Behind me, Charlie hisses, “What’s going on? Is that guy the buyer? Or is he a rando?”
I keep moving and open the back door for Charlie to walk through ahead of me. I’m not sure if this guy has any backup, but there’s a fair chance he might. A cursory glance shows no one in the alleyway, but there could be someone waiting for him on the street at the front or in a car. The alley doesn’t smell atrocious, but it isn’t clean either. Slick puddles and wet bricks on the wall shimmer in the moonlight that is trying to pierce the backstreet.
“Declan, what is going on?” Charlie asks at full volume once we are outside. “Are we in danger? What’s happening?”
I can hear the panic in her voice, but I can also sense it within me. She is talking too much, too loudly. She’ll draw attention. She also just used my first name. This is a very different mission from Castillo’s yacht. Charlie is not acting like the polished operative she was on that mission; she is acting scared. Or maybe not acting at all. This kind of uncontrolled fear is a liability to us both.
I need to get us out of here. Now.
I turn round and do my best to silence her with my index finger to my lips.
This only eggs her on, creating the opposite of the desired effect.
“If we’re going to work together, you have to talk to me and tell me what is going on. I can’t help if I’m in the dark. This is ridiculous,” she continues to rant. I couldn’t explain anything to her if I tried. “Are we in danger right now?” she asks again.
I’ve been leading us down the alleyway as she continues her less than subtle litany of questions. They’re valid, but this is not the time to discuss them.
We need to get out of here.
My hopes of intercepting this guy are all but dashed. We’ll have to regroup back at the hotel. If we make it out of here, that is.
“Declan, what the hell? This is not OK!” Her voice hits a new pitch as a loudthudechoes through the alleyway. I turn quickly to see the source.
The door to the lounge opens and closes, as the man with the beard walks through. He has his hand to his face; I’m assuming he’s calling someone to confirm receipt of the evidence. I can’t hear a thing he’s saying, though, over Charlie. And, of course, we’re both in this alleyway with him. If he’s a trained operative, he’ll suspect first, attack second, and verify later.
I need to silence her.
I need to conceal our faces.
I need to be able to hear what he is saying.
I need to rely on our cover and hope we get out of here unscathed.
Only one action will allow me to achieve all of these things.
I turn and face Charlie, close the space between us with one step, place my hands on her cheeks, and plant my lips on hers.
28
CHARLIE
Declan’s lips are against mine, at first like a vice. His hands are on both sides of my face, urgent and firm. But in seconds, not even, the kiss relaxes. It goes from something desperate and necessary to something powerful and soft and, oh,this is necessary too.
The last words on my tongue dissolve. I can’t even remember what I was about to say. I whimper as my lips part. Declan reacts to this moan; he lets out a ragged breath before his lips connect with mine more firmly again.
His hands shift and move. One hand cradles my head, the other wraps round me as tight as he can. Without even realizing it, my own hands are on his back, holding him just as tight as he is gripping me.
His tongue finds mine and the whole world is this embrace and his mouth. I can hear someone walk by, but it doesn’t even matter. I was already enveloped in his scent with his blazer round me, now I am getting the full sensory experience. The light, ticklish scratch of his stubble on my chin. His fingertips activating every nerve in my body with just a gentle touch. His tongue, soft and delicious. His breath fresh from cleaning up before we arrived. The sound in his throat is somewhere between a growl and a moan; it sends my hormones racing.
My body is the first light of flame on a candle wick: initially timid and unsure, but with a spark I am alight for Declan. My body pushes against his, closer. No, even closer. I move one of my hands to touch his hair. Something I’ve longed to do for a month now.
Declan’s lips leave mine for a second, long enough for us to make eye contact. To confirm that this is real. There are other sounds in the alley that should demand my attention. They don’t. His eyes are half closed, focused entirely on me. He glances at my lips again, then back to my eyes.
Declan says something that sounds like “more,” but I can’t be sure because I think my brain has stopped working.
His mouth meets mine again and our bodies are still pressed together. I’m grateful he is holding me instead of pushing me back into the grimy alley wall.
I know he didn’t lead us out into this alley for this.I know that. But I still can’t help but melt, letting the wildest thoughts in my head run loose. That Declan is attracted to me. That he wants me. That he might even break his no-dating rule for me. Yes, I’m a grown woman, but in his arms I’m a foolish, romantic girl.
