Free The Omega Team: Hot Rod (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Sabrina York Page A

moment was too raw to face head-on. Still, she felt his attention on her, singeing her.
    “We…are well matched.” Why there was a thread of surprise in the words was a mystery. Or not.
    She sucked in a breath and forced herself to look at him. “We are.” Their gazes tangled; she couldn’t look away. Felt the connection to the marrow of her bones. Damn him.
    “It hasn’t been…like that for a long while.”
    “How long?” She didn’t know why she asked. She didn’t really want to know.
    Fortunately, his answer was vague. It was accompanied by a shuttering of his expression. “A long while.”
    She remembered his comment about utterly forgettable affairs, and some semblance of satisfaction rose within her. “Will you remember this?” A stupid, careless question; one that exposed her vulnerable underbelly.
    His sharp laugh bounced off stony walls. “Yes. Yes, I will.” He glanced down at his hands. Threaded his fingers. Frowned. “Will you?”
    Would she remember this? Him? His touch? His scent? The feel of his body over hers, filling her, bringing her to rapture? To the day she fucking died. She lifted a shoulder. “Probably.”
    His nostrils flared in amused outrage. “Probably?”
    “Umm hmm. It was pretty good.”
    “Pretty good? It was fan-fucking-tastic.”
    It had been. “Yeah. It was okay.”
    He growled at her, something playful and heartbreaking, because it was a glimpse of the boy he’d once been. “Do you want me to give you something to remember?”
    She cocked her head to the side. “Like what?”
    “A spanking sounds pretty good right now.”
    A thrill shot through her at the thought, but she merely smiled. “I’d like to see you try, Hot Rod.”
    Clearly this intrigued him. “Would you?”
    She lifted the hem of her jeans, exposing her KA-BAR and reminding him she was hardly a simpering maiden. “I’ve gutted a man for less.”
    She didn’t expect his rolling laughter. But then, maybe she did.
    They both knew the score here. Neither of them was a romantic at heart.
    “So…” he said, settling that penetrating gaze on her once more. “What do we do about this?”
    “What?”
    “Where do we go from here?”
    Shit. Was he really asking what she thought he was asking? She firmed her jaw and adopted a nonchalant mien. “We’re making our way to Salvation, I recall.”
    He frowned. “I’m not talking about the mission. I’m talking about us.”
    Us? A blade lanced her heart. “There is no us.”
    He waved at the spot where they’d joined. Twice. “Isn’t there? What was that?”
    “Two horny people scratching an itch?”
    She had no idea why he looked so wounded. “Is that all it was to you?”
    No. No. Not hardly.
    “Of course.” It cost her, but she managed a flippant tone.
    He stilled. Studied her. For far too long.
    “Don’t get me wrong. It was awesome .” She tossed in a touch of, like, a Valley girl cant, just to underscore her insouciance.
    “I see.” He stood and began collecting their things. “We should go.”
    Fuck. She hated the detachment in his voice. Even though this was what she wanted, what she’d been trying for.
    Or had she been?
    If she was being honest with herself, it wasn’t.
    She didn’t want him to be remote and cold. She’d only wanted to put that wall between them so she could feel safe again…and maybe sting him with a barb. Give him a taste of his own medicine.
    But now, she regretted it.
    The gratification, ersatz as it was, wasn’t worth the cost.
    But it was too late, wasn’t it? The words could not be unsaid. Beyond that, she needed the wall. Craved it. Barren and cold though it was on her side of it.
    Without a word, because surely she would say something extremely stupid at this point—such as, I love you —she stood as well and prepared for the remainder of their hike.
    That was the true horror here, wasn’t it?
    She did still love him. Even though he’d broken her heart and left her alone in a hard world. Even