Authors: Paige Tyler
She blinked at him, afraid to hope. “Y-you’re not?”
“No. And I’m not telling him about what happened at Calballero’s hacienda, either. But we do have to
make sure nothing like that ever happens again. Your animal nature is part of what makes you so good in
the field, but it’s not the only part. Your human side plays a part, too. You can’t let one part shove the other
part in the backseat. You have to be the one in control.”
He made it sound so simple. “That’s easy to say, but hard to do. In some ways, I’m half human, half
animal. It’s not always easy to separate the two.”
“Then we’ll work on it together. That’s what partners do. And you’re my partner—period.”
Partners.
Her heart squeezed at the word. She wanted to thank him, but nothing she could say seemed
adequate. So, instead, she leaned forward to touch her forehead to his. It wasn’t their foreheads that
touched, however. Not even close. She couldn’t swear to which one of them initiated it, but she found her
lips on his. Then she didn’t care who started it.
Landon’s mouth was tentative at first, but then all at once the kiss became urgent, intoxicating, his
tongue finding hers and slow dancing with it. The rich emotional response she’d experienced back in the
makeshift tent that first night in the Colombian jungle didn’t compare to the things she was feeling now. He
was like a drug she couldn’t get enough of, and she kissed him back just as fiercely as he was kissing her.
Her hands found their way into his hair, twisting it between her fingers and pulling him closer. Her
mouth opened with a willingness and hunger that almost shocked her. Her whole body was responding,
trembling with need.
She slid her hands down the front of his chest to the bottom of his T-shirt and urgently pushed it up.
Underneath, he was all smooth skin and rock-hard muscle. She moaned appreciatively as she ran her
fingers over every glorious ripple. He felt as incredible as he looked.
She pushed his shirt higher, trying to take it off, but Landon interrupted her by doing a little exploring
of his own. His hands found their way beneath her top and were slowly gliding up her midriff. When they
cupped her satin-covered breasts, she almost purred. When his fingers caressed her nipples, that almost
purr turned into a deep-throated moan.
Some tiny corner of her mind tried to tell her this was a mistake, that she and Landon shouldn’t be
risking their partnership for a few stolen kisses and a groping session. But pushing him away was more
difficult than she ever imagined. It was like convincing her body to stop breathing.
But she had to. If she didn’t, she was going to completely lose control. And that would be beyond bad.
Landon must have come to a similar conclusion, because he dropped his hands and pulled back at the
same time she did. His face was flushed, his eyes smoldering in the darkness. She could hear his heart
beating hard.
He opened his mouth. Closed it. Tried again. “I’m sorry.” His breathing was ragged, making his deep
voice even huskier than usual. “I didn’t mean to kiss you. I just…”
She touched her finger to his lips, silencing him. “Stop. I won’t accept apologies for what just
happened. You weren’t kissing me—we were kissing each other.”
He caught her hand and gently pulled her finger away from his lips. “You’re my partner, Ivy. I shouldn’t
have kissed you.”
“I shouldn’t have kissed you, either. But I did.” And God help her, she wanted to do it again. She took a
deep breath. “We can’t let it happen again.”
If they did, there was no telling what would happen. She’d been so close to ripping off his clothes and
pouncing on him.
Landon sat back and rubbed his hand across his face. When he met her gaze again, his eyes were full of
remorse. “I don’t want you to think I’m going to turn into another Jeff.”
The pain in his voice cut her to the core, and she wanted to reach out to cup his face but didn’t trust
herself. “I know you’d never intentionally hurt me.” She gave him an embarrassed smile. “Besides, it
wouldn’t be an issue of you attacking me against my will. It’d be about me not having the will to want you
to stop. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m seriously attracted to you.”
His mouth edged up. “Ditto. But you’re right. We can’t let it happen again.”
“Okay, then. I won’t lay any more kisses on you, and you don’t lay any on me. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Sleeping beside a guy like him in a tent this small would be asking a lot of any woman, but after a kiss
like the one they’d shared, it was tantamount to torture. Jumping his bones wasn’t an option. She wasn’t
going to succumb to her desires no matter how much her body might want it.
That promise would have carried a lot more weight if her lips hadn’t still been tingling from his kiss.
Chapter 7
The moment they got back to the DCO offices, Todd took Landon into one conference room to be
debriefed, while Kendra led Ivy into another.
“I knew it! You two are good together,” Kendra said. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“You’re not wrong,” Ivy said. “We are good. Maybe too good.” She chewed on her lower lip,
remembering how she’d fallen asleep on Landon’s shoulder on the flight back. “In fact, I’m worried we’re
getting along too well.”
Kendra took a seat and motioned for her to do the same. “What the heck does that mean?”
How was she going to explain it to Kendra? It sounded crazy to her. “Promise me none of this will show
up in the official records.”
Kendra made a face. “Do you even have to ask that?”
Ivy knew she didn’t. Kendra would never say anything she told her in confidence. “I’m more than a
little attracted to Landon.”
“A little attracted?” Kendra lifted a brow. “I’m attracted to him and I don’t even get to have the fun you
do rolling around the floor with him during hand-to-hand combat practice.”
Ivy blushed. “Okay, so maybe I’m more than a
little
attracted to him. In fact, it’s damn near impossible
to be around him without wanting to jump on him like he’s some kind of kitty chew toy.”
“Landon-scented catnip, huh? Now that’s what I’m talking about.” Kendra sat back in her seat with a
grin. “I knew I picked the perfect teammate for you.”
Huh? “What do you mean,
you
picked the perfect teammate?”
Kendra gave her a smug look. “You don’t think running around here with a stopwatch and a clipboard
is my only job, do you? I’m a behavioral psychologist in case you’ve forgotten. With all the problems you
had with your first two partners, I convinced John to finally let me try out the interpersonal compatibility
algorithms I’ve been working on. I put in everything the DCO knows about your skills, your personality,
your strengths and weaknesses, then added in everything I know about you personally. Using that, I
scoured every federal database out there to find the one guy who would match up with you perfectly. You
know, the ultimate yin to your yang. My program identified that person as Landon Donovan. Of course, I
had to really sell my idea in order to get John to give the okay to scoop Landon out of Special Forces, but
let me tell you, he’s patting himself on the back right now.”
Clearly John wasn’t the only one pleased with himself. “Wait a minute. Are you saying you found my
new partner with a homemade package of matchmaker software?”
“Yeah.” Kendra grinned. “Pretty good, don’t you think?”
Ivy stared at her friend in disbelief. She thought she’d hit the lottery jackpot with Landon, but now it
turned out the game had been rigged. No wonder they worked together like a well-oiled machine—Kendra
was clearly brilliant when it came to understanding team dynamics.
She frowned again. “Hold on a minute. Go back to the part where you said you programmed your
software with personal things you know about me. What kind of things?”
Her friend shrugged. “Normal stuff. Like the fact that you prefer tall men with broad shoulders and six-
pack abs. That you go for guys with dark hair and soulful eyes. That you want a man to be a gentleman out
of bed, but an animal in it—”
Ivy’s face colored hotly. “I never told you that.”
“Well, I had to make a few assumptions based on the things you said.” A smile teased the corners of
Kendra’s mouth. “You probably don’t realize it, but you let some revealing stuff slip now and then. Did I
get any of the parameters wrong?”
Actually, her friend was right about all of them. But Ivy wasn’t going to tell Kendra that.
“So, how the heck do you scan a federal database for information on whether a guy is an animal in bed
or not?”
“That took a little extra work,” Kendra admitted. “Let’s just say that you can learn a lot about a man
from hacking into his social networking sites, and those of every person that has ever met him.” She said
that last part like even she was surprised at what she’d done. “You can learn even more by seeing what their
flings and exes have to say about them. According to them, Landon has mad skills in bed.”
The thought of Landon with another woman sent an irrational surge of jealousy through Ivy. She
immediately stomped on it. Sitting back, she folded her arms.
“Well, just because you seemed to have found the perfect partner for me, it doesn’t mean I’m going to
be sleeping with him.”
“Why not? And don’t tell me it’s because of that silly DCO rule about partners not getting romantically
involved.” Kendra shook her head. “John uses that same lame excuse every time I bring up the subject of
allowing teammates to get together on a more meaningful level if they want to. All of the data supports my
hypothesis that teams work at their most efficient and optimal level when they’re compatible in every way,
and that includes sexually. If an operative is attracted to his or her partner, it’s completely natural for them
to have sex with each other. Denying something so instinctive and primal isn’t only impossible, it’s foolish.”
Giving in to it would be foolish. But what if she couldn’t control herself? What if Kendra was right, and
it was instinctive and primal?
“Even if I wanted to sleep with Landon, I can’t. I don’t trust myself with him.”
“What do you mean?”
Ivy sighed. “All we did in South America was kiss and—”
Kendra bolted upright. “Wait a minute. You kissed?”
“Yes, we kissed. And I just about tore off his clothes.” Which just about scared the hell out of her.
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“It is when you can’t control yourself. When your eyes glow green and your claws come out.” Ivy ran
her hand through her hair. “Do you know how many men I’ve slept with since college? Three. They were
all one-night stands and the sex was terrible. Why? Because I couldn’t let go with them. I was terrified if I
did, I’d turn into an animal in front of them.”
Kendra’s lips curved. “Every man wants an animal in bed.”
Ivy frowned. “You’re not helping.”
“But Landon already knows what you are. You don’t have to hide it from him.” Kendra reached over
and covered her hand. “According to my compatibility software, you’re perfect for each other.”
“Your software is wrong. Just because I’m a shifter doesn’t mean I’m an animal who does things based
on instincts and primal urges alone, you know. I have a say in what I do and how I act.” She folded her
arms, pinning her friend with a look. “Let me ask you something. Have you ever tried this wonderful
interpersonal compatibility software out on yourself to find your perfect partner?”
Kendra’s face colored and she looked away. “Of course not. That would be completely unprofessional.”
Ivy had no doubt Kendra used the software program to see if she and Clayne were compatible. She’d
love to see what the computer had to say about that particular pairing.
***
recovered was everything the DCO had been looking for and more. While John was thoroughly impressed,
Dick, sitting on the other side of the table from Landon, was pissed.
Apparently, Kendra was right when she warned Landon about Dick—he sure acted like he wished
they’d failed. While John praised their ability to adapt when the Black Hawk dropped them earlier than
anticipated, Dick pointed out they wouldn’t have had to adapt if they’d had a better plan to begin with. He
also wasn’t pleased that Calballero and some of his men had ended up dead.
Landon had to bite his tongue to keep from telling Dick to shove it up his ass. He recognized a desk-
bound warrior when he saw one. It was obvious this jerk had never seen any real action. The most danger
he’d probably faced was getting a paper cut. “While the goal was to get in and out without hostile action,
the ultimate objective was to get the information—whatever the cost.”
Dick couldn’t say much about that. They’d been John’s exact words during the mission briefing.
Undoubtedly, there was a tape somewhere.