“It doesn’t hurt if you use it while you’re here. It’s pretty obvious you’re under our protection.” Marc flashed Gabe one of those male looks that wasn’t as indecipherable as they thought it was. “There’s probably a charger that fits it in the guest cabin.”
“I’ll show her.” Gabe sounded grumbly. He probably wouldn’t appreciate the description but to her, it was perfect.
The walk to the cabin was silent and awkward. When they reached the porch, Gabe came to a halt. “It’s going to be a busy afternoon for us, and probably a late night too.”
She nodded, clutching her phone to her chest to keep herself from fidgeting. “There’s plenty of noodles and soup left if you all get hungry later in the afternoon. And I can come up and make dinner.”
“Only if you want to.” Gabe shoved his hands deep into the front pockets of his jeans. “You should take the time to rest if you can.”
“I’m not going to get much sleep while we’re this close.”
“I know, but this kind of operation is something we need to prepare for in every way before we go in. Too many things can go wrong if we’re not ready, and these people—Edict at least and probably their sponsor too—they aren’t the type to have regrets if they end up killing people.”
Fear cut her breath short. For An-mei, for Gabe, for the people who’d so quickly become friends. “If there’s any way to do this without people getting hurt...”
“Being prepared will minimize the damage.” Gabe looked up, catching her in a fierce gaze. “We do what we do to ensure the best outcome. Believe that.”
Maylin swallowed hard. “I do.”
His expression softened. “Not like you’ve had much reason to believe me recently, but it’s true. We’re going to do everything we can to get your sister back safely for you. Let us do what we’re good at.”
She ached to hear his words. He was right, and she wasn’t going to lie to him or herself and say her faith in him had been completely restored. But it was rebuilding, and maybe he didn’t realize how much it had to do with him taking accountability for what he’d done, acknowledging how she’d felt and committing himself to rebuilding faith with her. Those things all mattered.
And most of all, she didn’t want things between them to be broken.
“Will you be coming back here at all?” The last few words came out in a whisper. She didn’t want him to feel obligated but she’d miss him.
His expression softened and yet his gaze intensified, heated. “There’s a lot of work to do. To be honest, if I come back here I’m going to be tempted to do all sorts of things to bring us closer together that have nothing to do with the mission or the team.”
She blinked, surprised by the answering heat coursing through her. Damn it, her nipples tightened.
“Shouldn’t play with temptation.” And she was going to have a nasty discussion with herself about priorities. Her body was distracting in the worst possible way and she wasn’t ready yet to give in that way again. Was she? She needed to edge them back towards steady ground. “Why don’t I come back up in a few hours and cook the kind of dinner you can grab and get back to whatever it was you were doing? The kind we can leave out on the counter for you all to snack on through the night.”
“Wouldn’t say no.” Gabe grinned at her and her breath caught to see it. “Entire team appreciates how you’ve been feeding us. We’re going to have to up our PT, though.”
“PT?” Nope. Her brain wasn’t capable of recovering fast enough to remember simple acronyms yet. Full-blown fantasies of kissing him were taking up the majority of her mental capacity at the moment.
If anything, his grin widened. As if he could know. Well, maybe he could. “Physical training.”
And how did one volunteer for it?
She dragged in a full breath of chill air. Cold shower might be better. “Good food is worth it.”
He winked. “Agreed.”
If he didn’t turn down the charm, her heart was going to crash right through her chest. Or stop for good.
“I’ll see you later, cora??o.” When he leaned in, she didn’t duck. His kiss seared her lips and when his fingers touched her jawline she opened her mouth so he could deepen the kiss. In moments, she was lost.
Then the kiss ended and he took a step back. Off balance, she almost stumbled forward and he reached out to steady her, letting her go as soon as she had regained her equilibrium. Physically, at least.
She thought he might say something. He opened his mouth, closed it. Then he turned and headed back.
What had she been hoping for? Had to be something, because the pang of disappointment hurt and she didn’t think it was Gabe’s fault. There was no doubt of the attraction between them, and he was walking away to do exactly what she’d wanted him to do from the first time she’d met him. Every minute she spent with him, her reasons for holding distance between them crumbled. And he had to know.