Anchored again and in calmer seas, and still holding onto each other, Annica and Cole lay in a hammock stretched across the rear of the yacht. The rhythm of the sea swayed them gently together. They had turned up the radio all the way, and from inside the boat it broadcasted the staticky details of the mission’s latest developments.

“We’re arriving at the bird’s nest,” came Jackson’s crackly voice. “We’re high enough up to be safe from the rest of it now.” He had taken the garbage truck safely out of the facility and then met with Macy and Tucker. The “birds nest” was their own compound, where Mira kept watch. Originally, the garbage truck was to conceal and carry a laptop. Now it had much more important—and perhaps dangerous—cargo.

“Did they put him in the back?” Annica asked, her head resting on his chest, tucked just under his chin.

“Like where the garbage goes? No.”

“Why not? It’s a perfect place for him.”

“I guess they were worried someone might accidentally hit the button,” Tucker said.

“That’s perfect, too,” she said.

“No,” Cole murmured. “You know what’s perfect?”

“This?”

He ran his hand down her arm. “This right here.”

“You’re perf—”

Cole silenced her with a kiss.

“Okay,” Annica said, “I guess I like shutting up when you give me such a good reason.” She reached out from the hammock to an external mini fridge. “This is sorta perfect, though.” She brought out a bottle of champagne.

“Oh,” Cole said, sounding pleased. “Look at that. Moet?”

“I think it was supposed to be for everyone, but they’re not here.”

“I’m glad they’re not.”

The radio crackled again, sputtering out a few words in Ethan’s voice. And then, more clearly: “Team X with two en route.”

Annica seemed to let out a breath Cole hadn’t known she was holding. “I’m glad Ethan’s okay,” she said.

“Did you hear what he said? Two en route?”

“Kalani and her sister? Sounds like they’re okay, too.”

More talking on the radio. Jackson now telling Mira at the base, the “nest,” the kind of preparations that were called for when receiving a live suspect. The captain. He mentioned the words “chair” and “rope,” among others.

“Wonder what they’re going to do to him?” Annica said.

“Nothing illegal.”

“No torture?”

“I wish,” Cole said, chuckling. “But I guess I got him pretty good in the nose.”

“And he’ll probably get it someplace else where he’s going.”

The both stayed quiet for a minute, letting this last statement and its profound truth ring out fully.

And then Annica said, “Where are we going?”

“Not there.”

“But where?”

“Not Hilo, either,” Cole said. “Let’s not ever go back there.”

“The pole house, then? Should we anchor off the beach?”

Cole kissed her forehead. “Let’s just anchor here.”

“Okay.” Her hand had slipped under his shirt, playing up his chest. “For how long?”

“As long as you can stand it.”

She liked feeling the vibration of his voice through her body as she lay on top. “I can stand a lot of you,” she said.

She felt his face, the tip of his nose moving and smelling through her hair. And then his lips. She felt him kiss her there as the boat tilted, swinging back sharply. Cole’s body tensed up underneath her.

“Oh, shit,” he said.

Another wave.

She’d forgotten.

“Shit,” he said. “Hold on.”

She was already holding on. It was all she wanted to do, tsunami or no tsunami.

They fell off together, sliding off the side of the hammock and landing against the wall of the yacht as the deck tilted back even more steeply. And then leveling off, tilting down so that Annica rolled back over Cole, who caught her in his arms.

“That wasn’t so bad,” she said, staring down at his smiling face. The ocean rolled gently underneath them, rocking them from side to side. Cole copied the motions, rocking his hips into her. Annica moaned as his hardening cock came into contact with her clit, sparking her arousal all over again. The man was fucking insatiable, and she loved it. She grabbed the sides of his head, pulling his mouth toward her.

They’d survived. The bad guys had been rounded up—Captain and Tommy both being held by DARC Ops for interrogation in the coming days. Everyone was safe, back at the nest, and she and Cole were safe out here. Out in the middle of the ocean, in their own little world. Somewhere they were staying for a little longer. The rest of the mission could wait. They’d survived it so far, and they would survive whatever was coming next.

Right now, all that mattered was Cole’s lips and hands, brushing against her skin, and his body, rolling over hers and pressing her into the deck. They’d survived for this, and Annica was never letting go again. She was ready. She was safe. The future would sort itself out. DC, San Diego, or even staying here in Hawaii.

It didn’t matter.

She was home.

Thank you so much for reading Annica and Cole’s story. to be the first to know when the next DARC Ops books is published.