of her neck. With her body hidden by the raincoat and her profile cast by the gray light from streetlamps, she looked isolated and oddly vulnerable. Hemingway tightened his jaw and looked away, resenting her for making him weak.
He had nothing to go by here. No experience in a relationship or how to do this kind of thing, when you find out the woman you’ve hooked up with is really an undercover agent and your BUD/S experience has taken on a whole new meaning. It was a lot to swallow in one night, but he couldn’t get to sleep unless he knew for certain she wasn’t playing him.
“Don’t play lip service—”
She covered his mouth, holding his gaze. “No, Atticus, I didn’t think you were involved, ever,” she whispered. “My gut told me so.”
“And hooking up with me? Was that planned?”
“No. It just happened…the way it happened. I never expected to see you again after that night. I didn’t even know you were a trainee until I walked into your classroom. You’ve done nothing but complicate my life. On a couple of different levels. But I like and respect you very much. Now go to bed and let me get to work.”
“I complicated your life?” That caught him off guard. He pulled her against him, frustrated and annoyed and turned on and…a whole lot of complicated things he didn’t want to be. “I could say the same thing about you.”
She lifted her chin and snapped. “Good. Then we’re even.”
He was getting it now, getting it gradually, like a slow-motion moment stretching out into what seemed like an eternity. His heart was all the way out there, and it was both exciting and scary to think hers might be too. What did it mean? What would it change?
He didn’t want to think about any of that. He just wanted to be where she was, in this moment, experiencing the power of the connection they seemed to be sharing.
Then her mouth was on his, and it was bittersweet, asking for forgiveness, trying to break down every barrier he had, even the ones he’d never realized were there. This woman was his undoing. No one had touched him or made him feel this way. He’d been so focused on the future instead of living in the moment. He still wanted what he wanted, but now he wanted her too. The best laid plans were always subject to chaos, and she was pure madness.
She broke away. “Go,” she whispered as she backed up. “We’ll sort it all out. But be careful, babe. Be so careful.”
She got into her car and drove away, and he walked back to the barracks. When he got back inside, he pulled off his damp clothes and stood there naked for a few moments. Professor stirred and said, “What the hell are you doing?”
Hemingway, lost in thought said, “I have no idea.”
“Get some clothes on, you fool, and get to bed.”
Hemingway complied and settled beneath the covers, knowing that he would have to tell Professor when they woke up that Hennessey was dead…murdered. The fight had come to them before they were even a quarter into their training, but that wouldn’t stop him. This was a changed game. BUD/S was all about mind games, but these guys were playing for keeps.
The fuckers had devised their own Trojan Horse.
And…the enemy was inside the gates.
10
Shea barely remembered the drive to NCIS. She was in overload. There had been a murder. Wilson was escalating in her mind. The fact that Hemingway had found the body made her tenser. He already had plenty to deal with. She couldn’t seem to separate her dread and pain of her sister’s death from her feelings for this man who had come into her life. The thought of losing him was unbearable. It left her feeling far too vulnerable and shaky inside when those thoughts slipped in. She had to force herself to focus on the here and now. And make every moment count. Their time together was dwindling.
His eyes had been so dark and unreadable when she’d told him to be careful after that heartbreaking kiss. She’d never wanted to hide who she was, but it was a necessity that was dictated by her job. Never break cover, for any reason.
Except Craig Hennessey had shot her cover to hell. Hemingway was involved, and she’d argued with Rebecca bitterly over telling him. She wanted to go by the book, but Shea knew the book was out the window. She