Carlie Simmons (Book 4): The Gathering Darkness by JT Sawyer Read Free Book Online

offered to pay, I even grabbed the bill, but you
were like, ‘No, my agency will cover my part of the tab as I’ll just say this
was a business meeting.’”
    She rested her hands under her chin. “Hmm,
was that what happened? I can barely remember, though I do recall just how
charming you looked dressed in that blue button-down shirt with the flared
collar.”
    “Hey at least I didn’t travel with a steam
iron in my vehicle so I could press my work clothes between coffee breaks like
you Secret Service types,” he said, chuckling as he served her a portion of the
pasta on a white ceramic plate.
    They both started eating. After he
swallowed his first mouthful, Shane’s cheeks grew flushed and he scratched his
throat as if a hot coal was lodged there. He tilted his head up and squinted
his watery eyes then reached for the glass of wine, emptying its contents and
quickly refilling his glass for another swig.
    “Whew—you must have real Italian blood in
you,” Carlie said, waving her hand across her mouth and trying to swallow
gracefully without drawing attention to her burning tongue. “This is some
sauce.” She grabbed her wine and quietly swished it around in her mouth, trying
to quell the flames on her taste buds.
    Shane looked at the jar of spaghetti sauce
on the counter and then back at Carlie as he let out an embarrassed smile.
“Tell you what—why don’t we just skip to dessert instead? I think I must’ve
added in too much oregano or something but I promise that the chocolate mousse
is out of this world.”
    “You’re on,” she said eagerly, pushing the
plate of pasta to the side.
    As the candles burnt down and the shadows
shortened, the two of them continued on through the evening, joking and
exchanging quips about their past jobs, politics, and recent missions together,
laughing like old friends gathered around the campfire. Carlie often found
herself staring in admiration at Shane as he recounted some adventure from his
days with the SEALs. Several times, she felt like reaching across the table and
pulling his lips towards hers but that veneer of desire was tempered by a bastion
of self-control whose walls she couldn’t seem to breach.
    With the wine bottle nearly depleted and
candles nearing their end, they retreated to the couch and sat down facing each
other while continuing to talk. Carlie knew Shane was interested in more—she
had always known but she had made her immersion in her work, and later her
survival, push her recognition of it into the trapdoor recesses of her own
heart.
    As Shane set his empty wine glass down, he
rested his hand upon hers. She twitched slightly, her fingers scrunching up and
then relaxing while she cleared her throat. You’re a grown woman — how
old are you again, 34, so just relax. You’re entitled to a nice evening. These
thoughts pulsed through her head, made light by the wine, until she found
herself reaching back and interlacing her fingers with Shane’s.
    He moved closer, brushing his other hand
across the side of her face, sliding her blond hair back over her ear. She
smiled at him, looking into his hazel eyes, but then found herself wavering and
looked away. Carlie pulled back slightly and looked at her watch, forcing out a
gruff exhale. “It’s late and I have to prep for tomorrow’s, uhm, training
activities.”
    She began to sit up but Shane held onto
her hand, grasping it with both of his. “Carlie, won’t you stay a while longer?
We have a few days off to just relax—be ourselves for a change—and spend time
with each other.”
    Carlie looked down at his rugged hands and
then into his face, the fading candlelight etching the furrows in his tan cheeks
even further. She found herself pivoting on her toes, like a swimmer on a
wobbly diving board, preparing for a plunge into the unknown. The warmth of his
touch felt so good—it had been so long since she felt such a connection and to
a man she cared for deeply. But tentacles of fear shot