Many minutes later, Max raps on the frame of the doorway. “Time to get out, bubbles.”
“Bubbles?” Knox laughs his ass off.
“Shut up, fuzzball.”
I love their easy banter. I like the way they include me. I hate that I’m nothing more than a slave to Max. I wish I was more.
But I follow Max’s command. I get up and stand in front of him as bubbles stream down my body.
Knox sees me and immediately turns around, giving me his back. Max rushes into the bathroom, snagging a large, fluffy towel. He wraps it around me, then helps me step out of the tub.
Knox twists around. He averts his gaze and hands Max a pile of clothes. My clothes.
Max takes them and puts them on the counter.
“Dry yourself, then get dressed.” He retreats to the bedroom. “ETA?”
My brows scrunch together, but that last bit wasn’t for me.
“Thirty minutes,” Knox responds.
“What’s happening in thirty minutes?” I dry myself quickly and wait for an answer. Neither of them responds to my question, leaving me to wonder. What the hell happens in thirty minutes?
Twenty-Five
Max
It won’t be long now. Knox called the team, giving a status update on the past few hours. Eve is in my possession, but I’m not such a fool to believe Benefield isn’t, right this second, thinking of a way to take her back.
He made a show of throwing her away, of downgrading her to a worthless whore, but it doesn’t change the fact I took something precious.
To him, Eve isn’t a person, but rather an object, a shiny toy that’s all his. Nobody got to touch her, except now she belongs to me.
We’ve swept the suite for cameras, more times than I can count, and still find new bugs to destroy.
“Eyes.” Knox points to his temple, reminding me to put Mitzy’s magical contact lenses back in.
“No go.” I keep my reply short and to the point while pulling my pants back on.
Instead of a suit, I dress in black tactical pants, a black long-sleeved t-shirt, and black boots. Not the attire of a businessman on vacation.
Knox doesn’t like my answer, but I refuse to be held back by anything that might degrade my performance. Itchy, dry eyes that blur my vision are non-starters. Not all of Mitzy’s tech works perfectly.
As I dress, my body’s acutely aware of Eve in the bathroom. She’s putting on clothes I desperately wish I could keep her out of, but that is not my place. I’m not here to start anything with her, as much as I’d like otherwise.
Focus on the mission, Max!
I berate my distraction. Distracted minds are dangerous. My team deserves one hundred percent of my focus. Until this op is done, Eve is nothing more than a package which needs to be moved from point A to point B.
Except she’s a whole lot more than that. I’ve never mixed personal with business in my life. Laser-focused, I concentrate all my energy on completing the mission objective. I shouldn’t be thinking about Eve, at least not in that way.
But I can’t help myself. I can’t help but feel something for her. And that totally sucks.
“You dressed in there?” I call out to the bathroom rather than take a look myself. If I walk in on Eve half-dressed, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control my reactions.
“Almost.” Her light, lilting voice is like a warm blanket settling over me.
I lean down and lace my boots, tugging tight on the strings as I lock them in. I hear her approach and brace for impact.
That’s how it is with Eve. Every time I look at her, it’s like getting hit with a ton of bricks. The woman doesn’t just steal my breath, she makes the very foundation of my world shake.
“Can I ask a question?” She pads over to me in her bare feet.
I inch up my gaze, hoping the rest of her is clothed. Sure enough, denim clads her legs and a dark t-shirt covers those tits I can’t stop thinking about now that I’ve seen them.
“Shoot.”
“Um…”
“Um—what?” I love the way her brows push together when she’s not sure of herself.
“Why am I wearing this?” She makes a vague gesture with her hand, moving it up and down her body.
My gaze follows the sweep of her arm. I catch and trip on her tits that I can no longer see. I fall down her narrow waist and slide across the flare of her hips. Hips which a man could definitely grab a hold of during sex. I fall past her legs, especially where they come together. I ache to explore more of what she has between her legs, but that is not something I will ever get to do.
I’m Eve’s rescuer. Not her lover. I’m not her boyfriend. I’m nothing to her. My gaze continues its journey down her body and then back up. I lick my lips.
“What’s wrong with what you’re wearing?”
“It’s just…” She shifts her weight off her heels. Her bare toes curl into the carpet. “I thought…”
“You thought, what?” I finish tying the laces of my boots and sit up straight.
“I suppose… I just figured…” She twists at the waist, looking back toward the tub. “I guess I thought you’d want to…”
I put a finger to my lips, a gesture for silence. Knox cleared out the cameras, but I can’t be sure there aren’t any bugs that can still hear.
“Your job isn’t to think, now is it?”
She takes a step back, eyes widening. The tone of my voice scared her. Which sucks. It’s not meant for her but rather anyone listening in.
Knox pokes his head into the bedroom. “You gonna stay in there all night, or bring the party in here?” Again, Knox speaks for an audience, which may, or may not, be listening in.
Eve’s entire body tenses. Her fear slams into me, hard. But then I put two and two together. My girl isn’t that hard to read.
“Bubbles, it’s not what you think.” I move toward the door.
Her wide eyes track me all the way out of the room. Knox gives me a look. He taps out in our special code.
Knox: What’s up?
Me: She thinks I’m going to share her with you.
Knox shakes his head and slaps his knee. “Come on, boss, hurry up, bring her in here. I wanna taste of that fine ass.”
“No. No. No!” Eve takes a step back.
I lift my finger to my lip, commanding her to be silent. With a flick of my fingers, I point to a pad of paper and pencil near Knox. He scribbles something on the paper and takes it to Eve.
She takes her time reading it, then her eyes round with surprise. She glances at Knox, then turns to me. I have no idea what he wrote, but it’s clear Eve’s now in the know about our plan.
Tears leak out of her eyes. It starts slow, then, as if turning on the faucet, she sobs. Her hands lift. She covers her face. Then Eve falls to the ground.
I rush to her, intending to catch her before she falls, but she comes to her knees and just kind of stalls there. Deep, soul-gutting sobs escape her.
I look to Knox, not knowing what to do.
He gestures back toward Eve, telling me Go to your woman, dickwad.
I rush to Eve, crouch down beside her, and wrap her in my arms. Her deep sobs intensify, but then they’re suddenly cut off.