Page 55 of Out of the Shadows

Her breaths came in huffs as she focused on the uneven path before her.

“This is the hardest part. I promise.”

She couldn’t even appreciate his firm backside. All she could focus on was the trail that continued to go up. She yelped as her footing gave way and she landed on her right knee. But seeing as the trail was ridiculously sloped, it wasn’t too bad. “Aren’t there supposed to be switchbacks and stuff.”

He coughed over a laugh and glanced back at her. “You doing okay?”

She scowled. “Peachy.”

He waited for her to reach him and then moved behind her. His hands went to her hips, steadying her. “It flattens out after this,” he said, nudging her forward.

After a few more minutes of hiking basically straight up, they crested the hill, and Bean came to a halt.

“Oh, thank God,” she muttered.

Relief washed through her as her heart pounded with exertion. She hadn’t realized just how out of shape she was, and holy shit, the lungs-burning thing was not okay. Thankfully, the trail immediately widened and was indeed flat. At least as far as she could see. But who the hell knew with Gavin and his stupid “fairly moderate” trails.

“You did great,” Gavin said, retaking her hand. “Easy sailing from here.” She shot him her best glare, and he laughed. “I promise.”

They continued in comfortable silence for a few more minutes. As the fire in her lungs died down, she kept sneaking glances at him, relieved how some of the earlier tension she’d noticed had eased. Though the dark circles beneath his eyes remained.

Gavin shook his head and let out an exaggerated sigh. “What? I know you’re itching to ask me something.”

Her mouth opened and then closed. She wasn’t crossingany lines, right? They were friends. She internally cringed. Considering he’d had his mouth between her legs less than twenty-four hours ago, she wasn’t sure “friends” was the correct word. But whatever.

“Out with it, B.”

“You look a little tired and I was just wondering if you’re sleeping okay.” Her words came out in a jumbled rush, and she took in a deep breath. Exhaling, she aimed for a more normal tone. “I remember you saying a while back that you used to have nightmares from your military days.”

It was close to three years ago that he’d shared that with her, but their conversation had stuck with her. He’d been vague about what the nightmares entailed, but she knew they’d revolved around a mission with children that had gone horribly wrong. He hadn’t shared the mission details, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. All she knew was that whatever had happened had left a scar in his heart.

“I know the whole mission with Anson was awful, and it hit everyone hard. What that poor kid was put through... I just want to make sure you’re okay.”

He squeezed her hand, and some of the nervousness fled. A hand squeeze was a positive sign, right?

“I’m good, Bean. I’m not going to lie to you and say the nightmares haven’t resurfaced with the McClintock mission, because they have. But last night?” A small smile ghosted his lips. “My lack of sleep last night had nothing to do with nightmares this time. In fact, I’d welcome that kind of lack of sleep any day. Or night. Hell, even afternoon.” He shot her a wink.

Heat washed over her face, but she managed to muster up a smirk. “Well, I figured since things were left a little...unsatisfyingfor you last night, ‘hiking’ might be a euphemism.”

He barked out a laugh. “Trust me, honey, there wasnothing unsatisfying about what happened between us. You’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Would I have liked to come inside you? Absolutely. Thinking about doing just that definitely kept me up last night.” He wagged his eyebrows at her and grinned. “There’s no rush, though. We’ll get there.”

Shaking her head, she slapped both hands over her flaming cheeks. “I thought I could do this sexy-banter thing with you, but holy shit, I can’t.”

He slung an arm over her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “I think making you blush may be my new favorite thing.” He dropped a kiss to the top of her head before retaking her hand and leading her down the trail.

“So aside from a restless night, how did your morning go?”

He shook his head. “It was going fine until I got stuck on the phone with Constance Whitcomb. The woman is determined to have us do her personal security.”

“You mean, she’s determined to haveyoube her personal security.”

He cringed. “She’s relentless.”

“Are you going to do it?”

“Hell no. I told her we didn’t have anyone available.”

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing. “Uh, Team Three just got back from California.”

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