She pushed off the bed and moved for the bathroom. Surprise rippled through him when he looked over the selection. “You got me M&M’s?”
“I got you oatmeal,” she called from the bathroom. “It’s called breakfast.”
Bullshit. She’d gotten M&M’s too. Excitement slithered through his veins. He snagged the little brown bag and followed her into the cramped bathroom.
She was bent over the counter, splashing water on her face, when he leaned against the doorjamb. Water slid down her creamy skin as she straightened, eyed him in the mirror, and reached for the towel. “What?”
A one-sided grin curled his mouth. He ripped the bag open. “Nothing. It’s just . . . you got me M&M’s.”
She rolled her eyes and swiped the towel over her face. “Maybe the M&M’s were for me, smart guy. Ever think about that?”
He tossed a handful of the chocolate candies in his mouth, chewed, and moved in behind her. Swallowing, he dropped the open bag on the counter and wrapped his arms around her slim waist. “Mm, they taste good. But not as good as you.”
A surprised gasp slipped from her lips. She tensed against him, pressing her hands over his forearms. “Archer—”
He nuzzled her neck, loving the way she felt against him, loving the soft tickle of her hair against this face, loving the silly lift to his spirits just knowing she’d come back. “You have a photographic memory, Eve. You don’t forget anything. God, you smell good. Remember what we did with those M&M’s in Beirut?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Oh yeah, she did. He saw it in her eyes when he glanced into the mirror. “ ‘Melt in your mouth, not in your hand.’ We tested that theory, didn’t we? All over your body. I wouldn’t be averse to trying that experiment again.”
“Archer.” Her stomach tightened beneath his arms, and when she gripped his forearms and squirmed, her sweet ass ground against his growing erection. “We have things to do today. We don’t have time for this.”
He breathed hotly over the skin behind her ear, then pressed his lips to the supersensitive spot. A shudder ran through her. Releasing one arm from her waist, he slid his hand down her lower belly and over her jeans to cup her sex. “There’s always time, Evie.”
Eve sucked in a breath. Muttered, “Shit.” Then her eyes slid closed. Her struggling stopped. She rested her head back against him as he palmed her, and she rocked her hips ever so slightly into his hand. “You make this impossible, Archer.”
He smiled against her neck and kissed her again. “Make what impossible?”
“This. Telling you to stop. You know this isn’t going anywhere, right?” Sighing, she ground against him, caught between his erection and his hand. “Oh God, that feels so damn good.”
An uncontrollable urge to prove her wrong whipped through him. He let go of her, twisted her to face him, and then lifted her quickly and sat her up on the counter. Her mouth fell open in surprise, but he pushed her legs open and moved between them before she could close him out. “Look at me, Eve.”
Her mouth slid closed.
He braced his palms on the counter on each side of her. “Stop. Okay? Right now, just stop running from me.”
She scowled. “I’m not running. I’m here, aren’t I? If I’d wanted to run, I’d have ditched you this morning when you were dead to the world.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” she repeated. “Because I told you I wouldn’t.”
“More.”
“Because you saved my life.”
“More.”
She sighed in clear frustration. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Archer. I’m here, dammit. That’s enough.”
“No, it’s not.” It wouldn’t ever be enough for him. “You’re here, but you’re still hiding from me. I want to know the real reason you stayed. And don’t tell me it was because of last night. Because you could have easily fucked my brains out and then run from me this morning and never looked back. Tell me the truth, Eve. Let me in. Why are you still here?”
She opened her mouth. Looked down at his bare chest. Pressed her lips together.
“Tell me,” he said, moving in closer, until the heat from her body swirled around him to make him light-headed.
“I . . . I . . .” Unease trickled through her dark gaze as it focused on his skin. “Because I . . .”
“Because you care about me.” Her eyes shot to his. Wide, suddenly frightened eyes. Eyes that told him, Bingo! He was right. “Say it, Eve. It’s not a bad thing to care about someone else.”
“I . . .” Her gaze searched his, and this close, he could hear the rapid beat of her pulse. “I . . .”
He moved even closer, until his hips were flush against hers, his arms were circling her waist, and her legs were sliding around his hips. “Just tell me, Evie. I’m not gonna bite you. Well, not hard, at least.”
Her hands landed against his bare shoulders, and she whispered, “I hate you, Archer. I really do.”
He leaned in and brushed his mouth gently over hers. Loved the way her whole body tightened against him when he got close. “No, you don’t.” He pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth. “You’re crazy about me. You always have been.”
Her hands pressed against his shoulders. “Zane—”
Pain zipped through his wound, but he ignored it. “It’s okay if you can’t say it. Just seeing how flustered you are this morning tells me everything I need to know.” He kissed her jaw. Reveled in the way she started to relax, muscle by muscle. “And I’m a patient guy. I waited for you all these months. I’m willing to wait a little longer until you figure it out on your own.”
He skimmed his lips to her ear, then slowly down her neck. And right then he knew what he wanted. Her. Back in his life. This time for good.
She groaned, and tiny vibrations shook her body as he unbuttoned her blouse one button at a time, as he continued to tease her throat with his mouth and tongue and teeth.
“You’re certifiable, you know that?” she mumbled, tipping her head to the side to offer him more. “Any sane man would run from me the first chance he got.”
Grinning, he pushed the halves of her blouse apart, pulled away from her throat, and looked down at her perfect breasts, spilling from the practical, white cotton bra. “Yeah, well, my psych profile’s always been a little fucked up. God, Evie. You are gorgeous.”
She straightened her head. Blinked several times. His gaze came up. But when it focused on hers, he didn’t see arousal. He saw sadness.
“Zane,” she said softly. “You don’t know the real me. You know the person I was in Beirut, the one who was pretending not to be investigating you, and you know the woman you blamed for your injury when that op went wrong in Guatemala. But neither of those is the real me. Yes, I care about you, and yes, that’s why I came back. Because I don’t want to see you hurt anymore because of me. But incredible sexual chemistry—which we have—isn’t a real relationship. And it sure isn’t a basis for any kind of future. It can’t be, because you don’t know who I really am.”
“So let me know you. Let me in, Eve.”
She exhaled a long breath and looked over his shoulder. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t like the real me. And you won’t either if you get to know her.”
He didn’t know what she meant. He only knew that she was moving away and erecting a barrier between them. One he thought he’d chipped away at last night.
Carefully, she eased off the counter and moved out of his grasp. “Listen, let’s just focus on what we have to do next. I need to finish getting ready, and you need to re-bandage that shoulder. Looks like water got in it last night. The last thing you need is infection setting in.”