Domina laughs, the sound so relaxed andhappyI forget all about the danger surrounding us. This is the life I want. Her in my bed—our bed—every night. Making her coffee in the morning. Hell, I’ll learn to cook more than spaghetti, steaks, and pressed sandwiches if that’s what she needs.
“We should get up,” she says, her cheeks flushing a deep crimson. “I think they know we are awake by now.”
“Fuck. I should have put on some music. Trev’s going to give me shit for days. But I need to loosen up first. Otherwise I’ll be walking like I’m a hundred years old.”
“Go on.” Domina extricates herself from my arm and stretches out on her side. “I like to watch.”
Tugging on my boxers, I half roll, half fall onto the floor and crawl over to the yoga mat. “Why?”
“Because you are mostly naked. Do I need another reason?” Her smile helps me ignore the pain as I slide the first therapy ball under my right hamstring.
I want to tell her she needs her eyes checked. That my body isn’t worth ogling. That even without all the new bruises, I’m still almost fifty with a mangled leg, a prosthetic eye, and facial paralysis that makes me look perpetually sad, dazed, and hungover.
But she stares down at me like I’m a Greek god—or at least a man in his prime—and my protests fall away. Maybe love, lust, or being thrown together by extreme circumstances changes how you see the other person. What did Austin say? It cuts through the bullshit.
I reach for The Stick, then roll it over my quad with as much pressure as I can muster. I’m so focused onnotscreaming in pain, when Domina kneels next to me, I drop The Stick in surprise.
“Let me help?”
I hand Domina my most hated torture device. “My life is in your hands, baby.” Showing her how to angle The Stick, how much pressure to use, when to stop…it’s intimate in a way I didn’t expect.
When my muscles are as loose as they’re going to get, I wrap my arms around her. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but whatever it was…”
Domina silences me with her kiss, and she’s right. It doesn’t matter. Because we’re together.
* * *
Domina
Austin brings a huge plate of bacon to the table. “Pancakes are coming up next.”
At my side, Leo shakes his head. “Have you two lost your minds? Goingshopping?Spycraft 101. Don’t take unnecessary risks.”
“You were out of coffee,” Trevor says. “Spycraft 102. Don’t attempt a complicated mission without caffeine.”
A stack of pancakes taller than my head lands next to the bacon and Austin joins us at the table. “And we’re not in the middle of the fucking jungle. MREs are a last resort. I was careful, Leo. No tails, no obvious surveillance anywhere around the building. President Garcia might not have operational authority over the Ministry, but his orders carry weight.”
“How long do you think that’s going to last?” Leo shovels half a dozen slices of bacon onto his plate, then offers me the fork.
The idea of food turns my stomach, and I shake my head. “I cannot.”
“Domina, you need to eat something.” He rests his free hand on my shoulder, squeezing lightly. “Please. Cold pizza? A disgusting but surprisingly filling protein bar? I think there are still a couple of Huevos de Leche left unless the assholes who tossed my apartment ate them all.”
I sigh, suddenly so weary, I want to curl up in a ball on the couch and never move again. “Two pancakes. Anything more and I will throw up.”
He nods, then leans in and presses a kiss to my temple. “We’re together, baby. Remember that. Whatever happens with Cortez today, we have each other.”
Tears sting my eyes. I know he meant the words to be reassuring, but now all I can think about is how everything we have—the connection we have forged, how we are dangerously close to falling in love—could change in a heartbeat.
The conversation carries on around me and I only catch bits and pieces. How Zephyr is going to call in half an hour. How Trev and Austin passed a couple of hours running various tactical scenarios. Leo’s injuries and whether he should stay in the SUV when we meet Cortez.
“No fucking way!” he snaps, slamming his right fist down on the table so hard, Austin has to grab his glass of orange juice to stop it from toppling over. “I’m staying with Domina.”
“Calm your shit, man.” Trevor shakes his head. “We both get it. But you were so fucked up when we found you, Austin had to carry you out of there. We had to ask the question.”
Leo scrubs his hands over his face and runs his fingers through his hair. “Sorry. I spent most of my career on my own. Trusting a team is…new to me.”
“As long as you understand wearea team,” Austin replies. “Everyone at this table, Zephyr, Ripper, Hidden Agenda, Second Sight, whatever the fuck I’m calling my group…”
