept them comfortable. From here, they had an excellent view of Planty Park. They ordered a falafel and hummus plate to share as well as coffee. Annalise had looked around, delighted, admitting that before Eric and Walt had shown up in Frankfurt, it had been years since she’d actually eaten in a restaurant.
“Whoa,” Walt said after tasting the falafel. “That is seriously good. You have to try this.” Walt dipped a piece of falafel in the tahini sauce and held it out to Annalise, who leaned forward, accepting the bite from his fingers.
Her lips brushed his fingertips, and Walt stilled for a moment, his mind traveling over all the other places on his body he wanted to feel her lips. Annalise’s gaze connected with his for just a moment, and he realized he wasn’t alone in his attraction.
“That is good,” she said, her voice suddenly husky and sexy as hell. “Jakob should try it too.”
Walt nodded, then slowly reached for another piece of falafel. He turned to Jakob and held it out. He wasn’t sure what he expected, but it certainly wasn’t what happened.
Jakob, like Annalise, leaned forward, allowing Walt to feed it to him. Neither Walt nor Jakob looked away from each other, the moment so sexually charged, Walt forgot to breathe.
“I want to go back to the hotel,” Annalise whispered, her voice so quiet, Walt wasn’t certain he’d heard her correctly.
He and Jakob both turned to look at her, the Ritter’s gaze suddenly alarmed, as if he feared Annalise had been frightened by something.
Walt blew out a long, slow breath, muttering a softly spoken, “Damn.”
Annalise wasn’t afraid of a damn thing, and she wasn’t retreating to the hotel to hide.
“Now,” she added, her voice stronger, sexier…hungrier.
Walt rose from the table without hesitation. It took Jakob longer to react, but not much longer.
“I think that’s a good idea,” Walt said. “How do you say ‘check, please’ in Polish?”
Jakob turned his attention to their server, staring hard. The man stiffened and hurried over.
“Huh, that was a nice trick,” Walt said. His stare didn’t make people react like prey being hunted.
“It was this or yell ‘dick’,” Jakob murmured.
Annalise snorted in surprised amusement while Jakob paid the bill. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Nine
Annalise glanced at the couch where Jakob had slept the previous night. It had taken every bit of willpower she possessed not to suggest that they share the bed. Instead, she’d tossed and turned restlessly and spent most of the night fantasizing about what it would be like to have him there with her, while Jakob did what he always did—protected her.
Walt followed them in and the fact that he was there, in their room, made the attraction from the restaurant seem all too real. Flirting in public was one thing; being alone in a hotel room with two large, handsome men was something else. It had been so long since she’d flirted, always holding back her feelings—out of fear and guilt. She’d stopped denying her attraction to Jakob to herself a year ago, but given his role as her bodyguard, she hadn’t allowed herself to act on it.
After all, what if he didn’t feel the same?
For the foreseeable future, his life was tied to hers. He’d done so much for her, she simply couldn’t bear the thought of making him uncomfortable. Wasn’t it enough that he’d given up countless nights, remaining with her, keeping her safe?
Jakob had never once complained, so selfless, giving, wonderful.
The stalker had taken so much from her. Not only had he stolen her convictions, her instincts that had made her a good profiler, he’d also robbed her of her confidence as a woman.
Before her life had imploded, she’d taken more than a few lovers to her bed. She’d enjoyed the physical as well as the emotional aspects of attraction and desire.
Given her membership in the Masters’ Admiralty, she’d kept her affairs short, not wanting to give any of her former lovers the wrong idea about a possible future between them. Her spouses weren’t hers to choose, but while she was single, she’d very much enjoyed the flirtatious dance prior to inviting a man home with her for a night, maybe more.
It had been years since she’d let herself go, let herself truly feel anything real, hopeful, sensual. Today with Walt and Jakob, it was as if she’d found Annalise again. And she realized how much she’d missed her.
Walt put a hand on her shoulder, and she jumped, so lost in her thoughts about them, she wasn’t paying attention to them.
His palm slid down her arm, fingertips stroking the sensitive skin of her palm before he took her hand in his.
Slowly, Walt raised their joined hands and kissed her fingers. It was a dry, closemouthed kiss that shouldn’t have made her feel such intense desire. He parted his lips, placing a damp, openmouthed kiss first on the back of her hand, and then on the inside of her wrist.
When he did, she realized the desire she’d been feeling was only a pale shadow of what desire could be. It had been so long.
God…so long.
She looked up from Walt’s bent head, her gaze colliding with Jakob’s. His jaw was clenched, his eyes bright with a feeling that—despite how well she knew him—she could not name.
But then again, did she know him?
She’d never even been to his house before this week, and that experience had been eye-opening. Seeing his home was what had provoked her feelings of hope today. Because it had been the first indication—God, please let it be an indication—that her feelings were not one-sided. That house…it was too perfect to be a coincidence. But was it conceited of her to think that Jakob had redecorated with her in mind?