We sink onto a love seat, and I settle against his chest without thinking. I’m about to pull away when his arms close around me.
“You fit against me like you were made specifically for my chest,” he whispers against my ear.
“We do seem to fit together pretty well,” I say. We’ve kissed and held hands and done a lot of talking, but it hasn’t moved beyond that and I’m relatively sure he’s waiting for me to make the first move.
I want to, but it feels like there are so many other things going on, I don’t want our first time together to be overshadowed by anything. Especially not something as serious as this stalker business. Most likely, he feels that way too, but I need to be sure because this is too important.
He is too important.
“Ace?”
“Hmm?” He glances down at me, his deep-set blue eyes meeting mine with the same intensity as when he kissed me at the Christmas market.
“When this is over, whatever’s going on in Cologne, are we going to…stay friends?”
He strokes the side of my face, eyes glued to mine. “I’d like to.”
“Are you leaving as soon as you figure it out?” I blurt. “Because if you do, you might have to hire someone to protect you from me, when I find you.”
He laughs. “I have to leave at some point, but that doesn’t mean I won’t come back. I have to go back to D.C. to figure out what’s going to happen with my current assignment.”
I frown. I didn’t realize he was on an assignment. “Are you AWOL right now?” I ask.
“That’s not what it’s called—I’m not in the military anymore. But yes, essentially, I walked away from a long-term assignment to see what was happening with you.”
“Are you going to get fired?”
“Potentially, but not because I took unscheduled leave. There’s been a lot going on and I don’t know that I like the internal power struggles within the agency. They want me to do something that I have neither the ability nor the inclination to do.”
“Can you tell me what?”
He seems to consider it and then says, “They want me to convince my friend, King Erik, not to do something he needs to do for the safety of his people, and I’m not sure why they think I could or should.”
“Is it something that hurts anyone?” I ask.
“Not at all. He wants to build an intelligence agency within his government, similar to the CIA, so he has the ability to protect his country on a grand scale. I don’t know why our government doesn’t want him to, but nothing I say is going to stop him, so I’m not sure why I’m even there.”
“Are you supposed to tell me these things?”
“No, but I did anyway. I don’t mind keeping secrets to protect people, but what’s happening with this is ridiculous because it’s not really a secret, and it makes me think there’s something going on behind the scenes. I don’t want anything to do with this particular assignment and Erik has my back because he’s keeping his plans on the down-low for now, hoping the CIA will think he’s put the entire idea on hold.”
“And if they don’t buy it?”
“Then I’ll most likely get fired and they’ll send someone else to handle it, which won’t be good for anyone.”
I grimace. “Would they hurt you?”
“Not me, no.”
“But your friends in Limaj?”
He nods. “Let’s not talk about that, okay?”
“Why not? This is something important going on in your life, something you’ve let go because of me and I feel bad.”
“I haven’t let it go. I’m in touch with Erik or his head of security every day. With the holidays coming, I’m hoping everyone, especially back at Langley, thinks all of that stuff is on hold until January. It buys me time to help you and gives Erik time to come up with a plan.”
“So, you’re going back as soon as we’re done here?”
