“I just want to know what’s going on, buddy, okay?” He tried and failed to reach for a measured tone.

“Right you are. Touchy lot, you Yanks. Okay, so all I’ve heard is that the good old US of A is actually waging a covert war against Russia. Literally everyone from any country in the know”—he meant in the espionage business—“says all the chatter points to the CIA.”

“Shit.” David couldn’t get his head around that. It was so…uncharacteristic. No one used their intelligence agencies to take down a country.

“Well, shit, or maybe bullshit.”

“What do you mean?” David felt a glimmer of hope.

“Everyone had heard the same thing, but no one could tell me who the intel came from with any degree of confidence. Even the hot Russian chick. And I really tried to persuade her to tell. Chatter, nothing firm.”

“So…smoke and mirrors?”

“Mate. I know you think it’s good that it might not be true. And it is. But that makes it exponentially worse for you and your girl. If this is a war of misinformation, you two are on the front lines. Not to mention really easy targets.

David paused. He was right. If his country was really on the warpath, and frankly, most Americans would be totally behind unseating Putin and restoring glasnost to Russia, Molly and David needed to leave. And if this was all smoke and mirrors, and someone was setting the US up to take the fall for the assassination and the bombing, then they needed to get the fuck out of dodge too. “Bottom line is we’re leaving.”

Mal paused. “That’s a good idea. I’ve been reassigned, and I told Baston about you and Molly. Expect a phone call.”

Baston was the owner and operator of Barracks Security. The man who had given David his second chance. That settled it. He couldn’t go against Baston’s wishes, and he wasn’t going to leave Molly. So they were out of here.

Mal must have taken his silence for anger because he continued, “Don’t look at me like that”—David looked at his phone and rolled his eyes—“I can’t be your babysitter if I’m not in the same country as you.”

“Babysitter, my ass.” David clenched his fist.

“Enabler maybe. Anyway, got to run. Stay safe, brother.”

“You too.” The line went dead before he’d finished the last word.

Tosser. David half-smiled at himself already using Mal’s favorite epithet.

He let himself back in the room and explained to Molly that they had to leave for the airport. She seemed to have gone from shaking to icy-cold determination in the time he was out on the balcony.

“Not even remotely acceptable,” she said, even though ten minutes ago she’d been terrified. “I have a speech to give, and I’m not missing it. It’s important to me, and important that the world hears what happened last year and the implications of artifact trafficking.” She shoved her chin up in an adorable dare-to-tell-me-I’m-wrong way.

He hesitated. He wanted to exert his authority. Tell her there was no way they could make her speech, that they had to leave. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t deny her this…catharsis. Not least because he had been a part of the trafficking last year. “What time is the speech?”

“At five p.m. There are no questions, it should be just an hour.” She said, getting out of bed, still naked, and completely, blissfully unembarrassed. She was like walking, fucking, sex. He felt a twitch again. She turned to her suitcase and bent over to extract some items. No way could he ignore that.

In a second he was behind her, cupping her breast and lightly pinching her nipple. Her moan was like nutrition feeding his need for her.

She stood upright, her body flush against his as he reached around and cupped the other breast too. A perfect fucking handful. How was he going to walk away from her?

She wriggled against him, and his dick hardened between her ass cheeks. He pinched her nipples harder, reveling in the feel beneath his fingers and the groan that vibrated through her. He nudged her legs apart and, with a hand between her shoulders, he pushed her forward until she was braced against the wall with both arms outstretched and legs open to him.

He stepped back just to get a visual to remember. She was fucking glorious. Dropping to one knee, eye level with her pussy, he drew his finger lightly over her ass, all the way to her clitoris, just loving the sight and feel of her.

She wriggled, taking a tiny step back so his mouth was close to her. He blew on her exposed hot flesh, and she gasped. Then he flicked his tongue lightly on her clit while slowly sliding his fingers inside her. He stroked her with his tongue in time with his stroking fingers inside her until she gasped and spasmed, allowing him to feel and taste her orgasm. She was on fire. She came so easily for him, it was like an instant aphrodisiac.

He stood, and she immediately reached behind her for his dick, making him step closer to her. She stroked it once, and twice before directing it to her opening. He paused just long enough to fumble a condom, before pushing her forward again and pushing into her with one stroke.

“I love feeling you inside me,” she said, in a part-groan. “Take me. Really take me.”

He held on to her hips and pulled her back onto his dick. He felt like he was ramming her into the wall, but she moaned, “yes, yes.” As each stroke took her further.

“Wait,” she said suddenly.

He paused mid-stroke and felt his dick pulse in objection. “Am I hurting you?” He started to withdraw, but she shuffled back.

“Don’t you dare. Stay right where you are,” she ordered.

“Yes ma’am,” was all he could say in reply.

She inexplicably rummaged in her suitcase, unzipping a pocket. She straightened a little and immediately he felt a vibration around his dick.

A vibrator? If it was even possible, he got harder. He could feel the vibration in his balls as he continued to fuck her. She held the toy half against her clit and half at her vagina. He felt every vibration and every twitch her body made in response.

He was going to last about three minutes…if that.

Her breath started coming in pants as he thrust into her, hard and deep. She came with an audible breath and a shudder. He closed his eyes and emptied himself into her, the spasm of her own orgasm sucking every last bit of him into her.

As they stood there for a minute, he wondered how he was going to live the rest of his life knowing that Molly was in the world without him. Could he cope with the thought that she might be giving herself to someone else like this? Could he say goodbye? He was even reluctant to disengage from her, but he did, slowly, holding the condom in place.

She turned and laid her head on his chest and he stroked her hair. “You’re really quite something, you know?”

She breathed a laugh against his chest. “Men usually say that before storming out of a date or dumping me,” she said.

He squeezed her. “I don’t believe either of those things have ever happened.” He held her away from him before she could reply, because he really didn’t want to get into the previous boyfriend territory. That way madness lay. “Anyway, shower time.” He spun her and slapped her lightly on the ass.

She jumped toward the bathroom and looked back, raising an eyebrow at him as she disappeared into the shower.

He wished he’d gone to see her last year. Maybe he could have gotten her out of his system back then? He shook his head. No way. Out of everyone in the whole word, Molly would be the one who’d have totally messed with his system and broken him for anyone else.

Except he was already broken. Broken and not easily fixed.

CHAPTER FOUR

She was already clean by the time he joined her in the shower. He opened the glass door and stepped inside.

“How dirty are you?” he asked picking up the soap and lathering it.