Guns & Dusty Roads: The Iron Brotherhood Series by Samantha Westlake Page B

think Gimli’s got some movie that he’s been pestering me to watch.”
    Kara’s first feeling upon hearing this was relief.  Staying in meant a quiet night, and less risk of problems.  She could sit with him at the movie, playing the role if girlfriend, and then feign sleepiness and disappear early in the night.  There was no need to worry about Cross trying to bring home some other woman from the bar and finding his bed occupied.
    Not that he’d do that, of course.
    Would he?
    For a moment, she pondered this as she rinsed off dishes, but then she shook herself back to reality.  It didn’t matter!  What did she care if the man went out and hit on another woman?  He was only her cover!
    Still, after dinner when she found herself sharing a couch with Cross as Gimli excitedly prattled on about whatever this action movie featured, Kara was surprised to realize how comfortable she felt.  Even if she was doing this just as part of her cover, it was nice to have a little disconnect from work, to get to kick back, put up her feet, and relax as a movie played in the darkened living room.
    Playing the role of “good girlfriend” perfectly, she leaned up against Cross, nestling into his body as his big hands wrapped around her, one draping over her shoulder and the other sliding around her waist.  Considering his muscular body, he was surprisingly comfortable.  Bit by bit, almost without thinking about it, Kara nestled into the crook of his arm, breathing in his comforting musky scent.
    The movie played on, although the FBI agent was almost immediately lost.  Some man’s father had been killed, and now he had to avenge him by killing his way through an entire apartment building - which seemed full of ninjas, assassins, and gun-toting mercenaries.  The whole thing quickly devolved into mindless action sequences and rough men waving around guns.
    Fraction by fraction, Kara felt her eyes drooping shut.  It was dark, and she was comfortable and warm.  Cross’s arms around her felt protective, as if they were shutting out the rest of the world. 
    Effortlessly, the woman slipped off to sleep.
    An indeterminate amount of time later, Kara felt herself slightly stirred, the arms around her slipping to a different position.  She felt herself swaying gently back and forth, lifted up off of the couch.  She stirred a little, turning into Cross’s chest, but she didn’t bother to open her eyes. 
    He’s carrying me upstairs, she thought vaguely to herself, and, comforted now that she knew what was happening, drifted back to sleep.
    When she next opened her eyes, it was dark, even darker than she remembered.  There was an unfamiliar weight draped across her back.  For a moment, panic suffused her brain, and she shot upright from the horizontal bed beneath her.  Where was she?  What was going on?
    The arm that had been laying across her back shifted, and a hand rose up to sleepily stroke at her back.  “Relax,” Cross murmured, next to her.  “You’re just in bed.  Go back to sleep.”
    Oh.  Okay.  Kara settled back down, but, needing to change positions, she flipped over.  The darkness was almost absolute, but she was pretty sure that she was now facing Cross. 
    That wasn’t his real name, was it?  “Christopher,” she murmured out loud, remembering how he’d told her his real name the night before.
    “Yeah.”
    “You brought me up to bed?”
    “Yeah.”
    Kara shifted a little, feeling the sheets rubbing against her bare skin.  “Did you undress me?”
    Even in the darkness, she was certain that she could hear the man grin!  “A little.”
    Kara pulled back her hand, about to hit the man.  But then, she suddenly remembered one of his remarks from earlier in the evening, and a grin appeared on her own face.  Instead of hitting the man, she leaned in, moving slowly closer until she could feel his face, less than an inch from hers.
    Without saying a word, Kara leaned in, her lips finding his.
    The