I swung my legs off the bed and stood, still a bit unsteady. "I'll get the water going."
Quentin jumped up. "I'll use the bathroom across the hall and join you in a couple minutes."
I appreciated a man who knew how to be considerate without making it awkward.
I turned on the shower, waiting for the water to warm. Caught sight of myself in the mirror—hair a mess, lips swollen from kissing, a mark on my neck where Quentin had—
I touched it gently, felt heat rise in my cheeks.
What am I doing?
Sleeping with the man I was sent to kill.
Falling for him.
Letting myself believe, just for a moment, that this could be real.
Thatwecould be real.
The shower was ready. I stepped under the spray, let the hot water wash away the sauce, the fear, the doubt.
At least for tonight.
The bathroom door opened. Quentin stepped in, gloriously naked, that confident smile on his face.
"Room for one more?"
"You bet."
He joined me under the spray, his hands immediately finding my waist, pulling me close.
"Hi," he said softly.
"Hi."
We stood like that for a moment, just holding each other under the water. No urgency. No desperation. Just... connection.
"Thank you," I whispered. "For tonight. For being here. For—"
"Shh." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "You don't have to thank me. There's nowhere else I'd rather be."
And God help me, I believed him.
We took our time in the shower, washing away the remnants of the day. His hands were gentle as he shampooed my hair, careful to get all the sauce out. I returned the favor, mapping the planes of his back, the scars that told stories I wanted to know.
By the time we finally turned off the water, I felt almost human again.
Almost.
Because reality was waiting just outside this bathroom. Questions I didn't want to answer. Truths I wasn't ready to face.
But for now, wrapped in a towel with Quentin's arms around me, I could pretend.
Pretend I was just Julia Russell, executive assistant, falling for her impossibly attractive boss.
Pretend I wasn’t here to do a job.
Pretend that love could somehow be enough to save us both.
