Our lips meet in a kiss that should have happened years ago. I hold her face in my hands, then slide them around the back of her neck. She grips my waist, holding me close. She’s rough and gentle at the same time, claiming me while making sure not to hurt me. She’s always been like this—hard on the outside, but secretly soft and vulnerable. I’ve never forgotten the way she used to break down to me after a bad day of training, making me swear not to tell a soul about her weakness.

I never considered her emotions a weakness. To me, she was just human, and it made me fall hard for her.

Our kiss deepens, our hands moving faster over each other’s bodies, like we’re making up for lost time.

She walks me back, and I stumble as we head toward the couch. Her arms tighten around me, holding me to her.

We fall onto the couch, and she’s on top of me, her breath warm on my neck. Her pistol slides to the floor with a thump and I place mine on the coffee table with a trembling hand.

I moan, wrapping my legs around her to pin her to me.

“What if we could change things?” I say.

She hesitates.

I run my hands over her breasts, down her waist, and between her legs. She hisses as my hand rubs a slow circle outside her jumpsuit.

“It’s too late,” she whispers. “You think they’ll believe that one of us has suddenly changed her allegiance? You think it’s safe to tell them that?”

With fumbling hands, she unbuttons my jeans, and I help her take them off before turning my attention to her jumpsuit.

We lock lips, grabbing each other, shedding our clothes frantically. Then we’re naked, and the weight of her body on mine leaves me dizzy. She’s strong and chiseled, and yet her skin is achingly soft. I’m burning everywhere we’re touching—breasts, stomach, thighs.

She reaches between my legs and rubs, and I close my eyes, sinking into how good she feels. Goosebumps ripple across my body.

I pull her mouth to mine, nipping and sucking her lip, arching my back to get closer.

“Would you ever think about quitting?” she whispers into my mouth.

I don’t answer, which makes her pull back.

“No?” she says.

“Not quitting. But that doesn’t mean I don’t regret where we both ended up.”

“Hm.”

Her fingers massage me faster, making me gasp. I reach down to do the same to her, and she moans into my mouth.

We rock against each other, kissing hard.

I run my fingers over her short hair and grip the back of her neck. “I-I think T.A.S.K. would hire you,” I say, finding it harder to get the words out.

“They wouldn’t.”

“We could use a double agent.”

She pauses, leaving me wet and panting. I grab her hand and make her keep going, aching for her.

“Maybe,” she whispers, but I hear the doubt in her tone. I see it in her eyes. She won’t risk it.

I slide a finger into her, making her gasp. Her legs tremble.

“E, you feel so good,” she whispers.

My insides flutter at her use of the nickname. She hasn’t called me E in years.

“So do you,” I murmur.

I pull her mouth back to mine. Like everything that happens between us, I’m torn between feeling in control and totally powerless. I’m exposed beneath her, naked and pinned to the couch, her fingers making me tremble and lose control.

But I’ve got her the same way, gasping, begging, totally vulnerable.

Maybe that’s the way it’s supposed to be between us—an eternal power struggle, a mess of feelings that never get resolved.

As we get lost in each other, I let myself dream of a world where we weren’t separated in the academy. One where we weren’t forced to be enemies. One where we were allowed to tell each other how we felt without fear of punishment.

An alternate world.

Anywhere but here and now.

Because in this world, this night is all we get.

Nicky crawls lower, kissing my chest, stomach, and hips. Between my legs, she moves her tongue in a way that makes me gasp.

God, she makes it hard for me to do what needs to be done.

It was a mistake for her to come here. She knows where I live, and I know she sees through my lie. She knows I have the Munich files.

As long as she’s alive and working against me, national security will be compromised. Which gives me two choices.

I could go off the grid and run away with her, leaving behind everything I’ve worked for…

Or I can kill her and end our eternal power struggle.

Her tongue moves faster, and I cry out, sinking into the couch.

I can’t care about her. I can’t lose everything I’ve worked for.

Breathing hard, dizzy with pleasure, I turn my head to look at the coffee table, where my pistol is waiting to be fired.

New story coming in a few days! The next one is about a woman knight sent to rescue a princess. Get early access (and read it all at once instead of in pieces) at patreon.com/tianawarner