It wasn’t that I was uncomfortable; it was more that I didn’t really know my body. I hadn’t had much opportunity to date, and before I knew it, I was an agent. So Roz had introduced me to Tyler. His job was to show me the ropes, teach me how to flirt and kiss. At no point was it supposed to turn into anything real, but nobody told me that. So I’d believed the stolen kisses, the whispered words. I’d believed that high, lightheaded, freefall feeling. After all, Tyler was very good at his job.
For four months, he treated me like his girlfriend. When neither one of us was out on a mission, we were together. Tooled around town like a couple. Shopping and movie nights and bowling. And then one day, he dropped me. Wouldn’t take my calls, didn’t even say hello to me in the halls. He was cold and perfunctory. I didn’t handle it well. Matter of fact, I demanded that he tell me what the hell was going on. And ever so helpful as he was, he told me everything.
It had never been real. The Firm had determined that I needed to lose my virginity to be more effective in the field. And he was just the agent that had landed the job.
I’d been a job.
Roz had thought that she was doing me some great favor by finding me someone nice, cute, gentle, and kind. Little did she know that his directive was to break me in and then turn me into an effective agent.
I’d never forgiven myself for believing. Then I never got over it. I’d known that in our line of work, lying was par for the course. I’d known better than to trust anyone with a smile and some kind words. But Tyler… He really, truly cemented that distrust. And something icy and cold had wrapped around my heart.
And now I realized that for all his expertise, that floaty feeling of first discovery, I’d still never felt with him the way that I had when Marcus kissed me. Like I was being struck by little tiny lightning bolts all over my body. Like all I wanted to do was rub my body all against him. Like I was willing to beg for whatever he might give me.
Not that I was going to beg, because I refused to ever be that pathetic again. It was for the best that Marcus Black and I stayed away from each other.
After everything was over, I finally confessed everything about Tyler to Addie in a drunken night of feeling sorry for myself. I was relieved when Tyler was reassigned to the London office. It wasn’t even so much that I still carried a torch for him. It was just that watching my humiliation walk up and down the hallways every day was pure torture.
She laughed. “Good. Oh, Marcus Black, a game builder who can kiss. Will wonders never cease? All right, you, off you get. I’ll go see if I can find out what Stannis Prochenko is doing in LA. In the meantime, stay out of trouble. Better yet, call your sexy neighbor. Tell him that you have some pain and he needs to kiss it better.”
I furrowed my brow. “I don’t have any pain.”
She laughed. “You just point to the pain right at your clitoris, and I’m sure he’ll make you feel all better.”
I choked back a laugh. “Addie.”
“What? I’m telling you, he sounds like he’s up for the task. Well, I’m glad you had fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I laughed. “Yeah, okay. Let me know if you find anything.”
“Will do.”
I hung up with her, unable to shake the feeling of that kiss, the slide of his lips, the stroke of his tongue. I felt like he’d been holding out, like I had to get to know him all over again. This time with kissing.
Chapter 4
Marcus
I hadn’t slept much. I’d gotten up every hour to double-check the security perimeters and the cameras I had trained on Lyra’s flat. No one had come. Nothing had moved. She’d been locked up tight, but I still wasn’t comfortable. I wanted to get in her flat and make sure she had proper chains and locks on her doors. I wanted to give her a gun, but she probably would frown on that.
At eight o’clock, I figured it would be safe enough to call Curtis in Hawaii. He answered on the first ring. “You’re up early.”
“You weren’t asleep either.”
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead.”
I chuckled. “Did you find out anything?”
“Yeah. From your description, your would-be mugger is Stannis Prochenko. He was Russian military, then he got caught up in Victus. He’s low level though. Not a big player.”
I frowned. “Why is that name familiar?”
“Well, you probably know his name in relation to Signat, the terrorist group.”
“Yes, that rings a bell. But does that mean Signat or Victus is making a play in the States, and what is he doing in California?”
“Still looking.”
“I’m clean though, right. No one even knows I’m here?”
“Yes. I ran your ID several times. There was zero chatter about you. Nothing. He got lucky.”
I frowned. “There is no such thing as luck. This is bad.”
“Let’s not get overexcited. We’ll figure it out.”
“Anything come back on Lyra Wilkinson?” I knew nothing would, but still, I held my breath.
“No. It’s just like you said. She’s clean. She had a drunk and disorderly at the funeral home after her parents died, but that’s understandable.”
“Prochenko might come for her.”
“Did she see his face?”
Yes. “No. She was focused on getting her purse back.” It was a little lie. One that if I was at headquarters and polygraphed would make me a concern. But I knew how these things worked. I had to protect her
