Isabelle grunted and turned her gaze to her laptop.
Her brow furrowed with her concentration and a stray strand of hair fell forward. It was entirely possible the server had offered to come back simply because she was a beautiful customer. She didn’t seem to consider the possibility and he found it entertaining.
Kyle poured a small cup of his first coffee—a variety of bean from Jamaica—and savored it sip by sip, settling in to enjoy this simple thing. It helped him compartmentalize, gain distance from the fright of fleeing the apartment that was supposed to have been his safe house. In a way, it helped him organize the jumble of questions in his head. He’d give her a minute or two to accomplish her tasks, then he’d ask her what their next steps would be. In the meantime, he could enjoy the view too. Her look of concentration was very appealing, especially the way her lips pursed as she read the screen.
Isabelle, he’d found, tended to be more forthcoming than Austin or Weaver, most definitely more communicative across the board than Decker. She seemed to be of the opinion the more he knew, the more likely he would be to take action when she needed him to.
He was most definitely inclined to agree.
The laptop only had a portion of Isabelle’s attention though. She was still glancing up every few seconds to assess who was coming and going from the room. What each person was doing. Her eyes even took on the far-off look of someone staring out beyond the windows to anything outside.
Doing his best to maintain his calm, he went for what he hoped would come out as a light tone. “Are we expecting company?”
“Mmm.” She continued to type away at her laptop. “Always expect the worst company. That way, if they don’t show up, you’re pleasantly surprised.”
It occurred to him then, she might be prepared for a fight. Here, in a public place. She’d placed her backpack on the seat between them and the main compartment remained open. Her duffel bag was on the other side, also open. She had easy access to any weapon she’d brought with her. If he recalled, she had at least one impressively large firearm.
The legalities of it all boggled his mind.
“What about our friends?” The idea of saying their names out loud twisted his gut. There’d been a reason they’d run in the first place. He’d only heard Isabelle’s side of the terse exchange but none of it had sounded good.
Her fingers paused on the keyboard and she lifted her head, pinning him with the full focus of her attention. “From what I could learn, they are not in the best shape but they’ll be okay. In fact, they weren’t absolutely sure we needed to move at all.”
Indirect. But at least she was giving him answers. If he wanted more he’d have to be every bit as circumspect. “Will we be chatting again with them soon?”
Isabelle’s lips curved in an approving smile. That mouth of hers was ever so enticing. “Not yet. But things are up in the air. I’m sure we’ll catch up with them once everyone has had a chance to rest for the afternoon.”
Kyle raised an eyebrow at her. “So it’s just the two of us.”
And not a private place in sight to take advantage of the situation. Yet.
“For a bit.” She lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Consider it an opportunity to spend a few hours being people we usually aren’t.”
Her message was clear. He grinned. Because it was the perfect opening to take her hint well past the intent and he absolutely wasn’t going to pass it by.
“Well then,” he drawled as he stretched his long legs under the table and lifted his arms to rest along the back of the booth bench. “I think that’s a great idea.”
She harrumphed and returned her attention to her computer screen yet again.
Oh no, he had his equilibrium back now and he was more than ready to prick her temper a bit.
“Tell me, who would you be if you weren’t you for an afternoon?” He leaned toward her and brushed the stray lock of wavy dark hair from her cheek.
She batted his hand away and turned toward him, mouth open to deliver some retort.
He darted in, capturing her mouth and whatever heated words she’d planned to give him. He guessed he was risking physical injury but he hadn’t died yet and she was supposed to be his bodyguard so she couldn’t kill him for daring.
*
Anger surged and battled with her short-circuited libido. He’d caught her by surprise but that was no excuse for letting him inside her guard.
No. She was pissed at herself because she’d been imagining exactly what kissing him would be like.
And now she was.
And melting into his arms wasn’t in the plan.
But his lips on hers felt damned good. It’d been a long time since chemistry with a man sizzled this way. So maybe a little melting was called for.
His lips brushed over hers and his tongue flicked out, teasing her lower lip.