Rock Hard (Siren Publishing Classic) by Tatum Throne Page B

On the shelf above the clothes, there was a large box. Wynn reached up and tested it for weight before she lifted it down.
    Wynn set the box on the floor. Her heart raced as she opened it. Inside were awards and accommodations for bravery in the field as a Secret Service agent. They were things that should be on display in a office or on a wall. Why were they boxed away as though they were not important?
    Guilt settled in as Wynn put the box away. There were so many layers to Kade.
    Wynn padded barefoot down the stairs to hear him talking to someone on the phone in the kitchen. She went down the short hallway and saw him on his cell phone. Something in the way he was standing made her pause before the doorway.
    “She said she didn’t know you. I don’t know. Are you sure you recognized her?” Kade asked.
    He listened, and so did Wynn. Damn that man for remembering her. He was going to blow her cover before she had a chance to talk with Kade.
    Kade’s kitchen was partially pulled apart. The cabinets were new, and the floors were freshly polished. There were paint cans stacked off in a small sunroom off the kitchen. Beside the cans, a miniature lemon tree sat.
    “No. I’ll take care of you at the drop this time. I want things to go perfectly this time. No one is getting hurt. I’ll call you later,” he said.
    Drop. The truth hit her hard, and there was nothing Wynn could do to take back hearing it. Kade hung up his phone and turned toward floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked his backyard. He ran his hand through his dark hair in frustration and caught sight of her reflection in the glass. He turned. His work shirt was unbuttoned and showed the dark hair on his chest that always made her heart race. She smiled, pretending not to hear any of his conversation. She blushed as his gaze went from the top of her head to her toes. He crossed the room and gave her a sweet kiss.
    She didn’t want to go there with him, not now when she knew the truth of who he was. He could look if he wanted, but she wasn’t going to ever be with him again. “Can I borrow a shirt?” she asked.
    “I kind of like you in this towel.” He tugged on the tuck between her breasts.
    She walked her fingers up his chest. “I like you out of your shirt.”
    He kissed with everything, and she pretended to not be so affected by his kiss, but it wasn’t working. Her heart wasn’t about to get the memo now. She made a mistake by sleeping with Kade, and there was nothing she could do to get her heart back. He backed her up against the wall and pressed himself fully to her. She pulled away.
    “My shirt?”
    He grinned. “Bedroom.”
    She followed him back upstairs, and he disappeared into his closet.
    She wasn’t good at this relationship stuff. She didn’t like talking about her feelings or figuring out how to tear down the walls she put up around her heart. She knew that Kade wanted more. She couldn’t let go of her rational side long enough to hand her life over to a man. She knew that he wanted her to trust him completely.
    When she was working, she didn’t trust anyone. What she saw in Kade’s eyes scared her more than him finding out the truth. The look in his gaze told her that he was a man that could be everything for her if she wanted. It was just too bad he was the one running drugs.
    Wynn felt conflicted inside. She wanted to tell Kade the truth of why she was down there, but what if she was wrong about what she knew to be true? What if she was wrong about what she overheard? There were many different kinds of drops.
    They either had this conversation now or later. Wynn didn’t want to have it at all. He came out with the shirt. The confession was on the tip of her tongue. He brought out the shirt. Wynn unclasped the towel, and Kade wrapped it around her shoulders. Wynn buttoned it up the front.
    “You look like you have the weight of the world riding on you,” he said.
    “I have to work tomorrow. I won’t be around to hang out