Page 18 of Delta Force Defender

She wanted to tell him not to call herbaby, ever again. She also wanted to melt. And the truth about everything was right there on her tongue, again. Always.

But she’d promised.

“Listen,” she said, with none of her trademark attitude this time. No edge, no slap. She found his gaze and held it, trying to show him that she was being as honest as shecould. “I appreciate that you were worried enough about me to track me here.”

“Don’t patronize me.”

She lifted her hands as if to surrender. “I mean it. I know you can’t tell, because I’m normally all about the sarcasm, but I mean it. I do. You’ll never know how much this means to me, Isaac. But I can’t accept your help.”

“I’m not offering my help. You’re getting my help.”

“Caradine Scott doesn’t exist. You said it yourself.”

“Butyoudo.”

That hit her. Hard. She had to blink back a sudden surge of emotion, and only hoped he couldn’t see it.

“I’m going to disappear. Again.” She shook her head when he started to say something else. “That’s what I do. There are still a lot of places in this world where people don’t ask questions. I got five years this time. Maybe next time it will be more.”

“Caradine.”

“But I can’t take you with me, even if I wanted to. And you couldn’t go anyway. You have an entire life in Grizzly Harbor.”

“You going into hiding under another assumed name is not an acceptable outcome.”

She actually smiled at that, a real smile. “You don’t get a vote.”

“Caradine—”

“Isaac.Baby.” She smirked a little when he narrowed his eyes at her, that emotional punch still echoing through her and making her want to shiver. She held it back. “It’s late. I know you can summon a thousand military-grade vehicles to do your bidding with a single snap of your fingers, but some of us aim to be less conspicuous. If you’re going to go, go.”

“What part of this conversation makes you imagine I’m going somewhere?”

“If you want to stay, you have one option available to you,” she said in the bossy, peremptory tone she’d usedon him often in Grizzly Harbor. And just like all those times, usually late at night outside the Fairweather after pretending to ignore him, she watched his expression shift quickly from incredulity to something gleaming and silver that made her belly flip over. “Naked. And silent.”

She hadn’t meant to say that. She’d meant to throw him out again, the way she always did.

The way he alwaysletsyou, something in her whispered, and her belly somersaulted again.

She hadn’t meant to say it, but she had. And she was already rationalizing that decision. If she wanted to say a long, involved good-bye to this man she never should have touched in the first place, she could do it here. Secure in the knowledge that he could keep them safe enough, at least for a little while.

And Caradine could think of a lot of ways to say good-bye, all a lot better than that adrenaline-fueled sprint up the side of a mountain in the summer almost-dark.

“Well?” she demanded, because she always pushed it with him. Harder and harder, because he never broke. “Are you going to stay? Or are you going to go? Because if you’re going, go now. I need my sleep.”

Something shifted on that gorgeous face of his that foolish people believed was friendly. Caradine knew better.

And even she shivered at the look he gave her.

Like he was some kind of wolf.

Isaac didn’t speak. And the only thing she could hear was the thundering of her own heart. It pounded inside her chest. In her temples. In her wrists.

And deep between her legs.

He didn’t say a word. He crooked his finger in a silent command, because she liked to shoot her mouth off and pretend she controlled this. Him. But they both knew better.

And this was her good-bye. This was her last chance.

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