Page 48 of Forged in Deception

“Sightseeing? Axel, we do not have time forsightseeing. I need to check on the other patients. I need to call the hospital and check on Destiny. I almost certainly need to do eight thousand hours of paperwork–”

With another one of his teasing grins, Axel leaned over in his seat until his body was halfway over hers.

For a terrifying, electrifying second, she thought he was going to kiss her.

She froze in place, mouth still hanging open, unsure whether to try and kiss him back or to punch him in the nose.

But no attempt at a kiss came. While she was distracted, he yanked the keys out of the ignition.

“Hey! Give me those!” she said, lunging for the keys as he collapsed back down into the passenger seat. She tried to grab hold of Bajwa’s plastic keychain, but Axel was too quick for her and was now holding the keys over his head.

“Ha. I win,” he announced, easily deflecting her next attempt at swiping the keys.

“Cheater,” she muttered, sitting back down and crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re taller than me.”

“Having the physique of a string bean with sexy forearms has its benefits.”

“You’ve just made me picture Popeye. Congratulations,” she said.

“Popeye definitely didn’t skip leg day,” he pointed out. “I do. Actually, I skipeveryday. The gym sucks. Whenever my brother Ben manages to rope me into working out with him, I end up needing to eat like three extra peanut butter sandwiches a day just to stop myself from losing weight. I run a little when provoked, but that’s about it.”

She made a face. “As fascinating as your fitness regime is, we seriously don’t have time for this.”

“You’re right,” he said, shaking his head. “We don’t. Not if we’re going to make it to the Palo Duro Canyon before sunrise. Now, get out of the way so I can drive. Please.”

“What a gentleman,” she muttered as she got out of the Jeep and moved over to the passenger side. “Fine. You drive. Butyou can't tell anyone that I let you. I think this Jeep belongs to Senera, and they’d be even more mad than Bajwa if something happened to it. And there’s one more condition.”

“What’s that?”

She would have sworn she could see Axel’s ears actually perking up, as though eager for the slightest opportunity to make her happy.

It was cute.

Annoyingly cute.

“You stop for breakfast on the way,” she said. “Including coffee that doesn’t come out of a vending machine.”

“I was hoping you’d demand a kiss as the sun rises,” he said, starting the Jeep and shifting it into gear, “but coffee and food sounds almost as good. Done.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

ASHER

Asher had never had such a delicious breakfast.

Then again, it had been so long since he’d last eaten that even one of Gabe’s alleged ‘salads’ of lettuce, vinaigrette, and barely-seasoned grilled chicken would have probably tasted incredible. The McDonald’s Egg McMuffin he had just scarfed down was basically heaven.

The sky was beginning to lighten as he finished up the final dregs of his coffee and watched as Karlin did the same.

She’d gone quiet again on the drive over to the canyon. Every time he managed to get her laughing and opening up, she always shut down again soon after. On some level, he knew that he should probably be annoyed, but instead, he couldn’t help but to see it as a challenge.

And he loved a challenge.

Especially one that allowed him to indulge in outrageous flirting with a smart, gorgeous woman like Karlin.

For the moment, though, he decided to be a little more serious. They’d have to go back to the retreat site soon, and thismight end up being the only time they had alone for a while. He couldn’t spend the entire time hoping for a kiss.

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