Free Overheated by Laina Kenney

couldn’t seem to get her bearings.
    “Sara, I love you. Marry me.” He pressed a fervent kiss to her parted lips. “You don’t have to answer right now.” He smiled down at her ruefully. “In fact, it looks like you may be incapable of it. Think about it, Sara. I’ll ask you again tomorrow. And the next day, and the next.” He punctuated the words with stinging little kisses. “Keep in mind, I don’t play by the rules. I’ll be thinking up interesting ways of persuading a woman as fiery as you.” He was laughing as he kissed her flushed cheek and set her away from him, steadying her when she seemed about to fall.
    “But, in the mean time, we need to meet with Carolyn and the backup team to go over our plan. And then, more training for you. I think a session with Carolyn would be helpful.”
    That brought Sara back to the real world with a snap. “I have to train with Carolyn?” Carolyn’s past record was almost as impressive as Dash’s. Sara wasn’t certain she was up for that level of training, but it gave her something to focus on other than Dash’s stunning proposal. She took a long breath in and lifted her eyes to his.
    Dash saw her confusion, her vulnerability apparent in the darkness of her eyes. She looked so young with that lost expression on her face, his protective instincts kicked in full force. He would move heaven and earth to keep her safe and protect her—even from himself.
    “Come on, Sara.” His voice was deep and warm, his arm around her tender. “Don’t think so hard. This stalker situation has your whole life up in the air. It’s too much to think about all at once, I understand. I’ll back off for now, if that’s what you want. Just come to the meeting, and we’ll decide what to do with the rest of our lives after this is taken care of.”
    Dash offered her his compassion, his understanding.
    Sara went with him, her body following him obediently while her mind whirled. Surely Dash wouldn’t propose to a woman unless he was very serious. His reasons were a mystery to her, but he was a powerful and intelligent man, and his word meant something to everyone who dealt with him.
    And he loved her. When he said the words, his eyes were lit with a depth of emotion that called up an answering emotion in her. Perhaps it was sudden, but her shock had been as much from her own soaring response to his proposal as from the proposal itself. She opened her mouth to speak, not really knowing what she would say, but realized they were in the middle of the hallway full of agents coming from the other meeting room. She would have to wait for a better time.

Chapter 10
     
    On Wednesday after work, Carolyn and Sara sat at two facing desks in the central office area, watching as the last of the agents filtered out. The backup team would be moving into place about now, having made a highly visible exit earlier in the day, talking about an all-night stakeout, checking the setup of the outside cameras before sneaking back into the building at closing time. Cameras and recording devices were rolling, picking up every sight and sound.
    When Dash had left minutes ago with Isaac and Grange to drive away before coming back in through the maintenance tunnel, Sara had been too conscious of the cameras at first to do more than give him a shy hug. He seemed to be letting her set the pace between them since the unanswered proposal. He wasn’t drawing away. The heat generated between them had kept them locked together throughout the nights, but he was waiting for something, some word or signal from her.
    “Let’s order a pizza,” Carolyn said. “If we have to stay late, I say make the bosses pay for our dinner.” Carolyn was a consummate professional. Sara thought privately that she had missed her true calling. A career on the stage was waiting for such a talented actress any time she chose to give up security work. Carolyn never fell out of her chosen character, and she never missed a cue.
    Sara was