Page 78 of Out of the Shadows

He stepped toward her, eliminating the space between them, and wrapped her in his arms. Tipping her chin up with his finger, he gazed down at her, heat and tenderness swirling in his eyes. “Good to know. Because you make me nervous in the best way.”

Her stomach flipped as he pressed a kiss to her lips.Before things could get too heated, he pulled away, took her hand, and continued up the trail. “Do you still play?”

It took a moment for her brain to connect the dots.Games. Right.“I try. It’s been a bit hectic the last few months, so I haven’t had a lot of downtime.”

“I’m sorry for that. I know we put a lot on your plate.”

She shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s what I want. To keep busy. Letting go and delegating has been... hard.” Her nose scrunched. More like excruciating. It took everything she had to not micromanage her team. To not make sure they were doing things the right way.Hey, control freak!“However, I will admit—out loud—that Tiny’s really good. Better than I thought, actually. MacKay made the right call bringing him in.”

Gavin stopped in his tracks and stared at her like the proverbial deer in headlights. Then he laughed. And laughed. And laughed.

She crossed her arms over her chest, lips pursed as she waited for him to be done.

After way too long, he finally quieted down to little snickers. “Holy shit, B, did it hurt when you said that? Because, baby, your face just now?” His finger made a circle in the air around her face. “Swear to God, you looked like you were either gonna puke or punch something.”

Her hands hit her hips, and she glared at him but the corners of her lips twitched. Shaking her head, she huffed out an indignant sigh. He was too damn cute for his own good.

Before she could think of some smart-ass comeback, Gavin swooped her up into his arms so they were face-to-face, her chest pressed tightly against his. She clutched his broad shoulders, her feet dangling in the air. A flush tore over her cheeks, and she may have squeaked.

“Holy shit, B. You’re so fucking hot when you’re all grumpy, you know that?”

He crushed his mouth to hers and every nerve in her body caught fire. She moaned and parted her lips. His tongue thrust into her mouth, and she welcomed it, welcomed him. She couldn’t get enough of this man.

“Damn, baby, I need to make you grumpy at me all the time.”

“Is that so?” she asked, wrapping her legs around his waist and rocking against his growing erection. His moan had satisfaction surging through her.She’ddone that. And she wanted more...

A bird cawed, and she pulled away, breathless. He had one hand under her ass to support her, and the other buried in her hair. She wasn’t sure how long they’d stood there devouring each other, but her heart was racing and everything was unsteady. This man destroyed her senses.

And by his equally heaving chest and wild eyes, it appeared to be a reciprocal destruction of senses.

When Gavin finally spoke, his voice was like gravel. “As much as I want to push you up against the nearest tree and sink deep into you...” He shook his head, and his eyes darted up to the trees.

It took a split second for understanding to sink in. When it did, she gasped and heat flooded over her face. “Oh my God,” she muttered, dropping her head into the side of his neck.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah . . .”

Laughing, she met his gaze and framed his face in her hands. “Yeah, is right. Pretty sure we just traumatized everyone in cyber for life.” She glanced up and scanned the trees. “Do you even know where the cameras are out here?”

As he lowered her to her feet, she pulled him down forone final kiss. Because she could. And cyber had already gotten a show, so what did it matter?

With a growl, he nipped at her lower lip before straightening. “No clue. I know Wilson wanted to make sure there weren’t any blind spots.” He glanced up and scanned the trees. Then he waved, calling out, “Sorry! Feel free to delete all that.”

Snickering, Bean hooked her arm through his. “You’re a nut. It’s doubtful anyone picked us up on the cameras.” He arched an eyebrow at her, and she winced. “Yeah, I’ll make sure that whoever is monitoring the game cameras erases that little part.” She cleared her throat. “Well, secret’s out about us, huh?”

She cringed and wanted to hit herself over the head. She’d hoped the words had come out casually, but the way Gavin stilled had her stomach twisting. She suppressed a disappointed sigh. Things had been going so well, but she had to go and make everything awkward.Typical, Bean. Typical.

Bean’s words had Gavin pausing. They’d been said casually, but there’d been a nervous edge in her voice. And that wasn’t going to fly.

“Are you okay with everyone at the office knowing we’re together?” he asked.

“Um, yeah. It’s fine. I mean, if you’re okay with it?”

He turned to fully face her. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. One second, they were making out and joking about getting caught on the cameras. Now, she was unsure. Awkward. Nervous.

This wasBean. The most kick-ass woman he knew. She should never be any of those things.

Spotting a felled tree, he pulled her toward it and sat.Patting the bark next to him, he waited until she was seated. “I know we’ve moved about a million miles an hour here. Hell, I haven’t even taken you out on an official date?—”

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