She pressed her lips together, trying not to laugh. “Soup.”
“Sounds like a loser. Maybe I can persuade you to spend some time with me instead,” Lachlan shot back, signaling the bartender for two whiskeys as Gina lost her battle with laughter. He slid into the stool next to Gina and swiveled hers to face him, trapping her legs with his. The bartender set their drinks down and moved on to the next patron.
“Mmm, I don’t think so.” She looked him up and down. “Though you are tempting.”
“This Soup guy must be someone special then.”
Gina grinned. “He is. Very special.”
They clinked glasses, laughter erupting between them as they fell into their familiar banter. It felt like a lifetime since she’d last seen him, but the spark between them hadn’t dimmed.
Lachlan downed his whiskey. “Come on, lass, let's ditch this place.” He threw down a fifty, grabbed her hand, and led her out of the bar to the lobby. Gina’s pulse quickened with anticipation as they walked the short distance to the elevators.
Inside the hotel room, the outside world faded away once more. Lachlan's hands gently cradled Gina's face, his thumbs wiping away the remnants of her contour makeup as their lips met in a tender, passionate kiss. They shed their clothes quickly, their bodies eagerly seeking the closeness they’d both been craving, if his groans at seeing her naked and spread on the bed for him were any indication.
“Can’t get enough of you, Sunshine,” he growled as he crawled between her legs.
As they lay entwined the next morning, Gina traced circles on Lachlan's chest. They had five days together, and she imagined they’d spend most of their time in the room.
“Want me to order breakfast?” she asked. “Or do you?—”
Lach’s phone rang, cutting her off. He grabbed it off the bedside table, took one look at the screen, and groaned.
Gina sighed. “Don’t tell me.”
“Wheels up in an hour.” He wrapped his hand around the back of her head and kissed her hard. “I wish to God it were different.” He pulled the sheets back and stood.
“Tell me where, at least,” Gina said before she could stop herself. She knew better than to ask, but tell that to her heart. “Maybe I can snoop.”
He looked over his shoulder at her, his expression showing the war going on inside him.
She shrugged a shoulder. “Hey, it was helpful last time.”
“I don’t want you risking your job.” Lachlan pulled on his underwear and pants.
“And I don’t want you in any more danger than necessary.” She’d planned on telling him what she’d found when she looked into who had seen her report.
“This mission isn’t tied to the Agency.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t dig up some intel on it. I can probably narrow your destination down to three places based on what I already know is happening in the world right now.”
“What did you find out about your report last time?” He buttoned up his shirt and picked up his watch, then glanced at it and made a face when he saw the time. “It passed through Heath’s hands, didn’t it?”
“Actually no,” Gina said, feeling surprisingly defensive of her mentor. “Jeremy didn’t touch it.”
“Mmm.” Now Lach was pulling on his boots.
“He’s done a lot for me, Lach.”
“I’m sure.”
“Wow,” she said, taken aback. “What does that mean?”
The look he gave her pierced her heart before it softened. “Sorry. It means I’m insecure.”
Gina actually laughed. “About this? About us?” She gestured back and forth between them. “Lach. If you can’t tell how I feel about you?—”
He swooped her up—bedsheet and all—and carried her to a chair beside the window. As the rain came down outside streaking the windowpane, he sat with her in his lap and kissed her.
