Last First Kiss

by Sidney Halston

He pushed his chair back and helped her up and out of the seat.

  “Aren’t we going to say good-bye to everyone?”

  “Nah, we’ll see everyone in a couple of days. I’m tired and I hate long good-byes. Come on.”

  As they walked out, she glanced behind her and saw Julia glaring at them.

  “I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but I think there’s something more between you and Julia than you’re letting on. Just tell me, it’s no big deal.”

  He stopped her and turned to her. “There’s not. We dated. It was a long, long time ago. She’s been with Lawrence for years. She probably just feels territorial, is all. I think there’s a lot of jealousy going around tonight.”

  “Pfft!”

  He handed the valet his ticket but didn’t let go of her hand. “She’s jealous of you and you’re jealous of her.”

  “And aren’t you a cocky bastard. I’m not jealous. I was just doing what you asked me to do.”

  “I don’t remember asking you to feed me crème brûlée. Was that in the contract? I’ll have to review it.”

  She rolled her eyes and gave him the middle finger.

  He pulled her tight against his body with his arm, so close that she had to arch back and look up to meet his eyes. This was not part of the job, she should be looking out, staking out the surroundings. Instead her mouth opened in a small “o” as he moved in closer.

  “Tsk! Tsk! That’s not very girlfriendish of you. And anyway, you didn’t let me finish. She’s jealous of you, and you’re jealous of her, and I’m fucking out of my goddamn mind jealous of any man who looked at you tonight, before tonight, or after tonight. I want you, Annie. I can’t pretend I don’t.”

  His lips came crashing down on hers, and even with the distinct sound of cameras clicking and the feel of flashes around her, she became completely lost and totally consumed in the kiss. Her arms wrapped around his neck and his other arm came around her back, holding her firmly as he devoured her.

  It was pure lust and want, and she found herself clawing his shoulder and sneaking her tongue into his mouth, fighting an all-out battle for control. The deep guttural noise that came from somewhere inside of him just fueled her further.

  It had been too long since anyone had wanted her this much. And just as long since she’d wanted a man with this intensity. She thought that that feeling had died six years ago and that she was broken inside. But maybe she just hadn’t been properly pursued, because here she was, twenty years old all over again, kissing a man she shouldn’t and breaking all the damn rules.

  Catcalls and whistles caused them to separate. Tucking her under his arm protectively, he pulled her quickly into his car, closed the door behind her and then ran to the other side before taking off.

  It was easily ten minutes later when he spoke. “Say something.”

  She had two fingers on her lips as she looked out the window. What the hell was she thinking?

  “Annabelle.” His voice was firm. He wanted something from her.

  “That was a mistake . . . I think.”

  “A mistake? How could that have been a mistake?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just, I need to keep things professional.”

  “Yeah, you keep saying that. But I bet I have scratches on my neck from your nails. You know, you could’ve stopped me instead of sliding your tongue inside my mouth. Come on, at least admit you want me.”

  She shook her head and looked out the window. “Doesn’t matter what I want. It’s not gonna happen.”

  “We’re two consenting adults. I’d make it spectacular for you. We can have the best four months of our lives, Annie.” He ran a finger down her arm and she turned her head to look at him. God, he was gorgeous. In the dark confines of the car, with his face turned to the street, she could see the way his masculine jaw ticked and the way his long strong fingers gripped the steering wheel. She was so tempted to agree to everything he had to say. “Why are you pretending you’re not feeling it? Tell me you don’t want me as much as I want you. Tell me, right here, right now, you don’t want me and I’ll back away.”

  * * *

  She didn’t respond. She wasn’t sure how to.

  They reached his home, parked the car in the garage, and got out. She should’ve done a sweep of the house first. That was protocol, but this man was making her dizzy and her guard was down. He grabbed her arm before she had a chance to leave. He leaned in, again just a breath away from her ear.

  “Goddamn it. Just admit it.”

  She felt a small, light bite at the base of her neck, right below her ear. And apparently that particular spot had a direct line to her pussy because she immediately ached for that same nibble lower down her body where she was suddenly very wet. Her eyes were closed and she felt the change in the air as she stepped away. “I promised myself I would wait on you to come to me. When you can admit it, let me know. Ball’s in your court, Tiger.”

  Sonofabitch!

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  GET A ROOM! Pictures of Rocco Monroe with his new flavor of the month. Is America’s Most Eligible Bachelor finally off the market?

  Light shone in through the curtain as Annie yawned and stretched out her body in the big fluffy bed. Usually she wasn’t just up by six, she was up as in wired and eager to move. Today, for the first time in forever, she brought the soft duvet up to her neck and cuddled into one of the even softer pillows that formed a small snuggly cloud around her. Thinking about the naughty and completely inappropriate things Rocco had said to her. The proposition he’d made. Mostly the way his lips felt against hers, his big hands against her neck. She shivered and rubbed her face into the pillow, like a cat, needing more of the sensation against her skin. Lavender fabric softener, one billion thread count sheets—she almost didn’t want to move. She almost wished he’d walk into the room and just do all the things he’d promised.

  She wasn’t sure how today would go. The ball was in her court, he’d said so twice already. And the more she thought about it, the more she wanted him. So, they’d have a wild fling for a few months? She could certainly handle that, right? She wanted to be as confident with men as she was with everything else in her life, so she wished she could just forget all her worries, find him and give him a big resounding YES!

  Except her phone began to ring, disturbing her once-in-a-lifetime lazy moment.

  “Damn it,” she groaned, and rolled over to pluck it from the nightstand. “What do you want, Joey?”

  “Colombia’s back on. NHN found a location.”

  She sat up. “I already knew that.”

  “We need to talk. Sending Clark over to cover for you. I need you at ICS for a few hours.”

  A moment ago she’d felt languid and relaxed, now she was charged and confused. “What for?”

  “I’ll see you soon.” And the sonofabitch hung up without an explanation.

  Before setting her phone down, she noticed she had a dozen messages and a ton of Google alerts. She clicked on the first alert and there she was, fists clawing at Rocco’s shoulders, his big palm cupping the back of her head with one hand and the other arm wrapped around her waist, their lips fused together. It wasn’t the kiss of a budding relationship or an awkward first date, it was a kiss that screamed lust and sex. But worse than that photo was the next one. It was when they’d stopped kissing. In this one her lips were swollen and parted, and her face and neck were completely flushed as she looked away, almost shyly, but his eyes were honed in on her as if he couldn’t wait one more second to strip her naked and devour her. His nostrils were flared, his shirt slightly crumpled, his hair a mess from where her fingers must have gripped. It was erotic and intimate and she didn’t know what the hell to do about the fact that it was now out there for the world to see. She lived mostly under the radar, and now here she was, front and center in a Hollywood scandal.

  She knew it would be all over the news this morning, but for some reason she’d buried it in the back of her mind. Seeing it in photos w
as freaking her out. And the emails—which she was going to ignore for the time being—were surely about the photos.

  Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she didn’t even take a moment to meditate or stretch. She went straight to the bathroom to shower and get ready for whatever it was that Joey wanted to tell her. If her overprotective brother was going to give her a hard time about that kiss, he had another thing coming. She was a grown-ass woman doing her job, a job he’d all but forced her to take.

  Twenty minutes later she was sitting outside the house waiting for Clark to get there, not wanting to wake Rocco.

  “Hey, kid.” Clark, an older member of ICS, greeted her when he pulled up in one of ICS’s vans. He was maybe thirty-five. It annoyed the hell out of her that they saw her as a kid.

  “’Mornin’. Rocco is a late sleeper. We have an event tonight, but I’ll be back by then. Make sure he stays indoors. He has two video meetings and will likely be holed up in his office. There’s some construction people coming in to install a new window, but other than that, keep the alarm on. If he wants to go for a run, go with him or tell him no.”

  “No? You want me to tell Rocco Monroe no?”

  “Yes.” She stepped into the van, which he’d left on for her. “Clark, you sure you’re up to this?”

  “I’ve been serving this country since you were in diapers.”

  “But this isn’t Iraq, Clark. This is a hardheaded actor who doesn’t think there’s a threat.” She pulled out the buzzing phone from her pocket. It was Joey, texting her to hurry up. “Shit. Just don’t let him out of your sight. Call me if there’s a problem. The front door is open, I’ll close the gate when I leave,” she said as she prepared to meet her fate.

  * * *

  “What’s going on, Joe?”

  Joey sat behind his desk at ICS. Jax was sitting on a chair in front, his legs stretched out casually. As if they’d just been discussing baseball rather than one of the many highly dangerous missions ICS had been contracted to do—or the damning photos they’d seen earlier.

  “How are things at Casa Rocco?” Jax asked.

  Annie went around and sat on the chair next to him, annoyed at how cavalier they were acting when they’d just demanded her presence at headquarters as if there had been some sort of emergency. “Other than the broken window the other day, it’s been quiet.” They already knew what had happened and had been updating her on the guys who’d been arrested, currently out on bail. “What’s the problem? Why’d you pull me today?”

  “So we’re ignoring the elephant in the room?” Joey chided.

  Huffing, she crossed her arms over her chest. “So we kissed. What’s the big deal? I was hired to be his girlfriend, wasn’t I?”

  “Fake girlfriend. That didn’t entail making out with him in front of all the paparazzi in Miami.”

  “Shut up. I’m not having this conversation with you. Is that why you summoned me here?”

  “No, but as your big brother, I thought I’d remind you that this is just a job and that Monroe isn’t boyfriend or husband material. I don’t want to see you get hurt, Annie. Don’t forget this is all pretend.”

  “I know, Joey. It’s fine. Don’t worry about me. What else did you want to discuss?”

  “We’ve started coordinating things for the filming in Colombia. I don’t like it.” Joey said. “We don’t like it,” he clarified. “Colombia is where all the threats are stemming from, and I don’t think it’s safe.”

  “Yeah, I know, you’ve made it perfectly clear how you don’t like me anywhere except holed up in here in your protective bubble. But it’s happening, so if you brought me in to bitch, you can just stop it right now, Joey. We already resolved this shit at my apartment before I agreed to do the job.”

  “I’m just expressing my concern now that Colombia’s back in the picture.”

  “Okay, got it. Now that you’ve gotten all of that off your chest I’m leaving.” She stood up.

  “No, that’s not all.” Joey leaned forward on his desk. “I want you back in the Gridiron. I wish you’d been able to do more hands-on training in there before the movie starts. I want you to do a run-through. See how you do. If there are any weaknesses, we can try to squeeze in a quick refresher before filming starts here in Miami next week and definitely before you head off to Colombia.”

  “You want me to go through the Gridiron?” The Gridiron was a state-of-the-art training facility that ICS used to simulate a variety of situations. To say it was hardcore was an understatement. Normally, Annie would have thrived on the challenge and the chance to show her overprotective ass of a brother up, but right now was not normal. And it wasn’t procedure. Joey didn’t want her to go through the Gridiron as extra training; he wanted to try to trip her up and remove her from the case.

  She stood up, feeling the anger starting to boil. “That’s absurd. I’m in the middle of a job. I don’t have to prove anything to you. I can pass the Gridiron in my sleep.”

  “Annabelle—” he barked, standing up too. She could tell by his tone, and the red on his face, that he was angry.

  “I’ll do it, I’m not scared. But this is bullshit, and you know it. Would you do this to a man on the team? The Gridiron is for getting ready and preparation during off times. You do not take me out of a mission to see if I’m qualified to continue. I was in the United States Army, Joey, for Christ sake. I’ve been to war. I’m capable.”

  “You were in a raid, missing for two fucking days, and catatonic for three. I’m still amazed they didn’t relieve you of duty right then and there! I almost lost my goddamn mind when I received the call. You almost killed Ma! I’m not going to let that happen again. I need to know you’re ready! If you can’t show me you can handle this, I’m pulling you from the job!” He slammed his fists on the table. And for the first time in a long time, something became obvious. Ridiculously obvious. It wasn’t that her brother didn’t trust her or her ability.

  It was that he was scared.

  Terrified.

  She had gone through hell and he had been right there alongside of her, unable to do a damn thing about it.

  “Joey,” she whispered. Were his eyes a little misty?

  He walked around the table and stood right in front of her. “Do you know what it’s like to get a call while you’re in the middle of Iraq to let you know that your baby sister was missing? I have never in my life felt more helpless or scared. I couldn’t take it if something happened to you. I just need to make sure you can handle this. Before Dad died, I promised to take care of you, and I failed him once. I failed you both. I won’t do it again, Annie. I won’t.”

  Her shoulders dropped. She could see the weight of this burden on him, the dark purple under his eyes. He was genuinely worried. “Okay, Joey.”

  “Thank you.”

  Jax stood and put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go, kid, the Gridiron waits for no one.”

  She stood there looking at her brother for a few minutes, her throat felt tight. That week had been hell. “Hell” was not even the right word. For two days, she’d been deprived of all senses, stuck under rubble, unable to move, barely able to breathe, coming in and out of consciousness. She’d been sure she would die before anyone found her. To top it off, she’d seen the only man she’d ever loved die instantly in the first explosion, and then in her arms, Yagana followed. All hope she had was gone.

  By the second day, she’d prayed for death.

  If she could survive that, she could survive the Gridiron.

  The three of them walked to the back of ICS and opened the heavy rolling garage door that led outside and to another warehouse of equal size. Annie had been inside countless times and had done a few of the less stringent simulation courses. Mostly, however, she came in to use the gym, which took up a small percentage of the square footage of the enormous room.

  “You may not believe your dainty little sister is capable, but let’s not forget I probably saw more action than you and Jax combined.
I’m not incompetent and I’m not out of shape.”

  “No one’s calling you incompetent. I just want to make sure you can handle yourself. See where your head’s at. I read some of the reports from the cops here in the US and from Interpol, and these fanatics aren’t fucking around, Annie.” Joey handed her a bag full of gear she was more than familiar with, including Kevlar.

  The entire thing was her brother’s brainchild, but he seemed to have forgotten that she’d helped write the codes. It was a highly sophisticated system that truly mimicked being on the front lines, including rubber bullets and heat sensors.

  She had a smile on her face when she stepped out of the changing booth. “Ready.” The adrenaline was already pumping through her veins.

  Joey and Jax were behind a wall and Jax gave her the thumbs-up as she took out her weapon and racked it, making sure it was ready.

  The enormous warehouse was set up to look like a war zone, complete with mud, trees, broken logs, puddles, and darkness. So when the lights went out and it was pitch-black, she was ready.

  It took a moment to get accustomed to the darkness, which was the sensory deprivation part of the training. As expected, the first rubber bullet came at her, but she had already ducked before it was fired, shooting the insurgent right between the eyes in the process. Or so she hoped. She would know when they reviewed her stats afterward, but the fact that the machine shooting at her had stopped was a good sign. She pushed down some heat-sensing goggles and continued to trek farther in the dark. An unexpected far-off scream startled her.

  A female.

  She was back in Afghanistan. Screams everywhere as the motherfucking suicide bombers walked the street trying to blend in with the civilians.

  Trying to focus on the current situation and not the clusterfuck of six years ago, she carefully hid between a tree and some bushes while crawling up the artificial hilly embankment, following the sounds of the screams.

  When it was safe to look, she saw a droid resembling a mother holding a child and another, in the shape of a man wearing an explosive vest, twenty feet behind the woman. The man hadn’t seen Annie yet. The robots they’d created could sense heat and were capable of shooting back. Plus, the vest she wore had special sensors, almost like Bluetooth, that connected her to the droids, so they would react as humans when confronted.