Tessa gripped Tommy’s shoulder again. He vibrated under her hand with a coiling intensity that she felt in her chest as well.

Evening had crept into the room from the narrow windows that faced the east gardens. The landscaping of well-manicured hedges and walking paths was already settling under a blanket of shadows.

Her heart ached. Her body did, too. She was exhausted by this cat-and-mouse game.

Maybe she was a fool, but she wanted to comfort Tommy. To believe he was innocent. That he hadn’t tricked her. Betrayed her.

Not like Jessie had.

If he had, she might break and never be able to put herself together again.

Jessie’s deception and treachery shredded her in a way she hadn’t felt since the night she’d witnessed her mother’s murder. How could she have been so stupid as to let herself get close to someone again? To allow her emotions to override her logic?

The voice inside her head demanded she cut herself some slack. The deception was first rate. She wasn’t even sure that Hagar had realized he hadn’t killed Jessie. Whoever the stand-in had been, they’d played the part perfectly. Had the woman even known what was going to happen to her?

Tessa gripped her cramping stomach. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that Jessie would allow such a thing, but then none of this aligned with the person she’d known. That they’d all known.

Or thought they had.

“Why didn’t you become an operative?”

she asked Tommy. It was time to put a few of her doubts to rest. “You have the skills. It comes naturally to you.”

His body slumped, a bone-weary exhaustion coloring his voice. “Just because I’m good at it doesn’t mean I like it. I saw what the missions did to Jessie. What her life did to the two of us.”

He tapped the keyboard, his fingers flying so fast that she couldn’t read the code he was entering. “She was gone for months at a time without any communication. I had no idea where she was, what was going on, or if she was in danger. I hated it. At least as an analyst, I could discreetly check up on the swans. I had to be careful and not trip any flags Del put on their files, but I could occasionally find out where she was and what she was working on.”

“It must’ve been hard.”

He paused, typing to glance at her, hearing the sincerity in her voice. “Tough for you, too, wasn’t it? You were close with her and Meg. You never knew if they would make it back from their missions.”

She turned her back on him, staring out the window as the gardens grew darker and the solar lights flared to life. “Flynn originally recruited me for the swans, and I told him Jessie was a better candidate. I was right, of course, but after her death”—she hesitated—“her pseudo death, I guess, I blamed myself for it. It should’ve been me that died that day, not her.”

He abandoned the desk and came to her, standing behind her close enough that she could feel his body heat. “You’ve blamed yourself all this time?”

A bitter laugh slid from between her lips. “Seems all of us have been caring around guilt over her death. It appears to be wasted emotion.”

Like all the emotions she’d felt for people over the years.

His hand touched her lower back. “I’m sorry.”

She swiveled enough to stare up into his handsome face. The distress she saw there made her heart clench. The deeply creased brow, the tightness around his lips and eyes, the anger simmering underneath his still-obvious shock—she felt it all, too. “You have nothing to be sorry for. You’re a victim in all this, just like the rest of us.”

“I still can’t believe she would intentionally betray us and her country.”

He dropped his hand and rubbed his eyes. “Until I prove she’s guilty, I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt. There’s too much about this that we don’t know.”

She cupped his cheek, his short beard tickling her palm. He still had hope. Hadn’t had such things stomped out of him. “I wish I’d had a brother like you growing up.”

He slid his fingers around her wrist, drawing her hand to his lips. They grazed her palm, and his eyes turned darker. “You have me now,”

he said so softly that it sent a shiver of desire through her.

His breath was warm against her skin, and that tight control she kept on things splintered. She hadn’t allowed herself to feel anything for anyone since Jessie’s death, and that death had been thrown in her face like ice water.

But Tommy had shown up on her doorstep, wounded in more ways than one. Despite Meg’s recruitment efforts, Tessa might have joined the swans just to find him. She hadn’t needed to, though. He’d come to her. Not Meg or anyone else. Tommy trusted her. He still trusted her, and she could see his heart in his eyes, so soulful, so devastated.

She slid her hand to his neck, parting her lips and easing closer to him in an open invitation.

He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her close, dropping his mouth to hers.

Tessa's world dissolved. Surprise mingled with relief as she realized how desperately she'd needed this release from the suffocating fear that had gripped her since the revelation about Jessie being alive.

As their tongues danced, their bodies pressed closer, and for a fleeting moment, she could pretend that the shadows weren't closing in, that she was just a woman in the arms of the man she loved.

Love. It couldn’t be. She would never let herself be so vulnerable.

His strong hands molded her against him, solid and unyielding, as if he could ward off the demons nipping at her heels. In this stolen moment, she wanted to believe in loyalty and courage and trust someone else with her heart. After all, hadn't he risked everything to protect her? Hadn't he proven himself worthy of her faith?

Tessa's resistance crumbled like sand under his passionate onslaught, and with a shaky sigh, she allowed her defenses to drop. Tommy's groan of triumph spurred her on, their kisses deepening and intensifying with each passing second. His hands slid up her back, and then he deftly freed her from her clothes.

First, her shirt.

Next, her bra.

He stepped back. Cool air caressed her heated skin, and she ached for more as he openly raked his gaze over her shoulders and breasts.

With a growl, he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the nearest sofa. His hungry eyes held hers as he lowered her onto the cushions.

She slipped out of her slacks as he discarded his clothes carelessly on the floor. His body was a work of art, honed and taut, and she couldn't take her eyes off him.

Tommy joined her on the sofa, his muscles flexing as he circled one of her nipples with his thumb, gazing into her eyes. “Are you sure about this?”

She nodded, her heart in her throat. “I'm sure.”

A soft smile curved his lips as he brushed a stray hair from her face. “God, I've wanted you for so long,”

he whispered before his lips found hers again.

His hands roamed her body, memorizing every curve and secret place. With each touch, she felt herself opening up to him in ways she’d never thought possible. He made her feel safe and cherished, and she was utterly consumed by desire for him.

She trembled under the touch of his hands, her body a canvas for his exploration. He touched and kissed and licked every inch, building the throb between her legs until she thought she’d go mad.

Tommy's muscles rippled beneath her hands as he moved on top of her. She tasted the salt of his skin as she kissed his throat, his chest. Her tongue left a trail of wet heat, and she wanted to switch positions so she could get access to parts lower.

Tommy had other ideas.

A symphony of moans and gasps escaped her lips when he sucked at her neck, then lowered his mouth to each of her breasts. Her breathing was already ragged and desperate. His fingertips traced patterns on her skin as he went lower and lower, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. She closed her eyes, arching into his mouth as he lowered it to the aching spot between her legs.

His hands were rough yet gentle as they pushed her knees wider to give him full access. She surrendered to his exploration with a mixture of vulnerability and desire. He slipped his tongue inside, a skilled artist tracing every contour with tenderness and reverence. Stroke after stroke, she felt as though a new chapter was being written in the story of her body.

As her climax hit, Tessa stuffed her doubts and fears to the back of her mind, allowing herself to drown in the sensations he evoked in her. “Tommy,”

she cried out.

He kept up his onslaught until the orgasm subsided, then let her surf the bliss as he teased his fingers over her hips, across her stomach, and laid a hand on her chest. She cracked open her eyes to see him staring at her. “I love to feel your heartbeat,”

he said, pressing his palm more firmly to her chest where her heart was thudding wildly.

Staring into his face, she felt the walls she'd erected around her heart replaced by a blissful abandon she'd never thought possible. “We’re not done,”

she murmured.

His grin was pure alpha male.

He produced a condom from his discarded pants. “Found them at your place. I don’t want to think about who’s been in your bed, but I’m glad for the stash.”

“I never felt anything for them,”

she admitted. Not like I do you.

He returned, the heat in his gaze as he surveyed her from the tips of her toes to her mouth, smoldering. Her knees, still open and exposing her most vulnerable area, started to close, but he pinned them down, kissed her deeply, and entered her in one swift stroke.

Her swollen folds resisted, and she cried into his mouth. His lips and tongue teased her as he settled and held still, giving her a moment to adjust to his size.

Her muscles unclenched, and desire spread through her again. She adjusted her hips, taking him even deeper.

“God, Tessa,”

he moaned, scoring her neck with his teeth.

She shivered. “Make it good,”

she ordered.

He chuckled. “I might need to practice a lot in order to perfect my skills.”

“We’ll see.”

She expected hard, fast thrusts, but he kept her pinned in place as he took his time with her. Their bodies moved together in a sensual rhythm, skin glistening in the dim light of the room. His eyes locked on hers, conveying a raw desire and understanding that made her feel vulnerable in other ways.

As they built to a fresh climax, her skin grew hot and slick again. Every touch ignited sparks of pleasure coiling at the base of her spine. She cried out as the release barreled through her, clasping his broad shoulders as she spun out into nothingness.

Two more strokes, her nails scoring his back, and he followed her over into the abyss.

When they came up from those depths, gasping and spent, he wrapped her in his arms, their bodies entwined. Their breathing ragged, they stared into each other's eyes, both acutely aware that nothing would ever be the same between them again.

But as Tessa drifted off to sleep in Tommy's arms, the ghosts of their pasts lingered in the shadows, their malevolent presence a constant reminder that their respite was only temporary.

The game they were playing was far from over, and the stakes had just become immeasurably higher.