He pulls me against him, trapping my arms against my chest, the towel there between us keeping things from getting too real.

“You’re welcome for everything.” He grins for a second. “For all that stuff.”

“Is this going to be weird?” I ask, the first slivers of doubt sneaking in. What will the team think? Will they hate me on principle because I slept with the boss on my first week of work?

He shakes his head slowly. “Doesn’t need to be.” His green eyes are clear and kind. He seems very sure of himself.

“What do you think the others are going to say?”

“I don’t think they’re going to say anything. Why would they? You stayed the night for security reasons. Thibault suggested it.”

“Oh. Okay.” He means he’s not going to act differently around me in front of the others, even though we slept together. I shouldn’t be unhappy because it’s better that no one knows what we’re doing after hours. I just have to suppress the silly schoolgirl in me who wants to walk the halls holding hands. “Good.”

“Don’t worry,” he says, his face expressionless.

“I’m not worried.”

“You look worried.”

“I’m not.”

“You sound worried.”

I frown. “No, I don’t. I sound fine.”

“I made you an omelet.”

“You did?” I’m getting warm again. “Did you make one for everyone?”

“No, just for you.”

He stands there, letting his words sink in. The way he’s looking at me, I swear I can tell he cares about me. Why else would he make me my very own omelet? Something that feels a lot like love rushes into my heart and takes hold of me.

He leans down, and I let go of the towel so I can wrap my arms around his neck and give him the kiss he deserves.

His tongue and mine begin the dance again, the one that we started and perfected last night. His big warm hands span my lower and middle back. It gets hot between us within seconds. I moan as the feelings start to take over. I’m picturing him bending me over the sink and having his way with me when he pulls away.

“Meeting. Gotta go.” He leaves me standing there, almost in that sex-mannequin pose again. He’s at the door before I can speak again.

“Ozzie?”

“Yeah?”

“I like you.”

My chin falls to my chest, and I scoop the towel up off the floor to hold it against me. I totally and completely hate myself for being such a poozer. What the hell, man? Why can’t I just keep some of my thoughts to myself? His kisses loosen my willpower and my tongue way too much.

“I like you too, Bo Peep. But don’t think for one second that’s going to earn you an easier workout today.”

I grin really hard into the towel, praying he’s not looking at me right now. No way can I check to see. When I have control of myself, I move the towel from my mouth and dry my belly with it. I’m afraid to move it away from my chest and expose myself, silly non-virgin virgin that I am.

“We’re working out today?” I ask, aiming for light and casual.

“You’d better believe it.”

Flashes of Dev with a sword come to mind. “Is Dev out there waiting to attack me?”

“I guess you’re about to find out.” He opens the door and walks out, leaving me alone in the bathroom.

My heart leaps. He likes me too! And he’s still going to train me and let me be in the company! I throw my arms out to the side and spin around. That was a mistake since my feet are still wet and the floors are marble. I slip and barely catch myself. Now the adrenaline is flowing too. I almost hope Dev will be out there doing another one of his stupid sneak attacks. I will totally be ready for him. Ka-chow! Judo chop!

I finish getting ready in record time, sliding out of the door of his bedroom exactly fifteen minutes after my wake-up call in the bathroom. Yeah, baby. I’m so handling this new life of mine like a boss.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

I sidle down the hall, waiting for the attack. When I reach the entrance to the kitchen, I get the lay of the land. I need to find Dev before I reveal myself.

Everyone’s sitting at the table but me, including Mr. Sneak Attack. The omelet’s on a plate by the stove, but I leave it there. No way am I going to sit down and dig into my specially prepared breakfast in front of my coworkers. My not-so-sneaky glances at Ozzie are already suspect enough.

“Morning, Bo Peep,” Lucky says, grinning at me as I walk up to join them at the table. He looks way too fresh and perky this early in the morning. Is he leaving to do a toothpaste commercial after the meeting? Is that a knowing smile on his face? I think it is. I try to act natural.

“Good morning, Lucky. How’s your goldfish?”

“Sunny’s great, thanks for asking.”

I pull out my chair and sit down, pushing the files around in front of me, trying to appear busy. I can’t look at Ozzie. For sure I’ll go all goo-goo eyes on him, and then Toni will want to punch me in the face. I have to figure out what to do about her. I need to find out if she likes him or what her issue was with me staying overnight with him. She didn’t seem to like the idea much yesterday.

“Morning, everyone,” Ozzie says. “Let’s start with the Harley Op. As of last night, we have ears on the target. Backyard for now, but I’d like to get inside.”

“You should give Bo Peep a try at it,” Toni says, sounding a tad bitter. “She handled the Parrot just fine.”

“What do you think, May? Willing to give it a shot? Want to try to fly the bug into the house? We can practice with another one we have.”

I look up at my boss, all business. “Sure, Ozzie. I’d be happy to.” I grin enthusiastically, but realize it’s too much when everyone stares at me. My smile falls away to be replaced by embarrassment. Dammit. Is the fact that Ozzie and I got seriously naked last night written all over my face or what?

“We added another wrinkle to the Op last night,” Ozzie says.

I can’t breathe. Is he about to tell everyone that we had sex? Ack!

“There was an intruder at May’s around nine. Set off the perimeter alarm.”

I let out the big breath of air I’d been holding, really slowly so no one will hear it.

“That’s not good,” Thibault says, looking at me. “Everyone okay?”

I nod. I’m too dizzy from lack of oxygen to trust my voice.

“Yes,” Ozzie answers, “but we relocated over here for the night.”

I really envy his ability to make that sound so casual. If I had said it, I would have giggled and turned red. As it is, I’m having a hard time keeping a straight face. I seriously need to get a grip on myself. I think a phone call to Jenny is definitely in order. Maybe I can manage a quick one in the bathroom before I start work.

“You’d better stay here until we figure out what’s going on,” Dev says. He looks across the room and frowns. “Anyone going to eat that omelet?”

I open my mouth to answer, but Ozzie cuts me off.

“Don’t touch it. It’s not yours.”

Dev frowns. “Okay, geez, just asking.”

Thibault shakes his head. “Bottomless pit, man.”

Dev shoves him with an elbow. “Shut up. I didn’t have time for breakfast this morning.”

“There’s cereal in the pantry,” Ozzie says before opening a folder in front of him. “We’ve gathered about twenty-four hours of data. I’d guess we have about an hour of stuff worth looking at. Any volunteers?”

I raise my hand.

“I don’t mind,” Toni says, shrugging, “since I’ve been banned from the site anyway.”

“Good. Toni and May, you’re on it. Put a report together of anything interesting, and deliver it to me by end of day.”

“Done.” Toni nods at me and I nod back.

“Dev, workout schedule?”

“I got May this morning,” Dev replies. “The rest of you are on the circuit.”