Agent M4: Riordan Read Free

attractive legs.
    Really, Natalie?
    “You’re very dark.”
    He kicked his feet with lazy movements, causing small waves in the water. “I live outside.”
    Perspiration already dotted her nape and mid-morning had just come upon them. In her opinion, spending time in the Nevada desert heat seemed masochistic.
    “Why do you live outside?”
    Frowning, he turned to her, his ice-blue eyes barricaded but beautiful. “Mitchell didn’t fill you in on my sordid past?”
    She shook her head. “No. All he told me is that you were one of Robert Naylor’s best agents.”
    With a sarcastic harrumph, Riordan stared down at the water. “Until six weeks ago, my home was a prison carved into the Altay Mountains of Mongolia. I spent three years in that hellhole, eighty percent of my days tied up in a dark cave, alone. Until my hands were crushed, the other twenty percent was spent defending myself against the guards or healing in their so-called hospital.” He flexed his fingers. “So yeah, I’m going to live outside.”
    Natalie caught her breath. It explained so much more than his tanned skin. It explained his chosen isolation, his long hair, his scars, his defensive pride. I’m sorry threatened to blurt from her mouth but she held strong. That was the last thing he wanted to hear.
    She clenched her fists in her lap. “Why were you there?”
    “Naylor didn’t like the fact that I had a thing going with his daughter, Cassandra. He got rid of me.”
    Natalie couldn’t keep her mouth from dropping open. Good God. The man had been sent to hell for falling in love.
    Her clenched fists pulled tighter. The idea angered her. Infuriated her. But, she’d been taught to rein in her temper. She had an image to uphold.
    Can’t let a crack show, now can we?
    Sitting up straight, she swallowed before speaking. “How did you get out?”
    “Naylor brought me here, to D.I.R.E., to break up Cassandra and her, fiancé. Ironic, huh?” He glanced at her with a sudden grin. “It didn’t work.”
    Her hands gripped the edge of the pool. Holy wow . When the man smiled he actually glowed . He had a beautiful, white smile and one dimple in his left cheek. How he’d managed to keep his teeth in a prison like that was nothing short of a miracle. His brilliant smile appeared so contradictory to his rough, caveman-like exterior, it stunned her.
    Keep your head, Natalie. He’s a patient.
    Frowning, she cleared her throat. She didn’t dare go down that road.
    “His daughter is engaged to a D.I.R.E. agent?”
    With a slow nod, he stared at his feet in the water.
    “Small world,” she said, her words sounding inadequate.
    A bitter laugh escaped him. “You have no idea...”
    If anything sounded personal, that statement did. He’d answered superficial questions up to that point. How would he handle something intimate?
    She braced her arms on the concrete behind her. “How do you feel about her engagement?”
    Hanging his head, he turned to face her with a cocked brow. “Really? You’re going full-on doctor on me? Is this where I lie down on one of the loungers and tell you my troubles?”
    She matched his cocked brow. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were ridiculing my profession.”
    He held up his hands in feigned innocence. “Not me.”
    Lifting a shoulder, she said, “Mitchell is paying me the big bucks to be a full-on doctor , Riordan. If you want to lie down, please do.”
    His gaze dropped to her breasts before a smirk crossed his features. “Care to join me?”
    Been there, done that . And, it had ruined her life on so many levels.
    She tilted her head. “What do you hope to gain with that question, Riordan? Outrage? Shock...?”
    “Consent.”
    His deep, gravelly voice shot a wave of gooseflesh over her skin. Why did her body scream God, yes , while her brain told her beware men bearing barbaric sex appeal? Rough, arrogant, long-haired men were not an everyday occurrence for her. This one oozed animal magnetism