She never took her eyes off him, and his gut clenched when he realized she was trembling.
“Then why, Dodger? Why are you risking so much?” she shouted.
“Because I care about you, Anna! Bloody fucking hell.” He stepped into the room and closed the door, his breathing rapid. He lowered his voice. “Do you think what happened…what’s happening between us is nothing? I wasn’t just with you physically in there last night.”
Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip. Then she closed her eyes and swallowed hard, two tears spilling out. “I would have made it through if you hadn’t showed up,” she whispered brokenly. “I would have.”
Dodger kept his hands to himself. She was fighting her good fight, and he respected her for that. And he knew it just wasn’t in her to go down without a struggle. “I have no doubt about it. But it’s going to make me feel a whole lot better if you let me help you.”
She opened her eyes and stared at him, a hollow look back in her eyes, then she took a deep breath, as if fortifying herself. “And if we don’t find answers and you run out of leave, what then?”
It was her way of asking him if he was going to give up on her. It was time for him to draw his own line in the sand. He walked over to her and stood in front of her. He gave her a wry smile, his gaze fixed on her. “Then I’ll figure that out when I get to it. As of right now, I have emergency leave, then I have another whole month I can put in for. That gives us roughly six weeks of time. Mouse will help us. He’s amazing at ferreting things out.”
Anna gave a huff of uneven laughter and clasped her head. “Ah, God, don’t start going into your charming, adorable mode, Dodger. I can’t handle the overload.”
He watched her try to recover, not giving her an inch. “I’ll take all the extras you can’t carry right now. No more arguments. All I need is your agreement.”
She wasn’t so down and out that she couldn’t scrape up a decent dirty look. “And you know where you can stuff your agreement.”
He grinned. Reaching out his hand, he offered it to her. “It’s a good plan, Anna.” He spoke again, his tone soft and persuasive. “Shake my hand, darling, or you’re going to hurt my feelings.”
Clearly struggling with a whole bunch of emotions, she tipped her head back, wrestling with her choices. Dodger watched her, his gut in a knot, waiting for her answer. He could almost feel her internal battle—her pride and independence struggling to override her common sense.
Finally, she looked at him, a tiny glimmer of humor in her eyes. “Okay. It’s a good plan. But I don’t take orders from you, just so we’re clear.”
“That would be crystal clear, ma’am.”
She slipped her hand into his, then tugged hard. He fell to the bed on top of her. Her sweet body soft beneath all his hardness. “Is that a yes?” he asked, his heart starting to pound.
“How about we finish this negotiation naked.”
“I’m not sure I’m equipped to handle that.”
Holding back a grin, she reached up and caressed his mouth. “Oh, you’re more than well-equipped to handle it.”
He laughed, low and soft. “You are always unpredictable, Anna. Never boring.”
Aware that they were both avoiding what had brought them together, Dodger kissed her along her delicate jaw. It was almost as if they’d struck another pact not to open too many doors, and that was okay. This was too special to risk.
“That’s good. I would never want to be boring. So, you want to seal this hard bargain?” She caressed the back of his neck. With that one light touch, Dodger’s heart rate increased.
“Oh, yeah,” he breathed, caressing her bottom lip. “I’ve got a proper hard bargain for you. Did you mention naked negotiations?”
It didn’t take them long to get out of their clothes and tucked into her bed. He bent his head down, the kiss so gentle it left him breathless and his whole body as hard as a rock.
A sudden urgency sizzled through him when she locked her arms around him, lifting her hips to encourage him.
Dragging both her arms from around his neck, he laced his fingers through hers, holding her hands against the bed. “Easy, luv,” he whispered, kissing her mouth. “This hard bargain needs to be taken slow and easy.”