It was easy to say they wouldn’t stop, and yet they had to at some point. But not before they frantically joined their bodies again. Though, to be technical about it, they never quite unjoined.

Cody was still hard, still deep inside her, when he rolled to the side and took her with him. She put a leg over his waist, giving him access as they lay face-to-face. It was incredibly intimate, though he tried not to think about that part. This was about fucking. About feeling good for the sake of feeling good.

He hadn’t forgiven her. He might never forgive her. But holy hell, he was going to enjoy her.

He flexed his body, driving his cock into her wet heat, and she gasped at the same time that he felt her entire body shudder around him.

“You like that?”

“You know I do.” Her arms were around his neck, her fingers stealing into his hair. He wanted to kiss her, but he also wanted to look at her. Wanted to watch her face as he made her come.

“I want to see your eyes,” he said.

She bit her lip. “You are seeing them.”

“No. Your eyes. Not these contacts.”

“I have to take them out at night.”

He didn’t know why that made him happy, but it did. Logically, he knew she was the same woman. She felt the same. Tasted the same. Sounded the same. And, yeah, mostly looked the same. But he loved her golden eyes, loved all that cascading blond hair. Though red was hot. He had to admit it was.

He thrust hard into her and she moaned, grasping him tight. He wanted to brand her. Wanted to make her his. At least for now, at least while this heat and need raged inside him like a fire.

A few days from now, he wouldn’t care. Then she could fuck Money and he wouldn’t even give a damn.

“Cody… yes, like that. Oh, yes…”

He slipped his hand between them, found her sweet spot. He wanted to lick that pussy so badly, but it would have to wait until later. Instead, he manipulated her with his fingers while driving deep into her heat, fucking her slowly and thoroughly for as long as he could.

Which wasn’t long. The pressure built in his balls, driving him to move harder and faster and more desperately. They rolled as one until she was on her back again, her legs wrapped high around his waist, her body opening to him even more. He took her mouth, devoured her as he fucked her like it was the last time he’d ever fuck anyone.

And hell, maybe it was. This job was dangerous. Not that he went downrange with the thought that he wasn’t coming back, but it was always a possibility. For all of them.

Except he couldn’t lose her again. Not yet. And not like he had before, when he’d thought she was dead. He had too much he wanted to do to her yet, too many things he wanted to explore. He didn’t know why he was compelled to claim her, but he simply was. It was a need that would burn itself out in a few days. Two weeks tops, he told himself.

Their bodies were in sync this time, rising to the top of the mountain together and then plunging off the peak and into the valley below. It was a helluva rush, coming inside her in a way he’d never come in another woman in his life. Bare skin to bare skin, his semen filling her.

This time they collapsed and lay together, breathing hard. He was sweating. She was too. The air wasn’t cool enough in the room, but he wouldn’t change what they’d just done so they could be more comfortable.

She turned her head to look at him, those green eyes both sad and content at the same time.

“Just so you know,” she said softly. “It’s still not enough.”

* * *

Getting naked with Cody wasn’t a good idea at all, and yet she’d do it again in a heartbeat. After they’d recovered from the second frantic session they’d had, they’d gotten out of bed, gotten dressed, and then she went to the common dining area ten minutes before he planned to arrive.

He’d kissed her and she’d melted into him, willing to get naked one more time if he wanted it.

But then her stomach growled, and he laughed as he pushed her away. “Food, Miranda Jane,” he said. “Then sex.”

“More sex,” she corrected.

“As much as you can handle,” he said, a twinkle in his eye as he opened the bedroom door.

She’d left him standing there, her pulse humming crazily as she walked away. She could feel his eyes on her, and she’d wanted to turn and go back to him for some insane reason.

But she didn’t. She nibbled her lip as she made her way through the compound. Yes, they’d had sex, and yes, he’d been a fantastic lover, making sure she felt as good as he did. But he’d been so angry with her earlier that she didn’t think that kind of anger went away in a few hours’ time. Not even for sex.

They were experiencing a détente, nothing more. She prayed it ended in peace, but she didn’t think it would.

Which is why you need to enjoy it while you can.

Miranda found the dining room, a rectangular room with three long tables and a small buffet line at one side. She went to the line, got her dinner—some sort of vegetable soup with goat meat and a huge hunk of local flatbread—and then headed toward where Lucky sat with her husband. The other woman’s eyebrows quirked as she approached. Lucky broke off a piece of bread and popped it into her mouth.

“Everything okay?” she asked brightly after Miranda sat down.

She tried not to wince as her bottom met the hard bench seat. She ached, but in a good way. In an oh-my-God-I-am-doing-this-again-as-soon-as-possible way. Yes, she was a little sore. And no, she wasn’t intending to stop. It was somewhat like being a virgin again, though not quite so bad.

“Everything’s fine. How about you?”

Lucky grinned as she shot a look at Kev. “Oh yes. Most definitely fine. Couldn’t be better.”

“Sorry I didn’t make it back outside to give you a chance at the shower.”

Lucky shrugged and then winked. “It’s okay. It worked out.” Her smile widened as she gazed at something over Miranda’s shoulder. “Well, well. Doesn’t Cowboy look relaxed?”

Miranda ate her soup and kept her mouth shut. No way was she falling for the bait. A few minutes later, a heavy form plopped down beside her on the bench. She didn’t have to look at him to know it was Cody. She could feel his presence like it was her own.

“Feeling better, Cowboy?” Lucky asked.

Cody stilled from whatever he was doing. Miranda didn’t know because she wasn’t going to look at him. “A shower will do wonders for a guy. Or maybe it was the nap I took after.”

“A nap. Sure, why not?”

Miranda turned to look at him—because she decided that deliberately avoiding him was more of a red flag than trying to make conversation—and her heart did that little hitch thing it always did.

“Is that your team name? Cowboy?”

He gave her a look filled with heat and infinite possibility. “Yep, that’s it.”

“You never told me that back in the desert,” she said, and his brows drew down as if she were in danger of imparting information the others might not know. “Oh, it’s okay.” She nodded at Lucky. “She guessed the truth.”

“Yep,” Lucky said, relishing what she was saying perhaps a little too much. “You were in such a bad mood when Jane showed up that Vic and I put two and two together.”

“I’m still in a bad mood,” he said, tearing off a piece of bread oh so casually. “But we have a job to do, and I’m not going to let it bother me. But Jane’s not planning on performing any death scenes again… are you, Jane?”

Miranda swallowed. “Not on purpose. Any death scenes this time will be real, I assure you.”

“Oh God, I hope not,” Lucky said, sounding horrified. “No death scenes from anyone. That’s an order.”

Kev laughed at his wife as he put an arm around her. “You aren’t in a position to give orders, babe.”

She put a hand on his cheek and smiled at him. “I could be… later tonight.”

Envy blossomed in Miranda’s chest. It was obvious these two were in love. Incredible, deep, soul-mate love. She wanted to know what that was like, and yet she didn’t think she ever would.

She had a terrible penchant for picking the wrong man, apparently. Mark. A couple of lovers who hadn’t lasted. Cody, a man who no doubt hated her deep down but had no problem setting that issue aside so he could gratify urges he probably wished he didn’t have.

She had no illusions about what was going on between them. It was sex, pure and simple. Maybe she was crazy for indulging, but if life had taught her anything it was to seize the day and take whatever happiness she could find for however long it lasted.

Because, in her experience, it never lasted long. Something always came along and ripped it away, whether it was life or a bomb or just the fading of illusions.

Ian Black entered the room and headed for their table. When he sat down next to her, she didn’t shrink from his gaze. Cody might have made a noise beside her, but she didn’t look at him.

“You’re still missing five of your operators,” he said as he flicked a hard gaze over them all.

“We don’t have control of the flight schedules,” Cody drawled.

“No, but I’m getting reports that Conti might move location sooner than expected.”

“Is he going with Okonjo?” Miranda asked. Mendez had said that the Kenyan authorities issued a warrant for Conti’s arrest, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t found a way around it. God knew the man was good at greasing the right palms. It’s how he’d stayed a step ahead of all the traps that had been set for him over the years.

“No,” Black said. “But there’s a ship in the harbor—a ship that holds a cargo no one is talking about. And it’s scheduled to sail in three days. My sources say Conti plans to be on it.”

“They’ll be here soon,” Lucky said.

“Even if they aren’t,” Cody cut in, “we’ve got this. Infiltrating a ship is what we do. It’s what we’re trained for.”

“You’re going to have to plan for two infiltrations,” Ian replied. “One at the palace and one at the ship. Hopefully we’ll know where he is by go time, but if not, you’ll be splitting up. Still think you don’t need those extra bodies? Not to mention the best sniper I’ve ever known… and her husband,” he added, though Miranda would have said that part was added reluctantly.

And then she processed what she’d just heard. Victoria was a sniper, and apparently a damned good one. Whoa. She wasn’t a bad marksman herself, but snipers were a different breed. The patience required—and the distance skills—were incredible.

She frowned as she thought about what else Black had said. Two missions. Two infiltrations. Two possible locations for Conti. Of course, because nothing about Victor Conti had ever been easy.

“I thought you were some sort of badass know-it-all,” Kev drawled in a heavy Southern accent that reminded her of home. “You’re supposed to have concrete intel as to which location we’ll find the bastard.”

The other SEALs had stopped talking and were listening to the conversation. The guys from Alpha Squad were as well.

Ian Black sighed. “As usual, you ungrateful motherfuckers want the world. I’m giving you the best I got. Jorwani is not my primary territory, and I’ve got fewer sources here than elsewhere. We’re working on it, but good sources are hard to come by—sources I can trust, that is.”

“Conti will go to the ship,” Miranda said, and every eye in the place turned to look at her. But she knew the man and she knew what she was talking about. “He’s not the sort of man to stay under another’s thumb, especially a dictator like Okonjo. He’s got his own people, his own empire. He’ll go because there’s something he’s moving on that ship. Weapons. Contraband. Women.”

“Jesus Christ,” one of the men muttered.

She felt the sting of that comment, but she wasn’t going to back down. “You don’t have to believe me,” she said coolly. “I only spent about six months learning the man’s life and turning myself into the sort of woman he’d deal with.”

“That’s not what he meant,” Cody murmured.

“I believe you,” the same man said. A dark-haired man with a slight accent. Who was he again? Oh yes, Matt was his name. Matt Girard. She didn’t recall his team name. “Wasn’t suggesting I didn’t. Just fucking disgusted at the idea he’s trafficking women.”

Miranda drew in a deep breath. She wasn’t used to having a team, as she’d told Cody before. She was used to fighting and scrapping for every bit of ground she gained.

“My mistake.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. My fault for not being clearer.” He stood up at the same time the man she’d heard the others call Viking did. “Looks like we’d better get busy planning two missions, brother,” Matt said to Viking.

The other man nodded. “Roger that. Let’s get that motherfucker and put a stop to his operations.”