I watch her carefully lift the weapon, inspecting her work.
“Perhaps you could fill me in on where this sudden interest came from?” I probe, hoping to glean a bit more information than the limited explanation she provided when she first walked in.
She sighs, emptying the magazine once more before setting the weapon down on the table. The action makes my heart flutter.
“I was thinking about that talk we had.”
“Oh?”
“I guess I’m jealous of the control you have. After everything that happened to you, to your family, everyone would’ve expected you to become a victim of circumstance.”
Tilting my head, I consider her words.
“And instead, you took in all of that shit and just became stronger. I mean, look at you—no one would dare victimize you. You took control.” Her gaze wanders back to the gun. “I want that.”
An odd burst of emotion swirls in my gut. In my line of work, it’s always been take control or lose your life. I’ve shocked plenty of people by living through those events, but no one has ever told me they admired how I’d managed it, or who I’ve become.
“Menace,” I rasp out, voice thick with meaning. “You already have so much more control than you think. You’re so fucking brave.”
I brush my hand against hers, a testing touch. She doesn’t pull away.
“Remember the night we met? Anyone else would’ve run far away, but you? You came closer. You took complete control and saved my sorry life without even knowing me.”
I lean down, trailing my fingers up her arm and across the curve of her neck, brushing back a rogue curl from her forehead. Those beautiful eyes flutter up to me, and she leans her head into my touch. The action does something to my stomach.
Moving slowly to allow her plenty of time to pull away, I tug her closer to me until I can feel the soft pattern of her breath across my cheeks. When she closes her eyes, I press my lips to hers, reveling in the soft touch of her mouth.God, I’ve missed this.
My hand cups her cheek, thumb brushing against her temple as I slip my tongue between her lips. It brushes against hers, at first with timid movements, but growing in tenacity when she deepens the kiss, opening up for me. The prettiest moan falls from her throat, and the sound goes straight to my cock, immediately hardening for her.
She rises against me, and I slide a leg between her thighs, giving her something to grind against. When her searching fingers grip my hair, pulling me even closer, I release a low groan, trailing kisses across the corner of her lips and down her throat. My hands are just beginning their exploration underneath the hem of her sweatshirt when a knock sounds at the door.
“Fuck off,” I growl, brushing reassuring circles on the back of Cass’s neck. She pants against my neck, catching her breath.
“Pakhan, there’s been an explosion at Empire. Seems like a homemade IED.”
Fuck.
How could Empire be targeted?Our security and operations teams are top tier, and the doors probably haven’t even opened yet for tonight. This has Cassio written all over it—additional pressure to release our power.
“Go, Mikhail,” Cassandra whispers into my ear before straightening up and brushing a hand down her disheveled top. Her lips are swollen from all the kisses, the sweetest color of pink.
“Will you call me later?” I ask, pressing one last peck to those lips.
“I will. Be safe.”
The words cocoon around my body like a shimmering web, bringing so much warmth and heat to my chest. Fuck. When’s the last time someone told me to be safe? The small expression makes me feel invincible,like I’m a child once more flying by on a bike under open blue skies and hot summer days.
I slide the handgun and magazine toward her once more.
“You’ve proven you can assemble and dismantle. It’s yours, baby.”
“You haven’t even taught me to shoot yet?—”
“We’ll work on it,” I say, brushing her cheek and steeling myself to let her walk away again. Each time sucks worse than the last.
Cassandra
When I finally pull back into my driveway from my trip to the city, I exhale a sigh of relief. Mikhail sent two SUVs to trail me home, making sure I’d get here safely. While I appreciate his thoughtfulness, nothing is more unnerving than driving for 45 minutes knowing you’re being watched.
