Kalliopi smirked while shaking her head.Seemed like if you gave Stan an inch, he’d take a mile.Perhaps that boded well in other areas… A girl could hope.“You are pretty confident, Mr.Dutetre, that you’ll get a second date out of me.Are you so certain this first date is going well?”
“If your KROTCH is any indication, then yes.”
She giggled as she playfully punched his chest.His hard planes caught her off guard.She sucked in a breath as electric heat pooled within her belly.With no thought of consequence, she palmed his pectoral muscle and gazed up at him through her lashes.He tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear before sliding his hand to the nape of her neck, drawing her close to him.As his face drew closer, she found herself parting her lips in anticipation of him kissing her.This was wrong on so many levels.She tried to remember that she didn’t want to get close because saying goodbye would be all the more painful, but as he closed the distance, she couldn’t remember why that was something she needed to care about.So what if it was just a fling?She’d already had her chance at love with the one-who-shall-remain-nameless, and she blew it.Why not have some fun with a man she found attractive while she was here?Because it didn’t have to lead anywhere, right?
Then his mouth was over hers, his lips soft and inviting.He wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him.There might have been a barrier of cloth between them, but she felt how much he wanted her.As he deepened the kiss, all she could do was melt into him.A soft, almost inaudible moan escaped without her permission, and it seemed to make him come alive, as he pulled her even closer to him.As her chest pressed against his, she couldn’t help but want to fist his hair.Nothing mattered to her in that moment but feeling every inch of him.And just as she was about to slide her hands down to cup his backside and give each cheek a squeeze, someone whistled, causing her to regain her senses.She went to place a palm on his chest to put some distance between them, but before she made contact with his chest, his hot breath surrounded the shell of her ear.
“I’m very confident about this date, Ms.Kouris.”The heat from his breath sent a trail of goosebumps down her neck before he pulled away from her.She instantly mourned the closeness.But then she noticed who’d walked in and was probably the one whistling.
“Richard?What do you want?”Stan’s voice was a little on the grumpy side, and she couldn’t blame him.The last thing she wanted to see on her night out with Stan was a co-worker.
“Sorry, but this couldn’t wait.You’d asked me to keep you in the loop the minute Ash started talking.”
“Yes, you’re right.I wanted to know that, but I meant you could text me about it while I’m off duty.”
“I get that, but the thing is?Ash said he won’t talk to anyone but you.Something about you being the only one who would understand what he went through with Zagan.And he said that if he had to wait till tomorrow to talk to you, all bets are off.”
Stan glanced in Kalliopi’s direction.
“Go!”she told him.“This is important.You might not get another chance like this.And if there is anyone who understands taking down the labs, it’s me.I lost my sister to one.Zagan may not have been the one responsible, but even I want to take down as many people like him as possible.”She’d blurted out the additional details without meaning to.She saw the information process on Stan’s face, but he simply nodded before turning back to Richard.
“All right, I’ll go.”
“I can escort Kalliopi back to her place if you want to head over to the correctional facility immediately, Stan.”
“Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like Kalliopi to come with us.”He turned a quizzical eye toward her.“Your infantry training covered interrogations, correct?”
“Well, yes, but as a MILF, my training is a lot different.We don’t exactly work much in the civilian sector with common criminals.”
Stan palmed Kalliopi’s shoulders, and he dipped his head to speak quietly, though Richard, with his shifter hearing, likely could still hear.That didn’t stop Stan from professing his feelings, though.“Kallie, I just want to spend every minute I can with you while you are here.Please say yes and come with us.”
Kalliopi smiled.It was the sweetest thing someone had said to her in forever.“Yes.I will.”
The words spilled from her mouth in a rush, and for a moment, it almost felt like she was agreeing to something else.Something more permanent.But marriage would never be in the cards for her.Not then, back with the man-who-shall-remain-nameless, and not now, with Mr.Lives-Across-the-Globe.Frankly, not ever.
Stan squeezed her shoulders and pressed his lips to hers hard.She was taken aback at first, but when he didn’t seem to want to let go, she cradled his jaw with her palm.Her lips grazed his day-old stubble until she was kissing, licking, and sucking the spot he seemed to enjoy the most, which was just below his earlobe.Between breaths, she mumbled his name and some naughty things she wanted to try once they were alone into the shell of his ear.
When she reached down to squeeze Stan’s butt cheek, Richard cleared his throat.“We need to go now because I can’t promise he’ll be in a talking mood for long.”
“Noted, Richard.We will follow you.”
The three of them were at the correctional wing of FUCN’A within a few short minutes and stepping into an interrogation room only moments later.
“Kallie, why don’t you sit here?”Stan suggested.
The seat was in the far corner of the room, nearest to the exit.Why did Stan want to put her in a corner?Her brows knitted as her lips turned down into a frown.
“Yes, sir.”It was all she could muster at this point.Why did she insist on thinking Stan was any different from any other guy?Just because he’d swept her off her literal feet didn’t mean he was her Prince Charming.Hell, it didn’t even mean he respected her as a person.She’d thought that him asking her to accompany him to the interrogation had shown that he respected her.Nope.He probably wanted her here just so he could pick up their lustful activities once he’d gotten what he wanted from the baddie.Celebration sex, with her as nothing more than a prize to be taken.Gross.
Especially considering the truth of it all: She’d actually have to register herself as a deadly weapon in the U.S.territory of Guam.Yeah, she was a badass, and everyone back home on Milos Island knew it.Yet, here she was, sitting in the corner.
Whatever.She didn’t want to—scratch that, shewouldn’t—get personal right now.They were about to interrogate a monster, and it was time for all of them to put on their game faces.
“What do I need to know about this guy?”she asked.
“We don’t have much about him except that Zagan took him under his wing at a young age.It appears his parents died in a lab experiment, and rather than set Ash free, Zagan took care of him.”
“Who would have thought that monster’s heart actually beats?”
