The elevator was covered in mirrors, and I did my best to avoid my own reflection. Guilt swam in my stomach, mixing with the alcohol and making me feel sick. Jack seemed nice. Decent. He deserved a nice, normal woman. Not a murderer.

I hated that I had to do this. That I had been backed into a corner and given no choice but to seduce another man and use him for my own ends.

Or was that just an excuse? Was I standing in the elevator next to Jack, my hand tucked in his, because I had no choice or because it was the easiest choice? I felt too tired to think about it. Too tired to fight whatever was going to happen next.

The bottom line was that Jack had a room along the parade route, and I needed a place to stay. Also—and perhaps this piece of information played a larger part in my decision making than I wanted to admit—Jack was hot. Sexy and rugged. He was trim yet strong. I hadn’t realized how tall he was until we got into the elevator. He towered over me. When I looked up at him, I saw the underside of his square jaw.

His looks also made things worse. He could have any woman he wanted. Any nice, normal woman. Yet, he’d chosen me. Probably because of the way I looked in my dress, but I liked to think it also had something to do with the spark between us. The teasing looks and fluid conversation. There had been an instant connection that I had never felt with anyone else before—at least not with someone I was playing to complete a mission. Jack was exactly the kind of guy I would want to date if I didn’t kill people on the side. The trouble was, if Jack knew the real me, he would no longer be interested. In fact, he’d probably run as fast as he could in the opposite direction and call the police.

Men often told me that they liked me because they wanted an exciting woman, but what they really meant is that they wanted a woman who was exciting in bed. If they lived long enough to discover how exciting my real life was, they usually lost interest. Though, to be fair, my real life was less exciting and more horrifying.

“You still with me?” Jack asked, his large hand pressed against my lower back.

“What?” I asked, confused and pulled from my thoughts. Then, I registered his finger drawing circles across my exposed skin and suddenly remembered where I was, where I was going. “Yes, definitely. Sorry.”

“You just looked a little concerned. I wanted to make sure you hadn’t changed your mind.”

I turned towards him and pressed my body against his side, feeling the tight tangle of muscle and bones beneath his long-sleeved gray shirt. “I’m still with you.”

His eyes traveled down the length of my body and became dark, hungry. He licked his lower lip and nodded. “Good.”

The elevator doors slid open and revealed the fourth floor. It wasn’t quite as lavish as the lobby, but ornate gold chandeliers hung from the ceiling in a similar manner and the doors were solid wood with brass handles, making it feel like we were in a castle. Jack’s room was at the end of the hallway. As soon as I stepped into his room, I noticed the large picture window that looked down on Canal Street. It was the room I would have wanted to be in had I been able to afford this hotel. The view would be perfect for the parade tomorrow. From up there, I would have been able to scout out a prime position without having to mingle through the parade crowd.

The thought of what I had to do the next day calmed me slightly. Unlike my last job, Gordon Sanchez deserved whatever was coming to him. He’d chosen to get tangled up with the mafia, and for fifteen years he had betrayed the trust of his co-workers, friends, and family to make a few extra dollars. And more importantly—to me, at least—some of the money Gordon Sanchez had been skimming from city accounts was going towards high-class escorts and prostitutes. The man had been married for twenty-five years, and he’d been cheating on his wife for most of it. He was disloyal in every imaginable way, and I knew I’d be able to take him out without blinking an eye.

“Great view,” I said, turning my back on the window, trying to focus on the more immediate task. If I wanted to stay the night with Jack and not get thrown out as soon as he was finished with me, I needed to show him a good time. And as confident as I was in my abilities, Jack still deserved my full attention.

“It came at a great price,” Jack said with a laugh. Then, he shrugged. “That sounded like I was bragging. Really, I’m complaining. This was one of the only rooms left in the city, and I was desperate.”

“Yeah, it is impossible trying to find a motel during Mardi Gras,” I said. Hence my current situation. I was about to have sex with a man for a place to stay.

“Not for you, though.”

I wrinkled my forehead. “What do you mean?”

Jack stared at me blankly for a minute. “I meant it wasn’t impossible for you. You have a room here. Right?”

“Right, yes,” I said quickly, feeling stupid. “Of course, I do. But it was difficult to get. I paid an inflated price for it, I’m sure.”

He nodded, but I sensed a slight hesitation to believe me. I’d stumbled, just for a second, but Jack had caught it. As ordinary as he may be, he was quick. I had to be careful around him. So, in the spirit of keeping my cover, I decided to cut the small talk short.

Jack was standing at the end of the bed, his card key still in his hand. I crossed the space between us, pulled it from his grip, and dropped it onto the floor. Then, before he could protest, I pressed a palm to his chest and directed him back onto the bed. He sat down without resistance, looking up at me, his lips slightly parted in anticipation.

“I know we don’t know one another really well,” I said, lifting one knee up and placing it next to his thigh, my dress riding up and exposing most of my leg. I wrapped my hands around his neck and swung the other leg up, as well, so I was straddling him. “But I have a feeling you are a man who knows what he wants.”

Jack brought his hands around to my backside, cupping my ass and holding me to him. He nodded. “And you’ve made it quite clear you aren’t afraid to go after what you want.”

I smiled. “I hope that isn’t a bad thing.”

Suddenly, Jack was standing up and my legs were hooked around his lower back as he spun around and threw me down on the bed. Standing over me, silhouetted against the dimmed overhead light, he looked ominous. I realized that if he wanted to be, Jack could be dangerous.

“It isn’t a bad thing,” he said as he crawled over me slowly, his hips sliding over mind, grinding down into me so I could feel his hardness through his jeans. His lips pressed to my sternum and then grazed over my collarbone and my neck before hovering over my lips, close enough that the subtlest of pouts would have brought our lips together. I held my breath, unsure what to expect. Jack had turned the tables on me. He’d taken control, and I was no longer plotting and planning my next move. I wasn’t even trying to defend against his. I was a flag in a hurricane, going wherever the wind blew. Wherever Jack wanted to take me.

“But,” he continued, his breath warm on my skin. “I have a feeling you might be.”

His mouth crushed down on mine, slanting across my lips in a violent, seductive assault. His tongue dashed out and swept across the inside of my mouth. He nibbled at my lower lip and sucked it between his own.

I was so focused on keeping up with his lips that I couldn’t think about my hands. His were pressed against my sides, following the curve of my body from my breasts to my hips, but I was just laying on the bed like a dead fish, enjoying being with a man who knew what he was doing. I enjoyed it for a few more seconds before I realized that I had to do something. Anything. I had to reclaim control.

I wrapped my legs around his lower back and hooked them at the ankles. Then, I rolled my body against him in waves, varying speed and pressure. Jack’s assault slowed. I could tell he was losing his focus, that I had tipped the scales back in my favor. I trailed my fingers up his spine and into his soft hair, tugging on the strands, tipping his head back so I could press my lips to his strong jaw. His dark stubble scraped against my lips and cheeks as I moved up towards his ear. As soon as I sucked his earlobe into my mouth, Jack groaned. His hands slid down my legs and then back up, moving beneath the hem of my dress.

His finger skated over my lace panties, teasing a line down my center and sending shivers up my body.

“Was I right?” he asked. He was breathing heavy, but he’d lifted himself up so he could look down at me, pupils blown wide, nearly blotting out the bright blue of his eyes.

I shook my head, hardly able to comprehend the English language when his finger was drawing circles where it was. “What?”

“Was I right about you?” he clarified. “Are you bad?”

My palm fit perfectly against the back of his neck, and I lifted myself against his body, hugging myself to him so I could press my mouth against his ear and whisper. “You have no idea how bad.”

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Jack sunk his finger into me. It slid in easily because I was ready, eager for him in a way I hadn’t anticipated. He added a second finger and massaged me while he brought his lips back to mine and kissed me silly.

We’d only just begun, and I could already feel myself slipping. I would have laid there and let him pleasure me in a thousand different ways before I decided to move, but this had to be amazing for him. It had to be incredible to the point that we would both pass out between the sheets and not wake until morning. Otherwise, I’d be walking the streets with sex hair.

Jack was still working away at me, but I slid my hand down the smooth plane of his stomach and undid his belt. When I slipped my hand beneath his waistband he stiffened but didn’t stop me. He was as hard as I was wet. Clearly, I’d been right about the instant chemistry between the two of us. There was no denying the way our bodies reacted to one another.

His chest heaved as I moved up and down his length, and I could tell he was losing focus. His movements became less rhythmic and more random. We were evenly matched, both falling apart at the other’s touch. Then, he pulled away from me.

A strangled kind of moan broke out of me, and Jack laughed and lifted me up by my arms like I was a child. His finger found the zipper at my side and slid it down to my hip.

“I need this off,” he said, sliding the straps from my shoulders so the dress settled around my waist, leaving me in nothing but my black strapless bra from the waist up.

I thought he’d finish peeling the dress off, but instead he unclasped the bra and threw it over his shoulder, the delicate fabric making a whisper of noise as it hit the wall and slid to the floor. All at once, his lips were on my breast, sucking and nibbling. I tipped my head back and moaned in pleasure and annoyance. Jack moved too quickly. My body didn’t have time to prepare. I felt like a boxer trying to make a comeback while my appointment was raining down head shots. I couldn’t get the time or space to gain the upper hand.

Jack’s hands slid down to the bunch of fabric at my waist, but before he could slide it off, I pushed on his chest. My breast fell out of his mouth as he slid back off the bed and stood up, following my direction. With my dress still sitting around my middle like an inner tube, I pushed Jack’s jeans from his hips and helped him step out of them. Then, before both his feet were flat on the floor, I hook my fingers around the elastic of his boxers and lowered them, as well.

Then, even with all the best intentions of moving quickly and taking back control, I froze. In the tight confines of his jeans, I hadn’t realized how large Jack was. But now that he was in full view, I wanted to call Guinness and see if we had a new record.

He chuckled to himself, obviously amused by my shock, and it brought me back to sharp focus. Before the smile was gone from his lips, I wrapped mine around his tip and slid all the way down.

“Fuck,” Jack groaned, tipping his head back and wrapping a hand around the back of my head to hold me close.

I slid off the bed until I was on my knees on the floor in front of him, bobbing down and back up, swirling my tongue around his tip, and then heading back down again. I kept up the pace until Jack’s legs began to tremble beneath him. Until I knew I had him. That he was mine.

He pressed his hand to the back of my head and curled his fingers into my hair. His entire body shook with the desire to release, but before he could, he pulled me away from him and grabbed me under the armpits to haul me up to my feet. His lips crushed down on mine for only a second before he spun me around and through me stomach first onto the bed.

As quickly as I’d gained control, I’d lost it again. Jack wrapped his hand around my hip until he found my center. He drew circles there, each rotation sending new sensations of warmth. I balled my fists in the white comforter and buried my face in the mattress while my body bucked helplessly against his hand.

“Now,” I gasped, reaching a hand back to grab at his thigh, a desperate attempt to bring him closer to me.

“What do you want?” he asked, leaning forward to trail kisses down my spine.

“You,” I begged, not even attempting to hide my desire. Jack had won this round. He was better at this than I was. I’d admit defeat if it meant he would end my torture and slide inside of me.

“What was that?” he teased even as he positioned himself at my opening.

I lifted myself up and looked back over my shoulder, meeting his eyes. “Jack. Fuck me.”

I saw the primal shift in his features as my words washed over him. His blue eyes went dark and he became solely focused on my body. I arched back into him at the same time he thrust forward, and we made matching groans as our bodies finally came together. Jack dug his fingers into the soft flesh of my hips and pulled me against him, our bodies slapping together so I was sure the next-door neighbors would hear us even through the well-insulated walls.

We came at the same time. Jack ended a series of hard and fast thrusts with a final pulse into me. He twitched and shivered against me as release washed over him, all the while I was breaking apart beneath him. My body was clenching and clawing at him while I screamed a string of curse words into the mattress, trying to figure out when this had stopped being a business decision and turned into some of the best sex of my life. My frustration only fueled the orgasm. I laid on the bed, limp and trembling for an abnormally long amount of time, trying to recover from what Jack had done to me.

Then, as soon as we recovered, we did it again. And again.

The restful night of sleep I’d planned to get before one of the most important hits of my life had been shot to Hell. Instead, I spent it straddling Jack. And on my back beneath him. And pressed against the hotel room door.

When I finally fell asleep in the bed next to him, there was no sense of victory at having completed my goal or celebration. There was only the faint hum of satisfaction and pure exhaustion. It was a miracle I woke up when I was supposed to.

Jack was still asleep when I slid out from beneath the soft sheets, the straight slope of his nose highlighted by a tiny ray of golden sunlight that managed to slip between the black out shades. I resisted the urge to slide my finger down the smooth skin, to remind myself that this had been real and not a very vivid sex dream. Instead, I got dressed, gave him one last look, imagining a world in which I didn’t kill people and we could be together, and then I closed the door softly behind me and left. I had work to do, and I didn’t need anything getting in the way. Today was literally a matter of life and death.