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My alarm beeped, jarring me out of my horny haze.
“Shit,” I groaned as I hit the off button. “If I don’t get moving, I’ll have to skip my workout.” But I was already leaning into her, kissing her, running my fingertips up over her ribs and the underswell of one breast. There’s more than one way to get a morning workout.
She ran her tongue over the pulse in my throat, and I shuddered. “I’m joining Li and Kessler for their workout later, so I could use a wake-up shower myself.”
My dick twitched at the thought of lathering her up, then pressing her against the shower wall and slipping into her from behind. “You win,” I whispered. “But it’s my turn to take control.”
“And what if I want to be in charge?” She grinned as she gripped my shaft and stroked me.
I closed my eyes. “Mmm. Then you’ll be in charge.” I opened my eyes and grinned down at her. “Either way, I win.”
We’d only been doing this since Wednesday, but already it was so easy between us, having sex well into the night, falling asleep in each other’s arms, waking up in the same bed, enjoying a morning quickie before she sneaked out of my room and back to her own. But tomorrow night, we would take her home. She would have her Tuesday lunch with Luka Kovac. If he was satisfied that she wasn’t a threat, she would write a puff piece about him and return to her real life. If he was unconvinced, Ashlee Armand would disappear. Either way, it wouldn’t be safe for her to see me again. My time with her was almost over.
I lay back down beside her and kissed her long and slow. “Let’s stay here for a while before we get into the shower.”
She nodded. “I’d like that. And I’m thinking maybe no one has to be in charge this time.”
I pulled her into my arms and held her tightly against my chest, running my hand through her unruly hair. “Sounds amazing.”
But the truth was, she was in charge. Whether she was dominating me or I was commanding her, she was lord and master of more than my body. After thirty-five years of skating close but never skidding off the edge and falling in love, I’d finally screwed up, and under impossible circumstances. I’d handed over my heart to Ashlee Armand, and in a few days’ time, she would hand it back to me in pieces and walk out of my life for good.
* * *
It was 0815, and time for me to collate the data from the reports I’d been reading and prepare for the team’s morning briefing. I left my office and headed for the staff kitchen for one more cup of caffeine, a shot of energy to replace what I’d lost from lack of sleep and skipping my workout. I managed a sidelong glance at Ashlee while I walked through the gym. Kessler and Li were helping her adjust her fighting stances to add power to her punches and kicks. When she caught me watching her, she glanced away but smiled.
“Wow, subtle.” Jensen was standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a dish towel slung over his shoulder.
“Something you want to say to me?” I asked him.
Jensen raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. “Me? No. Not a word.”
He stepped into the kitchen with me and offered to make me some bacon and eggs.
“No thanks.” I furrowed my brow as I poured my coffee. “Why are you hovering in here like a short-order cook waiting for your next customer?”
Penn came into the kitchen and closed the door behind him. “Morning, TJ.”
Shit. I’d been distracted by watching Ashlee, and I’d stepped right into a trap. “Is this intervention about my third cup of coffee or substituting power bars for real breakfast?”
“Funny,” Penn said without smiling.
“At least he hasn’t lost his sense of humor,” Jensen said.
“Implying that I have lost something.” I glanced between them. “Tread lightly, gentlemen.”
Jensen held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, but Penn frowned. He’d spent ten years in the corps before joining HEAT three years ago, so he didn’t back down easily.
“You know what the something is,” Penn said.
“Do I?” I asked, but of course, I did. My objectivity when it came to Ashlee. And also, it appeared, my ability to hide my love life from my team.
“We think it’s great,” Jensen said. “We think she’s great. And it’s not that we’re prying, it’s just... You work in a building full of spies. We’re trained to pick up on the clues, and—”
“Jensen,” Penn said quietly to make our tech lead stop talking. “Look, TJ, this is just a heads-up that we’re a little concerned.”
I wasn’t in the mood to be placated. “Thanks for ambushing me in the kitchen to do it.”
Penn raised his voice to match my tone. “This was not an ambush. An ambush would have been bringing it up in front of X during the team meeting.”
