The two agents got out of the car simultaneously and opened the back doors for Dane and Shana, dragging them out.

“He stopped. Bring us around the front of the car where he won’t have a good view. We’ll do the takedown there.”

The two agents obliged. Once around the front of the car, Dane didn’t wait for Shana before pulling himself free of Warren’s grasp, taking him by surprise like any good prisoner would. He kicked the gun from his hand as Warren automatically went for his weapon.

Shana swung around and hit Vale in the gut with her elbow and then came up and hit him under the chin with her head, knocking him back. She bent and made like she was getting the keys to the unlocked cuffs. If this were real, the agents would have used plastic ties and they’d be out of luck.

Another anomaly he hoped their target would overlook.

Dane dragged Warren out of the way and while he was bent over him he said, “Keys?”

The agent slipped the keys from his pocket and Dane snatched them from his hand. The agent spoke under his breath.

“Take care of that car and keep the comm going.”

Dane winked at the man then jumped in the car as Shana scrambled to get in the passenger side.

“We’re off.” He spoke for Andrews’s benefit then slammed the car into gear and screeched the tires for effect as he took off.

“Is he following?” Dane asked Shana. She nodded as she slouched in the seat and watched from the side mirror.

“He’s keeping his distance. Looks like he’s talking on his cell phone.”

“In that case, we need to make sure we watch out for an ambush.”

“How about if we lose him before they have a chance for an ambush?”

“Where are you heading?” Andrews interrupted.

“It’ll be a surprise.” Dane smirked at Shana as he swerved into the parking lot of the Vineyard Haven Market once again. She laughed.

“The old standby.” She threw her door open the moment he stopped the car, leaving the keys in the ignition. He joined her and they ran toward the market doors, slipping inside as John Doe pulled into the lot.

Dane yanked her arm and dragged her into the fray of grocery shoppers when she stopped to look back.

“Is he in pursuit?”

“Not yet. He stopped when he saw the car parked. But he’ll be inside shortly. I’d bet money on it.”

“Then we need to get out of here. You up for a run home?”

“I’ll beat you there.”

They took off through the market and out the back then launched into a full run down the side streets back to the beach shack.

It wasn’t far, but it was farther than Dane should have run at a full sprint. Keeping his cool when he felt like doubling over as he slammed in through his back door was tougher than the rest of the morning’s challenges put together.

Shana had beat him there by ten yards. That hurt most of all.

“Where is everyone?” Shana was surprised to find the beach shack silent and empty. Only the old refrigerator buzzed with life.

“Andrews and Goodley were heading for the house where the President is staying.” He was panting and sweaty and he turned her on more than he usually did.

“Out of shape?” She let a smile escape as she turned on the kitchen faucet and filled a glass.

She handed it to him as he straightened from his bent posture. He didn’t drink it. Instead he poured it over his head.

“Thanks. I needed that.”

“Too hot from the run?”

“Too hot for you.” He went to the sink, refilled the glass and gulped it down.

“Maybe you ought to pour another one over your head then.” She took a kitchen towel and bent to wipe the water from the floor.

He came up behind her and lifted her dress so that when she stood, she ground her rear against him, hitting the hard, hot length of him exactly with the crack in her ass. She felt the singe of sensation through her thin panties and his pants.

“They’ll be back. We won’t know when. Sassy and—”

He took her by the shoulders and spun her around to face him.

He had that look. He held her and she was weakening, literally. Her muscles were like spaghetti. He moved to kiss her. She pressed her hands against him and moved away.

“What about professional distance?”

“Nothing is going on tonight. We did our duty today.” He reached out and held her again.

“If they come back—”

“We’ll be in our room.” He nibbled on her earlobe and then pulled her with him down the hall to their bedroom. Their bedroom. She was still getting used to that. “They know we’re an engaged couple, since they seem to know everything about us already. So why do I feel like a teenager sneaking off?”

He pulled her into the room and shut the door.

“Damn, Shana. I don’t want them to do that to us. This is our home.”

“It’s not about Andrews and Goodley.” She couldn’t believe she was going to lecture him about their responsibility and the importance of not being distracted on the job. The dangers of not being focused on the mission.

He swiped a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. But then he began unbuttoning his shirt.

“You know we need to be on 24/7 for this assignment. You know we can’t get distracted—”

“I’m getting out of these wet clothes. Am I allowed to change?”

“Don’t blame it on me. These are your rules, as I recall.”

He pulled down his pants.

“They’re not my rules. They’re the rules of survival. In situations where there’s imminent danger, no distractions are allowed.” He kicked his pants off. His cock was still standing, big and pulsing. He’d worn no underwear.

She shook her head, but she didn’t stop staring at him, the full length of him, from his intense eyes, his strong jaw shadowed with a half day’s growth, his strong lean torso and bulging arms, to the invitation of his pulsing hard cock. She felt herself getting wet and weak.

He was naked and she was dressed. In his mind, she was about to become naked.

“It’s not all about me being horny. It’s a strategic move.” He caressed her jaw. He knew she was a sucker for a soft touch accompanying some he-man words.

“They’ll be less suspicious if we act like honeymooners.”

“We’re not married. Stop pretending we are.”

Icy cold spikes sprung up, stabbing his chest at her words. He didn’t change his demeanor. He took a beat to calm the fear. It was probably fear making her say the words.

“Since when do you split hairs?” He came off sounding half joking when he felt the serious tension across his back as if the icy spikes impaled his heart and tore through him.

“We need to be concentrating on the mission. We can’t let . . . this distract us.” She waved a hand in the direction of his hard cock, making it less hard.

“You won’t believe this, but I think you’re right.” He meant the words. The question was, could he follow through? Could he put his pants back on and keep them on—without resentment rearing up? Not resentment at Shana, but resentment at the mission. He felt himself sliding.

But if he started resenting the mission, wanting her, them, more than the mission—by a million to one margin, not even a close call—then who was he? Dane Blaise had always been about seeking justice, fighting the bad guys, ridding the world of scum as best he could. If he didn’t do that, if he didn’t have that, if that wasn’t his life, then what was his life about?

Then who would he be?

He’d been right all those years to avoid this falling in love crap. He thought he’d learned his lesson with Elena, but that affair paled in comparison to what he experienced now with Shana. Love had him by the balls and he couldn’t let go now that he had it.

Why couldn’t he have both? Himself and Shana? Why couldn’t he be the man he was without losing a piece of himself by loving her? Is that how it was?

He knew the answer. And yet others managed. He was reminded of the Governor and his wife. Of David Young, the Director of the Scotland Yard Exchange in Boston and his wife. They were married and they were still tough sons of bitches, still managed their exhausting all-encompassing careers because what they did was part of who they were.

He had to do this. He had to make this work. He wanted Shana and he would have her and he would be able to perform in the morning, with crystal clarity, as if their lives depended on it.

Because they did. And he could handle the stakes. Even if the stakes were Shana’s life.

Crusty sounding, but firm, he finally spoke.

“You don’t fool me. You’re turned on. Excited as hell.” He pulled her up against him, slamming her chest to his with pleasant brute force. “We’ll be on in the morning, Shana, but tonight is for us.”

If she were an ice sculpture exposed to the heat of a thousand suns, she couldn’t have melted faster. Taking his face in her hands and raking her fingers back through his hair she pulled him in for a scalding kiss to show her exactly how far from icy she was.

Then he slid a hand from her behind around front, under her dress and slipping it inside her panties to prove his point. She was wet. He stared into her eyes, watching the pupils dilate. That turned him from rock hard to diamond cutter in a blink.

He pulled her dress up and off and shoved her panties down until they hit the floor and she was naked, touching him. Standing there, he took her in for a beat, that was as long as his impatient need would allow him. Then he pulled her down onto the bed with him.

“You might not believe this,” his whisper came out husky. “But I don’t give a shit about our reputation or Secret Service agents or even the President right now, God help me. I want you.” I love you. He should say the words out loud, but he was still getting used to allowing such vulnerabilities.

He cupped her behind and pulled her tighter to him, feeling the hot fuzzy center of her against him, her moisture seeping, making his head buzz and his entire body vibrate. His cock twitched, his heart thudded like an atomic bomb, and he clenched his teeth against the pounding need. Until she mewed and touched him where she knew it would undo him. She held his cock and glided her thumb over the smooth sensitive creamy tip. They lay close, skin sticking to skin.

He shuddered, but he didn’t let go of her. He wanted this to last. He pushed aside the sense that he’d need to make it count for a while. With his hand over hers he gripped and squeezed until he was dizzy.

“Let me,” she murmured and moved her head down on him. He moved his hand from hers and took a fistful of her hair, aiding her descent, urging forward his hips.

Her hot wet mouth engulfed him in a blinding rush. He nearly bit his tongue off to stop from crying out. He stilled his hips, but his cock twitched like mad as if were begging for more. Because it was.

She toyed with him, her tongue playing with the sensitive tip, licking and sucking up the seepage. The sensation of something building from deep inside took over and he let it take him, let her love him and eat him alive.

She slid him down her throat deep and held his balls as she sucked until he let go. All the passion, everything in him, all the good, the bad, the pain, the ecstasy came to the surface and poured into her. As it did as he felt her swallow he pulled her up to see her, to look into her eyes.

“Let me inside you now.”

Holding his pulsing cock, she slid it inside her and sat atop him, back arched, writhing and magnificent. With one hand he held her hip and the other he pressed to her mound, sliding one finger into her folds between them. Moving with her, he smiled as he found her marble-like clit and flicked. She cried out.

He pulled her to him, moving his finger relentlessly as she squirmed and bucked and tried not to scream. He clamped his other hand on her head and pulled her mouth to his to swallow her moans, to taste himself on her lips, to feel her breathe into his mouth, to call out his name when the violent orgasm shook her and didn’t let go. He held her pulsing clit in his fingers and pinched.

She bucked and screamed and clenched her hands, digging into his shoulders. He let her push away, heaving breaths, gulping air. He watched her glassy unfocused eyes come back to him. Then she collapsed onto his chest and buried her face in his neck, whispering into his ear all manner of promises and tenderness. He wrapped his arms around her tight and held on.

They stayed that way until their breathing settled into a rhythm. He knew if he stayed any longer they’d fall asleep. He knew he couldn’t let that happen.

Damn Agent Andrews and his mission. Damn the President for not canceling his trip. Damn his entire career as long as it kept him from loving Shana.

Damn him for slipping out from under her and getting out of bed.