Page 14 of Act of Passion

“I’m struggling with the same thing,” he confessed. “I want to tell you things that I don’t normally get into with women. Things humans shouldn’t knowabout.”

“Humans?” she asked, laughing softly at his word usage. “You’re really an alien from outer space, aren’t you? It would explain the accent that I can’t place, yet it’s kind of familiar too.Weird.”

“You have found out my secret,” he said, his lips twitching. He raked his gaze over her. “How old areyou?”

“I’ll be twenty-four in a week. How aboutyou?”

“Older than twenty-four,” hereplied.

“Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight?”

Malik appeared uncomfortable with the question. “Are youhungry?”

“I am,” she said, moving as he started to walkagain.

He pressed the button for the elevator and then eased closer to her. She liked knowing he wanted to be near her as much as she wanted to be close to him. It made her feel lessneedy.

They entered the elevator and Malik slipped his other arm around her waist. As the doors closed, he looked down at her. “What brings you toEgypt?”

“Believe it or not, Edee and I won a trip that neither of us remember signing up for,” she said, squeezing his hand slightly. “We just got our master’s degrees and when this offer came up, we took it. Seemed like perfect timing—a way to celebrate. It’s my first time outside of theStates.”

“How long have you been here for and how long before you leave?” he asked, and for a second she could have sworn his dark brown eyes had hints of amber in them. When she didn’t see it again, she chalked it up to a play of thelights.

“We arrived today. We’d just gotten to the hotel when you saw us in the lobby. We’re here for twoweeks.”

His gaze hardened. “If that asshat comes near youagain—”

She snorted. “Thanks. I think. What about you? When did you get here and when are youleaving?”

He closed his eyes slightly. “I don’t want to lie to you,Brooke.”

“What does that mean?” she asked before realizing what he was saying. She thought back to his military-like clothing earlier. Had there been something to it all? “You can’t tell me, is thatit?”

A nod was his onlyresponse.

“Can you tell me how long you’re here for?” She didn’t want to look clingy but she honestly felt like she needed to hold tight to him for fear he’d begone.

His gaze darted away. “No.”

Brooke thought harder on what she was doing. She was holding hands with a man she barely knew. She’d made out with him, which was totally not her norm. To top it off, he could be gone at any moment and she’d never see him again. It wasn’t as if she knew anything about him that would help her locate him later. They were basically two strangers passing in thenight.

Two strangers with a lot ofchemistry.

Too muchchemistry.

She wasn’t sure she’d bounce back after spending a night with him, only to never see himagain.

She worked her hand from his and hugged herself to keep from touching him once more. It was all she wanted to do, but the pull to him was unnatural. Too intense. And she certainly didn’t make a habit of bedding men one night and never seeing them again the next. Hell, she didn’t make a habit of beddinganyone.

Malik reached for her but then stopped. “You’re upset withme.”

“I’m not a one-night-stand kind of girl. Thank you for your help in the lobby, but we should part ways now. This is toomuch.”

The elevator doors opened and Brooke stepped out. She intended to find Edee, make sure her friend was behaving herself, and then head back to the room to think about the way Malik made her headspin.

Malik stepped out of the elevator behind her and pressed his body to hers. He slinked his arms around her waist and drew her back against him. He pressed his mouth to her ear. “I arrived here almost a week ago. If my team is called away, then I’ll need to go. If I can, I’ll try to stay, but there are things at work I can’t tell you about. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. Please know that. And I know you’re not the type for a one-night stand. You should knowI’mnot the type to be there come morning—but I want to be there come morning with you, Brooke. Let’s spend time together to see where this might go.Please.”

She couldn’t move. The feel of his long, hard erection was pressed to her back. Her entire body lit with need. Brooke knew she should cut her losses and steer clear of him. He’d just admitted to being a womanizer, and the odds that he’d fed her a line about wanting to be there come morning were great. That being said, she wanted him. She wanted all ofhim.

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