Page 39 of His Forbidden Alliance

“Are you all right?” Zach asked.

I wanted to say yes. I tried to, but the word wouldn’t come. He closed the distance between us, and I fell into his arms like I’d been waiting for him to hold me. So much for being independent.

He kissed the side of my head like he’d done as I held my hand under the water. How was it possible I felt so safe with him? “Rafael, we’re going to take care of this. We’re going to find the fucker who planted that bomb and figure out if you have a spy in the casino.”

“You can’t be as confident as you sound.”

“I’m determined.”

I nodded, face still buried in his chest. “Me too.”

“You’re not a kid, no matter what any of them say.”

“I hope you don’t think so, considering what we did before all that.” I waved my hand toward the front yard.

Zach chuckled. “I found you very grown-up and very capable.”

I pulled back and smiled up at him until he spoke again.

“Who’s X?”

“You know I’m not going to tell you that.”

“Is that who called you the other night?”

“Yes, I’m sure you were listening to every word, and I’m sure you could deduce that easily enough.”

“True. Despite the fact that Ivanov is still on the loose, I’m actually really good at my job.”

“Do your superiors think so?”

He grimaced. “They think I’m a liability, but they can’t deny I get results.”

“My family thinks I’m always short on results.”

“Have you ever really tried to do what they asked before now?”

I thought for a moment. Had I? “No.”

“Then you have no idea how good you are.”

“Why are you being so fucking nice to me? Shouldn’t you hate me? Shouldn’t you want to put me in jail?”

“Yeah, I should.”

His tone had changed. He no longer sounded confident. Was he as unsure as I was? I looked up, and our eyes met. A jolt raced through me, all the way down to my toes. I didn’t like how easily he affected me, so I pushed away from him. I shouldn’t let myself want him as badly as I did.

I didn’t do complicated, and this was fucking complicated in every way. Remington was finally trusting me with an assignment. I shouldn’t be fucking a government agent who could betray me at any time. I had to stay wary. Taking pleasure from him was one thing, but softness? I shouldn’t let myself go there.

I walked into the kitchen and reached for the bottle of whiskey I’d left on the counter. Suddenly, Zach was there, pulling it out of my hand.

“What the fuck?”

“That’s not what you need.”

“If I want a drink, I’ll fucking have one whenever I want.”

“I’ve got something better.” He pressed me against the counter, and his hips connected with mine. When he thrust against me, I dropped my head back and tried to remember how to breathe.