Heat touched my skin, the goose bumps refusing to disappear as he edged closer, and as he brushed by me, his shoulder touching my arm, I shivered, unable to hold back my reaction.

  He didn’t speak as he scanned my body with an assessing gaze. His brows shot up, though, when they settled on the open waist of the borrowed jeans, my thick trail visible.

  “Jesus, Ethan.” A groan followed, and his eyes snapped to mine. “This is what you were wearing the whole time?” Light pink travelled up his neck, hitting his cheeks. “How did I not see this earlier?” Heat filled his eyes, and I shifted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. A thick cock in these pants wouldn’t leave anything to the imagination.

  “I shifted at the bunker before I had the chance to strip.” Gravel turned my voice raspy.

  He swallowed hard, his eyes once again roaming my body, his fingers twitching, seeming like he wanted to follow the path of his gaze. If he did, I wouldn’t have minded one bit, but I didn’t think he’d be comfortable if my need for him overtook reason.

  “Callen, Shaw, and Michaels are staying here to wait for Durrant and a team to arrive. The rest of us are catching a lift on Tarka’s jet back to Sydney.”

  My heart hammered in my chest. So this was goodbye?

  “Okay.” I shuttered my expression and locked up any semblance of emotion that may sneak past my defences. “I’ll grab a lift to the airport or maybe a hotel close by so I can wash up first.”

  Fuck, my passport, my gear. I closed my eyes, realizing everything was back in Brisbane. A second later, my eyes sprang wide open. “Shit, there was a fire.” I didn’t think I’d imagined that. After the explosion, everything was a little blurry. “My bag….” I trailed off.

  I would need to organise a fake passport. I could reach out to George, who’d previously helped me when I was in Warwick.

  “I have your bag.”

  My attention snapped to him, relief rushing into my chest thick and fast. “You do?”

  He nodded, his intense gaze searching mine. “Your bag was left in the SUV we’d picked up.”

  A heavy whoosh of air escaped me. “That’s great, thanks.” A relieved smile tilted my lips a fraction. “I’ll grab that first.”

  “Before what?”

  My smile slipped as reality set in. I had to go. “Before getting out of your hair and getting on the first flight to London.”

  When his lips tightened and formed a straight line, I held my breath, refusing to fidget under his scrutiny.

  “Lucas.” Callen calling his name broke our connection.

  Matt glanced over his shoulder to where Callen stood with a phone to his ear and a tired expression. Hell, we all looked bolloxed. Covered in soot and blood, we were worse for wear. I definitely wouldn’t be walking through the airport like this.

  When Callen beckoned Matt over, he nodded before sparing me a glance and an up-nod. A second later, he turned on his heels and left.

  That really was that, then.

  The disappointment pressing against me threatened to smother my breath. I hated it. Detested the sensation of regret, of feeling let down. But each of those emotions were on me. I was responsible.

  To be so invested in a man who I barely knew was beyond ridiculous. Sure, we’d shared some moments that had wedged themselves under my skin, but whatever this thing was between us could easily be blamed on our forced proximity and high-stress situations.

  Fuck, I was a dick.

  Squaring my shoulders, I rifled through one of the bags in the back of the SUV, looking for a tee of some sort. Coming up short, I searched a second, pausing when my hand touched fabric. A black T-shirt. I held it in front of me. Another snug fit, but it’d do.

  I tugged it on, turning at the friendly chuckle.

  Tarka eyed the shirt I’d commandeered that sported his firm’s logo and name, Eclipse Security. “A tight fit, but it could work.”

  I snorted out a huff, not feeling any real amusement.

  “I’m serious. We can order those in XXL, make it more comfortable.”

  My brows shot high, my reaction plain as day for him to see. Was he saying…? “Are you offering me a job?”

  His one-armed shrug was anything but casual as he studied me. “Maybe. Are you looking?”

  Taken aback by this whole conversation, my brain struggled to process his words. His “sort of” offer. After a beat, I landed on “I don’t work well with others.”

  His laugh caught me by surprise. Loud and booming, it pierced the air, turning more than a few heads our way. “I never took you for a bullshitter.” He narrowed his gaze despite the smirk still being evident. “Sarcastic and a grumbly arsehole, sure. But someone who’d tell a bold-faced lie….”

  I bristled, my muscles bunching as I turned to face him. “The fuck?”

  A carefree lift of his shoulder preceded his “Just calling it as I see it.”

  “The hell is that supposed to mean?”

  “You, today, and from what I’ve heard, the moment you stepped into Australia, have absolutely been a team player. The way you handled the situation, protected Vally, kicked some serious arse a few metres from where we stand⁠—”

  I shook my head, cutting him off. “I don’t fight unless I have to. Give me a computer and I can get shit do⁠—”

  “Deal.”

  What the hell? “That’s not what I⁠—”

  “I can give you the best equipment you can dream of having as well as the support. I can also pay you a shit-ton of money.”

  I took a good look at the man before me. He seemed genuine. I also knew he was close to Matt.

  Matt.

  If I took a position here, what would that mean for us? Did I have the guts to pursue something?

  My chest constricted. Fuck, I wanted that. Desperately. Wanted to see if there was something real between us. Wanted to care for him, look out for him, spend hours worshipping his body as we took the time to learn everything there was to know about each other.

  I cast my gaze away, searching for him. Immediately finding him still talking to Callen, I took a shallow breath. Would he want this?

  As if sensing my attention, Matt angled towards me, our eyes connecting.

  He didn’t smile. He didn’t wink. He didn’t rush towards me, begging me not to leave. But there was something just out of reach. Something telling me that doing this could work.

  Maybe some things were stronger than fate after all.

  Maybe the lonely existence I’d accepted as my future wasn’t set in stone.

  “If I can be located to Sydney,” I said, looking at Tarka, “I’m interested. Tell me more on the ride to the airstrip.”

  A satisfied smile and a pat on my arm and Tarka chuckled. “That’s definitely a deal. Let’s get this shitshow on the road.”

  With the digital pen poised over the screen, I took a deep breath. Fuck it. I signed the contract with zero flourish and gave the tablet back to Tarka. I had to hand it to the man, he was efficient.

  We were close to the airstrip. The two of us sat in the back seat of the SUV while Prue, a member of his team, was at the wheel. In the time it took to leave the scene and get this far, he’d talked me through the position—mission tech support and all the finer details that it entailed—offered me a salary package I’d struggled not to gawk at and organised a contract.

  “Do you want to head to the UK to pack up or…?” He trailed off, looking satisfied as he countersigned the contract.

  “No.” I shook my head. “There’s a company I can use to do that for me and get my things sent over.” If I left, I might wake up and realise I was making a huge mistake and putting a hell of a lot of pressure on a relationship that may never pan out.

  But I wasn’t only doing it for that.

  It was time I wanted more. Building friendships and trust, having people at my back who I could count on—I wanted that. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have flown halfway across the world in the first place. I’d done so out of guilt, sure, but also, the friendship I had with Hart was tentative at best. I hadn’t wanted to lose it completely.

  Hell, since I’d left Sydney, I’d barely talked to the man. There was a lot I had to make up for when it came to earning his trust. I hoped this past week was a strong start to that.

  “No worries.” Tarka tugged out a phone from a bag at his feet and passed it to me. “This is fully secure and now yours.” He focussed back on his tablet. “I’ve just sent you the details for your new digs. It’s about fifteen minutes—if traffic isn’t a bastard—from headquarters. We have other hubs in each of the major cities around Australia, but Sydney is our home base.” His smile turned sly, eyes filling with amusement when he added, “Just ten minutes in the other direction is a certain unit leader’s pad too.”

  Despite my heating cheeks at being called out, I refused to look away as I narrowed my gaze. My pining clearly had not been as subtle as I’d thought. Though another dead giveaway was probably how I’d manhandled Matt at the bunker, then been caught with my tongue down his throat.

  “Fuck off,” I grunted. Boss or not, the man would need to get used to me.

  Amused, Tarka chuckled and bobbed his head as the SUV pulled to a stop outside the hangar. “I think you’re going to fit right in, Wilder.” With that, he exited the car, and I lumbered out, searching for the sign to the washroom he’d told me about.

  Most of us would need a washdown, so I had to make quick work of cleaning up and shaving around my wound to free up the space.

  Spotting the sign, I headed first to the lockers. Here I would find fresh clothes. Just like Tarka told me, the locker was crammed full. I peered down at my still-bare feet, dreading the amount of scrubbing that I’d need to do to get the dirt trapped in small cuts from scraping rocks. In a third locker, I found a pair of boots, relieved men’s shoe sizes worked the same way here as in the UK. I was in no fit state to figure out maths.

  New clothes in hand, I headed into the small washroom. A shower sat in the corner, and there was a toilet stall to the side with its own door and a sink near the entrance. I flicked the lock, stripped, and switched on the shower.

  Blissful, glorious heat hit my shoulders. I embraced each sting, relieved and, honestly, a little surprised I’d survived the ordeal. Knowing time was of the essence, I scrubbed at my body before finding a bunch of disposable razors in a small cupboard. Before I could step back into the shower to shave around my wound, a gentle knock sounded at the door.

  My brows dipped. “I’ll be quick.” Fuck, I wasn’t taking that long.

  Another knock and I clenched my jaw, reaching for the lock as I tugged the door open, not giving a shit that I stood starkers. I rocked back on my heels, my frustration disappearing in an instant.

  “Matt,” I whispered.

  His gaze softened a fraction before uncertainty took over. “You mind if I come in?”

  Hope bloomed in my chest, only to fade away when he held up a suture kit.

  “I thought you might need a hand.”

  I straightened and pushed aside my disappointment as I took a step back, giving him access. “Sure, thanks.”

  He locked the door behind himself before turning back to me.

  We stood in awkward silence, him assessing my body—likely my injuries—me wondering why I couldn’t just open my trap and tell him I was staying. That I wanted to kiss him.

  “You, uhm… need help shaving the wound?”

  His nerves sent a flutter to my chest.

  “That’d be great,” I answered despite being able to manage perfectly fine by myself. But hey, if the man was offering to get up close and personal with my naked body, I had no issues with that.

  His lips twitched, but he didn’t call me out. After all, he’d offered.

  “You want to get back in the shower so we can get some suds on your chest?”

  When faint pink touched his cheeks, I nodded immediately, voice dropping as I said, “Won’t you get wet?”

  The pink deepened, flushing to a colour I enjoyed seeing far too much on his usually pale skin.

  Wordlessly, he dropped the suture kit on the basin and shrugged off his clothes.

  Well, fuck.

  I eased back under the spray, unable to look away.

  He was glorious.

  He stepped into the shower, and as the water cascaded over his body, it washed away some of the grime and blood, revealing the full extent of his injuries. Angry red cuts crisscrossed his chest, some partially healed, others still fresh. Bruises marred his skin, painting a story of the fierce battle we had just survived. Yet, despite the wounds, he was breathtakingly beautiful—lightly muscular, strong, and fuck, he was gorgeous.

  My breath caught in my throat as he moved closer, the space between us shrinking. My body reacted instinctively, heat pooling in my core as I reached for him. He met me halfway, our bodies pressing together under the warm spray. His skin was slick and warm against mine, every point of contact sending electric sparks through my veins.

  His eyes, dark with desire, locked onto mine. The weight of what we had faced, the reality of our mortality, hung heavy in the air. We could have died today. This could have been one of our last moments together, and that realisation fuelled the fire between us.

  Before I could speak, his hands cupped my face, and his mouth crashed onto mine with a ferocity that took my breath away. The kiss was desperate, filled with pent-up passion and an urgent need to feel alive. I responded in kind, my hands roaming over his body, feeling the hard planes of his muscles, the rough edges of his wounds. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing the unspoken fear of losing him. What could have been.

  We kissed harder, more fiercely, the intensity of our emotions driving us to the brink. The steam from the shower enveloped us, creating a protective cocoon. His hands tangled in my hair, tugging me closer as his lips moved hungrily over mine. I could taste the salt of his sweat, the metallic tang of blood, and something uniquely him.

  A loud knock on the door shattered our moment, pulling us back to harsh reality. “Wheels up in fifteen minutes, and others need the facilities,” a voice called out.

  We pulled away reluctantly, breathing heavily, skin flushed. The urgency of our situation pressed down on us, and unspoken questions lingered in the air between us.

  “Matt,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the sound of the water.

  “Let’s get this done quickly. Get you shaved. Then I’ll stitch you up out of the room to free it.”

  He was right, but that didn’t mean I had to be happy about it.

  “Fine,” I grumbled, my cock bobbing between us. It brushed his stomach, and he groaned, eyes dilating.

  “Ethan.” He bit his bottom lip, peering between us, eyeing my erection. Then he stepped back, shaking his head. “Perhaps this will go faster if you shave yourself and I meet you out there?” He hooked a thumb behind him in the direction of the door.

  Feeling cocky, I grinned. “Unable to resist me?”

  When he dragged a slow glance down my body, my gut tightened. He was absolutely the one in control here.

  “Maybe. Perhaps we can find out when we get to Sydney.”

  My brows shot high. Had Tarka told him?

  Without another word, he flicked one last longing glance at my cock before he turned, shoved the shower curtain to block his view, got dressed, and hightailed it out of the room.

  My laugh remained, loud and satisfied, from the moment he tried to hide me away until deep chuckles followed as I dried and dressed, eager to track him down to discover what exactly he meant by his comment about Sydney.

  CHAPTER 11

  LUCAS

  This was a bad idea.

  After I’d been unceremoniously told about Ethan not only being offered a job but accepting it, meaning he was officially relocating, my mind spun out. While ruled by blurring thoughts and possibilities, I’d invited him here. My home.

  What on earth had I been thinking?

  With his heat at my back, a shiver ran through me, my shoulders sagging a little.

  “If you need me to book into a hotel….”

  I dropped my head, trying to get myself together before saying, “It’s okay. I want you here.”

  And I did. That didn’t mean walking into my private space wasn’t going to go seriously wrong. Once invited in, there’d be no going back. No pretending.

  Though when Ethan’s warm, steady palm pressed against my lower back in silent support, I suspected he already knew I wasn’t as put together as I led everyone to believe.

  “You can trust me.”

  The words did the trick, honesty ringing as pure as a bell in the stillness of the night. While my fear didn’t subside, it eased a fraction. Ethan had already taken care of me and stepped up when he didn’t have to. And not once did I believe he thought any less of me.

  Far from it.

  He seemed to relish the action, enjoy being there for me.

  “Okay,” I mumbled, letting him interpret my response however he wished.

  I unlocked the first security door, which led to a small lobby. I sensed him looking around and taking in my space as well as the systems I had in place.

  A retina scan and a code later, we stepped into the main area—the outer sanctum that I’d previously opened up to my team when I needed to. It was all gleaming surfaces while being comfortable and modern. Off to the side was a large workroom decked out with a wall of screens and multiple workstations my team and I had spent time using before when our base had been compromised.

  “Nice digs.”

  We made eye contact, and a gentle smile formed.

  “You want to show me the real you?”

  I tugged the inside of my cheeks between my teeth, uncertainty battling with relief. “What do you mean?”

  Arching his brow, Ethan tilted his head as he reached out and took my hand in his. “Matt, you can trust me.”

  There was no denying the small tremble in my hand. No hiding my nerves as they rolled off me, no doubt changing my scent.

  With a single nod, I bypassed the door that led to the guest suite. After working through another round of security, the door opened into my private suite: an open-plan area containing a sitting room and dining space, plus a kitchen that featured high-tech mod cons. The bedroom door was closed, which led the way to the large bathroom. I glanced around, trying to imagine my reaction if I saw it for the first time.

 

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