“When did you get your medals?” he asked before kissing her.
She delighted in the intensity of his gaze, paired with the tenderness in his kiss.
“I won the Olympics right after college, at twenty-two, so it’s been a minute. I’m not bragging, but I’m a much better shot now. I’ve been trained by the best.”
He ran his finger gently down her cheek, tipped her face toward him. “Who trained you?”
“Uh-huh.” Her insides started tingling.
She loved his touch, craved it. When he caressed her, she wanted more.
“Sydney.” He paused to kiss her.
She sighed as he deepened the kiss, letting his tongue tease hers. “Mmmmm,” she murmured. When he ended the kiss, she chugged down a breath. “You got the kissing thing down so good.”
“After you won, where did you work?”
“You really want to ask me this now? My panties are wet, you could have me splayed on the table, doing all the naughty things to me.”
The heat in his eyes intensified, and she expected him to move into action. Instead, he said, “I want to have you right here, right now, but I’m gonna make you wait.”
“I love that you’re my reward.”
“Don’t you work at Langley?”
“I do,” she replied. “Years ago, they loaned me to Maverick Hott’s ThunderStrike for extensive training, then I worked withthe Marines for a year. I still train with them every year for three weeks.”
Her phone rang with a call from Lorne Cadance. “It’s my boss. This oughta be good.” She answered, put the call on speaker. “Hi, Lorne. Good to hear from you.”
“Sydney, sorry to be calling so late.”
She glanced at her laptop. 10:30 pm. She’d lost track of time. Easy to do in a building with no windows.
“Tell me something good.” She slid her gaze to Tank and winked.
“You’ve been removed from the King A case,” he said, “and you’ve been placed on temporary detail.”
“That’s not good. What’s the detail?”
“That information has been withheld.”
“From you?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“What are my next steps?” She smiled at Tank.
When he returned the smile, her heart lifted, then filled with hope.
“Sit tight and wait to be contacted,” Lorne said.
“I hope you’re reassigning the case,” she said. “Naomi and I worked on it for so long?—”
“About that—King A was removed from my caseload.”
The true power of ALPHA.
“Thanks for letting me know.”
“Good luck with your detail.” Lorne ended the call.
Tank’s gaze was filled with determination and brimming with confidence. “Welcome to the show, Sydney.”
“We’re gonna have some fun, you and me,” she replied.
“These scumbags won’t know what hit ‘em,” Teddy said with complete conviction.
Time to burn the house down… and I cannot wait.
