Page 41 of Iron Willed Warrior

“That’s all right. You keep it.” He stopped me, wrapping my fingers inside his larger hand. “I’ll get it later.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’ll see you tomorrow, B.”

I felt a secret thrill that he’d used my nickname. It was what my good friends, like Charlotte and River, called me. Did Cole know that? Or had he come up with it on his own?

“Goodnight, Cole.”

“Night.” He nodded, eyes lingering, before he turned away and jogged to the sidewalk.

“What was that all about?” Keira asked.

I let out a heavy exhale. “This is bad.”

“Why? What happened now?”

We went inside the house, Keira closing the door behind me. I flopped onto the couch. The soft fabric of Cole’s jacket rubbed gently against my skin. “I think I like the guy.”

“No kidding.” Keira sat in the chair across from me. Her lips pressed together as she tried and failed not to laugh. “Dean texted that the two of you were about to set the bar on fire with that make-out session. All of Silver Ridge has figured out that you like him.”

“You and Dean are such gossips.”

“What? The Protectors told us to keep an eye on you. I take my job seriously.”

“We were practicing our cover story. Cole suggested he play my boyfriend, and I agreed. Because it makes sense. He’ll be able to stay closer to me throughout the op, and it will probably make the head of Stillwater even more interested if I’m unavailable.”

“But your practice with Cole got a little too real? According to Dean, he was about to ask you two if you needed a room.”

With a huff of frustration, I collapsed sideways on the couch. “I am an FBI special agent. I shouldn’t be reacting to a kiss like a girl on prom night.”

Then I realized what I had just said. I’d used the present tense when describing myself as an agent. Which just proved how much Cole distracted me.

We were about to go into a life-or-death situation together, and I couldn’t afford to screw up.

“Why is it so bad if you enjoy kissing him?” Keira asked. “Or even if you like the man? I’m sure you can both keep that separate from your undercover mission. And later, if you decide you want to pursue something more with him, then?—”

“No,” I said emphatically. “Please don’t finish that sentence. Because that’s not going to happen.”

The last thing I needed was to get some confused crush on my undercover partner. I hardly knew Cole. We’d just barely started to trust one another.

But this wasn’t even about him. Not really. It wasme. Whenever I really liked a man, my heart tended to gallop ahead, leaving my rational brain in the dust. I’d made that mistake before. I couldn’t do it again.

“Iwill notfall for Cole Bailey. Not now, and not ever. You can quote me on that.” I sat up, unbuttoning his jacket as I went, then tossed it onto the back of the couch. I’d return it tomorrow. Right after I gave Stanford his daily update. Something Cole would be furious about if he knew.

“Sorry,” I said to Keira. “Thank you for talking this through with me. I’m…embarrassed, honestly.”

“Don’t be. This is a stressful mission, and we’re allcounting on it to go well. It’s a ton of pressure on you and Cole.”

“As it should be. We can handle it.” I breathed a few times. Solidifying my resolve. “We’re going to see this through to the end.”

“Now you’re talking. Stillwater is going down. I can’t wait to see it.”

“Neither can I.”

But as I got ready for bed, I kept replaying the evening in my head. The fierce blue of Cole’s eyes on me. His lips. The deft strokes of his tongue. How I would’ve let him kiss me again if Keira hadn’t interrupted us.

Iprobably would’ve kissedhim.

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