Special Forces Rendezvous

chapter 7



Sebastian had been forewarned that Tate wasn’t happy he was bringing Julia to the beach house, but just like he hadn’t apologized over the phone to Nick, he wasn’t apologizing to Tate now. Rather, he matched the captain’s steely expression and said, “Dr. Davenport is no threat to us. If anything, she’s an asset.”

Tate’s gaze took in Julia’s unkempt braid, damp clothing and fatigue-lined eyes. “An asset,” he echoed, sounding unconvinced.

Other women might have recoiled under that harsh glare, but Julia squared her shoulders and glared right back. “If it helps, I don’t particularly want to be here either. Sebastian didn’t give me much of a choice.”

Her frosty tone brought another flash of displeasure to Tate’s green eyes.

Sebastian quickly spoke before the captain could. “Julia was being held in Esperanza, Tate. A United States Army general was interrogating her. I got her out.”

“Did you search her for wires?”

Julia snorted. “Oh, for Pete’s sake, we all know you can see right through my shirt. Does it look like I’m wearing a wire?”

“And if it weren’t for her,” Sebastian went on, pretending neither one of them had spoken, “we wouldn’t have a potential lead on this virus. Julia was the one who figured out it might be in the water.”

Tate’s features sharpened. “It’s waterborne?”

“We don’t know, but I secured a water sample from the village. We need to get it tested ASAP.”

“I think I know someone who can help,” Julia said helpfully. “He—”

“That won’t be necessary,” Tate interrupted. “We’ll get our own people to handle this.”

She let out a sardonic laugh, then glanced at Sebastian. “You didn’t tell me I’d be receiving such a warm welcome.”

Before he could attempt to defuse the bomb of hostility in the air, the front door flew open again and Eva Dolce waltzed out. The woman looked gorgeous as usual, her Spanish, Italian and American heritage responsible for her unusual combination of silky black hair, vivid blue eyes and smooth olive complexion. A thin green sundress clung to her centerfold curves, her brown sandals clicking as she marched toward the group.

Eva took one look at Julia’s bedraggled appearance, then turned to frown at her fiancé. “Seriously, Tate, you couldn’t let the poor woman change out of those wet clothes before you started in on the cross-examination?” Her gaze shifted. “Hey, Sebastian. Welcome back.”

He nodded at her. “Hey, Eva. This is Dr. Julia Davenport. She worked at the clinic in Valero when she ran into a wee bit of trouble.”

Without hesitation, Eva wrapped an arm around Julia and began leading her away. The two women were about the same height, yet Eva was a force to be reckoned with, and Julia shot Sebastian a panicked look over her shoulder.

“Don’t mind Tate,” Eva was assuring her. “He’s kind of a jerk until you get to know him. And he’s naturally suspicious, so...”

As the women drifted toward the front door, the three men stayed outside. Tate still looked unhappy, while Nick, who was leaning against the Jeep, seemed amused.

“I like the doctor,” Nick said. “She’s got a backbone on her.”

“She’s got guts, too.” His voice sounded raspier than usual, so he cleared his throat. “After we left the camp, she was willing to risk her neck and go back for a water sample. If I’d refused to do it, I have no doubt she would’ve found a way to do it herself.”

“What else do we know, aside from the possibility of water transmission?” Tate asked as they headed for the house. “Did you see any of the bodies?”

Sebastian shook his head. “They were all bagged up. But we can add coughing and/or disorientation to the symptoms we already know about. Oh, and the general said the name Meridian in reference to the virus.”

“Meridian?” Tate echoed quizzically.

“Could be what they’re calling it. Also, this is definitely a cooperative effort between the U.S. and San Marquez, but taking into account that the American general was leading Julia’s interrogation, I think our government’s calling the shots here.”

They reached the front porch, but Sebastian hesitated before opening the screen door. “The deaths in Esperanza weren’t an accident. The general said in no uncertain terms that the virus had been intentionally released in the area. He was unhappy about it because the village wasn’t far from the Doctors International clinic.”

“So our government really is testing a biological weapon on foreign soil,” Nick said, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Seems so.” Sebastian leveled a stern look in Tate’s direction. “And, Captain? Try to tone down the death glares around the doc, all right? She lost a lot of people she cared about last night.”

“Nick said the soldiers torched the clinic?” Tate’s tone was grudging, as if he didn’t want to feel any sympathy for Julia but couldn’t help himself.

“With dozens of innocent people inside it. Julia’s coworkers, her friends, her patients.” A rush of fury entered his bloodstream, tensing every muscle in his body. “They’re going to blame the fire on the ULF, same way they blamed the rebels for the dead villagers in Corazón.”

“We need to find out who’s green-lighting the testing of the virus, damn it.”

Tate sounded frustrated beyond belief, and Sebastian didn’t blame him. He was sick and tired of hitting brick wall after brick wall in his quest for answers. The other members of his unit had been killed to cover up the events of Corazón, which meant that someone wanted to keep the virus a secret. So who had authorized this biological weapons project? The president? The Department of Defense? Someone on a lower rung of the ladder who was operating without official consent?

Rubbing his temples, Sebastian strode into the house. Female voices wafted from the direction of the bedrooms, and he hoped that Eva wasn’t grilling Julia too hard about everything that had happened. He couldn’t stop thinking about that haunted look in Julia’s hazel eyes, the way she’d sat on the deck of the fishing boat, silent, unblinking, thinking about her loss.

Other women might’ve fallen apart. Sobbed. Screamed. Collapsed from grief. But not Julia. The woman exuded quiet strength. Even when overcome with anguish, she managed to keep it together, which he appreciated. The last thing he’d wanted to do last night was comfort a hysterical female.

And the last thing he wanted to do right now was rack his brain trying to make sense of this whole mess. He hadn’t slept in more than twenty-four hours, for chrissake.

“I need a shower. And some shut-eye,” he announced. “Can we finish this later?”

The others nodded. “We’re frying up some fish for dinner,” Nick told him. “I’ll wake you before we eat.”

“Sounds good.”

He walked toward the narrow hallway leading to the bedrooms, bypassing the room he was bunking in and heading for Tate and Eva’s room instead. Although the beach house’s three bedrooms were tiny, the place was a million times more habitable than the crumbling stone fortress they’d been holed up in two months ago.

He knocked on the door, waited for the okay, then entered the room to find Julia sitting at the edge of the double bed with Eva’s three-year-old son, Rafe. Loose waves of brown hair fell over Julia’s slender shoulder as she bent to examine the inside of the little boy’s forearm. Eva was looming over them, biting her lip in worry.

“’Bastian!” Rafe shouted happily. The second the kid caught sight of him, he shot off the bed and launched himself into Sebastian’s legs.

“Hey, kiddo,” he said gruffly, scooping the excited child in his arms.

“Don’t worry,” Julia told Eva. “It’s just a minor heat rash. It’ll probably go away on its own, but you can keep applying that mild cortisone cream. Loose clothing helps, too, and so does staying hydrated.”

Sebastian chuckled, then rolled his eyes at Eva. “She’s not here on a house call, for Pete’s sake.”

“Who’s Pete?” Rafe demanded.

The boy was wiggling up a storm in Sebastian’s arms, so he finally set him down, wondering how Eva managed to keep up with that overenergetic kid without having a nervous breakdown. On the other hand, Rafe was pretty darn cute, which made it impossible not to love him. Sebastian hadn’t been thrilled about Eva bringing her kid along, but the woman turned into a ferocious mama bear when anyone raised the suggestion of sending Rafe to stay with his grandparents. She refused to leave Tate, and she refused to send Rafe away, which meant that the kid wasn’t going anywhere.

But Rafe had grown on him. Sebastian still tried to keep his distance, and he definitely didn’t like being alone with the rug rat, but having him around wasn’t as horrible as he’d thought it would be.

His gaze shifted to Julia, who’d changed out of her damp clothes and into a blue print dress that swirled around her ankles. The garment was a little loose on the top, one strap repeatedly falling off her shoulder, but that didn’t surprise him. Julia was rail-thin compared to Eva’s curvaceous form.

Sighing, he met her eyes. “Did Eva offer you any lunch, or did she just whisk you in here and demand you diagnose the rash on Rafe’s arm?”

“She offered to feed me. I turned her down.” Julia swallowed. “I still don’t have an appetite.”

“Well, I’m crashing for a few hours. You should probably do the same.” He edged toward the door. “We’ll all talk later, okay?”

Her face donned an indecipherable expression. “Okay.”

“You can sleep in here if you want,” Eva said gently. “Rafe and I will make ourselves scarce, and I’ll come get you before dinner.”

“Fishies!” Rafe exclaimed, clapping his hands together in glee.

Julia arched a brow and waited for a translation.

“Tate took him fishing this morning, so we’re frying up their catch tonight,” Eva explained with a grin.

After Eva and Rafe left the room, Sebastian took a step toward Julia. Before he could stop himself, he cupped her angular jaw with both hands and studied her face. Her breath hitched in surprise, those hazel eyes flickering with uneasiness.

“Are you okay, Doc? Really okay?” He couldn’t control the husky note in his voice.

Rather than shy away, she leaned into his touch. “I’m hurting,” she murmured. “I’m hurting bad. But I’ll be fine.”

Her honesty floored him, as did her resilience. His gaze landed on her lips, noting the slightly fuller bottom one. With her brown hair free of its braid and cascading over one shoulder, she looked younger, prettier, softer. As his pulse kicked up a notch, he swept his thumbs across her silky-smooth cheeks, his mouth tingling with the urge to kiss her.

But he reined in the impulse, knowing now was not the time.

When his hands dropped from her jaw, Sebastian could have sworn he saw a glimmer of disappointment on her face.

He took a step backward, suddenly feeling awkward, edgy. “I’ll be right next door if you need me, Doc.”

“Thank you.”

They stared at each other for a moment, and then he cleared his throat, forced himself to break eye contact and slid out the door before he did something foolish.

Like kiss her senseless.

* * *

Several hours later, Julia helped Eva clear the table while the three men and Eva’s son remained on the wooden oceanfront deck. Throughout dinner, she’d been trying to get a sense of these people and how they fit together, and she was now confident she had everyone figured out.

Although none of the men were officially part of the military anymore, Tate still stood out as their leader. There was no mistaking his authority, and Sebastian and Nick constantly looked to him for the final word on any given matter.

Nick, on the other hand, was clearly at the bottom of the pack. At twenty-seven, he was the youngest, and he lacked that lethal air both Sebastian and Tate radiated in spades. His tall, muscular body left no doubt that he could kick some serious ass, but Julia didn’t get a killer instinct vibe from the man.

As for Eva and her little boy, Julia’s confusion about their presence had evaporated after five minutes of being in the same room as Tate and Eva. It was obvious the couple loved each other fiercely, and they were not only protective of each other, but of Rafe as well. Because the boy didn’t refer to Tate as “Daddy,” Julia had deduced that he was Eva’s son from a past relationship, but Rafe clearly adored the intense soldier, and Tate was surprisingly sweet around the boy.

And then there was Sebastian. As alpha and intense as Tate, yet there was something more...sexual about him. He exuded raw masculinity, potent sex appeal, and every time she looked in his direction, her entire body grew hot and tingly.

Earlier in the bedroom, she’d truly thought he was going to kiss her. The heat in his eyes had been unmistakable, the brush of his fingers on her cheek utterly seductive. When he’d walked away, she hadn’t been able to fight the disappointment that erupted inside her. And how insane was that? She wasn’t supposed to be thinking about silly things like kissing—not after everything she’d lost.

“Hey, sweetheart, get out here,” Tate called from the patio. “We need you.”

Rolling her eyes, Eva dropped a stack of dirty plates in the sink. “Damn man never says please,” she told Julia. “And then he gets pissy when Rafe doesn’t mind his p’s and q’s, and refuses to admit that he’s the one setting the bad example.”

Julia grinned. She actually really liked Eva, though it had taken a while to get past those stunning looks. The woman belonged on the cover of a magazine, making Julia feel frumpy and hideous in comparison. But Eva had turned out to be as smart as she was beautiful, and a little sassy, just like Sebastian had said.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” the raven-haired woman called to her fiancé. “I didn’t quite hear you.”

Tate raised his voice. “I said get out here.”

“What was that?”

“Get out here.” A beat. “Please.”

Eva broke out in a grin. “Be right there!”

As Julia was about to turn on the faucet and tackle the dishes in the sink, the other woman swatted at her hand. “Leave them, Doc. We have more pressing concerns.”

With a lack of enthusiasm, Julia followed the other woman back outside. During dinner, they hadn’t spoken about what had happened in Esperanza and Valero, and she wasn’t quite ready to talk about it yet. She knew decisions needed to be made, knew a plan had to be formulated, but she simply didn’t have the stomach for any of it at the moment.

Nevertheless, she sank into the chair next to Sebastian, grateful that at least they were choosing to include her in the discussion. She knew Tate still didn’t trust her, but frankly, she didn’t care. She had nothing to prove to the man.

“We need to find a reputable lab that can test the water sample Stone brought,” Tate told his fiancée after she sat down. “Preferably one that employs a lab tech who’s looking to score some extra cash. There can’t be a record of this.”

Eva nodded in agreement. “I’ll see what I can find.”

“Or you can let me take the sample back to Boston,” Julia spoke up, her jaw tight. “I tried to tell you this earlier, but I know someone who can help, and he’ll do it without asking any questions.”

Tate’s lips curled in distrust. “Forgive me if I don’t take that at face value, Dr. Davenport.”

It amazed her that he was still able to look so damn menacing even with a sleeping toddler draped across his chest.

“Who’s this friend?” Sebastian asked, his tone far more encouraging than his commanding officer’s.

She shot Tate a quick scowl before turning away from him. “Frank Matheson. He’s a microbiologist and a professor at Harvard. He works out of a lab on campus, mostly does research, development, taking on the occasional government contract.” When all three men stiffened at the word government, she quickly reassured them. “He’s discreet, and he would never, ever betray me. He thinks of me as a daughter.”

“We’ll find a lab here,” Tate said firmly.

Julia rolled her eyes. “Right, you’re going to bribe a lab technician to test the sample and trust that the person you paid off keeps the results to himself. Sounds like a much better plan.”

“She has a point,” Nick said cautiously, reaching for the beer bottle on the table.

“Frank can be trusted,” she insisted. “And he’d be helping out of a sense of loyalty, not greed. Your lab tech will sell you out the second someone offers him more money.”

As a short silence hung over the table, Julia stared at the dark ocean twenty yards away, then up at the crescent moon shining in the inky-black sky. It was a warm night, the water calm, the breeze balmy. She inhaled the fresh, salty air, realizing this was the first time in a long time she wasn’t running around in a stressed-out daze.

And yet she missed the commotion of the clinic. She missed her patients. Her coworkers.

Her throat clogged, and she swallowed the lump of sorrow that formed there. They were all gone. The clinic was gone. And for what? So the military could cover up whatever inhumane tests they were conducting on unsuspecting people?

“I think we should let Julia contact her friend in Boston,” Sebastian finally said, his tone resigned. “We can ship him the sample—”

“No way,” Tate cut in. “We’re not letting that sample out of our sight. If it’s going to Boston to be tested, then one of us is going with it.”

“I’m the one who has to go,” Julia said. “Frank won’t agree to help unless I’m there to ask for it in person. He won’t trust any of you, even if you drop my name.”

Tate didn’t look the slightest bit pleased about the idea of sending her to Boston alone. Neither did Sebastian, who turned to her with a frown. “You’re not going anywhere without backup, Doc.” He glanced at Tate. “If she goes, I go with her.”

“And while they take care of the lab part, I’ll keep digging about Project Aries,” Eva spoke up.

“Project Aries?” Julia echoed.

Sebastian nodded. “Remember I told you my unit was sent to Corazón? Well, we were ordered to extract a man by the name of Richard Harrison, an American doctor who was supposedly being held hostage by the ULF. Long story short, Harrison was already dead when we arrived. Turns out he worked for a private research facility that specializes in biological weapons development. He was in charge of something called Project Aries, which we think has to do with the virus he was testing in Corazón.”

“I’ve been looking into it, trying to find out more details, but it’s slow-going. Some of these databases are impossible to hack into,” Eva said, running a frustrated hand through her black hair.

Julia was taken aback. “Wait—you’re a hacker?”

“A damn good one,” Nick piped up.

“I’m working with a friend to crack this,” Eva admitted, “but we keep striking out at every turn. We need to find out who else worked on Project Aries, what the objective was, what this virus actually is.”

“Well, Frank can help us with that last part,” Julia answered. “The man’s a genius.”

“Then it’s settled,” Sebastian said. “The doc and I will head to Boston while you guys stay here and do what you can to shed some light on Project Aries.”

Although Tate didn’t look particularly happy about this latest development, the man didn’t object.

“We’ll need to secure some papers for Julia,” Sebastian added. “How fast can Fernando get them done?”

“Less than twenty-four hours if we email him the photos.” Nick was already scraping back his chair. “I’ll grab the digital camera.”

The next thing Julia knew, she was being ushered inside and forced to pose for several photographs in front of the white wall in the cozy living room of the beach house. Nick even asked her to tie her hair up for some shots, for “authenticity,” whatever that meant. The photo shoot didn’t last long, and when it ended, she drifted outside again and made her way down to the water’s edge.

Tate, Eva and Rafe had disappeared into their bedroom, and Nick had stayed in the living room, hunched over a table laden with laptops and monitors. She’d noticed the computers earlier, as well as the fact that the men were armed at all times. Eva didn’t seem to mind it, but for Julia, it was an obtrusive reminder of the danger they faced. These men had been forced to leave their homes and flee to another continent.

And now she was in the same awful boat.

She hugged her chest, gazing at the silent ocean. A part of her was still in denial about everything. She wasn’t really in jeopardy, right? Those soldiers who’d detained her hadn’t really planned on killing her, had they? But even though she wanted so desperately to believe that this was nothing more than a messed-up misunderstanding, the memory of the clinic being devoured by red-and-orange flames rendered that impossible.

Her colleagues and patients had been murdered.

She would have been murdered if Sebastian Stone hadn’t come to her rescue.

“You’re too damn skinny.”

Speak of the devil. At the sound of Sebastian’s rough voice, Julia turned around.

She watched him approach, her gaze drawn to the rippled six-pack beneath his white T-shirt. His long cargo shorts revealed a pair of muscular legs dusted with golden hair, and as he got closer, she noticed that he still hadn’t shaved. Dark blond stubble coated his powerful jaw, and her fingers itched with the urge to stroke that prickly growth.

Distracted by his sheer sexiness, she tried to remember what he’d just said, then frowned when it sunk in. “It’s hard to find time to eat when I’m working,” she said defensively.

But he was right—the fact that she was nearly drowning in Eva’s dress told her that she’d lost more weight than she’d thought. Eva was definitely packing more curves than Julia in her chest and butt regions, but she was still a slender woman, which meant that Julia was indeed skinnier than she ought to be.

“But if it makes you happy, I’ll eat more,” she said grudgingly.

Sebastian came up beside her, chuckling softly. “Wow, that was easy.”

She edged closer to the waves, her bare toes sinking into the warm, wet sand. Sebastian was also barefoot, and he followed her right into the water, not even complaining when his ankles got splashed.

She bunched up the hem of Eva’s filmy blue dress and brought it up to her thighs so the fabric wouldn’t get wet. The lukewarm water lapped at her shins, the ebb-and-flow motion oddly comforting.

“Eva’s really nice,” she murmured. “I’m surprised she ended up with someone as grumpy as Tate.”

Sebastian laughed. “Me, too.”

“He is sweet to that boy, though,” Julia had to concede. “He loses some of those sharp edges when he’s talking to Rafe.”

“That was another surprise. Tate’s not much of a kid person, but he warmed up to Eva’s son fast.”

“Who’s...” She hesitated.

Sebastian read her mind. “Who’s Rafe’s father?”

She nodded.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

She was instantly struck with curiosity. “Well, now you have to tell me.”

“Hector Cruz.”

Julia’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

“Eva had a child with the former leader of the United Liberty Fighters?”

“Yes.”

She shook her head a couple of times, trying to make sense of that. Hector Cruz had been at the ULF helm for more than a decade before he was killed in a military raid two months ago. Julia had watched the coverage on the news, and she didn’t remember hearing anything about Cruz leaving behind a son. There hadn’t been mention of a wife or girlfriend either.

But that wasn’t even the perplexing part. After spending an entire evening with Eva Dolce, Julia couldn’t fathom how that intelligent, caring woman had gotten tangled up with a group of revolutionaries.

“Eva was young and idealistic when she met Cruz,” Sebastian said, yet again decoding her thoughts. “It didn’t take long before she realized what a tyrant he was, but by then, she was knocked up and at his mercy.” He shrugged. “She’s been living on the run, too, ever since the kid was born.”

“She must have been relieved when Cruz was killed during that ambush.”

Sebastian’s laugh was long and husky. “She orchestrated the ambush, Doc.”

“I’m confused again. The news reports said that an elite San Marquez military unit located Cruz’s hideout and eliminated him.”

Now he snorted. “Elite is right. Me, Tate and Eva were the ones who infiltrated Cruz’s base camp, and we’re the ones who blew it all to hell.”

“And you killed Cruz?”

“Tate did.”

When she winced, Sebastian’s gray eyes softened. “Don’t look at me like that, Doc. Remember what I said in Esperanza?”

She swallowed. “Kill or be killed.”

“Exactly.” He released a breath. “This is a dangerous world we live in. It’s inhabited by a lot of greedy, selfish, sadistic people who will trample over you to achieve their goals. Cruz stole from the people he claimed to be protecting. He and his men murdered and raped and pillaged, and he would’ve killed Tate if Tate hadn’t killed him first. Same with those guards standing outside your tent—who do you think would’ve pulled the trigger when the general gave the order for you to die? Those men, Julia.”

“I know.” She spoke in a tortured whisper. “But it’s difficult for me to think in those terms. I took an oath to save lives, not take them.”

“You’re saving your own life. That’s equally important.”

“I guess.”

She moved away from the water and let the flowing skirt fall down her legs. Sand clung to her wet feet, but she didn’t bend over to brush it off just yet. She wasn’t ready to go in, and apparently Sebastian was in no hurry either.

As she fixed her gaze on the waves again, she became aware of how just how close they were standing. His muscular arm brushed her shoulder, and that appealing woodsy scent filled her nostrils and made her light-headed. She couldn’t help but remember their flirty exchange at the clinic, how badly she’d wanted to kiss him. So much had changed in such a short amount of time, and yet one thing hadn’t changed at all: she still wanted to kiss him.

No matter how inappropriate it might be, no matter how much her heart ached at the moment, she still wanted to discover what Sebastian Stone’s lips would feel like pressed against her own.

So find out.

Julia wasn’t sure if it was confidence or insanity that fueled her next move, but either way, grabbing Sebastian by his collar and bringing his head down for an impulsive kiss was completely out of character for her.

She felt his big body stiffen for a moment, but he recovered quickly, returning the kiss with such passion she nearly keeled over. Her knees wobbled, pulse raced, palms dampened. Sebastian’s lips were firm, his mouth warm as he slanted it over hers and deepened the kiss.

When his tongue slid into her mouth in one sensual glide, she was helpless to stop him. The skill with which he kissed her stole the breath from her lungs. He licked, swirled, explored, his mouth hot and insistent as it met hers in blistering kisses that made her entire body burn with uncontrollable arousal.

As her hands came up to rest on his broad shoulders, his slid down to stroke the small of her back. They were both breathing hard, panting each time they broke apart for air, groaning each time their mouths reconnected.

She’d never felt this way before. Hot, needy, desperate. She bit Sebastian’s lower lip, then sucked on it, eliciting a growl from deep in his chest.

“Holy hell, baby, that’s hot,” he muttered, and then he did the same damn thing to her, making her moan with abandon.

She had no clue how long they stood there, bare feet sinking in the sand, arms wrapped around each other, mouths and tongues dueling, but when they finally pulled apart again, her lips were swollen and her hair was a tangled mess from Sebastian’s fingers running through it.

“I... Wow.” She gulped, then sucked in a steadying breath. “I don’t know what came over me.”

His gray eyes smoldered with residual passion. “I’m not complaining.”

Julia offered a faint smile. “So...what now?”

She wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say. Maybe “now we make out some more.” Or maybe “now I take you inside and rock your world.” She would’ve been just fine with any response, really.

Except the one he gave her.

“Now we pretend that didn’t happen.” All the humor had left his eyes, and now his expression was somber.

She raised her brows. “Are you joking?”

Sebastian shook his head. “We can’t sleep together, Julia. Especially tonight. You watched the clinic burn to the ground yesterday, for chrissake, and we’ve been on the move ever since. You’re afraid and upset and the adrenaline high is still—”

“Oh, for the love of God,” she interrupted. “Would you quit telling me how I’m feeling? Why do men always do that?”

“You’re telling me you’re not upset, then?”

“No, of course I’m upset,” she said irritably. “But you know what would make me less upset? Some forget-your-problems sex.”

Another glimmer of heat flared in his gray eyes, but it burned out fast. “Maybe so, but it’s still not a good idea, Doc. Right now I can’t focus on anything other than getting out of this mess. I’m tired of hiding out, I’m tired of looking over my shoulder. I want this situation over and done with, and until that happens, I can’t get involved with anyone.”

A sigh slipped out of her throat. Crap. How was she supposed to fault him for that? She’d been running for only one day. He’d been doing it for months and months. Of course he had more urgent concerns at the moment than sex.

“I understand,” she said quietly.

Relief flooded his handsome face. “Thank you. And look... You’re a beautiful woman, Doc. I’m attracted to you, no denying that. But—” He shrugged awkwardly before taking a step away. “Sex just isn’t on my mind right now. It’s not a priority.” Another step. “Anyway, let’s go inside. I want to see if Nick heard from our contact.”

With a nod, Julia trailed after him, happy he couldn’t see her face because she knew she was blushing from embarrassment, not to mention the lingering desire coursing through her blood.

Now we pretend that didn’t happen.

Ha. Fat chance, she thought as she followed Sebastian back to the house.