Special Forces Seduction. C.J. Miller

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СКАЧАТЬ That quickly, she was ready to jump back in the game.

      “If you were one of my operatives telling me you wanted revenge on Barnett, I wouldn’t assign you to this op,” Hyde said. Too many emotion-fueled decisions would lead to a mistake.

      Finn ran his hand down her arm, letting their fingers linger together. “Does that mean you want me to take someone else?” He brought her fingers to his lips and kissed her knuckles. The fire in his eyes seared her to the core.

      Finn didn’t work well with others. He followed orders, but he preferred to be in command. This mission had a personal element and that would require extra vigilance. “I’m going. But you know we’ll make more mistakes because this is deeply personal. Revenge is heavy baggage and I prefer to be light and nimble on operations.”

      Finn pulled her against him and she braced her hands on his chest. “I knew I wasn’t wasting my time coming out here,” he said.

      “How’d you find me?” she asked.

      He lifted a brow. “Former Army Special Forces.”

      “Right.” His training as a Green Beret was exhaustive and had left him with an impressive list of skills.

      She had been careful to cover her tracks when she’d returned to Bearcreek. If Finn had found her, then her enemies could, as well. Hyde wanted to protect her family. “I need more than that.”

      “Small details I pieced together over the time I’ve known you. And begging Kate West for intel on you,” Finn said.

      Surprise struck her. “Kate gave me up?”

      Finn winked. “Only because I told her I was in love with you and needed to tell you in person.”

      Hyde gasped. In love with her? They hadn’t spoken of love, not once during their relationship. Standing in the warm circle of his arms, her heart overreacted.

      Finn traced the strap of her yellow dress with his finger. “I told her what she needed to hear to give me your location.”

      It was like a hammer slamming down on a delicate flower, smashing it to pieces. Hyde shook off the disappointment that pressed on her. Finn, love and she didn’t belong grouped together in the same sentence. It wasn’t love she felt for him. It was desire, plain and simple. She would be smart to keep her eyes on the prize, which in this case, was the mission. “You think we have a chance of taking Reed Barnett down?”

      “I do. Now stop talking about Reed Barnett and let’s talk about something else. Like how we’ll spend this beautiful evening.”

      She couldn’t leave her sister’s wedding. She wouldn’t hear the end of it. “I’m staying at the wedding. My date will take me home.”

      Finn appeared a mix of hurt and surprised. “You have a date to this wedding?”

      Her sister had fixed her up with George, a coworker of Thomas’s. After suffering through fifteen minutes of awkward conversation, George had ignored her for the rest of the night. Stepping outside with Finn would have gone unnoticed by George. “I have a date.” It was nice for Finn to believe she had moved on and wasn’t still carrying a torch for him. A torch she was trying to extinguish. Finn was part of her spy life and after this mission, she was finished with that.

      “Are you dating? Is your date the reason you’re retiring?” Finn sounded indifferent, but he had dropped her hands and had taken a step away from her.

      “George has nothing to do with my career plans.” She had met him two days before the wedding at the rehearsal dinner.

      “Is he taking you home?” Finn asked, folding his arms over his chest.

      He wasn’t. Hyde had driven herself to the wedding. That wasn’t Finn’s business. Hyde held up her hand. “Don’t pretend to care what I do when we’re not together, and don’t act jealous. Territorial doesn’t suit you.”

      Finn was perpetually confident and rarely questioned himself. He leaned back away from her. “That’s an unfair statement. I care about you. I want to know what’s going on in your life.”

      Hyde scratched at her head where a bobby pin was pressing into her scalp. “I can’t get into it with you here and now.”

      “But I want to get into it.” Finn lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the inside of her wrist.

      The caress of his lips nearly broke her defenses. “If we’re working an operation together, we need to keep our relationship chill.” They needed the reminder.

      “Chill? What does that mean?” Finn asked.

      It meant the opposite of what their relationship had been. No hot sex, no making out, no sleeping together. “It means we’re working together professionally. Nothing else except the mission.”

      Lines formed around Finn’s eyes. “I will respect your wishes.” He released her hand.

      Hyde was startled by Finn’s acceptance of her statement. Disappointment pinged in her chest. He had let her go easily and it spoke volumes. “I should get back to my family. Are you planning to stick around or do you want to meet at the airport?” She wanted him to say airport. Being around Finn left her feeling like she needed to catch her breath and clear her head.

      “I have nowhere else to be and we need to talk more about Barnett.”

      “We’ll talk on the journey there,” Hyde said. Finn’s eyes didn’t leave her. His gaze heated her from her head to her toes.

      “We should talk now,” Finn said.

      “I can’t now.” The urge to cry struck her, which was ridiculous. Spies didn’t cry when they were with their colleagues. Finn had churned up emotions she had worked hard to lock away. She needed time. “Goodbye, Finn.”

      As she walked away, she felt him watching her.

      Finn remained at the table on the far side of the tent. He had unbuttoned his suit jacket and looked relaxed, as if he hadn’t requested she go with him on a dangerous and complicated mission.

      Hyde pretended the wedding held her full attention. She was thinking of Finn and Simon and taking down Reed Barnett. Guests talked and laughed and danced. Hyde worked to put a pleasant expression on her face. She strolled into the crowd and made small talk with her family. When she glanced at the corner table, Finn had disappeared. Regret speared her. She hadn’t invited him to stay at the wedding. Perhaps she should have.

      Finn was as much of an outsider as she was. She and her family were pretending that she was part of it, but her absence had taken a toll on her personal relationships.

      Hyde caught a glimpse of Finn across the room. He was speaking to a distant cousin, who was laughing and touching his jacket sleeve. Jealousy nipped at her and Hyde suppressed the urge to stake a claim. Hyde turned away and searched for George. The DJ was playing a popular song that had filled the dance floor.

      George was speaking to people she didn’t recognize. Hyde looked around for Lydia or Thea. She needed a distraction. Possessiveness and jealousy didn’t work in her relationship with Finn. She and Finn hadn’t discussed their relationship in terms of commitment and exclusivity. СКАЧАТЬ