Cassius by Stevens, Madison (chromebook ebook reader txt) 📕

“This is kind of a new thing,” Kendra replied with a shrug.

Her heart thundered. She’d been concerned about CJ hating her, but now he was going out of his way to stake his claim. She wasn’t sure what their relationship was, but between the current situation and the kiss, at least she had him for now.

“Oh well.” Sarah waved. “Sorry to chat you up and run, but I’ve got important things to take care of.”

She didn’t wait for a response before wandering off, muttering under her breath. CJ stared after her, the corners of his mouth twitching into a smile.

“Should I not have done that?” CJ asked.

Kendra kissed him on the cheek. “That’s exactly what you should have done.”

“Good to know.” CJ motioned around the course. “We should check out the rest of the course before it gets too busy.”

“Right. Good call.”

Kendra wanted to pump her fist in the air and cheer. The race would be over that day, and then she could focus on CJ. Everything was going perfect. There couldn’t be anything left that could ruin her buzz.

Chapter Thirteen

CJ did his best to look for anything out of the ordinary while also not ignoring Kendra as she explained the intricacies and challenges involved with the different obstacles. He didn’t want her to think he wouldn’t listen to her, but as much as he wanted to stare at those luscious lips as they moved, he wasn’t there on a date or to impress a woman. A recon sweep required him to pay attention to everything and everyone around him. He might not know a lot about obstacle course racing, but he could potentially spot explosives or other military devices others might miss.

Still, being around Kendra didn’t help. Even though she wasn’t in her body-hugging athletic wear and her tracksuit concealed the perfectly sculpted form he’d began exploring the other night, his memories did the rest. He wanted to reach down and squeeze her tight ass before dragging her off into a dark shadow and having his way with her. Missing a bomb because he was too busy thinking about planting himself in a woman wouldn’t be something he could excuse away later.

“…and that’s the problem with balance obstacles,” Kendra said with a laugh. “It’s way too easy to take them lightly. So many good athletes go down on them even after a lot of practice. One split-second of lost concentration and poof! But at least they tend to be shorter than the other obstacles and don’t require the kind of conditioning say something like the Spiral of Doom does.”

CJ nodded quickly, almost having lost track of what she’d been saying in the haze of his lust. “I get it. They’re deceptively simple.”

“Exactly!” Kendra smiled brightly and looked rather pleased.

CJ almost snorted at his performance. It was all but perfect infiltration and spying. Julius would be so proud as long as he didn’t know about how obsessed CJ had become with a woman who should have been nothing but an informant. Their time together had stopped being about the mission from the moment CJ had decided kissing her was a good idea.

Going back to her room the night before might have been a mistake, but he didn’t care. Trying to convince himself to worry about it only confirmed his true error had been letting her brush him off.

He also didn’t care they hadn’t fully bonded. He craved more from her. He needed to be inside her before he lost it.

CJ respected Julius, who was there performing external recon on the site, but that didn’t mean the more experienced spy was always right. Ouroboros might be at the race, which meant there was a risk to Kendra. This mission had taken on much higher importance than before.

“You’re really into this,” Kendra said with a smile. “I’m surprised.”

“Really?” CJ replied. “I didn’t think I was being one way or another.”

“You’re just watching everything so intently. I was worried you’d be bored when I suggested this. I love the sport, but I get that not all sports are for all people.”

“I’m not bored at all. It’s all very interesting. I’m not going to pretend I’m a deep thinker, but I like learning new stuff.”

CJ narrowed his eyes. He spotted security guards coming in and out of a narrow non-descript building near the fence. It was a temporary structure that could easily be loaded onto a semi bed. He suspected it was a security station.

A guarded look played across Kendra’s face before she leaned closer to whisper, “Are you seeing something? Something related to your investigation? I almost forgot that’s the main reason you’re here.”

CJ stared at Kendra, shocked and wondering when she’d figured out the truth before remembering he’d claimed to be a PI investigating the race. That was the problem with lies, a man had to keep track of them and how they mixed with the truth. At least the Luna hybrids only had to conceal the location of their island at this point.

“Nothing like that.” He shook his head. “It’s all new to me. I was aware of all this stuff, but never watched any of the competitions. I get obstacle courses, but this is taking this all to the next level. It almost makes me want to compete.”

“You should try it sometime,” Kendra replied. “There are different styles of races and competition, so if you don’t like the feel of this one, it doesn’t mean OCR isn’t for you, and not everything is like ASTC, even if it’s influenced a lot of the smaller events because of how it’s been on TV for so long.”

Kendra’s smile faded. “Your investigation…” She looked away. “I know you can’t talk about it, but this isn’t anything that’s going to be dangerous, right?” She reached up and tucked a stray strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “I’ve not been thinking about it a lot, and you’re a PI and not a cop, so I want to believe everything