not sure she’d heard correctly. “You want me to do what?”
“Take off your clothes. And quickly.” The look in his eyes was hard and unyielding.
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest and met Thor’s glare.
Thor leaned down, getting closer to her face. “The cleanup wagon is held up at another site and will be a while. The poison can travel through your clothing, to your skin and straight into your system. So either you take that contaminated clothing off, or I’ll strip you myself.”
He was correct and she had no doubt he’d do it. “Fine. But I’m not walking around naked.”
“You can wear this.” He shrugged out of his black trench coat and held it out to her.
“Okay, but turn around. You can hand me the coat over your shoulder when I ask. I don’t want you watching.”
He studied her for a moment before he turned his back to her. She paused. For a brief moment she thought she had seen a glint of worry in his eyes and that was very un-Thor-like. She shook her head and started undressing, setting her mind on the task at hand.
She removed her long duster, kicked off her shoes and pulled down her jeans before tugging the shirt she wore over her head. She used the shirt to wipe herself down, before dropping it to the ground along with the rest of her clothing. She considered removing her bra and panties, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Looking up to ask for the coat, she found dark eyes staring down at her. Her breath caught in her lungs as her body heated under his intense gaze.
“Turn around. I’ll help you slip the coat on.” His voice was rougher and deeper than normal.
Her eyes dropped to his lips and not for the first time she wondered what it would be like to kiss Thor Kensington. Would he stay cool and in control? Or would he let go and enjoy the ride?
She turned her back to him and let him slip the coat up her arms. The backs of his fingers skimmed across her skin causing her breath to catch as the coat settled about her shoulders. His scent and residual body heat wrapped about her like a lover’s caress.
Kendra mentally shook herself. These feelings were crazy. Thor never ever gave her any reason to believe he thought of her as anything more than a team member, a soldier to rid the world of demons. Maybe she’d inhaled more ash than she thought and it was wreaking havoc on her emotions.
Thor let his fingers brush the soft skin of Kendra’s neck as he moved her long blond hair out from under the coat. He needed the physical contact to convince himself she was fine. When her alarm had sounded on his radio, pure fear had raced through him. Only now, after touching her, did his wrecked nerves begin to calm. His job here was to handpick and train those who were going to keep the demons at bay. This wasn’t his first off-world assignment and he wasn’t a wet-behind-the-ears rookie, but every time he was this close to Kendra, he felt like one.
Dropping his hands, he stepped back and turned the fear he’d felt into anger, something he knew how to deal with. “What the hell happened here?”
Kendra faced him, tilted her chin up and arched an eyebrow at him. It was her way of letting him know she didn’t like his tone. “My blaster malfunctioned.”
Good. He could handle this angry proud woman much better than the one who looked as if she wanted him to hold her. “This is the third time in two weeks you’ve had equipment failure.”
Kendra rose up on her toes, pulled the mask from her face and waved her arms as she spoke. “No kidding. Now why don’t you tell me something useful? Or do you believe the rumors about me sabotaging my own equipment? Well, let me set the record straight, I don’t have a death wish.”
Thor’s temper spiked but he held on to it as he snatched the mask from her hand and snapped it back over her head and face. “I know you don’t, because if you did, you wouldn’t be on my team. Why didn’t you follow procedure and pull one of
“Take off your clothes. And quickly.” The look in his eyes was hard and unyielding.
“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest and met Thor’s glare.
Thor leaned down, getting closer to her face. “The cleanup wagon is held up at another site and will be a while. The poison can travel through your clothing, to your skin and straight into your system. So either you take that contaminated clothing off, or I’ll strip you myself.”
He was correct and she had no doubt he’d do it. “Fine. But I’m not walking around naked.”
“You can wear this.” He shrugged out of his black trench coat and held it out to her.
“Okay, but turn around. You can hand me the coat over your shoulder when I ask. I don’t want you watching.”
He studied her for a moment before he turned his back to her. She paused. For a brief moment she thought she had seen a glint of worry in his eyes and that was very un-Thor-like. She shook her head and started undressing, setting her mind on the task at hand.
She removed her long duster, kicked off her shoes and pulled down her jeans before tugging the shirt she wore over her head. She used the shirt to wipe herself down, before dropping it to the ground along with the rest of her clothing. She considered removing her bra and panties, but couldn’t bring herself to do it. Looking up to ask for the coat, she found dark eyes staring down at her. Her breath caught in her lungs as her body heated under his intense gaze.
“Turn around. I’ll help you slip the coat on.” His voice was rougher and deeper than normal.
Her eyes dropped to his lips and not for the first time she wondered what it would be like to kiss Thor Kensington. Would he stay cool and in control? Or would he let go and enjoy the ride?
She turned her back to him and let him slip the coat up her arms. The backs of his fingers skimmed across her skin causing her breath to catch as the coat settled about her shoulders. His scent and residual body heat wrapped about her like a lover’s caress.
Kendra mentally shook herself. These feelings were crazy. Thor never ever gave her any reason to believe he thought of her as anything more than a team member, a soldier to rid the world of demons. Maybe she’d inhaled more ash than she thought and it was wreaking havoc on her emotions.
Thor let his fingers brush the soft skin of Kendra’s neck as he moved her long blond hair out from under the coat. He needed the physical contact to convince himself she was fine. When her alarm had sounded on his radio, pure fear had raced through him. Only now, after touching her, did his wrecked nerves begin to calm. His job here was to handpick and train those who were going to keep the demons at bay. This wasn’t his first off-world assignment and he wasn’t a wet-behind-the-ears rookie, but every time he was this close to Kendra, he felt like one.
Dropping his hands, he stepped back and turned the fear he’d felt into anger, something he knew how to deal with. “What the hell happened here?”
Kendra faced him, tilted her chin up and arched an eyebrow at him. It was her way of letting him know she didn’t like his tone. “My blaster malfunctioned.”
Good. He could handle this angry proud woman much better than the one who looked as if she wanted him to hold her. “This is the third time in two weeks you’ve had equipment failure.”
Kendra rose up on her toes, pulled the mask from her face and waved her arms as she spoke. “No kidding. Now why don’t you tell me something useful? Or do you believe the rumors about me sabotaging my own equipment? Well, let me set the record straight, I don’t have a death wish.”
Thor’s temper spiked but he held on to it as he snatched the mask from her hand and snapped it back over her head and face. “I know you don’t, because if you did, you wouldn’t be on my team. Why didn’t you follow procedure and pull one of
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