Page 52 of Cops and Robbers

She walked to the full-length mirror. Her defined muscles and unblemished skin beckoned him. He glided across the room and traced his finger up her silky spine, up the cascading jewels crossing her upper back, and over the crystal-laced collar of her halter. It covered the bite mark he’d given her when they first had sex, which stung more than he wanted to admit.

Sliding his hand up under her hair, he massaged her scalp and tugged softly.

She stepped back into him, ass cheeks cupping his fucking erection. Every muscle coiled in his thighs as he forced himself not to ease the ache in his pants and grind against her.

“Raz,” she whispered.

He nibbled the sensitive skin under her ear, drawing in her expensively sweet scent. “Are you sure I can’t convince you to slide that dress up again?”

She fell against him like putty, breath flooding from her lips, and he wrapped an arm around her hips to hold her up.

“Come on, you two. Time’s ticking,” Lewis yelled from the other room, breaking the spell.

Raz’s stomach tangled once more. Their eyes met in the mirror. He trusted her abilities, but this was an organized crime leader she was facing alone. If shit hit the fan, he hated to think what would happen. His dragon clawed at his insides with the instinct to protect. I can’t lose her…

Raz claimed Kate with just his eyes as they stood in front of the mirror. Her chest throbbed, knowing how lucky she was. Despite the ticking clock and the rest of the Dragon SEALs in the next room over, she wanted to take his hand and show him how wet he made her.

“I’ve changed my mind,” Raz said.

“About what?”

He turned her gently using her hips. “I don’t want you to go alone. Are you sure you can’t access Ziegler’s hacker without the gala?”

Strife clawed up her spine, but she drew a deep breath, pushing it back down. She feared this might happen. The link had swarmed like bees with his worry. “His identity is ironclad. This is the only way I can have access to his computer. I can handle myself, Raz.”

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. I would just feel better.”

She couldn’t blame him. If she were in his shoes, she’d probably feel the same. This wasn’t a normal crowd she planned to waltz with. “All right. It’ll have to be one of the other three.”

“Why?”

She stepped around him to grab the gold, shimmery clutch from the bed. Sticking her hand inside, she ran her finger over the indentations of the letters on the invitation. “I’m going into a crime syndicate. They’ll hack that badge right out of your wallet even if you use an alias and have day-old stubble.”

She opened the door and strolled out into the suite’s living room. Her body tingled from the gazes of the other Dragon SEALs, who’d spread out on the beige sectional watching a blank television. “Sid would be the most helpful.”

Raz scoffed, hot on her tail.

She had expected as much. Around her, Sid’s name to Raz was like a matador’s cape to a bull. Whether that was because Sid trusted her the least, she had the most in common with him, or some other male reason—she wasn’t sure.

“He’s staying in the vehicle with me,” Raz muttered, following her to the kitchen area connected to the living room.

“What’s going on?” Sid asked.

“Raz wants someone to go with her,” Caige said.

“What about Lewis?” Kate pointed her clutch at the man who dwarfed the couch.

Lewis put his hands up. “I’m terrible at lying.”

Well, there goes my only options…

“I’ll go,” Caige said into the silence.

The hair on her arms stood on end. What? No. Anyone but him. The Mirage’s motivations were as much a wild card as his ever-changing appearance. His power to manipulate his image astounded her. While she could only cast an image of another person over herself for a few hours, he managed to do it all day. His power over Influence, or what Raz had called Illusion, was incredible. He could probably take out Ziegler before she even knew he had left her side. The man was a trained spy and assassin—and as safe as that might be in dangerous situations, she didn’t want him attached to her arm. He might decide to turn his skills on her to find truths she didn’t want to tell, or worse—take her into a dark corner and finish her off.

She looked toward Raz. Caige and Raz stared at each other as if having an inner conversation.

Raz nodded. “Caige will go with you.”