Page 19 of Shadow Lies

Maybe his anticipation was because, in a place where every day was conducted in the same way, doing the same things, at the same time, he was simply excited for a change. Any change.

Or maybe the intrusion of his old life into his new one had affected him more than he’d realized.

He hadn’t thought he’d missed his old life but perhaps he did.

Not his SEAL career—that was over thanks to the CIA—but his life. He missed Western civilization. His family. His big screen television. Ball games. Bars. Booze. Babes...

Just thinking all of that felt like a sin because of his location. He was in a place where the brothers gave up all they had. They were taught to be grateful for every little thing.

This was a place where an extra egg in his bowl of soup was something for which to be thankful.

A tap on his shoulder brought his head up from where he’d been staring mindlessly into his nearly empty bowl.

Glancing up, he saw it was one of his brothers, signaling him it was time to clean up.

Time had passed while he’d been lost in his head considering everything he’d denied himself coming here. He felt suitably shamed by those thoughts as he raised the bowl to his lips, swallowed the last of the broth, and then stood.

He felt more shame when he walked into the abbot’s office and immediately took note of what Alexis was wearing. Every detail of her clothing. And of her body beneath it…

The outfit shouldn’t be attractive. It was something a female presidential candidate would wear. Stiff. Staid. Serious. Pants and a matching jacket in a basic bland ivory color. But the monochromatic suit seemed to emphasize the warm hue of her skin and the color of her eyes.

She was tall for a woman, and the length of her legs were emphasized by the slim pants and heeled boots.

Then there was the tiny top beneath the unbuttoned jacket.

It clung to her lush curves. Curves she definitely hadn’t had when he’d been dating her older sister a decade ago.

Alexis had certainly grown up. Gone from awkward teen to amazingly tempting.

He shook the thought from his head and yanked his gaze up to her face where it belonged. “You came back.”

“Of course, I did. Did you expect me not to?”

“Not really.” He leaned against the edge of the desk and folded his arms. “So, go on. What’s today’s pitch?”

“Pitch?” she asked, playing dumb.

“I’m sure you and your boss Charley had a briefing last night. What did she instruct you to do?”

Was it Charley who told Alexis to wear a tight top that showed more of her tits than appropriate for a visit to a frigging monastery? All with the hope of luring him away.

Damn it all, it was working.

He hadn’t thought about women, or sex, in what felt like forever. He’d been too exhausted, mentally and physically… until she’d shown up.

“She told me to get it done. No specific instructions.” Alexis lifted one shoulder.

Alexis always had been upfront and truthful. No coyness in this one. She’d tell it like it was, even if it had insulted her sister. Or thrown both him and Brittany under the bus for behavior their parents wouldn’t approve of.

“So, what’s your plan then?” he asked.

“That depends. How much time do I have?” she answered his question with a question of her own. And it was a good one.

Smart. She’d figured out there was a tight schedule here. One he—they all—adhered to religiously. No matter what. Even a female visitor wasn’t going to delay practice or lessons.

“We have about an hour.”

“And then? After that?” she asked.

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