him so that you can come in and lodge a complaint.”
“Thank you.”
She walked into the kitchen and Tristan was getting the coffee ready to brew. She understood why he wasn’t willing to jump into bed with her, and she was sure that if he’d continued kissing her like he was going to inhale her last night, that’s exactly where they were headed. She had no doubt. She shocked herself. She never did that kind of thing. Ever.
It also stuck in her craw that he was putting the military first. First, she gets dumped by a guy long-distance, one who had gotten engaged without telling her. Then, she ends up in the middle of nowhere when she is supposed to be on vacation and a really sexy, albeit screwed-up guy rejects her.
Yeah, she was batting a thousand.
“You want coffee or you just going to stare at me?”
“I could do both. I have multitasking skills. And, since you’ve already rejected me once, I think I’m safe.”
He leaned back into the counter and very slowly let his gaze go over her from the top of her head to her toes. “You’re not safe, Amber.”
Suddenly she wanted to stick her head into a snowbank. Hoo boy.
“What did the PD say?”
“That the car belonged to Randall Mayer. Officer Mendez said he works at HQ as a clerk.”
“I know that guy. I’ll be happy to set him straight about driving around the base intoxicated.” He shifted and leaned back. “What’s on the agenda today?”
“I want to go back up the mountain.”
“Amber, I’ve got to tell you that it’s unlikely we’ll—”
“I know what you’re going to say, but it’s a chance to gather more information. Until the autopsy report comes back, we’re kinda dead in the water.”
“If James was shot somewhere other than where he was found, there’s very little hope of discovering it. There’s been at least eight to ten inches of snow since we were last up there.”
She just stood there with her NICIS face on. Vin and Beau taught her to use it when someone was reluctant to do what she asked.
He sighed. “Amber.”
The NCIS face got fiercer.
He sent his hand over that tantalizing mop of flattop hair she wanted to get her hands on.
He really needed to shave because he looked so damn good with stubble, and she really should stop staring at his mouth. Like now. Really, stop.
He shifted his lean, sexy hips, looked away, then back at her, struggling with his knowledge against pleasing her. “I must be a twisted son of a bitch, but that face does something to me. The weather should hold, and I can clear us for a helicopter ride. How are you on snowshoes?”
“Damn good.”
He smiled and her heart nearly stopped. He should do that more often—wait, no, he shouldn’t do that at all. She would have to jump him, rejection or not. “But I would prefer cross-country skis.”
His brows shot up. “Would you?”
“Vermont girl. Some days that’s how I got to school. It’s fun.”
She was rewarded with another one of those smiles. Hot damn. She’d have to get him to do that more often.
Her cell rang and she looked down. Pete again. She pushed ignore.
Chapter Six
The helicopter set down in the same spot, and without the threat of weather, Amber was able to take her time. She went back to the tented area and brushed off the snow. Tristan, laden with skis and poles, set everything beside her as the helo took off, blowing stinging snow in their faces.
She started to unroll the tent flaps. God, she needed this cold, bracing air slapping her skin to keep her focused. She needed a return to some semblance of rational thought. Maybe she had been responding to being dumped. Maybe she had fallen into that kiss because she needed the validation that she was still desirable. But then he’d had to explain that the corps came first and she’d been hurt all over again. Why couldn’t she for once in her life be someone’s number one? Maybe she wanted that too badly, and she recognized that quite easily as her weakness. She craved a man who understood her, found her just as attractive when she was being a bitch as when she was being a sweetheart.
She wanted to be priority number one.
Pete’s rejection had hurt her, but not her heart. Mostly her pride.
Tristan hadn’t said a word since they got out of the helicopter. She cut him a look. He continued to ready the equipment.
She was really