Shadow Assassin

by Elle James

She tentatively laid a hand on his bare chest. Her fingers weren’t cold like some of the women Striker had known. They were warm and strong, pressing into him, curling just a little until her nails scraped his skin.

  He leaned closer and pressed another kiss to her forehead, wanting to claim her lips but—

  Alex tipped her head just enough to capture the kiss meant for her forehead. “If you’re going to kiss me, do it like this.” She pressed her mouth against his and ran her tongue across the seam of his lips.

  He opened to her, liking how she took charge. At least with her making all the moves, he’d know how far she wanted to go. So far, so good. And he had a condom in his wallet on the nightstand should they take it all the way.

  The hand on his chest moved, skimming over his muscles and down his torso.

  Blood thrummed through his veins, pushing heat lower. His groin tightened, and his cock thickened, pressing into her thigh. He prayed she didn’t stop. There was so much more of this woman he wanted to know.

  Every last inch.

  Her tongue slid past his teeth and caressed his in a long, slow glide, sending his body into a tailspin of longing.

  He cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand and deepened the kiss, hungrily consuming her mouth until they both broke away to catch their breath.

  She tasted good, the mint of her toothpaste lingering in his mouth, the touch of her hand moving down his torso stirring him into a hard, urgent knot. If she backed down now, how would he have the self-control to stop? He wanted all of her.

  When her fingers reached the elastic of his shorts, he drew in a sharp breath and let it out slowly. “Don’t go there if you don’t want what comes next,” he warned. “I pride myself on my self-control but, woman, you’re making me lose it fast.”

  She chuckled and looked up into his eyes as she slid her hand beneath the elastic and encircled his dick with her fingers. “I’m not afraid,” she said. “I know what I’m doing.” Her gaze held his. “Do you?”

  He cupped her hand through the fabric of his shorts. “Yes.”

  She ran her hand up and down his shaft, her warmth and gentleness making him harder by the second. Finally, he had to remove her hand so that he could shed his shorts. Then he rolled her onto her back and leaned his body over hers. “Now would be the time to tell me you want me to stop.”

  “I don’t want you to stop,” she said and leaned her head up to brush her lips over his. “I want everything you’ve got.” She grabbed the hem of her shirt and started to drag it up her body.

  Striker brushed her hands aside, leaned back, straddling her hips, and pulled the shirt over her head. He tossed it onto a chair beside the bed and bent to take her lips with his in a blood-burning kiss that took his breath away.

  He broke away long enough to suck air into his lungs and then seared a path of kisses and nibbles along the side of her neck down to where the pulse thrummed against the base of her throat. Based on how fast her heart was beating, she was as excited as he was. But he wanted her even more so before he quenched his thirst for this woman.

  Moving slowly down her body, he kissed and flicked her skin with his tongue until he reached her breasts. There, he captured one of her rosy nipples in his mouth and sucked gently until the tip hardened into a bead. Moving to the other breast, he rolled the tip between his teeth and flicked it with his tongue.

  Alex writhed beneath him, her hips rising, her hands running over his back, her nails scraping his skin. She threw back her head and moaned softly.

  Striker took that as a challenge. He wanted her so bothered she called out his name. Moving lower, he flicked his tongue across her ribs, and downward, until he came to the thin elastic of her panties. He hooked his fingers into the band and dragged the undergarment down her legs and past her ankles, finally tossing them over his shoulder.

  He lay down between her legs, parted her folds and slid a finger into her slick, wet channel.

  Alex’s knees drew up, and she dug her heels into the mattress, her hips rising.

  Striker added another finger and another, then lowered his mouth to claim that little nubbin of flesh of tightly packed nerves. He sucked on it gently then flicked his tongue across the velvety smoothness.

  Alex moaned and raised her hips, urging him to continue.

  He did, stroking her there with his tongue, his fingers swirling in a tight pattern.

  Alex’s body tensed beneath him. In the next moment, she let go, riding her release for the next few minutes, her hips rocking and her fingers digging into the comforter.

  When she finally lay back against the mattress, he climbed up her body and reached over her to snag his wallet from the nightstand. He extracted a condom and handed it to her.

  “How thoughtful,” she said and took the offering. “I’m glad someone is thinking straight,” she murmured.

  “Always come prepared,” he said and kissed her full on the lips.

  Alex tore open the packet and slid the condom over his thick staff. When she was done, she wrapped her hands around the base and fondled his balls.

  Striker sucked in a breath and held it, while a wave of sensations washed over him.

  Her hand guided him to her entrance and urged him to dive in.

  He paused at her opening, dipping in slowly to lubricate his cock as he pressed ever deeper into her.

  She was tight.

  He was big, and didn’t want to hurt her.

  Alex gripped his hips and slammed him home.

  He drove all the way inside her and held steady, allowing her to adjust to his length and girth. When he thought she’d had enough time to get used to him inside her, he moved, pumping in and out. Slowly at first, and then faster, until he was thrusting in and out at a swift pace.

  Alex raised her knees and dug her feet into the mattress so that she could raise her hips and meet him thrust for thrust.

  He moved like a piston, in and out, until the tension inside him grew to a fevered frenzy, and he thrust on last time. The sensations rocketing through him shot him over the edge. His cock throbbed deep inside Alex.

  When he was spent, he rolled her and him onto their sides and settled beside her.

  She rubbed her hand over his chest. “Is it always like this?” she whispered.

  “Like what?” he asked. “Too fast and not enough foreplay? Was the dismount too soon?”

  Alex laughed. “No. None of those. Is it always this amazing?”

  He shook his head. “Sometimes, it’s even more amazing.”

  “I’m not sure I believe you. That was pretty…good.” She pressed a kiss to his chest and looked into his eyes. “Show me how much better it can be.”

  He laughed out loud. “Give me a minute to recover from that round.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “Hurry it up. I’m so hot, I can hardly stand it. I need more of what you have to offer.” She fondled his balls again. “This is where we started. Show me some more of that magic.”

  He groaned, rolled back up onto his hands then leaned forward and kissed her lips. He slid his still thick and hard shaft into Alex’s depths and started all over, showing her just how much more amazing making love could be.

  When they finally fell back to the mattress, he gathered her in his arms and fell asleep with her pressed up against him. Life didn’t get better than this. He loved what had just happened between them, and he wanted so much more.

  Two days with Alex wasn’t nearly enough. Somehow, he had to make their time together last longer than the two days of the summit.

  He wasn’t ready for this, whatever it was, to end.

  * * *

  Alex lay for a long time, inhaling the scent of Striker, committing everything about him to her memory. When the summit ended, she wouldn’t see the handsome SEAL again. They weren’t meant to be together. Alex didn’t believe there was anybody out there who was meant to be with her. She was a cold-blooded killer who’d taken matters into her own hands to find and punish those who’d taken the lives
of her mother and father. Who could love that kind of person?

  She pressed her ear to his chest, listened to the steady beat of his heart and imagined a world where she wasn’t running from Russians wanting to kill her. And there was still the matter of finding the person who’d sent the kill order for her family.

  Alex sighed and snuggled closer, embracing the man and the moment that couldn’t last more than a night. Finally, she slept off and on, waking before the warm light of day.

  While Striker continued to sleep, she slid out of the bed and into the bathroom for a shower before the start of another day of interpreting and praying whoever was after her didn’t make a move during the summit. She needed to find time to question Baranovsky about his connection with Pavel and Mischa Federov.

  The summit had been an ideal opportunity to get the two men alone. In Russia, Alex didn’t know who to be wary of. Anyone on the streets of Moscow could recognize her as her mother’s daughter. In France, only the few Russians had a chance of knowing who she might be.

  Alex turned on the water, waited for it to warm and stepped beneath the spray. Water ran over her face and down her body, following the same path Striker’s mouth had blazed the night before. Her core heated at the memory.

  Warm, strong hands slid around her waist and pulled her against a rock-solid body. The evidence of desire nudged her buttocks, sending ripples of electricity through her.

  Alex leaned back and tipped her head to the side, allowing Striker to skim his lips across the back of her ear and neck. “I have to be downstairs soon.”

  “I know,” he said and kissed the curve of her neck. “I couldn’t resist.”

  She turned in his arms, cupped his cheeks in her palms and leaned up on her toes to brush his lips with hers.

  He tightened his arms around her back and crushed her mouth, claiming her tongue in a sensual dance.

  Her blood humming through her veins, Alex melted into Striker. She couldn’t get close enough.

  Striker’s hand slipped between them and cupped her sex. One finger found its way into her, and then another, while his thumb strummed her clit.

  She had a difficult time dragging air into her lungs.

  Then he stopped and leaned back. Holding up a small packet, he cocked an eyebrow. “Yes or no?”

  With her breath already labored, she managed to say, “Yes!” in a strangled whisper.

  He handed her the packet.

  Alex tore it open and rolled the condom over his engorged cock, amazed at how hard and thick he was and anxious for him to be inside her.

  Striker scooped her up by the backs of her thighs and pressed her against the cool tiles of the shower wall. He bent to nuzzle her earlobe as he lowered her over him.

  He slid into her slowly.

  She was ready, her channel slick and clenching around him. Planting her hands on his shoulders and wrapping her legs around his waist, she rose up to the tip of his shaft then sank down again, loving how he filled her, stretching her to fit.

  As their pace increased, he pressed her against the wall and held her there, thrusting again and again.

  Alex forgot how to breathe as she shot over the edge, her body pulsing with her release.

  Striker thrust one last time, sinking deep. His muscles remained tense as he rode his climax to the very end. When he finally drew in a deep breath and let it out, he lifted her off his shaft and set her on her feet. He peeled the condom off then he held her close, letting the water rush over both of them.

  Alex could have stood there until her skin pruned. There was no other place she’d rather be than in his arms. She could get used to waking up to this every morning.

  Unfortunately, there was an ugly world out there. Striker had just reminded her how beautiful it could be. Too bad what they were discovering in each other wouldn’t last.

  Striker squirted soap into the palms of his hands and rubbed them together creating a thick lather. He ran his hands all over her body, slowing at her breasts to tweak the tips of her nipples. Then he trailed his hand over her belly and down to cup her sex.

  Alex did the same for him, her hands gliding over his broad shoulders and down his tight abs to his cock, which jutted out, hard and velvety.

  He sucked in a breath. “Keep that up and you won’t get to the meeting on time.”

  She circled his shaft with her fingers and stroked him several times before she sighed. “If only we had the day to ourselves.”

  He maneuvered her around so that she stood beneath the showerhead and let the spray rinse the suds from her body.

  Then he stepped beneath the spray, rinsed quickly and turned off the water.

  Alex loved looking at his body. His muscles were tight, not a spare ounce of flesh anywhere.

  They grabbed towels, dried each other off then dressed quickly.

  “I’ll have to hurry to get down to the banquet hall to snag a cup of coffee,” she said.

  “I’m ready,” Striker said. “I’ll follow you down the stairs.”

  She nodded, tucked the flash drive into her bra and headed for the door.

  “Let me.” Striker poked his head out the door, and then opened it wide. “All clear.”

  Alex led the way to the stairwell and hurried down the steps to the first floor. Before he exited, she turned to Striker, leaned up on her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Thank you for reminding me what life is worth living for.”

  He frowned. “You’re not going anywhere yet.”

  “This is the last day of the summit. Most people will leave at its conclusion,” she said.

  “You left your backpack in my room,” he said.

  Alex nodded. “I’ll collect it later.” She turned to leave, but he caught her hand before she could push the door open.

  Striker spun her around and into his arms. “I’m not ready to end this…whatever this is between us.”

  “What else can we do? You have your work. I have mine.”

  “This can’t be over when it’s just begun.” He crushed her mouth with his in a kiss that set her soul on fire. When he finally lifted his head, she was breathless.

  He brushed a loose strand of her hair back behind her ear. “We’ll talk later.”

  Alex nodded, turned and left the stairwell, tears welling in her eyes. How she wished she could have a normal existence where she could stop running and be with someone like Striker.

  Impossible.

  She was an assassin. He was a security guy. It would never work. She was destined to live a life alone for the safety of herself and anyone else she might fall in love with.

  Her heart skipped several beats.

  In love?

  She wasn’t in love with the Navy SEAL. Love grew over time. They barely knew each other, having spent just a day and a half together. Sure, the sex had been out of this world, but that didn’t make it love. Lust, yes. Love, no.

  She entered the conference room and took her seat beside Hans Sutter. As usual, he didn’t speak to her or acknowledge her existence.

  Alex didn’t mind. She’d rather have the quiet to study the people settling into their positions around the room.

  The moderator kicked off the session introducing the Italian delegate.

  Lorenzo Ricci stood and faced the other delegates. In Italian, he said, “Esteemed members of this summit, it has been rumored that the EU is not receiving all the natural gas they are paying for. Could someone please address this concern? Are we in fact paying for gas that is being siphoned off at or before it arrives at the Greifswald transfer station?”

  As translators relayed the message, a rumble of anger sounded from the delegates around the room.

  Hans smacked his palm against the table. In German, he said, “I, too, have heard such a rumor. I’ve had my scientists checking into usage and billing. The numbers don’t add up. Explain.”

  A rumble of anger circulated through the room.

  Baranovsky stood, his face ruddy red. In Russian, he practically sh
outed, “We do not steal from the EU. Who spreads such lies?” He stared around the room, a vein popping out on his forehead. “I will have words with this person.”

  The moderator did his best to bring the meeting back to order. The rest of the morning went no better. The members of the summit wanted to know more about the diverting of natural gas from the European countries.

  Nearing lunch, Sutter had had enough. “Why should we approve of another pipeline when the one we have isn’t delivering what we contracted? I’ve heard enough. I will cast my vote now.”

  The room exploded in loud conversations and shouting. The moderator banged a gavel several times to bring the room to order. He asked everyone to take time to think about it over lunch.

  Eager to see Striker, Alex gathered her notes and stood. If this was the last day they might have together, she didn’t want to miss a second.

  Alex had just turned toward the door when a security guard burst through the door and shouted in French, “There’s been a bomb threat. Everybody needs to move toward the closest exits now.”

  The delegates and their assistants started toward the security guard.

  The man held up his hands. “The closest way out of the building is through the other end of this room. Follow the exit signs. Move quickly, but don’t panic. It could be a hoax, but we don’t want to ignore the threat.”

  Alex got caught up in the rush for the rear exits. She didn’t want to go that way. If there was a real bomb threat, Striker needed to know. He could be in his room and not have heard the order to evacuate the building. Like swimming upstream, she pushed her way through the worried delegates moving in the opposite direction. When she finally made it past the last ones, she ran into a security guard and a member of the hotel staff.

  The staff member blocked her path. “Madam, you must leave the building at once.”

  “I will, as soon as I know my partner is safe. He’s up in his room.” She tried to duck past the two, but they weren’t budging.

  “Tell me your room number, and I’ll send someone up to make sure he gets out.”

  “I can do it myself, if you’ll let me by,” Alex said, ready to take the woman and the security guard down if she had to.