and get blown to hell! This screams trap. Trap, trap—” The sheet fell.
Of course, the sheet fell. Just slithered right on down to the floor.
Dex could have been a gentleman and kept his gaze up. Sure, she’d ogled him moments before, but it would not have killed the man to maintain eye contact with her and…
Nope.
He was looking down. And whistling.
She let go of him, bent, and yanked her sheet back up. “You don’t care that you’re walking into a trap.”
He shrugged. “I picked the location. I know what I’m doing.”
“What?” Her voice had gone way too high-pitched. She was surprised the nearby window hadn’t cracked. “How could you have picked the location? You just told me that he said—”
“When I let it be known that I was going skiing on the Double Black Diamond trail, I picked the location. The only place to meet up there is this cabin. My men will have been watching it since dawn. Those were their orders, and they’ll keep eyes on the place the whole time we approach. If there’s trouble, they will be there to back you up.”
“Us up. They will be there to back us up.” Her hold tightened on her sheet as she held it in place. “You like to think you are two steps ahead of everyone else, don’t you?”
His head inclined toward her. “I try to be three steps ahead.”
Sure he did. “Does that always work out for you?”
She didn’t think he would answer. Then, softly, “No. Not always.”
“What happens when you aren’t ahead?”
He glanced away. “People die.”
Not the answer I wanted. But it had been the one she feared. “Okay.” She released her breath. “Let’s get dressed and get to that cabin. And you’d better be three steps ahead of whatever plan Roman has.” She spun away, intent on getting a quick shower before she—
He curled his arm around her and hauled her back against him. She looked up in surprise right before his mouth took hers. The kiss was long, hot, and thorough.
Dex’s tongue was wickedly talented. As she’d learned last night.
His head slowly lifted. “To circle back to your earlier comment, I’m glad that you want to fuck me again. But how about we change that from a probably to a definitely?”
Easy enough. “I definitely want to fuck you again.” She caught his jaw and pulled him back down toward her. This time, she was the one who pressed her mouth to his. She liked to think her tongue was pretty dang skilled, too. She took her time kissing him, then nipped his lower lip when she was done. “So let’s wrap up this case.”
His hold tightened on her. “I want you.”
She wanted him, too. But she forced herself to step back. To break contact with him. And to keep walking away until she could shut the bathroom door.
***
“Is the team in place?” Dex glanced at the closed bathroom door. As soon as Lacey had turned on the shower, he’d made the call to the team leader.
“Yep. Been here since dawn. No one has entered the cabin yet.”
“We’re coming. He’ll either arrive before us or right after. Keep the agents hidden.” Three agents. All trained snipers.
“So…I hear congratulations are in order, boss.”
Dex expelled a hard breath. “I will kick your ass, Larry.”
“Dammit, you know I hate it when you call me that.”
“Take it up with your mama. She’s the one who gave you the name.”
“Yeah, but plenty of people call me Lawrence. You’re the dick who insists on calling me Larry. And when you say it, you know other people do, too.”
“I call you Larry because I’m the dick who knows every secret you possess.” True story. He knew all the guy’s secrets, so he knew that he could trust Larry one hundred percent on this case. “The goal is to protect Lacey Amari. You get that? I want her under surveillance at all times. When I’m in the cabin, she goes nowhere without me.”
“What are you expecting? That someone is going to rush out of the snow and grab your fiancée? Whisk her away and you’ll never see her again?”
The bathroom door opened. Damn. That had been fast. Lacey’s hair was wrapped in a towel, and a white, fluffy robe covered her body. The warm water and steam had made her cheeks pinken and as she stood there, all freshly scrubbed and absolutely beautiful, he had the quick thought of…
No one can take her away. I need her. “You heard the order,” he said