Brody's Vow (Colebrook Siblings Trilogy Book 1) by Kaylea Cross

were people out there hunting her. Today she had to do some research, put some feelers out and find out what Tino had been up to since last night. When she left this place, she needed every advantage she could get.
    “Can I help with anything?” she asked.
    “Yeah, you can go sit and drink your juice while I finish up.”
    Still not trusting his motives completely, she went to the table and took a seat, watching him work at the stove. Each time he moved, the muscles in his back and arms flexed. She imagined sliding her hands beneath his shirt, smoothing her palms over his bare skin to map each ridge and hollow. Stroking. Teasing.
    What would it hurt? a little voice whispered inside her. You’ll be gone soon enough and you’ll never see him again anyway. Why not indulge this once?
    Brody set a loaded plate in front of her then rounded the table to sit opposite her with his own. “Dig in.”
    She picked up a piece of bacon, fighting a smile.
    “What?” he asked with a grin.
    “Never had a guy cook for me before.”
    His eyebrows rose, his fork paused partway to his mouth with a wedge of syrup-drenched pancake stuck to it. “Ever?”
    She nodded and bit into the bacon, moaned a little at the salty, smoky flavor. “Oh my God…” She tended to gain weight easily and her job required her to keep her shape. Eating bacon and pancakes for breakfast felt deliciously sinful.
    He chuckled, the deep sound making her think naughty things. “I don’t know what kind of guys you usually date, but you need to raise your bar a little.”
    She lowered her gaze to her plate and didn’t answer. She didn’t date, hadn’t in years. Her job wouldn’t allow it, and she’d never met anyone she’d trusted enough to want a relationship with anyway.
    A man like Brody, though, with his security clearance and job as part of the FBI’s most elite hostage rescue and counter terrorism team… Yeah, he tempted her in ways she’d never been tempted before.
    Adding to that, he was a damn good cook. The bacon was perfect, no soggy bits and not overdone, the pancakes light and fluffy. She narrowed her eyes at him in suspicion. “You made these from scratch, or from a box?”
    His eyes gleamed with amusement as he looked across the table at her. “Scratch.”
    He was serious. “Who taught you to cook?”
    “My dad. My mom passed away when we were young. Cancer.”
    “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “That must have been hard.”
    “Yeah, thanks. It was tough on all of us, but my old man was tougher. He raised us all on his own after that, did the best he could.”
    “I think you turned out all right.” Better than all right.
    He shrugged those wide shoulders. “I like to think so. What about you? You close to your parents?”
    She scooped up a forkful of pancake. “No, I never knew them. My mother left me at an orphanage when I was still a baby.” She wasn’t sure why she’d told him that. Maybe because it was only fair after what she’d already learned about him.
    “Oh. So you’re adopted?”
    She shook her head, gave a rueful smile to hide that deep ache she’d always felt at never being wanted. “Nope. I was in the foster system for a while after that but nothing ever worked out.” And then she’d been recruited into the Valkyrie program and her life had changed forever.
    They finished eating in companionable silence, with Trinity aware of everything about him. It was impossible to ignore the man’s sheer presence, and eating alone with him like this had all her attention attuned to him.
    “How’s your head?” he asked her.
    “Still holding together, thanks.” She’d been careful when she’d washed her hair not to disturb the adhesive.
    The crunch of footsteps on gravel made her glance toward the back door and then Colebrook Senior appeared there, Sarge at his heels. He had a rolled up newspaper in one hand.
    Brody stood up as if to go help him but his father waved him off with an irritated expression and clomped