Free Aegis 01 - First Exposure by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

ear.
    As if his voice had flipped some switch, she tensed against him.
    Cade’s heart raced, but he held her close. “Everyone’s watching.”
    Her entire body froze. He sensed her looking around without moving her head. Then, on a groan, she buried her face against his shoulder and fisted his shirt at his back.
    Clapping erupted from the restaurant, followed by hoots and hollers and a male voice cheering, “That’s the way to get her back in line, sonny!”
    Avery jerked back, and, realizing she could blow it again, Cade whispered, “Ignore him.” Though a tiny part of him wanted to shut her up again. Kissing was the best way to get her to stop thinking. And when she turned off that gorgeous brain of hers, she let him in. Even if only for a moment.
    Looking out toward the patrons, he smiled and rolled his eyes while he cradled her against his chest. Laughter echoed through the room, then slowly died off as people went back to their food and conversations.
    When normal sound resumed, Avery slowly eased away and looked up. “Okay, point taken.” She glanced around the restaurant. “The guy in the corner is gone. Can we go now?”
    Cade’s gaze traveled toward the entrance where the man in the shadows had been sitting. His table was indeed empty. He’d left sometime during their kiss, not that Cade cared.
    He let go of her but reached for her hand, keeping them carefully connected. “What do you have in mind?”
    Her eyes narrowed, but this time there was no anger in the look, just a playful glint that sent a wicked shot of desire through his blood. “Not that. Get your head out of the gutter, Mr. Black.” She drew a breath. “How about we get a drink and check out the dance club. I know Melody went there.”
    She was trying to be all business, but Cade sensed the unease lurking beneath the surface. Her normally amber eyes were a soft, mottled green thanks to the colored contacts she wore, but they were the same eyes he’d fantasized about for far too long. The same eyes that tormented him from magazine spreads and still ruined his movie-viewing hours. The same eyes he wanted to see peering up at him as they once had: full of warmth, desire, and love.
    His heart cinched down tight, and through a thousand thoughts and memories, one realization stood out like a glaring beacon: he should have gone after her. After he’d made something of himself and gotten out of the military. He’d been a fool to walk away from her all those years ago. He wasn’t about to be a bigger fool by letting her get away again.
    He squeezed her hand and tugged her toward the restaurant doors, feigning indifference when inside, his stomach was tight as a drum. “Dancing? With you? I don’t know. That might be hazardous to my health. My toes have only just recovered from high school.”
    “I never stepped on your toes.”
    He stopped outside the restaurant’s doors, turned, and looked down at her. “Gym class? The waltzing session? We both nearly failed because you kept trying to lead, and I wound up with black toenails.”
    “That’s because you had no rhythm. I never met anyone who couldn’t find the beat as bad as you.”
    A slow smile curled his lips, and as he watched the warm evening breeze blow strands of dark hair back from her face in a seductive, sexy way, his blood heated all over again. God, he’d missed her. More than he’d realized. Just one day with her and he was left wondering what the hell he’d been thinking all these years. He took a step closer, until the sweet scent of her perfume rose in the air around him. “Trust me, princess, I can find a lot more than the beat these days. You’d be surprised at what I can find. All you have to do is take a chance.”
    She stared at him a long moment, and something flashed in her eyes, but he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Was she remembering what it had been like between them? Was she wondering what it could be like now? His skin grew tight just fantasizing