He gives me a hard stare before letting out a breath. “Fine. But you get three seconds to pack your shit.”
“Three seconds on top of the thirty-minute hot shower I’ll be taking.”
“Fuck no. You can have three.”
“Keep bossing me around like that, and I’ll draw myself a relaxing bath with salts and oils, that’ll see me locked inside my bathroom for at least three hours.”
Raiden groans and simply steps up to the side of his car. “Get in before I voluntarily hand you over to your agency.”
I grin and open the door, sliding straight in, a deep smugness pounding through my veins. Raiden gets in beside me and takes off. The drive back to our apartment complex is short, and when Raiden pulls into the underground parking, I sit up a little straighter. Ever since I manhandled his Audi, he’s been parking out on the street, but I suppose the underground parking offers more privacy. Though it truly shouldn’t matter. My agency doesn’t know who I am, apart from my code name. They don’t know where I live or how to find me, so I should be fine. Hence, Raiden wants to use me as bait to lure them out.
Making our way down through the parking garage, Raiden passes my usual space before hooking the car past it, pulling off the most spectacular reverse park directly into the space beside mine—305. Then, as he cuts the engine, I just gape.
“What?” he grunts, pushing his door open.
“I just . . . I didn’t realize you were actually capable of parking like a decent human being.”
He scoffs. “What are you talking about? I park like this all the time.”
“Uhh . . . No the fuck you don’t.”
“Yes, I do.”
“Liar.”
He grins and leans toward me, his hand closing around my throat before dropping a swift kiss to my lips. “Admit my helicopter is thebiggest one you’ve ever seen, and I’ll admit I park like a fucking asshole just to get under your skin.”
I scoff and kiss him again. “Not possible, because then I’d be the one lying, and I’m not sure if you’ve realized this, but I’m practically a fucking angel.”
He just grins again. “Have it your way, Firecracker,” he says, the words almost sounding like a threat, then he releases his hold on me and pushes out of the car.
I follow suit, and together we make our way into the building, choosing to take the stairs over the elevator. “Remember, make it quick,” he tells me as we climb the stairs, making our way to the third floor. “The sooner we can get this done and get out of here, the sooner we can figure out the rest of our lives.”
I nod, all too ready to get this chapter behind me. “What’s that supposed to look like, by the way? Our lives together. Got anything in mind, because I’m coming up blank. I’ve never really considered anything past what I’ve got now,” I tell him. “I always thought I’d be doing this until someone better came along and permanently put me out of work.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t really considered it either, but I know I want whatever it is,” he admits, going quiet for a moment as we pass the second floor and start climbing to the third. “Okay, tell me this. When a contract comes through, what’s the location that you tend to get the most excited about?”
“Oh, easy. The South of France.”
“Then that’s settled. Today, we take out your agency. Tomorrow, we start our lives over as none other than Kiara St. James and Raiden Kane in the South of France.”
A dorky smile stretches across my lips. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
“Damn straight, I do,” he says, his hand dropping to the small of my back as we reach the third floor. “What about kids? Do you want them?”
My heart stops, and a sheer panic tears through me. “Kids? Whoa. Why would you try to scare me like that? They’re small and sticky. And what if they get into my blades and touch them all with their little grubby fingers?” My eyes widen in horror. “Oh, my god. What if they actually like my blades and want to share them? I can’t share my blades, Raiden. I won’t. You can’t make me. That’s a hard pass right there.”
He laughs. “Okay. Let’s put kids firmly in thenot ready yetcategory.”
I let out a breath, unsure why the idea of procreating has me working up a sweat, but as we continue toward my apartment, I can’t help but wonder what a little boy with Raiden’s gold-speckled eyes would look like. Adorable, obviously. But would he drive me crazy the way his dad does? Or would he be more like me? A magnet for trouble?
Shit. Why do I suddenly want that? I mean, it couldn’t be that terrible, right? After all, people always go back for more, and it’s not as though I couldn’t buy baby Raiden his own set of black-market blades.
“What?” Raiden questions, peering at me through a curious stare, making me realize that I’m striding down the corridor with a ridiculousgrin on my face, but I quickly shake it off, knowing this is definitely a topic for later. Much, much, later.
“Nothing,” I say as we finally reach my apartment, only to have to backtrack and go through Raiden’s apartment, out through the bedroom windows, and break our asses in, seeing as though my keys were in the car that burned to a crisp.
We stride into my apartment and pause, immediately looking around to double-check that my home hasn’t been compromised, and after being sure that nobody has been here, I make my way straight to the bathroom, stripping out of my clothes on the way, all while feeling Raiden’s eyes on my ass.
