If Looks Could Kill

by Andi Marquette

  “Probably not.” She set her glass on the counter.

  “And I’m pretty sure that wasn’t your personal phone you were using.”

  Marya pulled a cheap flip phone out of her pocket and set it next to the glass. “Right again.”

  “I figured.” She took another swallow from her cup and grabbed a couple pieces of popcorn. “And I’m guessing you’re not here for a debriefing.”

  “Depends on whose briefs.”

  Ellie almost choked on the liquor, which made Marya laugh. “Walked right into that. Okay, maybe you’re here because you heard about my popcorn skills.”

  “Could be. Or maybe I’m wondering about your other skills.” And Marya grabbed the front of Ellie’s sweatshirt and pulled her close. She moved her lips slowly but oh, so deliciously against Ellie’s, the popcorn bowl between them preventing closer contact, but it was kind of cute, like they were teenagers, tentatively exploring.

  Marya’s fingers traced the line of Ellie’s jaw as her kiss became more insistent, and there wasn’t any part of Ellie’s anatomy that wasn’t on fire, wasn’t any part of her that didn’t ache at the feel of Marya’s tongue on her lips.

  Ellie extricated the popcorn bowl from between them and managed to put it on the counter, along with her cup, and then there was nothing but clothing between them as she pulled her close. She was sure there was nothing on earth that felt as good as Marya Hampstead’s mouth.

  Unless it was Marya Hampstead’s hands in her hair. And oh, God, on her neck. Then her back—

  “I thought you had a policy,” Ellie said between kisses.

  “I do.” She lightly bit Ellie’s lip.

  “You’re kind of violating it right now.” She nipped Marya’s lip right back.

  “Mmm. Technically, no.” She worked her hands down Ellie’s back to her hips.

  Ellie kissed her hard and deep then pulled away just enough that their mouths barely touched. “How’s that?”

  “Your last day is the day after tomorrow, and I won’t be in the office, so we won’t have to deal with the fallout from an office affair.”

  “Seriously? That’s your justification?”

  “How about this? You weren’t really an intern.”

  “That’s weak, Marya.” She smiled and kissed her again, but Marya had slightly different ideas, because she pulled away and moved her mouth along Ellie’s jaw, and her breath was hot near her ear.

  “Say it again,” she whispered.

  “What?”

  “My name.”

  Ellie cupped Marya’s face in her hands and fell into the depths of her eyes, like she had the first time she’d seen them. “Marya,” she said, “I’m going to ignore your policy.” She ran her lips across Marya’s, and was rewarded with a soft groan. “In fact, I’m going to ignore it really hard.”

  “God, yes.”

  A million sparks shot down her spine, and she moved her hands to Marya’s hips and nuzzled her neck. Marya’s fingers digging into her shoulders only stoked a fire she’d been patiently tending for weeks, and Ellie backed her against the counter to kiss her like her life depended on it. She tasted like popcorn and secrets, and somewhere in the back of Ellie’s mind a warning flashed.

  Yes, this was hotter than she could have ever imagined, but it couldn’t end well. She’s a goddamn agent. And fashion celebrity. There is no chance this will go anywhere.

  So what? Ellie moved her hands under Marya’s sweatshirt and tee, and oh, God, the way her skin felt. The ice queen was anything but. Her skin was warm and smooth beneath her palms, and Marya moaned and sucked on Ellie’s lip.

  The warning flashed again. This is definitely not going to end well.

  Oh, yes it is, Ellie argued with herself. It was going to end amazingly well, and she didn’t care that it was a one-night stand. It was so worth it, especially now that Marya’s hands were underneath her sweatshirt, and then suddenly neither of them was wearing a sweatshirt and somehow they were moving, stumbling out of the kitchen between kisses into the living room, then toward the bedroom. They didn’t get that far.

  Ellie pushed her against the wall, a hand braced on either side of her head, and they stared at each other, chests heaving. She ran her fingers along Marya’s shoulder holster. “I like a woman in leather.”

  “Lucky for me.” She reached for the buckle but Ellie stopped her.

  “I’ll work around it.” She slowly unbuttoned Marya’s jeans, using her body to keep her pinned against the wall as she did it, the butt of Marya’s pistol digging into her chest. So hot. She adjusted her position, lips hovering very close to Marya’s mouth.

  “Yes,” she said, breathy, and Ellie kissed her deep, all the pent-up longing of the past few weeks surging through her as she worked one hand down the front of Marya’s jeans and cupped her, the damp heat on her fingers making her burn even hotter.

  “You’ve had this on your mind for a while, haven’t you?” Ellie gently stroked, her hand still on the outside of Marya’s panties.

  “You have no idea,” came the response in muted gasps.

  “Tell me,” she whispered, then added, “Marya.”

  The answering moan sent a wave of heat down her thighs. She kept stroking, and Marya’s hands were all over her back and neck, and oh, God, but she moved so well.

  “The first time you brought me coffee. You weren’t intimidated.”

  Ellie stopped stroking her, and Marya made a small, sad noise in the back of her throat.

  “I don’t give a shit about the celebrity side of you. I want to make that clear.”

  Marya met her gaze and held it like it might be breakable. “I know.”

  “And I probably don’t care about the agent side, either. Though I will admit I have a thing for badass women.”

  She smiled. “Same here.” She ran her fingertips down Ellie’s cheek and let them linger on her chin. “You were an anomaly at Fashion Forward.”

  Something in her tone—Ellie groaned. “You knew. Fuck, you knew way before the Georgios. And here I thought I’d rocked that role.”

  She laughed, a rich, velvety sound that wrapped around her like silk sheets. “You did rock it. I wasn’t sure until the club.”

  “Shit. Your dad?”

  “Partially. Otherwise, it just didn’t make sense for you to show up there. Too much of a coincidence. On the other hand, I figured you were law enforcement, which meant you probably weren’t actually interested in a long-term career in the fashion industry. That allowed me to be a little more expressive about certain things.” And she kissed her into next week, kissed her maybe into the middle of next month. At least that’s what it felt like. And then, sadly, she stopped.

  “I’ve been MI6 a long time. And it took me a while to figure out who you were. Which means you did, as you put it, rock that role.”

  “Yeah, about that. How is it you’re that and a fashion celebrity? How does that even work?”

  “Long story.”

  “Maybe you’ll tell me some day.”

  She smiled. “Maybe.”

  And Ellie got lost again in her eyes, and nothing past that mattered. “Whatever. Right now, I don’t think I care.” She started stroking again, and Marya sighed, a sweet, longing sound. She buried her fingers in Ellie’s hair and thrust slowly against her hand.

  “I’m going to ignore your policy right here, right now,” Ellie said, and she unzipped Marya’s jeans and slipped her hand down her underwear and their groans matched when her fingertips glided through heat and moisture.

  “Please,” Marya said, her teeth clenched. “God, please.”

  But Ellie teased her. She slid her fingers in only to withdraw them seconds later, and continue stroking, matching her pace, losing herself to deep, hot kisses and the feel of Marya’s tongue in her mouth and on her lips.

  Finally, Ellie slid in and nothing felt this good. Oh, God. This time she stayed, thrusting gently at first, then a little harder, and every motion of her hand made her ache even mo
re. “Tell me, Marya,” she said against her lips. “Tell me what you want.”

  “What you’re doing now is exactly what I want,” she managed. “Now tell me when exactly you wanted me.”

  “It would have to be when I brought you coffee the first time.”

  Marya groaned, and her fingers dug into Ellie’s skin, beneath her T-shirt, and then her hands, warm and strong, were on her stomach. They slid up and cupped her breasts, and all kinds of heat roiled through her chest and down her thighs.

  “You weren’t wearing your sunglasses,” Ellie managed to say as she plunged in harder and faster. “I’m kind of an eye woman, too.”

  “That’s all it took?” she was panting, and she suddenly pulled her close, her hands on her back, now.

  “You underestimate the power of your eyes.” She slid her other hand under Marya’s thigh and lifted it, holding it while she thrust in and out. God, she was so turned on she’d probably come, too.

  “Harder,” she said between gasps, and Ellie obliged, and then Marya was exploding around her hand, thrusting hard against her, head thrown back against the wall, a fierce grin stretching her lips wide. Ellie may have had an out-of-body experience, watching her release. Within moments, Marya was kissing her again, as Ellie unbuckled her holster and lowered it carefully to the floor while maintaining their position against the wall.

  “The safety’s on,” Marya said as she pulled her T-shirt off, amused.

  “I know. Just taking care of good equipment.”

  “Something you clearly know how to do well,” she said as she slipped her hand inside Ellie’s sweat pants. “Mmm,” she practically purred when her fingers trailed lightly over her soaked underwear. “What do you want?” she said, breath hot against Ellie’s ear.

  “You,” Ellie said with a groan. “All over me.”

  “Easily arranged.” She took Ellie’s T-shirt off and spent long, delicious moments kissing her shoulders, neck, and chest in time with the strokes of her fingers. Ellie removed Marya’s bra and let it slip to the floor. Marya unfastened hers in turn, and as it fell, she pulled Ellie close. The warmth of her chest and breasts on her skin made her shudder.

  “Hold on,” Marya whispered before she slid down Ellie’s body until she was on her knees, back still to the wall.

  What—Oh, Jesus. She pulled Ellie’s pants down past her hips and then did the same with her underwear, only much slower. Ellie braced herself on the wall with both hands as Marya teased her with fingers and tongue until she was breathing like she’d just run a marathon.

  Stars. She was seeing stars, arms and shoulders trembling from pleasure and pain as they worked to keep her braced on the wall as Marya coaxed her right to the edge of orgasm, kept her there for a few excruciating seconds, then gently pushed her over. Stars, planets, comets… She was pretty sure she saw them all as she came. She was also pretty sure she was going to collapse, but Marya was suddenly standing, and her arms were wrapped around her, allowing her to sag against her.

  “I really like ignoring your policy.”

  Marya chuckled. “Me, too.”

  Ellie kissed her, and just like that, she was ready to go another few rounds, her taste on Marya’s lips and tongue, their damp, warm skin pressed close. “I could do this all night,” she said, but that was an understatement. All week. Hell, all month.

  “Good. Because I’m now taking you to bed.” The look in Marya’s eyes made Ellie ache all over again, and she let herself be pulled to the bedroom.

  CHAPTER 17

  Ellie rolled over, but the bed was empty. That was a bummer. MI6 agents were quiet when they left. She sighed and opened her eyes in the morning light and stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Delicious memories of her time with Marya made her tingle. She’d gotten her one-night stand.

  Unfortunately, she wanted another one. And maybe another one after that. She frowned, because she heard soft music and smelled coffee, and both seemed to be in her apartment. She sat up just as Marya appeared in the doorway, wearing Ellie’s clothes and carrying a cup of coffee. It was strangely endearing.

  “Morning.” She smiled, sat carefully on the bed, and leaned in for a kiss. She tasted like cinnamon candy, and Ellie laughed against her lips.

  “Found my stash, huh?”

  Marya smiled and handed her the cup. “Right next to the coffee filters. You need to work on hiding things better.”

  “I’m not trying to hide those things.” She sipped. “So I guess you’re not needed anywhere?”

  “I’m in London.” She smiled again.

  “Of course you are. Like you were in Boston the night of the Georgios.”

  “Exactly.” She ran her fingertip down Ellie’s cheek. “I do have to make the London rumor true this evening, though, and I’ll be spending a lot of time in the London office during the next quarter. While things with the op settle.”

  “So how does an MI6 agent become a fashion mag executive?” She handed the cup back.

  “My mother had connections while I was growing up, and both my parents thought it might offer an interesting cover.”

  “So you were agent first, then fashion exec?”

  Marya nodded and sipped. “I had always wanted to be an agent, like my father, and my long-suffering mother reluctantly agreed. She came up with the fashion cover story, actually, and glamour can be fun, so I worked my way up through the industry using a combination of my own attitude and skills and my mother’s connections. But I also surround myself with lots of people who know what they’re doing. It’s all about illusion in this line of work. As you know.” She kissed her again, long, lingering, almost tender. “And you?”

  “I’m an anomaly.”

  Marya laughed. “I know. Does that mean nobody in your family is law enforcement?” She handed her the cup.

  “Besides me, nope.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Too many comics and crime shows as a kid. I wasn’t really interested in the military, so I just went the criminology and criminal justice route, but I seemed to have a talent for research and finding connections that others miss.”

  “I noticed.”

  “I do all right in the field, too.” Ellie smiled and sipped.

  “I noticed that, too.”

  They were quiet for a while, and Ellie fell again into Marya’s eyes. “You’re not at all like your public persona,” she said.

  “Good. Otherwise, I doubt I’d be here.”

  “True. I wouldn’t have let you in because I don’t think your public persona is the kind of woman who likes popcorn.”

  “No, she’s not.” Marya smiled. “But this one is. And this one also really likes breakfast.”

  “I like you a bit more for that. There’s a diner around the corner, and I doubt they’ll know who you are.”

  “Excellent.” She took Ellie’s sweats off, sadly, and pulled her jeans on. “I have to be at the airport by four today.”

  “How long will you be in London?” Ellie got out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans out of her hamper, and it dawned on her, that a question like that might put inappropriate expectations on whatever this was. “I mean—for conversation’s sake,” she amended. “And you don’t have to answer that, actually, if you don’t want to.” She put on a clean T-shirt and sweatshirt, knowing full well she smelled like one hell of a great night. She holstered her gun at the small of her back.

  “I’ll be there a while.”

  She looked over at Marya, who was buckling her own holster.

  “But I was wondering if you had some time in the near future. Maybe you’d be interested in an overseas trip?” She sounded hopeful.

  Ellie stared at her. “Are you asking me on a date?”

  She grinned. “Yes. An unconventional, distant date, but a date nonetheless.”

  “I’m in. Tell me when and where.”

  “Two weeks?”

  “Done. I’ll put in for the time off. Rick’s been after me to take a break.”


  “He’s a wise man.” Marya put her sweatshirt and baseball cap on. “Can you give me a day you’ll start your vacation?”

  “How about two weeks from this Friday?”

  “I’ll clear my calendar.”

  “Where should I meet you?” Ellie put on her sneakers.

  “I’ll let you know.”

  Ellie looked at her, and Marya laughed. “Trust me,” she said and kissed her into next year, easily. “Now, breakfast. And more stories, I hope.”

  “What about you?”

  She held Ellie’s gaze, questioning.

  “Which Marya am I getting once we leave?”

  “This one.”

  Ellie waited.

  “No celebrities,” she assured her. “No agents. Maybe stories about them, though.”

  “All right, then. Not that there’s anything wrong with celebrities or agents. It’s just that I kind of prefer this Marya’s company.”

  “I prefer being this Marya around you.”

  “Good to know.” And she kissed her. So it was going to be a bit more than a one-night stand. She was fine with that. More than fine. Beyond their next meeting, she couldn’t say, but for right now, things were exactly where they needed to be.

  * * *

  “Mexico.”

  Ellie looked over at Rick, puzzled. “What?”

  “You’re going to Mexico, right?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I haven’t decided yet.” She focused on her computer again.

  “Your time off starts this Friday—three days—and you still don’t know what you want to do or where you want to go? How about Puerto Rico? Easy flight down there from here. And you could probably get one cheap, even this late.”

  “Dude, I told you, I haven’t decided. I might road trip to visit my mom or something.” Wes laughed on the other side of the room and tossed a pen at somebody. Rick’s desk phone rang, but he ignored it.

  “Come on, Els. Do something spectacular. Out of the ordinary. Go to France. Pick up some French woman.”

  She laughed. She was actually going to fly overseas and pick up a woman. But she wasn’t about to tell him that now. “That sounds like projection, bro. Maybe you need to take some time off and do that. Go find your Queen Bey in Paris.”