Mendez jerked awake. It was dark out, and he fumbled for the burner phone to check the time. Only one a.m. He listened for any sounds, but there was nothing beyond a neighborhood dog and some traffic on the road.

Beside him, Kat lay curled with her back to him. His blood began the leisurely journey to the base of his spine as he contemplated the naked curve of her ass. He’d fucked her twice tonight—once in the shower and again in the bed before they’d fallen into an exhausted sleep—but he could do it again.

He lay on his back and stared up at the ceiling. After that encounter in the shower, he’d meant to walk away and get back to planning a mission. But she’d dropped to her knees and sucked his dick and he’d lost whatever convictions he’d had.

He didn’t let her finish him though. He’d swept her up and carried her to the bed where he’d hooked his arms behind her knees and opened her wide. She’d put her ankles on his shoulders and he’d ridden her until they’d both shuddered their releases.

Somehow, though he’d meant to leave her in the bed alone, he’d fallen asleep beside her. It was good they’d slept. They needed it before they went to work. It was always possible their location could be compromised, but logic told him that Yuri had gone to a lot of trouble for him. The man wouldn’t loan him a helicopter and a van full of weapons and then tip off the enemy to his location once he reached Moscow.

If Yuri had meant to give Mendez up to Turov, he’d have done it back in Novosibirsk. Before he’d sent Mendez into the night with a state-of-the-art helicopter.

No, for now they were safe, and that’s why sleep was so important. Food, sleep—and sex, it seemed. His dick began to harden and he sighed. He let his hand drift down, stroking himself idly and thinking that he was nearly fifty fucking years old. The kind of hard-ons he was getting for this woman belonged to a younger man. Yet they didn’t stop happening.

She stirred, turning to him and throwing a leg over his body. Right across his erection. It didn’t take her long to wake after that. One minute she was beside him and the next she’d climbed onto his body and lowered herself on his cock.

She sat above him, fingers curling into his pectoral muscles, her breath dragging in and releasing on a moan.

“You’re so wet,” he said.

“I was thinking about you. About how much I love your cock.”

“You were asleep,” he pointed out.

She shifted her hips and sparks shot along his shaft and down into his balls. “Then I was dreaming about you.”

He gripped her ass and let her ride him at her own pace. It didn’t take long for her movements to grow faster or for him to hold her hard and start thrusting up inside her body at a frantic pace. The pressure in his balls grew—and then she cried out and ground her pussy against him, jerking her hips as she came with a soft sob that only intensified when he stroked her clit with his thumb.

She hadn’t quite finished when his climax slammed into him, stealing his breath as he came hard within her. When it was over, when he could move again, he rolled to the side, taking her with him.

She kept her arms and legs wrapped around him. Her lips glided over his chest. Lazy, featherlight. He closed his eyes and thought he could stay like that forever.

Except he couldn’t. Tomorrow HOT would arrive and they’d go after Turov. She was right that they needed to wait. The timing would be tight, but their chances would be better if a team went in rather than two people.

Everything would move fast once they were in motion. But for tonight they were still—and she was in his arms again.

It felt more right than he cared to admit.

* * *

Morning did not bring good news. Kat woke alone around five, then dragged on her clothes and ran a comb through her hair before heading into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Johnny was on his phone, pacing, tearing at his hair as he stalked back and forth.

“What do you fucking mean the schedule changed?”

Kat went over and poured coffee into a cup, then turned to lean on the counter and watch him pace. He’d put on a new pair of tactical pants and a fresh T-shirt. She knew that because she could hear the dryer tumbling behind a door to her left. He must have retrieved his sodden pants from the shower.

Thinking of the shower made goose bumps chase down her spine. Delicious.

Yes, every second of last night had been delicious. From the moment he’d walked into the shower until the second she’d woken up and felt the ache between her thighs.

She shook herself. Concentrate.

Because whomever he was talking to was not making him happy right now. His team, no doubt. It seemed they were still delayed, and that was certainly not going to be a good thing for any of them.

“So he’s flying out today? That’s a definite?”

The hairs on Kat’s neck stood up. Changes of plan were never good.

“Copy. Keep me informed. Over and out.”

He dropped the phone on the table and swore. Alarm swept through her, leaving her heart beating faster than before.

“What’s happening?”

Johnny’s dark eyes snapped with fire. “Turov’s got a meeting in St. Petersburg. He’s flying out this afternoon.”

“But the summit… he’s supposed to go to the meeting of business leaders after the government officials meet, right? That’s tomorrow.”

“He’ll be back for it—but he’ll fly in and go straight to the Kremlin. By then it’ll be too late to stop whatever he’s got in motion. It has to be today.” Johnny raked a hand through his hair and swore some more.

She went to him and slid her hand along his cheek. She half expected him to push her away, but he didn’t. Her belly fluttered with a million butterflies as she touched him. Oh, Johnny. I love you so much.

She wanted the right—the opportunity—to touch him every day just like this. To sleep with him and wake with him and love him for the rest of her life. Throbbing pain scorched a path through her body, leaving her aching and bereft.

So much for getting out of this with her heart intact.

His eyes were hot. He put his hand over hers. She could tell that movement was torture for him. He ached too.

“Then we’ll get it done,” she said. “Somehow.”

“I’d tell you to call Ian, but apparently he’s on his way to capture me. For DeWitt.”

“You don’t actually believe that?”

He shrugged. “Ian is capable of anything. For the right price.”

“Ian serves many masters, but I think he always does what he believes is right in the end. He wouldn’t have warned you in the first place if he thought you were guilty.”

She pulled her phone from her back pocket and hit the button to dial Ian. After several rings, the phone went to voice. She didn’t leave a message.

Johnny didn’t look surprised when she slipped it into her pocket again.

“Well then. Guess we’re on our own.”

“Guess so,” he said.

God, it hurt to love him so much. To know this was ending. Because when they stepped out of this house and went to work, there would be no more Kat and Johnny. They’d be up against overwhelming odds. If they managed to succeed, his men would live. And if they didn’t? Maybe his team would save the men anyway. But she and Johnny would probably be dead.

She didn’t want him to die. She would do anything to prevent it. But if he insisted on doing this thing, she was doing it with him. Whatever the outcome.

“Hell, my men may already be dead. But I have to find out. Those boys trust me—”

His nostrils flared as he pulled in a breath. She could tell he was battling deep emotion. She didn’t think that was a normal occurrence for him. He was always so stony and in control. Always had been—except for when he was naked with her.

“You’ve lost men before. I know you have. You’ve been in this game too long not to.”

He nodded. “It’s part of the job. But I fucking hate it—and I’m not letting those men die if I can help it. This wasn’t their mission. And then there’s the bigger picture—what it would mean for the US and Russia if Turov gets away with assassinating world leaders and using my men as his scapegoat.”

“We don’t know that’s his plan.”

“Don’t we? What else would a man like Sergei Turov do?”

She slipped her hand to his chest, stepped into him. Maybe he would push her away. But he didn’t. He put a hand on her hip and threaded the other into her hair. Desire flared, but it was too late for that.

“I understand, Johnny. I’m with you.”

“I don’t want you to go with me. It’s too dangerous. Stay here and wait for HOT. They’ll get you out.”

She stiffened, her eyes searching his. “What? No way. I go where you go. Besides, how the hell will you get in all by yourself? You need me, whether you like it or not.”

He closed his eyes. Swore under his breath. Shook his head.

“I’m still fucking pissed at you, Kat. But this mission may be the end of both of us. And I don’t want you to die.”

“I know that. I’m still going.”