***
“Jared,” she said, putting her fork down on the plate, which was still three-quarters full of food.
“Yes?” he asked, looking down at his clump of gruel as well.
“We need—”
“Actual food,” he finished for her.
“So badly,” she said with a sigh, pushing the dish away from her. “I can’t subsist on this canned stuff anymore.”
He eyeballed his plate, then shoved it into the middle of the table as well. “Agreed. I’d rather fight a truck full of Agents than force another mouthful of this down.” He mimicked the actions of throwing up to ensure his point was crystal clear. “But it’s light out.”
She nodded. “It’s early though. We’ll put on ball caps, like you wanted, and just go quickly.”
“I don’t know,” he said with a frown. His eyes drifted back to the plate. “Ugh.”
Nadia knew she was going to win. It was just a matter of convincing him a little more. The prospect of danger made her feel a little more alive, which was not good, she knew, but it couldn’t be helped. She would go crazy having to continue to eat such crap.
“I kind of stand out like a sore thumb though,” he said.
“There has to be a way to make you less visible to the public,” she said thoughtfully.
He laughed. “Nadia, I’m over six and a half feet tall, and rather muscular. I don’t exactly scream subtle.”
A giggle slipped through her lips before she could press them closed. “True, but there are ways to make people focus on you less, thus allowing you to seem more inconspicuous.”
The shifter arched an eyebrow at her. His facial expression made it clear he didn’t believe a word she was saying.
“I’m serious!” she protested. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You and I are going to walk to the store as a couple very much in love. Holding hands, close proximity, all that. People tend to look away from public displays of affection like that, out of an innate sense of wanting to give privacy to the couple. It’s a natural instinct. It will help you hide in plain sight, trust me.”
His jaw slowly fell open. “You’re joking, right?”
Nadia shook her head.
“A super-affectionate married couple?” he asked slowly.
She nodded.
“This is just your excuse to be able to feel my muscles, isn’t it?” he asked with a resigned sigh.
“Busted,” she said with a laugh, standing up from the table.
Jared followed suit on his side, still shaking his head. “I can’t believe I’m letting you talk me into this. This is ridiculous.”
But he didn’t pause as they tossed the remnants of their “breakfast” into the garbage and headed for the door. She flicked her hair half in his direction as she grabbed one of the ball caps hanging next to the door, then proceeded to tuck her hair up under it.
“Come on dear,” she said, teasing him.
“Yes honey, I’ll be right along.” He walked back into the storage room for a moment, and she heard him rustling with something.
“What are you doing?”
“Something to pay for it with,” he said, holding up some money he had found somewhere.
“I suppose that’s better than stealing it.”
“You were planning to steal it?” he asked in mild surprise. “How would that keep us undercover?”
She shrugged. “If you steal properly, they don’t know you did. Right? That’s how it works?”
He chuckled. “For a moment there I thought you’d done this before. But then you added that last little bit.”
“I’m not a thief,” she protested.
“I know that now,” he said, this time with a full-fledged laugh at her expense.
“Listen here, sweetheart,” she said with false sincerity. “Get your overly muscled self up the stairs and open the door like a gentleman, will you?”
He gave her a look that said, “I know you’re not that helpless.”
“You have the key,” she said in response to the glance.
“Ah, right, so I do.”
“Yep. Now tut tut, make with the chivalry, mister.”
Jared was halfway up the stairs at that point, but Nadia was positive she heard him snort.
“None of that in public please,” she said. “No husband of mine is a snorter.”
“What’s the number of my divorce lawyer again?” he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for her to hear.
“You don’t have one,” she supplied. “Because you love me.”
“Of course dear,” he said as they emerged from the shed into the backyard, blinking at the radiant sunlight together. “How could I ever forget that?”
She sniffed haughtily in his direction, then held her hand out expectantly.
“What’s that for?” he asked, brushing by her gently without taking it.
“It’s for you,” she told him.
“I already have two hands,” he said, holding them up in front of him and twisting them back and forth as if showing them off.
Nadia rolled her eyes in exasperation and snatched one from mid-air before he could react.
“You’re unbelievable,” she said as they walked out to the street. She followed him as he knew the area better.
“Hey, you married me,” he said with a shrug that bounced her hand up and down. “You knew what you were getting into.”
She looked over and up at him skeptically. “You’re getting into this a little too much,” she said.
Jared smiled. “Getting into what, dear? You? You know I love you so much. I thought I showed you that on our wedding night?” he teased maliciously, a smirk spreading across his face.
But Nadia wasn’t going to succumb that easily. “It would help if you had been able to show it again since.”
Jared gasped in mock hurt. “What are you saying, my love?”
“I’m saying shut up,” she said, trying not to laugh out loud.
“Oh, now now. Let’s not fight. Let’s talk it out, okay? Communication is key to a good, stable relationship. Remember?”
She took a deep breath to prevent her from punching him. “I suppose I earned this, didn’t I?”
His face split in a beaming grin. “You have no idea.”
Nadia lapsed into silence, shaking her head. It wasn’t over. Not yet. She was going to get him back, one way or another.”
He turned them onto another street, where houses gave way to small commercial lots, filled with individual storefronts.
“Shit.” The curse was pitched low and in her direction.
“What?” she asked, trying to remain calm.
“Police officer ahead, walking toward us.”
“Has he seen you yet?”
“Not yet.”
Nadia acted before she really knew what she was doing. She took an extra step, got in front of Jared and turned back to face him, bringing him to a halt. Then she reached up, grabbed his chin in both hands and pulled his face to hers.
The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as their lips met, the same tingle she had felt the day before rushing into her, only this time it was amplified tenfold as his powerful hands grasped her waist and pulled her in close.
She hadn’t meant to let herself fall into it, but the longer it went on, the more she melted into his arms, allowing the kiss to become more than just a façade. It became something tangible, a connection between them that she hadn’t expected to feel. It was as if an elastic band had suddenly snapped tight between them, inexorably bonding them forever, unless one of them cut it.
And his lips. Oh his lips.
He was soft and warm, yet hard at the same time. Not like that. But firm in his grip, yet gentle in his touch. Electrical shocks rushed along her nerve endings as the moment continued.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity and a split second at the same time, they parted, just enough for them to glance around.
“He’s gone,” Jared said softly.
Nadia swayed to the side slightly, looking beyond his broad shoulders until she saw the cop continuing his walk farther down the street. She used that time to gather her composure, take a breath, and come back down to reality.
“You know,” he said as they resumed their walk, “you should have been an actress.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a compliment by that or not.
“Well, that kiss felt very real for a stunt,” he said.
Nadia did punch him now. In the arm.
He didn’t even react.
She arched an eyebrow when he looked over at her.
“Ow,” he said dryly. “Better?”
“Of course,” she said out loud. Her insides were still following the world’s craziest rollercoaster, looping and dropping at a pace that made her unsteady on her feet.
Amidst it all, one thought kept coming to the fore.
It felt real to me too.