A Kiss to Kill by Nina Bruhns Read Free Book Online Page B

sir. I owed you for the sneaks anyway.” She stuck out a foot and wiggled the ugly yellow shoe, crossing her arms in front of her as she did so.
    Montgomery grinned. “Next time, I may even spring for a Coast Guard cap.” He touched the brim of his own in a semi-salute and headed for the wheelhouse, stopping en route to supervise the helo’s takeoff with Ensign Sampson and two of the frogmen. The other two frogs were just climbing back on board after having placed several red buoys out to mark the spot where the yacht had sunk.
    The commander called orders to the crew, fired up the RB-M, and pointed the prow toward Portsmouth harbor and home.
    Rebel turned back to Alex. He mirrored her gaze with such naked desire in his eyes that her heart fluttered madly. But funny dance or not, that “friends” remark had reminded her all too vividly of the rockiness of their relationship. Besides, the Coasties were openly staring.
    “Alex, why are you here?” she asked, pressing her banded arms into her abdomen to keep her chaotic emotions from spilling out like a broken gumball machine.
    “To rescue you,” he said, stepping into her again. His breath was warm compared to the sudden chilly wind that whipped over them as the vessel scudded along.
    “Very funny.” He was kidding. Well, she assumed he was kidding. Rebel didn’t need rescuing and he knew it. What she needed was—
    He put his arms around her once more and pulled her close.
    She sighed and relented, returning his embrace. Heaven only knew what she really needed. But this . . . this was far too tempting. The arms of the man she loved around her, the promise of more in his eyes . . .
    But there were too many unresolved issues hanging over them. Too much history. Too many burnt bridges. “Why are you really here?”
    “Same reason you are,” he murmured into her hair. “To check out the yacht that just blew up. STORM sent me.”
    Surprise flitted through her. “Is this about the suspicious e-mail intercepted by the NSA?” That was the reason she’d been sent, too.
    He nodded. “The Department of Homeland Security has extended our contract to work on the al Sayika traitor case.”
    “They think Allah’s Paradise is somehow tied in with that?”
    He nodded again. “I’m supposed to liaise with the Coast Guard and the FBI on the investigation.” His lips grazed her temple, setting off sunbursts of heat in her body and melting her willpower a little bit more. “It’s off to an explosive start, I must say,” he murmured
    She wasn’t exactly sure if he meant the yacht . . . or their kiss. Both, she supposed. Which for some reason alarmed her.
    “Looks like we’ll be working together for a few days,” he casually added.
    That alarmed her even more. In the half-dozen years she’d known Alex in a professional capacity—she’d been the FBI liaison to Zero Unit when they met—they’d only talked about investigations and operations. They’d never actually worked together on anything.
    Not a good idea.
    In fact, now that she was thinking straight again, none of this was a good idea.
    He tilted her chin up with an index finger. His golden lashes dipped to a sexy half-mast. “So, angel . . .” he murmured huskily. Her stomach zinged in dreadful anticipation of what he might say next. Which turned out to be the worst possible thing she could imagine, under the circumstances.
    He leaned down and his deep voice rumbled in her ear. “So, tonight. Mind if I stay at your place?”

FOUR
    “TAKE care. Love you,” Gina said with a smile for her best friend, Rainie, though they were miles apart, and flipped her cell phone closed. Rainie had relocated upstate to work as a nurse for STORM Corps at Haven Oaks Sanatorium, but they talked every day by phone. Sometimes more than once.
    Her friend worried about her, Gina knew, and wished she could be here in New York to help her reacclimatize to “normal life.” Yeah, Rainie was no one’s fool. She suspected there