After a few moments of staring at each other, she said, “Yes and no.”

The best answer she could give under the circumstances, he supposed. Circumstances he needed to know every detail of if he planned get them out of this mess.

He strode to the couch and sat down, a magnetic force pulling him to within touching distance. His hand brushed aside the soft waves of hair on her shoulder. “You left the other day without saying goodbye.”

She leaned into his touch. “Sorry about that.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Tiny flecks of green sparkled in her blue eyes, stirring passion and protectiveness inside him.

Without asking permission, he leaned over and kissed her. Tenderly. Tentatively. He’d missed the taste of her, and didn’t want to waste another second just thinking about it. She reciprocated as if she’d missed him too. Thank God.

The image of the two of them naked on his office floor flashed through his mind as her lips slowly parted. Sex had never riled him to his core as it had with Tess, and he desperately wanted to feel her soft, sexy skin rubbing up against his again. And again. And again.

“Stop,” she breathed, her hand pressing against his chest. “We need to talk.”

“Talk later.” His own breathless voice gave away his true intentions. He captured her bottom lip in his teeth and playfully tugged.

Those impossibly long lashes of hers sent a tremor down his spine. Her attention stayed on the heated shimmer he knew his eyes held. And by the nibble she gave back, he knew she wanted to do much more than talk, but her baby blues begged conversation first.

It took everything he had to pull away. “I think I missed you.”

“You think?” She straightened herself, drew one leg up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her shin.

“My brain’s a little foggy at the moment.” He scooted back to leave some space between them. One touch of her lips to his and her mouth was a drug he couldn’t get enough of.

She, on the other hand, played the situation very cool. Her lips formed a tight, thin line as if she were trying to will them to stay shut, and her chin jutted out just slightly. The only thing betraying her stoicism was the flush in her cheeks. And the nervous arousal he let the empathic part of him pick up on. He inwardly smiled.

“Because?” she said.

“Did you find Dobson?” he asked, not wanting to go into details about his private thoughts and feelings where she was concerned. He’d been in a goddamn haze since she’d disappeared. He shook his head, clearing the cobwebs.

“I didn’t have a chance. Another assignment came up.” Her eyes wandered to the floor, the reception desk, the tree in the corner. Everywhere but back to him.

Something had happened on the job. Had she made another mistake? He waited for her to elaborate, noticing she wrestled with how much more to tell him. Her lips parted, then pursed. Did it have to do with another wolf?

He took her hand. So much for keeping his distance. The pain on her face almost strangled the air out of him. “Want to talk about it?”

Finally, she connected to him, her gaze annihilating the hard shell he wore to protect himself. If anyone had tried to hurt her, he’d rip the person to shreds.

“I don’t want to kill anymore.” She’d looked him straight in the eye as she spoke, conceding, pleading, praying for the right to make her own decisions.

“Then don’t.” He knew she didn’t need a lecture. She needed assurance with as little interference as possible. They both hated being told what to do. He could no more force his opinion on her than she could on him.

“It’s not that easy.”

“Since when do you like easy?”

That got a slight smile out of her. “I let my mark go. Told him to disappear. I wasn’t sure he deserved to be eliminated.” Her thumb slid back and forth over his knuckles. “It was the first time I’ve done that—let my heart get in the way.”

“Second time,” Hugh said.

“What?”

“Second time you’ve questioned an assignment. You haven’t killed me yet, and I’d like to think it’s because—”

She moved with lightning speed and slammed her mouth into his. He nearly toppled over but regained his balance when his hands landed at her waist. Her kiss sent a rush of heat through him that permeated his bones. They kissed and sighed and moaned until she pulled away, leaving him in vital need of her all over again.

“Your expiration date is tomorrow,” she offered, settling back into the couch. “Now tell me what you’ve found out the past two days. Any news on Dobson or the Wolf Seekers?”

She made a habit of quick changes in subject matter, a defense mechanism he understood all too well. But at the moment he didn’t care. The smell and taste of her on his lips satisfied him enough to go along with it for now. She obviously didn’t want him to finish his sentence, and he didn’t want to push her too hard for answers. Not when, he suddenly realized, she had an agenda.

“Actually I just got a tip from Trey that there’s a meeting tomorrow night in San Diego. I’m heading there.” He stood and gave her his back. He didn’t want her to see the conflict on his face. Did he want her to come with him? Yes and no. Yes because he knew how important it was for her to find Dobson and put some closure to what she felt she owed Jason. No because he didn’t want her in any sort of danger.

“Great. I’ll come with you.”

Yeah, like he didn’t see that coming.

It would be futile to try and talk her out of it. Even more useless to mention the danger. Why hadn’t he kept his mouth shut? Because he couldn’t. Not with her. She was better than truth serum when it came to guarding his thoughts. Shit. How soon would she know all his feelings for her?

Once he reached the reception desk, he turned around and was surprised to see she’d gotten to her feet to close the gap between them. Damn, watching her move was better than watching the moon drift across the sky on a star-filled night.

She didn’t stop until her hand pressed delicately to his chest. “You know I’m not going to take no for an answer.”

“I know.”

“The meeting is with Dobson and the Wolf Seekers?”

“Looks like it.”

“Then I think we both need to be there.”

He’d perfected controlling his heart rate under stressful circumstances, but nothing had prepared him for the recklessness Tess stirred inside him. He couldn’t keep his heart from beating faster, stronger, louder, at her touch, her close proximity. Did she feel it? He couldn’t be sure, but the slow tug on the corners of her mouth made him think she did. And the twinkle in her eyes told him she liked the power she had over him.

“Fine.” He reached up and took her wrist, moving her palm away from the pounding in his chest. “Do we need to stop by your place to get anything?”

“Nope. I’ve got a bag in the car.”

Convenient. “Did you know I was leaving?” She couldn’t possibly, but he wouldn’t put anything past her. Maybe she already knew about the meeting and decided to play dumb.

“No. I just thought it might be a good idea, given recent events. Sometimes the job requires it.”

“Is this trip part of your job?” Level with me, Tess. He wanted her to trust him. They might be standing beside one another and looking like a team, but he had no delusions that she worked alone.

She took a step away and bit her bottom lip. “In case you’re wondering, no, I didn’t know you were leaving tonight, and I didn’t know about the meeting tomorrow. But being with you does bring my job into it. You’re my assignment.” She blinked several times, sent her glance away from him. When she returned her gaze, she’d masked any emotion. “I don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring. All I know is I couldn’t stay away from you.”

Her honesty hit him in the gut like a two-ton brick. He felt exactly the same way. Granted, there might be some double meaning in her admission, but he chose to believe she was drawn to him as much as he was to her.