Near Ft. Benning, Georgia

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FBI Special Agent Addison Davidson needed a husband. Not just any guy, but someone highly skilled in weapons’ training who had served in combat, Special Forces; a hard-charging, unattached male who could handle crises situations under pressure and was preferably a cougar-shifter like her. The last skill was something she knew she wouldn’t be lucky enough to find, but it was the reason she had turned down a dozen men for the job, and was still looking for the right man.

When Captain Dan Steinacker appeared at the Hamburger Spot, a fast-food hamburger joint located right off post from where he was assigned at Fort Benning, Georgia, she watched him step in line to order a meal. He was dark haired and blue eyed, tall, well-muscled, just the way she liked her men, only this one would be her pseudo husband, if he was up for the task. His training was just what she needed, if she could let go of her requisite to have a cougar to serve as her husband and he went along with the plan. He was number thirteen on her list, maybe lucky for her, maybe not so lucky for him, if he agreed to it.

She moved into the line, three people behind him, to order her lunch. As soon as he took a seat, she had every intention of sitting down with him and having a talk. She knew just what he’d order—a triple cheeseburger, large order of fries, and a cup of coffee, loads of creamer and sugar.

The fans overhead swirled air-conditioned air around the small hamburger joint on this hot summer day. She was wearing a flowery strapless dress, going for summer-time sweet, except that the dress was red with giant sunflowers, setting off her dark hair and eyes. She was wearing strappy sandals, not good for anything but showing off her ankles and legs. Running? Chasing down bad guys? She’d be better off tossing them.

Suddenly, Dan turned and she knew the moment he took a deep breath, he’d smelled she was a cougar. And that had to mean only one thing. He was one too. He nearly forgot to pay for his meal, and smiled broadly at her as the clerk tried to get his attention. She smiled back at him. She was hooked. He was hooked. Dan would be her one and only husband for this mission and beyond. If they didn’t end up getting killed while doing missions together. If he agreed to the plan.

“Addison Davidson, but you can call me Addie,” she offered, holding out her hand to Dan, and he was in lust.

He smiled warmly back, shook her hand, and said, “Dan Steinacker. Do you want to join me at a table?”

“Sure. I’m not here with anyone. Just find a booth for us and I’ll join you after I order my meal.”

“Why don’t I pay for it?”

She smiled so disarmingly at him, he thought he might even be in love.

After she ordered her meal, and he paid for it, they found a window booth. Dan sat down with the beautiful she-cat, not believing his luck at running into one here, just outside of Fort Benning.

Dark brown, long, silky hair, dark brown eyes, dark red lips—a seductive she-cat if there ever was one. “Let me just text a couple of guys who were meeting me for lunch to say I have to cancel.”

She smiled at him, and he felt his heart trip.

Dan pulled out his phone and called Chase. “Hey, Chase, tell Stryker and Hal that something’s come up, and I’ve got some other plans for lunch.” Dan was eyeing the minx while she was smiling at him, appearing amused that he’d cancel on his friends.

“Seriously? You’re standing us up?” Chase asked, humor lacing his words and he chuckled. “Who is she?”

“Uh, yeah, well, we’ll get together later.”

Chase laughed. “Hell, man, you can’t tell us that and then expect us not to check her out.”

“Just don’t make a nuisance of yourself.” Dan could imagine the guys all telling Addie they were best friends of his, shaking her hand, and giving him a hard time.

“We’ll be on our best behavior.”

Dan didn’t want to ruin his first date with the she-cat, especially if she lived locally, and he could see more of her. “Yeah, sure. Talk later. Thanks for understanding.” When he hung up, their meals were ready and he stood. “Let’s go somewhere else.”

“A park by a pond? Or your place?”

He smiled broadly. “It’s awfully hot out. Why don’t we go to my place?”

“It won’t be too hot there, will it?”

He laughed and picked up their meals, asking the server to make it to go. They carried their sacked meals out to his Jeep, and he was glad she didn’t want to follow him in her car. He wasn’t into one-night stands, but it had been too damn long since he’d met a she-cat while he’d been stationed here, and never one who appealed as much as she did anywhere that he’d been assigned. He really thought it would be a nice change of pace to date her, if she and he enjoyed the same kind of things.

“Do you live here? Work here? I’ve never seen you at the Hamburger Spot before.” Dan drove to his housing development that was located off post.

“I’m here on a mission. To recruit you to be my husband. Faux husband.”

Surprised at the comment, he laughed. “Don’t tell me Chase, Hal, or Stryker had something to do with this? Did they put you up to this? My birthday is too far away.” He thought about it for a moment more. “Nah, Chase was genuinely surprised I was standing them up. And they wouldn’t have wanted you to meet me before they had a chance to see you.” He considered a different scenario. “Ahh, you need me to pose as your husband because you’re going to your best friend’s wedding and a former boyfriend is attending. You don’t want him, of all people, seeing you alone, because he’s hooked up with some new she-cat.”

She smiled. “That’s cute. And nope. I’m a Special Agent for the FBI and I need a husband.”

He couldn’t believe it. She sounded serious. Unless she was a nutcase. “I’m in the military.” Unless the FBI contacted him and his commander, officially, he wasn’t going anywhere, if this was all on the up and up.

“Which is why you’re the perfect candidate. I’ve already rejected a dozen possible candidates, but none of them were cougars. I’m hoping we can work out a deal. We’re prepared to pay you a substantial amount of money, just to be my undercover husband.”

“Benefits included?” he asked, still not believing any of this.

She smiled and sat back against the seat. “That’s what’s so perfect about it. You don’t have to do anything for the pay, unless I call on you to make an appearance. Then it’s just a show.”

“How dangerous is this?”

“Dangerous. That’s why we had to ensure the candidate had weapons and hand-to-hand combat training. You’ve been vetted, and I’ve seen your war record. You’re an honorable guy. You’re leaving the service and returning to Yuma Town in two months, right?”

Dan pulled into his driveway and parked. “Correct.”

“Your life is your own unless I need your help. And we’ll only continue this if I need you and you are willing.”

“No benefits though? Are you sure?”

She chuckled and grabbed her sack of food and left the Jeep.

He unlocked the house and wished he’d picked the place up a little more before he went into work this morning. He’d never in a million years expected to bring a she-cat to his house when he had taken off just to have lunch, or any other time, for that matter.

“You should see my place when I have unexpected company,” she said, as if trying to make him feel less guilty about it, as he set his sack of food on the kitchen table and moved into the living room to grab up clean clothes from the laundry that he’d left on the sofa to sort and put away.

“Okay, so tell me what I have to do. Exactly.” He joined her at the kitchen table and sat down.

“You can’t tell anyone you know that you’ve married someone.”

“If I’m your cover…”

“You are, when you go with me on a mission, if it happens. We have to play things by ear, but we had to set this up, just in case. You also can’t be married, or about to be married. If you fall in love with someone, you must terminate the contract. We can’t endanger your loved ones.”

“All right. No issue there for now.” And he hadn’t met anyone he’d been interested in, so he didn’t see that as a problem, short-term anyway. “How long is this going to be for?”

“A hundred and fifty-thousand dollars for every year you’re my husband. You can divorce me at any time. Though none of this is real.”

“A hundred and fifty thousand dollars for doing nothing? What’s the catch?”

“If I need you, you’ll have to drop whatever you’re doing, join me wherever I’m at, and be my lawfully-wedded husband.”

He unwrapped his burger and she sat across from him and brought out her chicken burger and fries.

“What do you know about me?” He wondered how long they’d been watching him. Though he didn’t really vary his routine much, which must be why she had so easily intercepted him at the Hamburger Stop, and way before his friends had arrived. They were always running late because of job commitments. He suspected they’d rush over to the Hamburger Stop to see the woman and have a good laugh to find he’d disappeared with her. He knew he would have, had the roles been reversed.

“Everything.”

He raised a brow.

“Your financial records, your personal lifestyle, your history, family. Everything. The Bureau is thorough. I told you that you were thoroughly vetted.”

“Except for one thing. You didn’t know I was a cougar.”

“I got lucky.”

“If I don’t agree to this, then what? Do I vanish because I know too much?”

“You don’t know anything. Not what I do, who I am—“

“Addie Davidson.”

She smiled and took a bite of a french fry.

He sure wished she’d go along with benefits. “That’s not really your name.”

“Addison Steinacker, if you agree.”

“Middle name?”

“Ann.”

“And I won’t know anything about you.”

“I was born in Boston, no parents, no siblings.” She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. “This is all about me. If you decide you want to do this, you’ll sign an agreement and the money will be forwarded to your bank account.”

“Direct deposit? Won’t that look suspicious to the IRS? Or some agency that goes after bank fraud when large deposits are made that are unaccounted for?”

“It’s all tax deductible and we have you covered.”

“Unless I want a divorce so I can get on with my private life.”

“Yes.”

“Even if I get this money up front and don’t do anything for it?”

“Yes.”

He knew the government wasted money. “Let me read over the contract.” He perused the paper she gave him that had personal information about her, or at least the cover for her.

Then she handed him her phone and began reading the contract. He glanced up at her as she finished her sandwich and licked her fingers. He wished she’d let him do the honors. “Are you sure there can’t be benefits?”

She smiled. “Sign the contract and we can…seal the deal.”

“I’m only doing this because you’re one of our kind, and I’d hate to think you’d have to find a guy who isn’t, to take part in this business.”

“Or are you worried that I might check out your friends?”

“Stryker? Chase? Hal? Don’t tell me they’re on your list of candidates.” He was damn glad he was always early to the Hamburger Stop.

“We vetted your closest friends, and yes, they are.”

Dan gave an exaggerated sigh and signed on the bottom line. “I can’t let them endanger themselves if you were to approach them with this deal next. Why come to me first?”

“You are always early to the Hamburger Stop.”

“Hell, you could have lied.”

She laughed, took her phone from him and signed the contract, then sent it off. A few minutes later, his phone dinged. Frowning, he pulled it out and saw he’d received a payment in his bank account in the amount of a hundred and fifty-thousand dollars.

“Ready to seal the deal?” she asked, a dark brow raised, her luscious lips curved up a smidgeon.

“I was only kidding.” Not that he didn’t want to, but he didn’t want her believing that’s the only reason he was willing to do this job. He was serious about also helping out a fellow cougar.

“I wasn’t kidding.” She rose from the table and snagged his hand, lightly squeezing, as if to say this was all right between them.

“Do you work with for-hire operatives like this often?” Dan asked, wondering if she did this all the time. He realized just how much that would bother him if he was just another notch on her belt.

“Never.”

Marginally relieved, he hauled her toward the bedroom, cognizant that he had to return to work soon. He wasn’t sure he believed her though. After all, this was all make-believe. Her identity. The marriage. Still, even if she was just saying it to appease him, he’d go along with it.

“I’ve never done this before,” she said again, frowning at him as they reached the bedroom, and she began unbuttoning his shirt, as if she were really serious. And he believed her. “I’ve never had a husband, never one who works undercover with me, either.” She stripped off his shirt and then yanked his T-shirt out of his pants, sliding her soft, warm hands up underneath it, caressing his bare chest. “And, if I’d chosen some other candidate, it wouldn’t mean I’d go this far with him.”

Hell, the she-cat was red-hot, making him even hotter. He wanted this to be special between them—mostly because he hadn’t been with a she-cat in eons, and that was even before he joined the military. He hadn’t met any after that. Plenty of human females over the years, but this wasn’t the same. And he didn’t think she’d be the same as any other she-cats he’d known either. She was unbelievably sexy, a total spitfire, and hell, after signing the dotted line, his wife.

“I don’t have a boyfriend, don’t date. While we have this arrangement”—she pulled his T-shirt over his head—“I won’t be seeing anyone. I’m married to you until death do us part, or you divorce me.”

She licked his nipple, making it tingle and pebble, and he swept his hands down her sides, grabbing her silky sundress and sliding it up her svelte body. He was guessing she’d be wearing red hot underwear, but her bra and panties were black lace. Just as seductive.

Had she known he wouldn’t be able to resist her, if he had accepted the proposal? If so, she’d been right. Or if she hadn’t convinced him to do this, she would have been with Chase, Hal, or Stryker. He didn’t know if his lucky stars had shone down upon him, or if he was in for real trouble.

She probably knew he hadn’t been seeing anyone for the year he’d been assigned here, since they’d thoroughly vetted him. He dropped her sundress on the chest at the foot of the bed.

“I want you because you’re one hot cat,” she said, whispering the words against his ear, her soft, warm breath making his cock stand at attention. “No emotional attachments. I don’t want to let my guard down, or for you to do so either. Strictly sex. Physical pleasure. Between two willing cats.”

He should have pounced at the idea that there’d be no true commitment, just hot sex on a hot day with a hot she-cat. He suspected he wouldn’t want to do this with her just once. Not the way their pheromones were running rampant, signaling there was a hell of a lot more going on between them than just pure and simple, lustful sex.

They were telling each other they were right for each other—as far as having cougar kittens together, the biological needs coming to the forefront. His cougar half claimed she was in his territory, his to keep. The human component was feeling the same kind of compelling draw—their signing the contract that said she was his wife, his mate—as he ran his fingers through her luscious dark, satiny hair, and pulled her in for a kiss.

He knew he had to be satisfied with just this one lovefest with her until maybe the next time when he had to work a mission with her. He hoped.

And then she worked on his belt, teasing him as she slid her hand down the front of his trousers, making his cock jump. He quickly sat on the bed, and untied one of his boots, but she was suddenly crouching before him, her knees spread to keep her balance, the dark curly hairs between her legs catching his eye.

She untied his boot, and then tugged it off, falling backward against the plush carpet. The pink lips of her sex beckoned him to get on with the business of pleasuring her. He quickly removed his other boot while she pulled off his sock, and he removed the remaining one. He stood and helped her up. She moved her body against his, sliding her naked breasts against his bare chest, her nipples peaked, her hands slipping down to unzip his zipper. She slowly slid it down, the seductive minx.

And then she pulled his pants down his hips, lower, her mouth pressing tender kisses down his chest, his waist, his boxer briefs-covered cock, straining for release. He ran his hands over her silky hair as his breath hitched when she licked his arousal still covered in fabric, before she pulled his pants off the rest of the way.

“Hell, woman…” He was going to come before he even got her to the bed!

She chuckled and rubbed her body against his again, in a feline way that said she was claiming the he-cat as her own. He cupped her face and kissed her mouth, her tongue slipping out to lick his lips. He pressed his tongue between her lips and explored her mouth. His body was on fire. She was gripping his arms so hard, he smiled, knowing he was having the same effect on her.

He yanked down his boxer briefs and pulled her to the bed where he jerked the covers aside. She climbed onto the bed and turned around, lying on her back, looking like the kind of sexy she-cat he would love to have babies with, and him, someone who never thought of having kids, ever. Not that he wasn’t good with them, he was. He just hadn’t considered what it would be like to have some of his own.

He moved in next to her, and began kissing her, realizing again he had to be into work soon, and began moving things along, kissing her breasts, licking her nipples, and stroking the center of her. Judging by the way she was moving against his fingers and the musky smell of her arousal, he knew she was ready for him. He kept stroking her until she gasped out his name and he reached for a drawer. He’d nearly forgotten to grab a condom, but she seized his wrist and shook her head.

“We’re safe.”

Glad he didn’t have to bother with the condom, he pressed his cock into her velvety, tight sheath, and began to thrust.

She clawed gently at his back, lifting her pelvis to meet his thrusts, until he came and he growled. He continued to rub against her until she climaxed again, her muscles clenching him deep.

“We sealed it,” she said breathlessly, smiling up at him. She looked like one satisfied cat. Not like a woman who had to play a role. And he was damn glad for it, because she’d turned his world on end. “You make one hot mate.”

“Would it sound too desperate of me to ask when we have our first assignment together, if this will be part of the assignment?”

She smiled. “If we have time and can work it in.”

He glanced at the clock and groaned. She might not be a “real” person, as far as who she truly was, but she couldn’t fake this, not when their pheromones were kicking each other’s into high-speed action. “I’ve got to get back to work.”

“I need to catch a flight, but it’s not until midnight.” Addie stroked his chest with the pads of her soft fingers.

He never called in sick, ever. He wasn’t giving up whatever this was between them if he could help it. It had to last until the next time he saw her and he hoped that was soon. He didn’t have anything urgent this afternoon to take care of, no briefings to give. Though this was completely uncharacteristic of him, he pulled his phone off the side-table and called his boss. “Sir, I need to take the rest of the afternoon off. Something came up.”

Addie moved her hand lower and caressed his cock, and he smiled and shook his head at her. He knew what he was going to do the rest of the afternoon with the she-cat.

“See you tomorrow, Dan,” the colonel said.

“Thanks, sir.” Dan had to admit he felt a little guilty, but he was doing this for God and country, right? Getting to know his “wife” so he wouldn’t make any mistakes when he was on assignment, pretending to be her husband. Especially if it was dangerous. He was all about minimizing risk when out in the field.

After that, Dan got several texts from Chase, Hal, and Stryker, asking about the woman he’d met at the Hamburger Stop, especially when he’d left with her before they’d arrived and since he’d called in to take off from work. They must have dropped by the office and learned from the sergeant that he wasn’t returning for the day. He turned off his phone.

After Dan and Addie made love again, they had pepperoni and mushroom pizza delivered for dinner, and she asked if he wanted to play a video game with her. He had his laptop and his PC and he started his favorite game so they could play either as allies or against each other. He hoped she could pick up on the game quickly. If she didn’t care for it, they’d just do something else. She was eager to play. They could have fought evil together, but she wanted to fight him, to see just how skilled he was.

“Are you sure? I’m pretty good at this.” Dan didn’t want to ruin what had been a beautiful day and night so far with the she-cat, if he should beat her and she was upset with him.

“I’m sure.” And the way Addie smiled at him, he swore she must have played it before.

When they began playing, he knew he’d met an opponent who could really test his wits and skill.

As good as she was at the game, he thought she must do this often. By sheer coincidence, or because she knew he played it? “How long have you been playing this? You’re good.”

“For a couple of years. And yeah, I knew you loved it too. No, I didn’t scope out your house, but I know what you’ve purchased for the last couple of years. I hoped you’d want to play and weren’t too rusty.”

He laughed. “Rusty? Me? Never. Chase, Hal, and Stryker and I play this every chance we get.”

Hating to do it, Dan was forced to kill her character off once, though rejuvenating potions or portals would bring them back to life, if they could reach them at barely any strength. She only smiled as she reached a portal, and returned and wiped him out.

“I don’t get mad, I get even,” she said, as he tried his darnedest to reach a portal in his weakened condition before she clobbered him again.

Once he was healed, he came back to settle the score. He barely managed to take her out again, his own strength weakened, and once she healed up, she retaliated and took him out again.

He loved it.

“Two for two. I’d say we make a good match,” she said smiling.

“Yeah, that was fun. I haven’t played it with the guys in a few days, but we always team up to fight the bad guys together. Do you want to go running? It’s dark enough out now. And the woods are safe.”

“As cougars? Absolutely.”

They rode in Dan’s Jeep to the place he always parked when he went for a run. They removed their clothes, then got out and she shifted into a stunning golden puma, her eyes a beautiful amber, her tail twitching back and forth. She was ready to play. He locked his car door and shifted. He knew then he was truly in love.

They chased each other through the woods, first him after her and then she chased him, but only because he wanted to show her the place. He wished he could take her to Yuma Town, Colorado, where he grew up and take her climbing up into the rocks, to see the waterfalls, creeks, and rivers. That’s where he was returning when he got out of the service. Maybe she would meet him there sometime.

They explored the woods for a couple of hours, and he realized his friends would smell her scent and his here, when they went running together, and question him further about the mystery woman. He was glad they hadn’t come out to run as cougars tonight, just in case he was out here with her. They would have smelled her scent at the Hamburger Spot too, and known she was a she-cat—and that’s why he was keeping her to himself.

He wanted to get her home so he could make love to her one last time before she had to leave for the airport.

That night, they made love again, not quite so frantically, as if they might really have something. And then he had to take her to her rental car at the Hamburger Stop, but he didn’t want to see her go. He’d had more fun with his faux mate than he’d had with any woman he’d ever been with. He realized then, he could really consider settling down, if he had a woman like her in his life.

He kissed her and hugged her as if he was losing his best friend, which was just the way he was feeling, and he hated to see her go.

Addie kissed him back, looking a little sad, and he wondered if she would ever want to leave her job and make a go of a relationship with a male cat. Not any male cat, but him.

“I’ll be in touch,” she said, kissing his cheek afterward. Then she climbed into her rental car and drove off, slipping away into the night, like a cougar would vanish in the dark woods. He couldn’t stop watching the car’s taillights until they disappeared.

Hell, now everything would remind him of her—the Hamburger Stop, the woods, his car, the house, playing the game, she would be in his thoughts always.

Two weeks later, Dan got an email—a first-class plane ticket for a four-a.m. flight to Boston, and a note to take emergency leave. He couldn’t tell his friends what was going on, just that he had to leave town for some important business.

Chase ran over to see him at his house when he said he had to take emergency leave and cancel on the movie he and the guys were going to see the next night. He wouldn’t tell him what was going on.

Chase folded his arms and said, “You’re not going for a job interview somewhere other than Yuma Town, when we all plan to return there after our obligations are up in a month and a half, are you?”

“No. We’re doing this.” Dan finished packing his bag.

“Did you need me to drive you to the airport?”

“At four in the morning?”

“Yeah, I’ll be here, at what? Two?”

“Yeah, sure, thanks, Chase.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with the she-cat you met at the Hamburger Stop, does it?”

Dan tried damn hard to school his expression when he shook his head, but Chase smiled. “Well, hell, why didn’t you say so before. When do we get to meet this remarkable woman? First, you ditched work to spend more time with her, and now you’re taking emergency leave to be with her?”

“It’s not what you think,” Dan said, and his firm tone meant the discussion was done.

“All right. I’m sure you’ll tell us when you can.” Chase looked like it was killing him not to know. “Have a great time for us.”

“Thanks, Chase.” What if the assignment got him killed? He hated not being able to tell his friends what he was up to.

After Chase dropped Dan off at the airport curbside at two-thirty in the morning, Dan rushed to get checked in, and soon was climbing aboard the plane bound for Boston, glad he got a first-class ticket.

As soon as the hulking guy in front of him moved beyond where Dan’s seat was, he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw a breath of fresh air sitting in the first-class seat next to his, Addie in the flesh, wearing a blue dress suit, looking like a billion bucks. “Hell, honey, you don’t know how much I missed you.” And was shocked to see her. And thrilled. “And I can’t believe you’re here.” He hurried into his seat and pulled Addie into a hug, and then kissed her like he really meant it. He didn’t care what was going to happen next, but for him, this wasn’t acting. He’d missed her, and he hadn’t thought of anything but getting back together with her and protecting her, if she needed protecting. And wishing something more could come of this.

For two weeks, his friends had grilled him mercilessly about the woman he’d met at the Hamburger Stop, and ribbed him the same amount when they’d learned he’d taken off the rest of the day from work. That was the hardest part of this business. He didn’t keep secrets from his friends. And they knew it. Which made them all the more curious to learn who she was. No, the hardest part was not seeing her again.

She kissed him back as if they were newlyweds and she had been separated way too long from him. Then she rested her head against his shoulder as the flight took off.

“How have you been?” He’d worried about her too, afraid she might have gotten into some trouble on an assignment. He hadn’t realized how much of an emotional impact this could have on him. He just assumed it would be a job. Pretend husband. No real investment. He couldn’t separate business from the way he was feeling about the she-cat, especially since she seemed to be just as interested in him.

“I missed you,” Addie said.

That was the problem with this assignment. Did she really miss him? Or was this part of the role she was supposed to play?

He squeezed her hand. “I’ve thought about nothing else other than seeing you again.”

She smiled up at him. “The feeling’s mutual.”

And that’s when he thought maybe she was being honest, and he felt hope that maybe something could come of “them” in due time. He just had to be patient, not something he was really good at.

Addie knew she was playing with fire with regard to the way she felt about Dan. She’d never felt this way toward another male cat ever. He was impossible to resist, even though she had to keep her mind on the business at hand or she could get them both killed. All she kept thinking about was running with him as a cougar, challenging him in video games, and making love to him. While she’d waited for him to board the plane, she had hoped he would be the same way with her—passionate, excited to see her, wanting more. As much as she knew that was a bad idea and encouraging it was even a worse plan, the feline shifter part of her wasn’t cooperating. She couldn’t help herself when he hugged her and kissed her. She had wanted this as much as he did, and she wasn’t about to hold back. She told herself it was just part of the job. But it wasn’t.

“You’ll be doing some training for the mission,” she whispered in his ear.

He began kissing her again. She had to chuckle. “I really missed you too, honey.” She’d worked too hard to get this job, and she wasn’t giving it up for anything. Her parents had divorced after a twelve-year marriage when she was eight, and she knew relationships could easily dissolve, and then where would she be? She’d have left her job to be with a hot cougar who would tire of her and move on. And getting her job back wouldn’t be easy, if she could even manage it at all.

She loved being with him like this, cuddling, kissing. If all went as planned, she hoped she’d have time to spend with Dan before he had to fly home. He seemed to be of a like mind.

When they arrived at the location where Dan would be briefed and then go through rigorous training, she participated too, to see how well they’d work together. They did great and everyone seemed to think as she did. They made an outstanding team.

A lot of it was they cued each other in as cougars, both had enhanced sight that could see movement more quickly than humans, they could spring into action faster, and best of all, they could see at night and hear things better than anyone there. They knew what was coming even before the enemy made his appearance.

After taking a lunch break, they left the training ground to carry out the mission.

“We have the advantage,” Addie said to Dan as they waited in a park for the perp to show up.

“He always runs on this path,” Dan said.

“And the breeze is blowing in our direction. I know his scent. I can smell him coming.” She squeezed Dan’s hand and pulled him in for an embrace. “Kiss me.”

Feeling good about the extra training, and amazed they worked so well together, Dan didn’t hesitate to kiss her, though he was worried he’d forget the mission. The guy paused nearby to tie his shoelace. Dan wanted to look away from Addie so he could handle the perp if he tried anything, but Addie wouldn’t let him, making him concentrate on the kiss, one hell of a nice way to reunite with his pretend wife. This was an enjoyable way to carry out a mission, though from what the agent briefing them said, the perp was highly armed and dangerous, so Dan was on alert if the subject suddenly targeted them.

The guy began running again, but Addie didn’t indicate she wanted to go after him, keeping her hold on Dan in a warm embrace. Suddenly, three men and a woman in suits broke out of the woods and took the runner down. Dan hadn’t expected that.

“You signaled to the others that he was passing us.” She was really good at this, Dan had to admit.

“Yes. We couldn’t get close to him in the months we’ve been trying to nab him. He was so wary, we’d lost him a number of times. We didn’t know if this would work, but we thought if we really looked like lovers in a park, and you don’t look like one of our people, it might work, I could signal to take him down, and it would be a done deal. If the agents had scared him off, you and I would have had to run him down.”

“I was your last resort?”

“Yeah, believe me, I didn’t want to put you in harm’s way, if we could handle it without you.”

“I’m being paid for it. Besides, seeing you makes it all worthwhile.” Dan slipped his arm around her shoulders and took her for a walk in the park as the other agents hauled him off. “You’d think he’d stop coming to the park.” He recognized them as part of her team—a young man, prematurely gray that made him look older, a blond-haired, blue-eyed woman, who looked too sweet and petite to be able to take down an armed killer, but that’s the way Addie appeared to Dan also, and an Asian agent who looked like he could beat him in ju-jitsu. The man didn’t like that Dan was called in to play husband to Addie, and had voiced his opinion more than once, saying Dan would get her killed.

Addie had told him to do his job, but Dan worried the guy might be right.

“This is only the second time we’ve seen him here,” Addie said as they watched the man being hauled away, as if they were spectators in the crowd of hikers and runners gathered to watch the excitement. “We’ve been having the path watched until we could get here. And we were lucky. We might have had to wait for hours, but the perp had to get back to work in an hour, so this was our best guestimate.”

“And the danger?”

“The man is a deadly assassin. He’s armed, even if he doesn’t look like it, but he also makes the most of anything he has available.”

“Now what?”

“Mission complete. Your flight leaves at midnight.”

“Can you call in sick? I think this calls for a lot of loving, some cougar running, and a lot more loving.”

She smiled up at him. “Want to go to my place?”