Read A Darker Shade of Dead for Free Online Page B

listening to the men talk among themselves.
    Mariana engaged her in medical conversation, but the men really dominated the table. Sandra didn’t mind. She was used to being the quiet one. The one people talked over or ignored. It was her lot in life.
    Then Matt Sykes walked in and joined their table. The sheer wattage in the smile he turned on her was enough to make her toes curl. Suddenly everyone was looking in her direction as the commander made a beeline for the empty seat next to her.
    â€œYou’re looking well rested this morning, Dr. McCormick,” Matt said by way of greeting as he sat down and arranged his tray in front of him.
    â€œThanks. I conked out last night and slept for about ten hours straight.”
    The table had grown quieter as everyone watched their new commander interact with the newest member of the team. Maybe it was just the novelty of her first meal with the group that garnered so much attention. She hoped that was the case, because then it would wear off as soon as they got used to her. She didn’t think she could stand this kind of scrutiny all the time.
    â€œGlad to hear you’re settling in.” Matt smiled again, and she had to catch her breath. The man was potent. In fact, all the men at the table were handsome, but none affected her as strongly as Matt Sykes.
    Not good. For all intents and purposes, he was her boss, even if he wasn’t a scientist. It wouldn’t do to have a crush on her boss. No, not good at all.
    She had to nip this in the bud. Matt Sykes—gorgeous Greek god of a man as he was—was not for her. He was just too…too handsome, too male…too much of everything.
    Conversation picked up as the men started to talk again, including their new commander. Sandra went back to her usual role of observer as attention shifted away from her. She liked the way the men deferred to Matt yet seemed to feel a sort of common bond with him. It was clear they respected him.
    Matt was a Navy SEAL like Simon, though he was retired from field action now. He rode a desk these days, for whatever reason, but his experience showed in the way he handled himself around these men who were still active participants in Special Operations.
    Like herself, he was a little older than the rest of the people at the table. If she had to guess, she’d say Matt was closer to forty while the others were closer to thirty. Heck, Matt might even be older than that, but his physical form was impeccable. He had the body of a twenty-year-old. Only the slight graying at his temples and the smile lines around his stunning eyes betrayed him.
    Of course, she was no one to judge. She had a few wrinkles around her eyes herself these days. She didn’t think of herself as old by any stretch of the imagination, but she did have a few regrets. Getting her education and gaining prominence in her work had always been more important to her than dating or looking for a life partner.
    Seeing Mariana and Simon interact made her realize what she’d let pass her by. She was simply unprepared to start learning the skills most girls mastered in their teens now. She was too old to learn how to attract a man. The depressing truth was that she was too old to attract any but the most desperate of men at this point. And she didn’t want desperate. She wouldn’t settle for just anyone. Especially not after meeting Matt and his men.
    Matt would fuel her fantasies for a long time to come. She was honest enough with herself to admit it in the privacy of her own mind. He was devastatingly handsome and the most powerful, Alpha-type male she’d ever been around. Simply put, he turned her on. Just by breathing, he made her female parts come alive as they never had before for any other man.
    Too bad he was totally unattainable. Too bad she had no idea what to do with him even if she could manage to somehow capture his interest. Dreams like that never came true. Better to keep him a