a soap…it was just him. Occasionally he’d move and brush her arm, or her thigh. It happened so often, she began to wonder if he was doing it on purpose.
But that was her foolishness speaking.
She brutally tamped down any such nonsense.
Once they had gone through all these files, once they had analyzed them and decoded them, he would leave. And so would she.
There was no time or place for flirtation…or daydreaming. Or stupidity.
They worked for hours, well into the night. At some point, Gregor and Vasili must have gone to bed, because when they finally took a break, the house was dark and silent.
Natalia stood and stretched…then froze when she noticed Cooper’s gaze was locked on her chest.
She frowned at him and he responded with that aggravating, crooked grin.
Oooh. She could smack him.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said.
“Can’t help it.” His grin widened. “Not when you pose like that.”
“I wasn’t posing. I was stretching. I’m all cramped.”
His eyes brightened. “Do you want a backrub?”
Damn it. She hated the way her pulse thrummed at the suggestion. “No. I do not.”
“I give a great backrub.”
“I’m sure you do, but we have work to finish.”
He stood and stepped behind her and to her horror, set his large hands on her shoulders and began to massage them. It felt divine and for a second, she considered melting into him. It would have been so easy to do so.
Instead she whipped around and glowered at him. “Stop that.”
“You liked it.”
She had. That was hardly the point. “I think it’s best if we keep our distance.”
Was that a pout on his face? An actual pout?
“Keep our distance? Do you know how hard that is?” He sidled in closer, took her in his arms. She made herself as stiff as she could, but couldn’t bear to break away. She had no idea why she wanted this so much, when it was clear he only had sex on his mind… But if she was being honest with herself, even if they weren’t on the same page about this inconvenient what-ever-it-was, she had sex on her mind too.
But she saw no reason to make it easy for him.
She tipped up her chin and scowled at him. “We have work to do.”
“I know. But we deserve a break.” He waggled his brows. “And Gregor isn’t here.”
“He’s a light sleeper.”
Cooper frowned. He leaned back. She missed his warmth. “How do you know what kind of sleeper he is?”
Seriously? Was that jealousy in his tone? “I’ve known him most of my life. We’ve been on multiple missions together.” She forced a smile. “I can also tell you he snores like a chainsaw.”
He wasn’t amused by her joke—though it was hardly that. Gregor did snore. Cooper’s expression darkened. “I don’t want to think of you with other men.” And then, the next words out of his mouth, “How many men have you been with?”
Her laugh was so brittle, it hurt coming out. “That is none of your business.”
For some reason he looked put out. “I know. But I want to know.”
Hell. She wasn’t telling him that. “You don’t have the right to ask.”
“Don’t I?”
“You made it clear that this was only about sex—”
“Where did you get that idea?”
Um, hello? “In the bathroom.”
“I never said this was only about sex.”
“You inferred it.”
“I did not.”
She sniffed. “Sometimes what you don’t say says more than what you do say.”
He shook his head. “I’ll never understand women.”
“Probably not, since you’re so boneheaded.”
“I’m not boneheaded. I’m just…”
“What?” She speared him with a sardonic glower.
He shrugged. “I’m a guy. You caught me off guard. I didn’t know what to say.”
God, he was cute. Too cute. And contrite and adorable and everything. She melted, a little. “I get that.” She cupped his cheek with her palm. “I didn’t mean to ambush you. I was… just confused.”
He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers. “I’m confused too.”
Oh, how that errant thrill washed through her. That was probably as close to a declaration as she would ever have. It had to be enough to satisfy her. It had to be.
She smiled at him again, this time warmly. “I’ve never felt this way with a man. I…never let myself. In my line of work it’s…”
“Dangerous.”
“Exactly.”
“People will let you down.”
“Use you.”
“Desert you.”
With each phrase, they came closer and closer until their lips touched. “It’s tempting,” she said against his breath, “to imagine what it would be like…”
“To have someone.”
“Someone you could trust to be there.”
“Forever.”
”So tempting.” She kissed him again, slowly this