His Captivating Confidante (Secret Sentinels) Read Online Free Page A

she had another commitment tonight. It’s time we let her get back to her evening. You can decide on a nickname for her at our next practice.”
    She’d always be “Kitten” to him, but he didn’t want anyone else calling her by that moniker.
    Watching his buddies congratulating Stephanie, it was obvious she’d already managed to wrap them all around her little finger. He wasn’t surprised the men had taken to her so quickly. She was intelligent, witty, and a gifted markswoman.
    Not to mention drop-dead gorgeous.
    Once they were alone, she turned to him, one eyebrow raised in inquiry. “Since you’re letting me join your team, is it safe to assume you’ve forgiven me for not telling you about my work with Sentinels?”
    “No.”
    “No?” she parroted.
    “No. There’s nothing to forgive.”
    “If that’s true, then why have you been doing your best to avoid me ever since Liz told you what I really do for a living?”
    “I haven’t been trying to avoid you,” he insisted. “I’ve just been busy.”
    His conscience twinged a bit at the statement. Maybe he had been skirting her, but the fact that she hadn’t trusted him with the covert nature of her chosen career still stung. Her lack of faith in his friendship had stoked his temper at first.
    But when she’d shown up at the benefit dinner dressed to kill in an evening gown that screamed seduction, every drop of that disappointment had evaporated and pure, unadulterated lust had leaped in to fill the void.
    He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder in reassurance. “Look . . . I’m not upset with you. I’m just disappointed you didn’t trust me enough to confide in me. I would have kept your secret, you know.”
    “I know. And I planned to tell you, but I didn’t want to fill you in via an e-mail or text message. I was waiting until I saw you face-to-face. Then you left the CIA and joined Sentinels, and Liz inadvertently beat me to the punch. So I owe you an apology. That wasn’t how I wanted you to find out.”
    “It’s okay. I understand why you can’t go around broadcasting what you do. I can count on one hand the number of people I clued in to what I did for a living when I worked for the CIA.”
    “But you told me.”
    He nodded. “You’re important to me. So, are you still angry with me for interfering?”
    They both recognized he was talking about more than the shooting match. He’d overstepped his bounds by nosing in on her new assignment.
    “Yes,” she shot back cheekily, but her reply lacked the bite of her earlier dressing down. “I’ll forgive you, though, since you gave me a shot at joining the team.”
    “You did good tonight, Kitten. I’m proud of you.”
    Even as he spoke the words, the feel of her soft, warm skin under his palm taunted him. It was more than pride coursing through him. It was lust flooding every cell in his body, urging him to make her his. And that was wrong on so many levels. She trusted him—counted on him to be a loyal friend, not a desire-fueled lothario. And even if their friendship could survive a casual fling, Steph wasn’t that kind of girl. She didn’t do one-night stands—didn’t do intimate relationships outside of marriage, period. And marriage didn’t factor in anywhere in his plans.
    Which meant he couldn’t act on his feelings for her. Ever.

Chapter Three
    Frank’s praise set Stephanie’s face aflame, but the glow from the blush dimmed when, for the second time in less than an hour, he followed up a compliment by tacking on the nickname he’d tagged her with as a teenager.
    The childhood moniker bristled more than usual tonight. She didn’t want him to think of her as a helpless kitten. She wanted him to see her as a capable operative—and a grown woman. And after the dance they’d shared and that near kiss, she’d thought—hoped, actually—he might finally see her as more than just a buddy.
    Obviously, she must have imagined the spark of desire she’d thought