Read Online Dangerously Hot (A Hostile Operations Team Novel)(#4) by Lynn Raye Harris - Free Book Online Page A

Such a bachelor. “Any bread?”
    “Yeah.” He took a loaf from a breadbox and slid it toward her.
    Lucky took out two slices, looked carefully for green spots, and pulled the toaster closer before popping the slices in and pressing the lever. She thought back with longing to the ripe pineapple she’d left on the counter in her rental. In Hawaii, she’d often fix toast and fresh fruit—pineapple, papaya, mango, whatever was available that day—and head out onto the lanai with her coffee. She could see the ocean through the trees and hear the power of it as it pounded the shore. She’d gotten used to that and damn if she didn’t miss it. One day gone and she was already homesick for the beach.
    Not to mention it was fricking freezing here.  
    The microwave dinged, and Kev took out a tray that looked like it contained scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage. “What?” he said, and she knew she’d made a face.
    “Nothing.”
    “Of course it’s something. You disapprove of microwave convenience, apparently.”
    “Not at all. I just think fresh tastes better.”
    Kev shrugged as he stabbed a fork in the tray and speared some eggs. “Maybe, but who’s got time for all that?”
    Lucky found some butter in the nearly empty fridge—no surprise it was bare—and buttered her toast when it was finished. “It doesn’t take much time to scramble an egg and cook a few sausage links.”
    Kev snorted. “Since that stuff will kill you anyway, what’s it matter if I get it frozen or fresh?”
    He had a point. Lucky bit into the toast and waved it at him. “Probably doesn’t. But like I said, fresh tastes better.”
    Kev made a noncommittal noise.
    “Maybe we could stop at a grocery store today,” she said. “Pick up something for this cold empty box you have here.”
    He shook his head slowly. “Wow, just moved in and already taking over. I think I want to go back to Vegas and have a do-over.”
    Lucky laughed. “Sorry. By the power vested in Mendez, we’re hitched until this operation do us part.”
    Something crossed his features then, some expression she couldn’t quite read, and she wished she’d kept her mouth shut. But then he was looking at her again with an easy smile on his face. “Guess we gotta make the best of it then.”
    “That’s what I was thinking.”
    She chewed her toast in silence, leaning against the counter and trying very hard not to look at him. He finished up the microwave meal and tossed the tray in the trash. Then he stretched, and her mouth went dry at the bulge and pop of muscle rippling across his chest and arms.
    “It’ll probably be a long day today, but I’ll see if I can’t talk Mendez into giving you a car at least. I know you’d like to come and go on your own.”
    Lucky swallowed. “I would.”
    “I could try to talk him into giving you a room on post. I don’t think he’ll go for it though.”
    Her stomach clenched. She knew Kev didn’t want her here. It was uncomfortable for them both. “I don’t think he will either, but it’s worth another try. And I’m sorry he dumped me on you like this. But I can handle it. I was startled when you found me on the beach. I won’t fly off the handle like that again, I swear.”
    His eyes were unreadable. “What did you say that I didn’t deserve? You didn’t expect me to show up like that. Or tell you we needed you to come back.”
    “But what I said about Marco… it was wrong. The job killed him, not any of you.”
    His jaw tightened. “I hate that it happened. You have no idea how often I’ve thought of it, how many times I’ve gone over it all in my head and wondered what we could have done differently. We were betrayed by our source, and we paid a high price. It’s the job, but fuck yeah, I still wonder if it could have been avoided. We all do.”
    Lucky put down the remains of her toast. She couldn’t swallow now if she had to. “I asked him to leave HOT.”
    Somehow, she got the words out past the