And for years, that’s how he’d thought of her. But there was so much more to her that he’d never given her credit for.
It wasn’t only the courage she’d shown facing the hybrids, though that was damn impressive. What amazed him the most was how mentally tough she’d been. She’d seen things in the last few days that would make the strongest person curl into a ball and give up, but she kept shaking it off and pushing forward.
Kendra was turning out to be full of surprises. Like the way she’d been able to get him talking about his family—where the hell had that come from? He went out of his way not to talk about them with anyone, but she’d asked and the next thing he knew, he was telling her stuff he’d never told a soul. The worst part was that he’d liked confiding in her. And when she’d kissed him on the cheek? Well, he damn near thought he’d died and gone to heaven.
For one insane moment, he’d let himself believe it had meant something to her, too. But then he realized she would have done the same thing if she’d been out here with Tate, Gavin, or Brent. Or Clayne. Definitely Clayne. But while it hadn’t been a big deal for her, it had been for him. One little kiss and he’d been ready to say to hell with the hybrids and spend the rest of the day making love to her.
His hand tightened reflexively around his weapon. It pissed him off that she could make him lose control like he was some kind of hormonal teenager. It convinced him more than ever that he needed to be extra careful around her. In some ways, she was more dangerous to his health than those damn hybrids. At least he was able to keep his head screwed on straight when it came to them.
But five minutes later, he was still thinking about that little kiss and how soft her lips had felt against his cheek. Before he even knew what he was doing, he found himself leaning close to her, breathing deeply through his nose and inhaling her delicious scent. It really wasn’t fair. His nose didn’t work worth a shit when he needed it to, but when it came to Kendra, it worked like a frigging bloodhound’s.
He ran his hand through his hair. He needed a distraction quick or he was going to be nuzzling her neck in a minute.
“So, is your first official DCO field mission living up to you expectations?” he asked.
She parted a few branches and tried to see out of their shelter. He knew she wouldn’t be able to, and after a few moments she gave up and sat back again.
“Honestly, there was a certain part of me that was hoping for a little excitement on this mission.” She gave him a sheepish look. “Would you consider it whining if I admitted this is way more than I wanted?”
His mouth edged up. “I wouldn’t consider it whining at all. But it does make me wonder why you wanted to come on this mission in the first place. Why risk your life if you don’t have to?”
She looked away. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
She toyed with the laces on her boot. “Watching the rest of you go out on mission after mission, year after year, seeing places and doing things I’d only dreamed about really sucked. I guess I wanted to be a part of the conversation instead of always being the one on the outside.”
After spending all those years in high school and college feeling like an outsider, he understood how that felt. “None of us ever thought less of you because you work behind the scenes. You know that, right? We couldn’t do our jobs without the stuff you do at the DCO. You’re amazing.”
Her face colored with the cutest blush he’d ever seen. “Thanks, but it’s not the same. You might not think less of me, but I’ve always thought less of myself for never risking my life like you do all the time.”
When she put it that way, it sounded insane. But he respected her for it.
“How long have you been trying to get John to send you on missions?” he asked.
“About three years, I guess. But the itch has gotten really bad since—”
“Since you fought the hybrids with Ivy and Landon out in Washington State,” he finished.
Kendra nodded. “That’s when I realized this was something I could do. And