Out of Control(49)

She’d been doing her very best to enjoy the “now” and not think about the future. Because there was a big dark hole when she thought about not seeing Zach again. But she would get over him, once she was back in the order and routine of her old life. Once she was back in control.

She trailed a finger down his chest, flicking open the top button of his shirt so she could slip her hand inside, stroke the warm, satiny skin. “If you’re restless, we could go to bed. Work off some of that energy.” She flicked another button, drifted her fingers lower, but he stopped her with a hand on top of hers and her gaze flew to his face.

“We can’t spend our whole lives having sex,” he muttered.

They couldn’t? They hadn’t been doing such a bad job so far. She didn’t answer because she didn’t know what to say.

“Maybe I’d just like to get out of here,” he said. “Do something normal—like a normal couple.”

Was he talking about a goddamn date? She chewed on her lower lip. “But we’re not a normal couple, Zach. Hardly even a couple, never mind normal.”

Anger flashed across his face. “The hell we aren’t a couple.”

Dani took a deep breath. She didn’t understand him in this mood. Maybe she didn’t understand him at all. “Let me get this straight. You want to take me out for a date?”

“We could head to the coast. Have lunch…”

She didn’t want to go out. She didn’t want the real world to impinge on her little idyll. But he was looking eager now. He actually wanted to take her out. Was he bored? She didn’t think so.

“Come on, Dani. You can go put a dress on.”

“I don’t have a dress.”

He ignored her. “We’ll take Gary to babysit me, but he’s not sitting at our table.”

She gave in to the inevitable. “I’ll go shower.”





Chapter Thirteen

They’d chosen a table under a yellow striped umbrella right at the edge of the sand. Gary sat across the terrace, nursing a cup of coffee and not looking happy. He hadn’t approved of the trip but had given in when Zach had promised he’d do what he was told and come back at the first hint anything was amiss. Maybe Gary could also sense Zach’s restlessness and had decided this was the lesser of two evils.

She knew Jake’s people believed they were close to finding who had made the threats against Zach, but she was also aware that Jess thought they would make a move soon. So Dani kept herself wary and just sipped at the sangria Zach had ordered.

“You’re not on duty,” he said and refilled her glass.

“I know.” She forced herself to relax. This was likely to be a one-off—why not enjoy it? She tuned out the people all around her; she’d gotten good at that in the army, where privacy was limited. Instead, she concentrated on Zach. “So what’s bothering you?”

A smile flickered across his face. “Trust you to go for the straightforward attack.”

“Well?”

For a minute, he gazed over her shoulder, then he looked her in the eyes. “I don’t want you to go back into the army.”

She jerked back at his words, knocking her glass and spilling the crimson liquid onto the tablecloth. Dabbing at it with a napkin, she tried to come up with a suitable response. She’d believed they had an unspoken agreement that they wouldn’t discuss the future. But maybe Zach wasn’t working to the same rules. Or more likely, he was a natural-born rule-breaker.

“I might not even go back to Afghanistan,” she said. “I could be posted anywhere.”

“L.A.?”

She blinked while she tried to make sense of his comment. “I don’t think so. What’s this about?”

“I…” He smiled. “Nothing. Leave it. We’ll talk some other time.” He pushed his plate away. “We should have brought swimming things. You want to walk—go kick some surf?”

The beach was crowded. It was the height of the season, but she loved the salt tang in the air. When she was little, up until twelve, her family had gone to the seaside each summer and the smell brought back bittersweet memories.

“Why not?” she said.

She hadn’t found a dress; instead, she wore shorts and a T-shirt. She kicked off her flip-flops and picked them up. Zach took her free hand in his and they strolled along the sand. She was aware of people watching them, but that would happen wherever Zach went. They were probably wondering what he was doing with someone like her.

The surf was cool against her bare toes and she pressed herself up against his side. “Is this normal enough for you?” she murmured.