by Violet Paige
We huddled close to each other as we strolled along the Seine. The lights reflected off the river. It looked dark. Black enough that there was no bottom. If you fell over, you would keep sinking with no barrier to stop you from being dragged away. We passed the bench where we sat the other night.
“All right. I have the first step of the plan.”
“Are you going to tell me how to get the code from Aubrey?”
“We can talk about that back at the apartment openly. This conversation is between us and the Seine.”
“I wish that was the name of a song.”
“I know, babe.”
We followed the riverwalk under low tree limbs. “I’m listening. What is it?”
“Eloise confirmed what we thought was happening. The FBI is actively looking for us. We know for certain that it would be easy to show up on their radar.”
“Ok. So we just have to stay off it, the same way we have been.”
He shook his head. “No. Just the opposite.”
“What do you mean?”
“I have someone to help us. Someone I trust.”
“Really?” I never thought about relying on another person. How was there anyone we could trust?
Vaughn huffed. “I trust him because I’m paying him well.”
“Oh, ok. What is he going to do for us?”
“I won’t get into the technical side, but he can send data pings to whatever part of the world we choose.”
“And that does what exactly?”
“It starts the goose chase. We’ll use an entirely different alias for you and start social media. Let’s say we choose a spot in the Bahamas. You can start posting and living life as Jane Hawthorne. It needs to look discreet. Tasteful. Maybe we’ll get a wig for you. But the feds’ facial recognition software will pick it up. They will track the accounts to where my hacker points them.”
“But won’t Blackwing know what I’m doing?” I asked.
“No. They don’t monitor security agencies. The company is in practically fifty countries, and they have agents from just about all of those. The resources are expansive, but they can’t watch everyone all the time. They spend the majority of their surveillance on targets or preparing background data for potential jobs. They aren’t running facial recognition software around the globe looking for your beautiful face.” He waggled his eyebrows.
“Ok, so we send Agent Kenneth to some tiny island town. How does that allow us to escape?”
Vaughn rubbed the back of his head. “I’m working on the second phase. We have to get them in each other’s path. So the location is key. And the timing is going to be critical.”
I bit my lip. “Since we’re talking about our options, I went to the library today after my run in with Eloise.”
“Checking out the next book for book club?”
“No,” I snapped. I got it. I had been pacifying myself with book club and wine dates, but things had changed. “I researched sanctuary cities for political asylum.”
“Fuck, Em. No.”
“Listen to me. We need to have backup plans. Why can’t we have all the information? I would feel better if the law was on our side.”
“It’s not. It never has been.” I heard the bitterness in his voice.
I wanted to change all of it for him. I wanted to give him hope. The light he always said was inside me. I never took that seriously until today. There was light in the law, even if it was buried inside dusty old court cases.
“It could be. I think I found something.”
He stopped abruptly. The gravel slid under our feet.
“What kind of something?”
“I think you could qualify as a whistleblower.”
He groaned. “I’m not trying to expose anything from the U.S. I think you know that. I’ve always been in it for the money. My bank accounts prove that.”
“There are plenty of double agents in the world who have used this defense. You aren’t blowing the whistle on the U.S., you’re blowing the whistle on Blackwing and all the countries they have helped infiltrate our systems and data.”
He slouched into an open bench. He buried his head in his hands. “No.”
I pulled his hands away from his face. “Let me take care of this part, ok? It’s what I do. It’s what I can do to protect you this time.”
His eyes landed on me. “It’s not supposed to work that way.”
“And I hope it doesn’t. We might not have to use it. But I can build a proactive case and find out exactly what I need to know if we end up in that situation. Let me do this. It’s just one layer of armor.”
He chuckled. “Armor, huh?”
I nodded. “It’s what I know.”
“Even if it isn’t the truth?”
I twisted my lips together. “I would do anything to keep you out of prison. You know that?”
“I do.” His hand slid to my leg.
I felt the quiver in my core. The subtle reminder that my body belonged with his.
“I want to be with you,” I whispered.
“Stop worrying about the bugs.” He pulled my lips to his mouth. “Let me take you home and fuck you the rest of the night.”
I whimpered, wanting him. Wanting him to make those words come true.
I shook my head. “I just can’t. It’s too weird. I’m sorry.”
He let his head fall back in frustration.
“What about a hotel?” I suggested.
“No. That’s a red flag. I’d never get away with it.”
I chewed my bottom lip. “We could go away this weekend?” I was hopeful there was a solution to the slow burn building between us. It was agony. The worst kind of torture. Talking about it seemed to only make it worse.
I saw the white of his teeth when he smiled. “You’re coming with me.”
“What? Wait,” I shrieked as he pulled me from the bench. I hurried to follow him through the park and to the building.
“Slow down.” I panted, trying to catch my breath.
“No.” He pushed open the heavy set of doors and led me into the lobby.
It was quiet. The lamps in the lobby were lit, but all the overhead fixtures were turned off for the evening. It made the lobby feel soft and welcome, like the whole building had gone to bed and it was time to wind down for the night.
With the look in Vaughn’s eye, I knew the last thing he wanted to do was wind down. He was on a mission. And that mission was to make me come hard.
“What are you doing?” I looked down as he wedged a small tool into the lock of a door handle.
“Taking you somewhere.”
The knob clicked and he pushed it open. The door swung wide and we stepped into the office suite. I had been in here only once before. It was the day I got the mail key for our box. The woman who handed it to me was never here. The office seemed more like a prop in the building. We were all home owners, but I imagined she had responsibilities like overseeing the landscaping, making sure the elevator ran, and that the building always looked beautiful.
There was a small writing desk. No computer. Not even a phone.
I looked at Vaughn. “You can’t be serious.”
He locked the door behind us. “I’m fucking serious.”
I swallowed, knowing he wasn’t backing down. Where else were we going to go? I refused to be intimate in the apartment beyond a few passionate kisses.
“If you don’t feel safe in the flat, then we need a place. There’s no one here. No cameras. No bugs. Just you and me,” he reassured me. “Trust me, babe.”
I nodded. I did trust him implicitly. My chest rose with a full breath. He walked toward me like a hungry tiger. I backed up, letting my winter coat fall from my shoulders with every step I took. I tossed my scarf and gloves. I stared in his eyes. Eyes that conveyed endless amounts of lust and dirty thoughts.
God, I loved those thoughts. What he wanted to do to me. What he could make me feel.
He reached around me, closing the blinds to the in
ner courtyard. “No one else,” he growled. “Only you and me.”
We were utterly alone.
Hidden.
I sighed when he peeled the shirt over my head. We needed this.
Chapter Sixteen
He wasn’t timid. Neither was I. I kicked off my boots. Our clothes fell to the floor. Our mouths melted into each other. Biting and sucking. The kisses were ravenous. Starved.
Knowing that we were stealing moments together without a guarantee for the next time, made the air spark with electricity. Or maybe it was just me. I was ready to be touched. Ready to feel him consume me.
I pushed him away, trying to catch my breath. His eyes flared with hunger. I stood before him in my bra and panties. The light from the courtyard filtered through the blinds, casting a stack of horizontal shadows on the desk.
“I want you on that desk,” he directed.
I nodded, lifting my ass to the edge and scooting backward. Vaughn’s palm rested on my throat. His thumb stroked the side of my neck. I leaned into him. God, it felt good to touch like this.
“Why are these still on?” His head lowered to my navel. I ran my fingers through his dark hair, guiding him along my belly. He kissed the skin along my stomach, taking the lace of my panties in his teeth. He let go and it snapped back in place.
I whimpered.
He repeated the gesture, this time tugging the band lower so that it snapped at the sensitive apex above my folds.
“Oomph.” I let go of his hair and slammed my palms behind me on the desk, lifting my hips forward.
He dragged the lace another few inches with his teeth. The next release and the lace thwacked against my clit.
“Oh shit,” I hissed.
He grinned wolfishly. He flicked the clasp on my bra, exposing my breasts and the hardened peaks of my nipples.
The lace cracked against my swollen clit again and I cried out. It was a tight burst of heat between my folds that made my entire body pulse.
“That feels good?” he asked.
I nodded. “It’s intense.”
“I like intense.”
His head lowered between my legs and I sighed with satisfaction when he ran a heated stroke to my clit with his tongue, maneuvering under the lace.
“Oh Vaughn,” I moaned.
“Why won’t you let me do this in our bed?” He pulled back the panties and I almost jumped off the desk. Fuck. It felt incredible.
I tried to breathe. I tried to talk. All I wanted was to feel him inside me.
“I just can’t,” I tried to explain. “I’m yours. Only yours.”
He let out a possessive growl and in some way, I think he finally got it. He understood that I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t be this way with him if someone else was listening. Even if that someone was a stranger I’d never meet. I couldn’t give myself to Vaughn. Do all the dark and dirty things to each other if we weren’t the only two people in our world. It had to be this way, and only this way.
Every time the lace made contact with my clit I mewed a little longer. My belly tightened more. My breath became more ragged.
Vaughn’s hand gently wrapped against my neck as he laid me back on the desk. There was an art to how he fucked me. It was beautiful and original. As if he was always seeing our bodies in a new way. I hissed when he pushed his cock inside me, slicing in my entrance.
His fingers gathered the lace and drew it away from my skin. My hands coasted over my breasts. My body was on fire. A sexually pent up version of myself. Ripe and needy.
His cock, wet with my slickness, hovered at my entrance. His eyes locked on mine as he slammed into me, dropping the elastic at the same time. The fire spiraled from my clit to my pussy, rocketing with exquisite force. I was drunk with it.
“Oh fuck,” I groaned. “Don’t stop,” I pleaded.
He grinned, raking his bottom lip under his teeth. There was a new look of determination in his eyes. He knew with only a few more smacks I’d come hard. But I was wrong.
It only took one. One lightning rod combination of his full commanding cock and a snap that engulfed my clit and I cried out while my body convulsed and vibrated.
“Shh,” his mouth covered mine. Inhaling my cries with a kiss so hard I thought I’d lose my breath a second time.
He pumped in and out. Turned on by my orgasm. His body just as starved as mine was for release. He grunted deeply and I knew he was going to come. There was so much friction. So much love and lust coursing through us. Another avalanche hit me and I clawed at his back for gravity. I dug my heels into his ass to drive him deeper. I bit and sucked at his lips.
“I want more,” I begged. I didn’t want it to be over. I didn’t want the end to be this close. Our bodies belonged together like this.
He slammed into me one more time and I watched his eyes as he came deep inside me. I didn’t know if this was the kind of fucking we would ever recover from. We had exploded and shattered. I held him against my chest.
“Fuck, babe.”
“I know,” I whispered.
The desk was hard and uncomfortable, but I didn’t want to move. Only three floors up there was a soft bed with Egyptian cotton sheets. But here in this oddly decorated office, we were free.
“Can we stay here for a few minutes?” I asked.
He nodded. I thought he was too exhausted to move. His body was heavy, but I didn’t care. As long as we didn’t break the desk, I’d stay for hours.
I ran my fingers through his hair. “What kind of dog?” I whispered.
“Hmm?” He sounded sleepy.
“Our dog. What do you think we should get?”
“One that will want to run with me every morning.”
I ran my nails over his neck and between his shoulder blades. Sometimes I thought when I closed my eyes I could draw out the design of his muscles. I knew every indentation.
“So not a lap dog?”
He chuckled. “Is that what you were thinking? Something to stick in your purse?”
I giggled. God, it felt good to laugh. “No. But I’d kind of love to see you running with one of those tiny poofy dogs.”
“That won’t happen.” He kissed my shoulder and pushed off the desk.
I heard something in my back pop. Damn it. He held out his hand. “Come on. We should head up. It’s not a busy office, but let’s not overstay our welcome.”
I frowned. “I like being in here.”
He handed me my bra and my shirt. “Me too, but I want to take a shower before bed. And we still need to go over your plans for tomorrow.”
The tension he had eviscerated with two incredible orgasms was back. Aubrey. Tomorrow was the day she became my target and I became a Blackwing operative.
I shoved one foot into a boot and then the other. “I wish there was a way to stall. A few more days would help me be more prepared. There should be some way to push this back.”
He shook his head while he buttoned his shirt. “There isn’t.” He kissed me on the forehead. “I’ll walk you through it. She trusts you, and that’s all that matters. You’re going to do great.”
I smiled, picking up my scarf and gloves from the floor. “I don’t want to do great. That’s the problem. I want to fail. I don’t want to give anyone that number.”
“You have to stop thinking about that part, and do what’s best for us. There is no loophole, Em. The only way is through.”
“I know. I know. I just hate it. I’m dreading tomorrow. I have this horrible feeling about it. The dinner was easier, believe it or not.”
He pulled me against him before he unlocked the door. “It might not be what you want to hear right now, but I’m proud of you for doing this.”
“Thank you.”
He kissed me. “Now, let’s head up.”
I nodded and we closed the door behind us.
Chapter Seventeen
“How was the charity event?” I asked Aubrey over a cup of tea. I was perched on the edge of her couch, not quite able to rel
ax. “What was it again?”
“One of Paul’s many philanthropic endeavors.”
“He does a lot of these things?” I felt like a reporter.
“As many as he can. He made Mertech sign an agreement to match his contributions,” she explained. “The more he attends, the more money they shell out.”
“Really? Wow. That’s generous.”
She tipped her head to the side. “It seems like the one thing that tears him away from the lab.”
I looked around their apartment. It was spacious, like ours. All the units in the building were lavish and remodeled with high-end finishes. I could see Aubrey’s touches were more bohemian than mine. It worked for her. Bright colors splashed amongst a neutral canvas.
“Sometimes I wonder if it’s because we never had children.”
“Hmm?” I pivoted from a framed oil painting over the dining hutch. I hadn’t been paying close enough attention.
“The charity work,” she offered. “It’s for the children’s home in Paris. Paul was adopted from there.”
“Oh.” I never knew what to say when intimate information was revealed. She didn’t seem to be looking for sympathy or empathy.
“What about you and Leo? Are you planning on a family?”
I pressed my lips together. “Not anytime soon. Maybe one day.”
“We talked about adopting, but Paul has always thought he was too old to be a father. Besides, I told him I wouldn’t do it if I had to raise a child alone. It’s one thing to keep me waiting every night. I’m a grown woman. I can handle it, but I don’t think that’s fair to do to a child.”
I nodded. Again. She had brought up something awkward. There were no good answers. But, I had a new glimpse into their life. Into their marriage. It was shitty, but it was just the opening I needed to make my segue way.
“Speaking of family.” I cleared my throat. I placed the cobalt mug on the coffee table. “Leo and I are here alone. To be honest, I’m a little embarrassed about the lack of support system we have.”
“You shouldn’t be. It’s only been a few months. New country. New language. That’s a lot for newlyweds to handle.”
I nodded in agreement. “Anyway, we were talking at dinner last night and we both realized it leaves us vulnerable.”
