Page 15 of Broken Trust
He’d damn near yanked her against him and kissed her. Christ, he ached for the sweetness of her…but if he laid a hand on her, he’d never stop.
Taking her to bed would feel so good, so right. And it would kill him when she finished her contract with Blackout and returned to her life.
He paced the corridor for the eighth time, glancing into the lab with every pass. Dante and Sophie had both taken breaks, but Elin refused. It looked as if her short soak in the hot tub was the only respite she would take, and he’d ruined that for her.
His footsteps thumped on the marble floor, a feature of the house that was as out of place in a military base as Elin herself.
As he approached the door again, he only thought to glance inside. But his body had other ideas—his legs jolted to a halt with a will all their own.
Before he could change his mind, he walked in and circled the long desk where she hid behind her monitors.
Her fingers paused on the keys but she didn’t look away from the screen.
“You’ve been working a long time.”
Her long brown lashes swept downward, the only indication that she heard him. System code flashed across the screen, foreign to him but Elin’s only language right this minute.
He tried again. “You’re allowed to take breaks. Eat. Drink. Rest.”
Her chest rose and fell on a sigh. The sound was barely audible, less than a whisper, but it sent a shockwave through Mason’s body carrying the memory of her moaning out his name.
Of him moving inside her.
Her cheeks flushed with pleasure, mouth open on a silent scream of pleasure.
Fuck.
He curled his fingers into fists to keep from reaching for her.
“Elin, did you hear me?”
With an exasperated sigh, she said, “I would love a cup of coffee.”
He stared at her profile for a long heartbeat. He wanted to give her so much more than a cup of coffee, but he’d start small.
When he left the lab, the soft click of her typing as she broke through firewalls and sifted through hidden pathways faded.
As soon as he walked into the oversized chef’s kitchen, he almost turned around. Kennedy and Sophie were seated at the island having a snack.
Seeing him frozen in the doorway, Kennedy shot a sidelong look at Sophie, then waved at him. “Come in, Mason.”
He didn’t immediately move, then forced his legs to work. He walked straight to the cupboard and grabbed a mug. Neither woman spoke as he poured coffee from the pot that was always hot if not always fresh and added just a splash of cream, the way Elin liked it.
“When did you start using cream? I thought the whole team only drank high-octane black coffee.” Sophie lifted her own mug to her lips, but it didn’t conceal her smile.
“It’s for Elin.”
“Hmm.” That small noise of interest from Kennedy made him want to walk right back out and avoid what that littlehmmmeant at all costs.
But the big pan of cinnamon rolls, thick with cream cheese frosting, beckoned to him. Elin would love the rolls that were Izzy’s specialty, and if he didn’t grab one for her now, they would all be gone within the hour.
He pretended he didn’t feel the ladies staring at him. Or see the questions in their eyes as he grabbed a plate and a sidled up to the island.
“Elin will love Izzy’s famous rolls. It’s her grandma’s recipe.”
He only grunted at Kennedy’s comment.
“Elin’s working really hard today,” Sophie added.
