Page 18 of Secrets We Fight
“Go have fun. I’ll stay here.”
He shrugged and followed his friends.
I stood so I could keep a better eye on him and those dancing nearby. Agent Shea was standing on the other side of the club, and even with the lights dimmed, I could tell he was also scanning the area.
It didn’t take long before some guy approached Fallon and leaned closer to say something in his ear. Fallon smiled, and they began to dance together. My fists clenched when the guy’s hands grabbed him by the waist and pulled him closer so the man could grind against him.
I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Fallon’s perfect body since watching him work out the day before, and I was tempted to rush over and rip the stranger’s hands away. Given my job was to protect him, I could probably get away with it, but there was no law against dancing, and he didn’t appear to be in any danger.
A few seconds later, Fallon peeked over the guy’s shoulder, and our gazes locked. With my arms crossed over my chest, I maintained eye contact as they continued to move to the beat.
For the duration of the song, we watched each other while I wished I could be the one with him in my arms, dancing close, our bodies pressed together.
Despite what some might think, I liked to cut loose and have a good time. Unfortunately, with my job, I didn’t get to do it as often as I would like. And it made me a little sad that Fallon would likely never see that side of me since it would be difficult to let my guard down around him, especially with the watchful eyes around us.
A little while later, Fallon said something to Tyler and Hayden, who each hugged him, and then he made his way back to me. “I’m ready to call it a night.”
“Already?” I questioned because I’d expected him to want to stay until closing.
“Yeah. It’s not as much fun when I can’t dance with the person I want to.”
I shouldn’t have let his words affect me, but a slight flutter burst in my chest because I felt the same disappointment watching him with someone else. Still, I couldn’t say or do anything to change the situation we found ourselves in, so instead, I spoke into the microphone on my wrist and told Shea and Vance we were ready to leave.
Once outside, Fallon and I climbed into the back of the SUV, and as Vance pulled away from the curb, our knees brushed against each other. It was only a slight touch, but it was enough to send a spark of electricity through my body. Fallon must’ve felt it too, because his head turned in my direction before I quickly looked away.
The smart thing to do would have been to move my leg, but the back of the dark SUV was the only place I could allow myself to act on the small crush I’d developed over the last few days. I avoided glancing in his direction again during our drive because, despite my training to keep my emotions in check, I worried my face would betray how attracted I was to him. And that could only cause problems for me and my job moving forward.
When we finally arrived at his building, we took the elevator up to the eighth floor and I followed him to his front door, where the next shift of agents were waiting to take over.
With nothing left to do, I said, “Have a good night, Mr. Donnelley.”
“Later, Agent Davis.” He winked.
I glanced at my fellow agents to see if they had seen what Fallon did, but they said nothing.
Fallon and I were playing with fire, and yet I couldn’t help but look forward to the next time we were alone together.
* * *
When I enteredthe command post, Jones and Day were sitting at the dining table. It wasn’t unusual for any of us to stay up late, even when we weren’t working. Our bodies got used to operating on only a few hours of sleep at a time, and it was often difficult for us to transition from being on alert to relaxing and trying to grab some shut-eye.
“Did you have fun at Chrome?” Day questioned playfully as I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.
It wasn’t a surprise he knew where we’d gone tonight because it was hard to ignore whatever the other agents were up to since we were living in the command post. Having been my friend for years, he knew Chrome was a place I had frequented when I’d worked in Boston before.
“It’s definitely not as fun going there while on the job.” I rubbed a hand over my face. “Crowds suck, and the dim lights made it even worse.”
“And you don’t even get laid at the end of the night,” he teased.
His words had me thinking about Fallon, who was just on the other side of the wall. The desire I’d felt watching him on the dance floor had been undeniable, and I couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like if I had followed him inside his condo instead of saying goodbye at the door.
Would he lie in his bed shirtless in nothing but a pair of boxers and ask me to join him? How would his lips feel against mine as we kissed for the first time? Would he explore my body with his mouth and hands, touching every inch of me until I was a trembling mess?
“Dude, you must be exhausted,” Jones said. “You totally zoned out just now.”
Fuck.I needed to get my shit on lockdown. I couldn’t have these guys suspect anything.
“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting to work a double, and I barely got any sleep last night. I think I’m going to crash.”
