Page 5 of SEAL's Tempest
Tempest tipped her chin in his direction but avoided his gaze as she stepped off the curb and headed toward her car.
“Tempest, could you hold up a sec? I’d like to talk to you,” Josh said as he slowly approached her. She wasn’t carrying a weapon that he could see, but he wasn’t going to assume she was unarmed.
For a moment, it seemed like she would ignore him and keep walking.
As she turned toward him, Tempest’s shoulders seemed to tighten but she wore her usual resting bitchface expression on her face.
Josh held back his sigh. He needed to do this for the sake of the team. Besides, he was in enough deep shit with Quinn for being late again. Josh didn’t need to give him any other reasons to be put through hell.
Josh focused on keeping his posture relaxed, unthreatening, and took a step closer to woman he’d dubbed the Ice Queen. Damn, she was gorgeous.
“What did you need to talk about?” Tempest asked. “I need to prepare for the mission.”
For the first time, Josh noticed a hint of an accent. Maybe it was because she barely spoke to him, or maybe he hadn’t been listening. Her words slipped over him like a satin, smooth with an undercurrent of something that sent a bolt of desire right to his balls.Fuck.
“I know you don’t like me,” Josh started.
Tempest lifted an eyebrow at him and smirked. The woman looked like she’d be thrilled skewer him before cooking him on her grill.
“I’m apologizing again for whatever it is I did to offend you. I hope you’ll take me up on that. If not, at least let’s agree to a truce for the duration of the mission.”
Even watching her closely, Josh couldn’t detect any change in her body language, even as she ran her gaze down his chest and to his obvious hard-on.
Josh almost expected her to walk away without answering him.
“I agree. Our bickering is counterproductive to a mission success. I accept your offer of a truce,” Tempest replied as she met his gaze.
Josh wasn’t sure what he’d thought she’d say, but relief eased the tightness in his chest.
“Excellent, shall we shake on it?” Josh held out his hand. He figured fifty-fifty that she’d take it.
Tempest hesitated at first, then reached for his hand. As their fingers slid together, a spark of desire traveled up the length of his arm. Josh almost pulled away but stopped himself. Tempest had the same surprised look he had to be wearing on his face.Interesting.
“Anything else you want to talk about?” Tempest asked as she withdrew her hand from his.
“Actually, yes. In the spirit of our truce, I’d be happy to drive you back here later. No sense in us both leaving our vehicles here. I mean, you’re just next door.”
“Umm, sure, why not. Thank you. What time should I come over?” Tempest checked her watch.
“Will twenty thirty hours work?”
“Of course.” Tempest nodded and turned toward her car. After two steps, she stopped and turned back to him. “Thank you.”
She flashed him a smile that hit him like a lightning strike and sent a bolt of desire from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.
One thing about this mission was certain. Josh was fucking toast.
* * *
Tempest chastised herself the entire drive home. What was she thinking? A truce was one thing but smiling like a sex-crazed loon was quite another. With a. moan she pulled into her driveway and looked over at Josh’s place as he pulled into his driveway.
Averting her gaze before Josh noticed her watching him, Tempest grabbed her purse and the backpack with her laptop from the passenger seat and walked up to her apartment. She’d have to leave the laptop at home, so she’d use every available minute to review the data. Once she boarded the plane, all the intel needed to be memorized. Pavel Miller didn’t suffer fools and had raised both her and Grace to understand that failure was never an option.
She punched in the alarm code and unlocked her door, then kicked off her two-inch heels on the mat beside the door. Tempest hadn’t been sure what to wear for the briefing and had worn her uniform instead of fatigues. She’d been overdressed, but it was better than being underdressed. Besides, she looked damn good in her uniform, and it gave her extra confidence in unknown situations.
As she made her way to the kitchen in her stocking feet, the wood floor was cool, and a chill crept up her spine. She put her backpack and purse on the table. A long afternoon stretched ahead of her, and coffee was the first thing on her to do list.
A smile teased her lips as she read the mug she’d gotten from Grace on her last birthday. “If you’re holding this mug, you’re a badass!”That’s for sure.
