About Jack
Right. Best to try to just focus on him and remind herself it had only been a few days since Aaron said he didn’t want to date her.
The fact that he was sitting right next to her on a bed, and there was no one else in the room, didn’t mean he wanted her back.
Thinking about the fact that he’d allowed her to come to Paris despite the fact that she was technically suspended, she added, “Thank you for giving me another chance.”
His eyes widened as he tried to process her statement, and Cadence felt her cheeks flame up as she realized what he might be thinking. “What?” he asked. She opened her mouth to attempt to explain that she didn’t mean as a love interest. Obviously, she knew she wasn’t getting a second chance with that. He got there by himself, though. “You mean on the team?”
She nodded, slowly, briefly glancing up to meet his eyes, relieved she hadn’t had to explain herself.
“Oh, you don’t have to thank me for that, Cadence. I should have never ….” He paused, as if he also didn’t want to think about the conversation they had had the other night. She knew she didn’t. With Jack so sick, now wasn’t the time for them to be talking about their relationship—or lack thereof.
Finally, he stated, “Cadence, I was mad at the wrong person, and I don’t know if it was just my complete inability to see situations in any shades other than black or white, or if I allowed someone else’s judgment to cloud my own, but I realized after you left the other day, you never would have broken the rules if they weren’t stupid rules to begin with.”
Her eyebrows arched. Was he actually second guessing his own rules? “You mean the observation protocol? I don’t think it’s stupid…” she started.
“Sure it is. A rule that says every single Hunter has to follow the same protocol even when they don’t need to, and it hurts the team? Yeah, that’s pretty stupid.”
Cadence didn’t know what to say. In some regards he was right, but in others… she had no idea what she was doing in that hunt and had just taken off like a crazy person. That was stupid, too.
“So, I shouldn’t hold you back anymore,” Aaron continued. “Even though it scares the hell out of me to see the risks you take. You know what you’re doing. You said you trust me, and I need to trust you, too.” Then he added, “And I do. I do trust you.” He was looking directly into her eyes now, and she could see the sincerity in his words.
Cadence bit down on his her bottom lip. Unable to continue to hold his gaze, she found herself looking away. His eyes were so intense, and they did things to her that had nothing to do with work. After a moment she finally managed to mutter, “Good. Thank you.”
“Sure,” he replied, nodding. He leaned forward a bit, and she could smell the scent of cinnamon on his breath. She glanced up at him, but couldn’t keep her eyes on him, not with him so close and her heart already flickering around in her chest.
He had no idea what he did to her—did he?
Aaron suddenly seemed to realize that his actions weren’t matching the words he’d told her the other day. “Okay, I’m sorry. You’re exhausted, and I have work to do, so I promise I will let you sleep.” He pressed his hand on her knee as he pushed up off of the bed but withdrew his hand when he realized what he was doing.
Yet, he continued to stand next to the bed. Why was he lingering? He had to know she was within a paper width of self-control when it came to reaching up, grabbing his shirt collar, and yanking him into the bed!
She didn’t do that. But the longer he stood there, the more full of dirty thoughts her mind became until she found herself awkwardly trying to seduce him with her words. “You look pretty tired, yourself,” she pointed out, not looking directly at him when she said it. Maybe he wouldn’t think she was suggesting anything.
Even though she was suggesting something.
He didn’t take it that way. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically as he walked back to his computer.
She realized then how what she’d said could be interrupted a different way completely and almost groaned at her own inability to flirt with him. Other guys, sure. Aaron? Not so much.
“I’m just saying, you really are allowed to sleep, too, you know?” Deciding she’d better just give up before she embarrassed herself more, she scooted down in the bed, adjusted the blankets over her shoulder, and turned her back to him.
“I know,” he admitted. He flipped the lights off, and she heard him sit back down at the table. A shift in the remaining light in the room indicated he had turned the screen so that the light from his laptop wouldn’t shine into her eyes. “And I did sleep. Once. A few years ago.”
A giggle escaped her lips. It was rare when he tried to be funny, but it always made her laugh.
And… she found herself trying again. “It’s a big bed so you won’t bother me. Just sayin’” She realized then that she really was exhausted. She might even be too tired to try to seduce him if he did crawl into the bed.
Maybe—probably not….
“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind,” Aaron said. “Good night, Cadence,”
“Good night, Aaron,” she said. Sleep was easier to seduce than her boss, so she decided to give in and let the tiredness sweep her away.
