Page 32 of Turn the Tide
“I’d totally have gone home with you.”
He turned, putting their faces inches apart. “You’re kidding.”
“Why?” Full of a newfound power, she leaned in. Close enough, even in the dark, to make out the lines that fanned out from his eyes. “You think I don’t like old men?”
The lines deepened as he smiled and threw his hand to his chest. “Stab me in the heart.”
“You’re the one who said it. I think you’re fine just the way you are.”
He cocked his head to the side, and for just a second, she thought maybe this was it—the lead-up to a kiss. “Thanks.”
“So. Retired, huh?”
“Kind of. I’ve been thinking about getting some friends together, using our combined skills to start a security company.”
“Sounds interesting.”
His eyes slid her way. “You’re full of it.”
“What?” She shrugged, then wrinkled her face up in embarrassment. “Honestly, I don’t even know what that means. Security? You, like, put alarms in houses?”
“Not exactly. I mean, some companies do that. I’d be more interested in”—he lifted his chin toward the rig—“stuff like this. Like…figuring out what the hell those people are up to. Stopping them.”
“Except with clients.”
“Right.”
“So, like…Bat-Signal stuff.” She ignored a tight burst of disappointment when his body shifted minutely away. A little raw around the edges, she forced herself to smile and sucked in a refreshing breath of cool, sea-foam air. It was amazing, actually, that she could find joy in a moment like this one.
She threw him a surreptitious look. It was because of this man that she wasn’t in hell right now. “If we get out of here, Eric—”
“When.” His voice was quiet but certain, and what she’d thought was him putting distance between them proved to be just a straightening of his stance. More proof that the man was somehow rock solid, while she melted into a puddle here beside him.
“Whenwe get out of here…” With her next breath, she sucked in courage. “I’d consider a date. If that’s what you’re after.”
“I seem like I’m after something?” Was he teasing her? She couldn’t quite see a twinkle in his eyes, but she could hear one in his voice. Maybe.
“Well, youdidfollow me to the platform today.”
His lips twitched in response.
“You saved my life, Eric.” Her voice came out breathy, as if this dark, needyfemme fataleroutine was something she did every day. “It’s the least I can do in return.”
He smirked. “So, a date for your life, huh?”
“Sure. Fair payment. Can you do that, old man?”
Had she misread the humor she’d seen on his face? It was gone now, replaced by an expression so solemn that she wasn’t sure if he’d laugh or take her seriously. Suddenly, she regretted the joking.
She’d just opened her mouth to take it back when he spoke.
“How ’bout a kiss?” His words shocked blood to the surface of her face again, made her hot and a little shaky.
In a flash, she pictured the way he’d handled that man, done something to make his arm not quite right. The way the man had screamed, and Eric’s expression had been blank, emotionless… She shivered just thinking about how hair-raising it had been to watch one man hurt another without caring for a single second about it. And now here he was, flirty, attractive. Unbelievably warm. And he wanted to kiss her.
“Which one’s therealyou?”
Without seeming to move, he stiffened, turning the few inches between them into an insurmountable gulf. “What do you mean?”
