Page 19 of Love Undercover
She slid from her chair and walked over to grab it, digging around in its depths like it went on for miles.
“Here,” she said, pulling out a white tube as she came to sit back down.
He squinted at it. “What is it?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Arnica cream.”
As if that would mean anything to him. “What-a cream?”
She smiled. “Arnica cream. It’s a homeopathic pain reliever. It reduces swelling and bruising.”
He wrinkled his nose. As if he needed to be doctored with baloney medicine. “That’s not necessary.” He drew back when she started to unscrew the lid.
She glanced at him from under her lashes with a smile. “How about you just trust me?”
He almost choked on his own tongue. “Okay,” he said, the word falling out of his mouth. He would have said yes to anything she’d asked of him in that moment. He barely knew what she’d said. He’d even forgotten what they’d been talking about.
She put her hand on his arm to pull him closer again, and he rested his forearms on the counter so they were at eye level. With gentle fingers, she dabbed the cream onto his cheekbone, which sent jolts of pain through it, and he winced.
“I know it hurts now, but it will feel and look better sooner.” Her breath fluttered over his face. “I’ve gotten rid of bruises this way.”
He just stared at her, struggling to process her simple words in order to respond. But she was so close, and she was quite stunning, and his body was reacting to her in a way that he was totally unprepared for.
She was looking at him oddly too, like she had lost her own train of thought.
It made him start to come back to himself because he was in very real danger right now as he watched her eyes flicker down to his mouth.
“Clever idea this morning, using that towel to choke me out.”
She blinked and pulled back. The wariness returned to her eyes, which was good. He wanted her to trust him, but he also wanted her to keep her guard up. He was protecting her, but that didn’t mean she was safe.
“Well, I knew it was my best shot for bringing you down. You’re so much bigger than I am.”
He acknowledged that with a small smile. He was so much bigger than most people, which worked to his advantage in a lot of situations. It was because of his naturally intimidating staturethat he’d been an early pick for this job. And why people didn’t often mess with him, even when he was still working up the ranks in his undercover roles.
“You remembered my name,” she said softly, still with that caution that was the wall between them. “Do you make a habit of kidnapping women you went to high school with? Or was that just research?”
He’d forgotten about that. It had snuck out. He never planned to let her know that he remembered her from high school, let alone that he knew what her name was. But because of her attack and, in his desperation to calm her, he’d let it slip.
It was all shot to shit, anyway; he wasn’t sure why he’d figured on sticking with any kind of plan. But it had always been his way. Now he had to figure out a new path forward. He could run with the idea of it being research, as she’d suggested. But he didn’t see the point.
“I don’t make a habit of kidnapping in general,” he replied.
Her eyes narrowed in skepticism.
“But I do have a pretty good memory.” He tipped his head. “I take it you remember mine?”
She tipped her chin down as pink blossomed in her cheeks. “No one forgets Chase Lundgren.”
His mouth tilted as he tried to hide his dark amusement. “I wish everyone would.”
She brought her incisive gaze back to his face. “You did always seem to want to fade into the background. But even being at that school for one year, I remember how they’d chant your name in the halls.”
Chase pushed away from the counter, his expression tightening. Most people talked about their glory days as high school royalty or celebrated athletes with pride. But he’d rather forget it all.
The spotlight was never anything he’d wanted. At least not for that reason.
The corner of her mouth lifted a little as she watched him. “Still trying to fade, seems like.”
