“You don’t sound like you are troubled at all,” he shoots back, slanting those cute eyebrows at me.
I kiss the furrowed gap between them. “Because I am not.”
I leave him frowning at me and approach the shelf. A knife sits inside the box where the guns must’ve been hidden, its thin blade glinting under the scattered light.
This will do.
“You might want to turn around for this,” I say as I take it and hunch over Claire.
Hex jogs over, crouching down next to me. “Uh, what are you doing?”
“Solving our problem,” I say and stab the corner of her right eye with the knife.
“Eww!” Hex grimaces but doesn’t look away.
He observes me as I work to get her eye out intact. It’s a finicky job, but I eventually succeed.
“This is both disgusting and cool at the same time,” Hex comments, handing me a clear plastic packet from somewhere.
Once the eye is inside, we haul the bodies behind the couch and clean up the mess so the room doesn’t look like a bomb dropped inside it. It won’t fool the rest of the guests forever—especially with the door that I broke—but it should buy us the time that we need if my other scuffle doesn’t raise the alarms before then.
“Let’s go!” Hex urges me out the door.
“Where are we going?” I say as we descend the stairs and rejoin the loud crowd.
I already know that the entrance to the secret part of the ship is on the residences’ deck, but Hex hasn’t told me yet where, and that deck is huge.
He whips his head back and grins. “It’s her cabin! That’s where the entrance is!”
Of course, it’s her cabin. That makes total sense. The only problem, though? There is surveillance all over the hallway with the VIP cabins and a ton of security guards.
31
Hex
Thismightbecontroversialof me to confess, but despite the very real danger we are in, I am having fun.
It’s the first time I’m out in the field rather than doing what I am good at from behind a screen at home or an internet café, and there is something very exciting about it. Part of it has to do with Aran being my partner, I’m sure. And let me tell you—he’s the best kind of partner, holding my hand as we jog up the secret stairs, caging me against the wall as we halt at corners to check if the coast is clear. His strong body presses against mine every time we do that, and it’s growing considerably harder to behave.
I want to push him down and have my way with him. He’s just too damn sexy when he’s focused on something. It makes me want to tease him and annoy him and distract him… and push my tongue inside his mouth and my hand in his pants. With how things are between us now, I’m positive he wouldn’t mind it… too much.
“Tien,” he whispers close to my ear, his fingers skimming over my chin. “Don’t tempt me like this.”
Tempt him?I perk up, the hairs all over my body rising. We’ve just reached the residences’ deck and are currently chilling behind a potted palm while he scopes out the hall ahead. He did it every floor, using a combination of observation and the layout plans we have on our phones to map out our route and avoid as many cameras as possible.
“Uh, I’m not doing anything though?” I argue, giving into a sudden urge to stroke his muscular arm.
I bite on my lip. God, I love his body. He takes very diligent care of it, and it really shows. I can feel his definition even though layers of clothes, every dip and ridge proof of how much time he’s spent training. It’s not just gym either—he runs, he swims, he rides horses. I’ve joined him occasionally, mainly to ogle him, but if I hope to ever accompany him again on a mission, I think I need to up my game. I’ll never excel at this the way he does, but if I can take care of myself, he would have no reason to say no.
“You are always doing something, Tien. Don’t play coy,” he counters in a low and playful voice, his lips grazing the tip of my ear.
Okay, he caught me. But I didn’t think my attempt to channel sexy thoughts to him would actually work.
“I can’t help it, okay? All I’ve been thinking about is you and me naked, but things keep getting in the way.”
He chuckles, and it’s dark and inviting. Fond, affectionate. It caresses my already euphoric heart, calming and agitating it at the same time. Part of me still can’t believe we actually got here, that I have a real shot with him, that he’s willing to let me try. He’s denied it, of course, but I can tell. All I need is a tiny crack in his defenses, a small, almost unperceivable gap.
“Focus on the mission for me, and once this is over, we’ll talk.”
