Free Blind Faith by Rebecca Zanetti Page A

brows, and he sat back, his gaze gentling.
    “Your socks don’t match, Audrey.” Bemusement and a softness coated his strong voice.
    She hunched her shoulders. “I really need to do some laundry, like I said.”
    His grin reminded her of the younger Nathan as he ran a warm palm up the calf of her injured leg,
    caressing each scar, dimple, and pin. “How many breaks in your leg?”
    The question caught her off guard. “Just four,” she said. The sensation of his hand on her after so much
    time sent butterflies winging to life below her abdomen. While she wanted to pull away, memories of his
    touch scalded her body into electric need.
    He massaged her leg, and she fought a low groan. “Stop.”
    “Am I hurting you?” he asked, decreasing the pressure, watching her closely, his gaze predatory and
    intent. Sexy as sin and twice as dangerous.
    “No,” she breathed out. But her muscles were quickly turning to mush, and she needed to be on high
    alert with him. Nate had changed, and he probably wasn’t above using seduction to get what he wanted.
    Feminine need built inside her, and she took a deep breath to regain control. “How are your brothers?”
    His fingers flexed in warning below her knee. “Off-limits.”
    Yeah, that hurt. “Fine. Then so is the senator.”
    “No.” Nate removed the purple sock, his thumbs skimming her skin. “I like your toenails.”
    She shivered and glanced down at the sparkling pink polish. “Give me back my sock.”
    “No. How close have Nash and the commander become?” Nate asked, tucking his thumb into her
    remaining sock. Even while he remained gentle, his movements were controlling and dangerously sexual.
    She’d often wondered about this side of him. Anger and need melded inside her, pooling at the apex of
    her thighs. “The commander doesn’t confide in me,” she whispered.
    Her other sock flew across the room. “Knock it off, Nate.”
    He ran his palms up her knees. “You’re misreading me if you think I won’t take all your clothes, Aud.”
    The nickname. He used to whisper it in her ear, late at night, in stolen hours alone. Naked, panting, fully
    complete, he’d murmur in that low Southern drawl he usually masked.
    She swallowed and fought the charm of sexy memories. “The commander hasn’t told me anything.”
    “Yet you know something.”
    She had to protect him from her plan. “Nate, I—”
    A knock sounded on the door.
    Nate jumped up, drawing a gun from the back of his waist. “You expecting anybody?”
    “No.” She pushed out of her chair. Fear sizzled into her bloodstream. What would Nate do?
    He cuffed her arm with strong fingers and led her through the apartment to the door, where he peered
    through the keyhole. Every muscle down his back visibly tightened, and his arms seemed to vibrate.
    When he turned toward her, she involuntarily stepped back from the deadly rage glittering in his eyes.
    “What?” she asked.
    Nate’s face hardened until no expression lived in the dangerous hollows and cut lines. “I’ll be in the
    other room. If you say a word about me, or if you try to leave with him, I’ll shoot him dead. I mean it.”
    Without another word, he released her, turned on his heel, and stalked into the lone bedroom.
    Audrey took a deep breath, her lungs seizing. What in the world? One glance through the keyhole, and
    she stopped breathing completely. Oh. Her hand shook when she reached for the doorknob to open the
    door. Her biggest enemy and greatest fear stood before her in fatigues and combat boots. She disliked
    herself for lying to Nate, but she’d hate herself if she got him killed. Panic threatened to cut off her air even
    as she forced on a polite smile. She opened the door. “Good evening, Commander.”
    Chapter 6
    The scent of gardenias surrounded Nate in the sensual bedroom. While Audrey hadn’t decorated the rest
    of the apartment, the lone bedroom whispered of her sensuality. A deep purple bedspread, dreamy
    paintings of