Page 162

“In Emmy’s Special Projects team, the only rule is ‘don’t fuck up the job.’Can you let go of my testicles now?”
“Sorry.”I loosened my grip.
“Going back to your earlier question, yes, I have a condom.I have a whole box of condoms, and if you can’t walk later, I’ll carry you to Emmy’s meeting.Ladno?”
“Ladno,” I agreed.
Alex tossed the phone across the bed and ran a finger between my breasts, shaking his head.“Fucking logistics.”
When he teased my nipple with his tongue again, I didn’t check my watch.And when he moved lower and buried his head between my legs, I forgot about the concept of time entirely.Thank fuck I’d taken a shower on theBlack Opallast night because otherwise, I’d taste like sweat and seawater, and—Khui!I arched off the bed as Alex hit precisely the right spot.If he intended to keep that up for the full four hours, I really wouldn’t be able to walk by the end of it.Crawling might be possible, but— My brain misfired as he slid a finger inside me.His hands were a weapon in their own right—one touch, and they scrambled my mind.The first orgasm tore through me like a frag grenade, destroying any last remnants of coherent thought.
Was that such a bad thing?On another day, I’d have said yes—because remaining alert to potential danger was vital—but today, there was a whole houseful of trained operatives close by, and if an enemy appeared, Ana or Emmy could pick up the slack.Hmm.Maybe this teamwork thing had more benefits than I’d previously considered?
“You’re overthinking things again,” Alex warned.
“I’m barely thinking at all.”
He grinned up at me.“Good.Then I’m doing something right.”
“You’re doing everything right.”I sat up, forcing him onto his knees so I could kiss him again.“Everything.Where are the condoms?”
Alex leaned over me and opened the drawer in the nearest bedside table.He hadn’t been kidding about having a whole box, but he had glossed over the size of it, and now he tipped them all over the bed.
“They didn’t have a regular box?”
His cheeks reddened, which was weirdly sweet.“I delegated to Bradley.”
“And that’s why we have the variety pack of a hundred and fifty?”
“Exactly.”
“Doesn’t he realise these things have an expiry date?”
“Dasha?”
“Yes?”
“Stop talking.”
When Alex sank into me, I couldn’t help thinking back to the first night after we’d met.I’d lain there wrapped up in his coat, imagining a life I’d always thought was out of reach, and now here I was, wrapped up in his arms instead.Alexei tasted of hopes and dreams.When he tipped me over the edge for the second time and I choked out his name, I realised that life as I’d planned it would change yet again.A few snatched weekends with this man wouldn’t be enough.
We both needed more.
And I was the one who’d have to give it.