put the car in gear and she felt the gentle hum of the motor vibrate beneath her. Or was it more than the car that had her vibrating?
His jaw tightened. “I’m usually out of the country eight to ten months a year.” A hardness settled over his face, sending his prominent features into sharp relief.
“Hey, I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s obvious that’s not something you want to talk about.”
He turned his head in her direction as he pulled up to a red light. For a moment he took in her profile, the slight jut of her chin, the long lashes that shadowed her eyes, the pert nose and firm set of her glossy lips. Everything about the way she stared straight ahead to the line of her shoulders indicated that he’d done it again—went on the attack for no good reason. At least none that anyone other than himself would understand. It was complicated, too complicated to explain the kind of limbo life that he lived. His constant sense of disconnection, waking up day after day not knowing where he was or who he was pretending to be.
“Sorry,” he offered. “Tough topic. Let’s talk about something else.” He gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter as her intoxicating scent wafted beneath his nose.
“Have you ever lived with a woman before?” she boldly asked.
Elliot tossed his head back and laughed from the pit of his gut. “You’re definitely direct,” he said, still chuckling.
A tiny smile teased the corners of her mouth. “So I’ve been told,” she tossed back. She angled her gaze in his direction. “Well?”
He drew in a breath and relaxed against the smooth leather interior. “Actually, no. This will be a first for me.” He turned to look at her and their gazes bumped against each other for what felt like a blissful eternity.
A car horn blared behind them. They both jerked away from the thing that held them in place. Elliot pressed down on the gas and took them across the intersection.
He cleared his throat. “So, uh, what about you?”
“No.” She paused. “Guess it’ll be the first time for the both of us.”
His mind went racing off in a million directions at once, all of them forcing him to adjust his position in his seat. Was this the same uptight, headstrong woman he’d met earlier? He knew there was fire beneath her she-warrior armor, but this was the kind of fire that burned from the inside out. Then his years of dealing with adversaries and those pretending to be something that they weren’t kicked in.
“The lounge is on the next block,” he said, changing subjects to one in which he could control. “Hopefully I can find a parking space.”
Ashley instantly noticed the shift in attitude and the sudden cool breeze in the car. She flicked a brow in dismissal and folded her arms. Just like I said in the beginning, she mused to herself, a pain in the ass. This was going to be a long night.
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