A deep frown pulled at her brows as she started to pull away. “I thought that would have been obvious by now.”
“Oh, it is.” Jagger playfully pulled her back to him. With a smirk, he brought his mouth next to her ear and whispered, “I just wanted to hear you say it.”
The same hand that had poked him in the chest a moment earlier slapped his upper arm. “That’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” His shoulders shook with a deep chuckle.
Despite her attempts at an adorable pout, Talia lost the fight and began to chuckle, too.
“Seriously, though,” Jagger continued, needing her to be gone by the time Liam arrived. “You said it yourself. This guy’s your best chance of finally getting the goods on Sanchez. Which means?—”
“The longer I wait to have a go at him, the more we risk the asshole changing his mind.” She sighed. “I know. It’s just…after what happened…” Her forehead crinkled with worry. “But you’re right. No one aside from a select few within Homeland knows where we’ve been staying, so there’s no reason for me to be worried.”
“If anything,Ishould be the one insistingyoustay put.”
Talia waited a beat before tilting her head and asking, “So why aren’t you?”
“Would it do any good?”
He already knew the answer before the strong-minded woman started shaking her head. “Probably not.” Talia grinned. “So this is you saving us both the time and energy of a pointless argument?”
“Exactly.” Jagger flashed a wide smile.
The two laughed in unison before sharing a slow, sensual kiss.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” she promised.
“Just promise me you’ll be on alert.”
“Don’t worry.” Talia rose onto her tiptoes and put her mouth to his once more. “Dying at the hands of some crazed lunatic isn’t exactly on my Bingo card for this year.”
Something about the way she said it sent a rush of arousal straight to his cock, and suddenly, Jagger found himself contemplating his chances of actually getting her to stay.”
Liam’s almost here, remember? And there’s that pesky detail of needing to find your would-be killer.
His subconscious was right. Once he and Talia were locked safely away inside the apartment for the night, he’d finally devour her the way he’d been dreaming of since their first night together.
For now, his focus needed to be on his and Liam’s plan. And on making sure Talia was never the wiser. Jagger was well-aware that he’d just broken his promise never to lie. But this time, it truly was for her own good.
A knock on the door had them both reaching for the pistols secured at their respective hips. “Pizza delivery.”
They hadn’t ordered any pizza. That was, however, the pre-set cover story for the agent who’d been assigned as Talia’s protective escort.
Not willing to make assumptions, both he and the sexy former spy pulled their weapons but kept perfect trigger discipline to prevent an unrighteous shoot. With her weapon out of clear view from anyone possibly walking by, Talia cracked open the door to verify the guy’s identity.
A quick back-and-forth between the two later and she was letting the “delivery man”—AKA, Homeland Security Agent Callen Vaughn—inside Jagger shook Agent Vaughn’s hand once introductions had been made, and after a brief overview of the plan for the day, Vaughn stepped out and Talia turned and began to follow.
Jagger waited until the other man was free and clear of the apartment’s threshold to snake out a hand and quickly grab onto hers. With gentle but hurried movements, he spun her back into his arms before slamming his mouth to hers. The kiss was fast. Hot. And thanks to the agent standing just outside the door, it ended much too soon.
“I’ll see you tonight.” Talia sighed, flashing him a sweet smile.
“Stay safe, darlin’.”
“Always.” It was her turn to wink.
He reset the alarm system and locks behind her as soon as she walked out the door. Moving across the room to one of the living room’s large, draped windows, Jagger was careful not to make himself obvious as he peeked through the curtains, down to the street below.
From six stories up, he watched as Talia got into the “delivery” car with Agent Vaughn and drove away. With a set of trained eyes, he immediately spotted the tail he’d arranged.
