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Natalie winces, but she gets down to business, too. "Where's the safe house?"
I say nothing.
"Alessa," she sighs, when I don't respond, "if you want my help, you need to at least tell me that. I know you don't trust me, but I want to build at least an understanding between us."
I lean back, considering her. The smart play would be to pump her for information first, find out everything I can, anything that might helpme. But the sight of her there on my sofa again—where she gave me one hell of an orgasm—combined with the memory of how she played me, makes me want to provoke her further. Remind us both who really holds the cards here.
"What would you actually do, I wonder? To save the life of a young woman?"
Her answer comes immediately. "Anything."
"Anythingis a dangerous word," I purr silkily. "But I like dangerous." Natalie's breath hitches as I rise and close the space between us. Tracing a fingertip down her jaw, I add, "Are you sure you'd doanything, Natalie?"
Her pupils dilate, lips parting involuntarily. Watching her frayed composure gives me a heady rush. I've got her right where I want her. Unable to resist, I close the small space between us until we're inches apart, my heart racing from the proximity.
I let my fingers trail down to her throat, brushing over her pulse. It's jumping like a hare under my touch.
Before I can second-guess myself, I grasp her chin in my hand and crush my mouth to hers hungrily. Natalie responds immediately, kissing me back with equal fervor. The taste and feel of her lips is intoxicating, and for a blissful moment I'm lost in it, savoring her…
Then realization hits me like ice water.
What am I doing? I can't lose control like this! Wrenching back from the dizzying kiss, I turn away, working to calm my racing heart.
What the hell just happened? I was supposed to stay detached, to use this attraction against her. Instead, I'm the one who…
"Alessa, I…" Natalie's voice sounds flustered behind me. "I don't know if—"
"I was proving a point." I cut her off tersely, clamping down on the riotous feelings she evoked in me. "That's all, Agent Miller. And the point is, you won't doanything, so to offer that is foolish. But you don't need to worry. I won't demand from you anything you're not willing to give."
After a moment, Natalie clears her throat awkwardly. "Actually, there was something else I wanted to run by you. About moving Elena Martinez to safety."
I raise a brow, intrigued despite myself. "Go on."
"I thought one of my colleagues might be able to help. Evelyn Chang. She's still on the team and she…well, she's a friend of mine. She might be able to help—"
"Are you insane?" I laugh, disbelieving. "I didn't wantoneFed working on this, let alone two."
But I find myself impressed by Natalie's initiative. If she's to be believed, she's willing to take real risks to make this work.
"It was just a thought," Natalie says after a moment. "I understand you not trusting anyone who works at the Bureau. But Evelyn wants the truth, too. Some of us recognize that real justice can't be achieved through underhanded means."
"Justice? Is that what you were serving when you lied and seduced your way into my club, my home, my bed, for the sake of your case?"
Natalie flinches. "Are we back to that? You broke the law, Alessa, and I was doing my job." But her protest sounds weak even to my ears.
"The law isn't as black and white as you want it to be," I retort. "I'm not innocent in all this—but neither is the Bureau. You played a very convincing role, Natalie. So convincing that..." I falter, looking away again.
Natalie's voice softens as she prompts, "That what?" When I don't answer, she reaches out for my hand hesitantly. "Alessa. Talk to me."
I meet her gaze at last, drawn in by the tenderness there. In her eyes, I glimpse traces of the woman who looked at me with more than artifice or calculation. And I hate how it makes me waver, how it reawakens messy feelings I've tried to bury since her betrayal.
"I think you should go." My voice comes out hoarser than intended. Natalie looks poised to argue, then nods slowly.
At the door, Natalie pauses, meeting my eyes with an earnestness that gives me pause. "I meant what I said, Alessa. I intend to help you with Elena. And I intend to make things right…somehow."
For a long moment, I'm tempted to pull her back inside. Take the pleasure I wanted from her body to prove I'm unaffected by her duplicity, unaffected by the memory of how we once made each other feel...
But that would be a lie. Because despite all my fury and hurt, something in me softened toward her tonight.
