Page 25 of Mission Shift

There, she carefully removed her tactical belt and laid it beside her. Next, she drew a combat knife from her boot and, with a quick flick of her wrist, flung it into the ground. The blade sank upright into the dirt, quivering. Rolling up the sleeves of her black shirt—which had to be scorching in this heat—she bent down, unlaced her boots, and tugged them off one at a time. Her socks followed, which she neatly draped over the tops of her boots. She then rolled her pant legs up to her knees and walked back to the smooth strip of shoreline. Crouching at the water’sedge, she dipped the bucket in to fill it and dropped the bar of soap inside.

Without a glance in my direction, she walked over to where I had left my pile of clothes. She grabbed them, carried them back to the bucket, and unceremoniously dumped them in. I treaded water, watching in stunned silence as she began to clean them. She scrubbed with efficient, methodical movements, then wrung each piece forcefully.

I stayed in place, letting the gentle current push against me as I observed her. Of all the things I had expected from her, this wasn’t one of them.

“Seriously?” I called out. “I didn’t think you had a domestic side.”

She didn’t look up, just kept working. “One of us has to make sure you don’t smell like a dead animal,” she shot back.

“Come on,” I said, grinning as I floated closer to the shore. “You should jump in. Water’s perfect.”

She glanced up. “I don’t have time for fun and games. Obviously, someone has to babysit you.” She chuckled. “You know, one of us has to keep you safe.”

Her words stung more than I cared to admit, but I covered it with a laugh. “Suit yourself, but I think you’re just afraid of a little cold water.”

She went back to scrubbing, ignoring me like I wasn’t even there. For some reason, the sight of her, knee-deep in this ridiculous situation, washing my clothes without a second thought, made me see her in a way I hadn’t before.

I stayed where I was, watching her with a mix of fascination and disbelief as she worked to clean the fabric in the soapy water. She dunked the shirt into the bucket once more, pulling it up to inspect it, then scrubbed it again. The muscles in her arms flexed with each motion, and I couldn’t pull my eyes away. After a few minutes, she dumped the water, filled it again, andrepeated the process. When she was satisfied with her work, she wrung out my things one last time and laid them out on the grass next to hers to dry.

Having drifted farther away, I raised my voice and shouted to catch her attention. “You must be burning up in all that black.”

She turned her face me. One of her brows lifted slightly as her eyes narrowed, a cool indifference settling over her features. Her lips pressed into a line, as though she’d already judged me and found me lacking. Shaking her head, she stood, brushing her hands on her thighs, and started to walk away.

“Oh, come on!” I called after her. “Don’t tell me you’re all work and no play, insufferably cold and boring. Or is the problem you can’t swim? I guess they don’t teach that in the Russian military.” I chuckled, hoping to provoke her.

That made her pause. Her head tilted slightly, and her shoulders stiffened. I’d struck a nerve. Slowly, she turned back to me, her lips curving into a slow, dangerous smile—the kind that made my gut tighten.

She sauntered back down to the water’s edge, watching me as I swam closer. The glint in her eyes told me I wasn’t ready for what was coming next. There was a look on her face that screamed,You asked for this.Without a word, she tugged her shirt loose and untucked it, her fingers moving deliberately as she unfastened the buttons, one by one. I couldn’t look away, and I was damn sure that was exactly what she intended.

The tension between us ratcheted up.

When the shirt slipped from her shoulders and hit the ground, my confidence wavered. I swallowed hard, realizing I might be getting more than I’d bargained for.

Next, she began removing her pants, her fingers making quick work of the buttons. She shimmied them down her hips, stepping out of them with unhurried ease. Her tank top camenext, pulled up and over her head in a way that highlighted the sculpted muscles of her arms.

She was leaner than I’d expected, her frame more delicate than it had appeared under all that gear. She was graceful and fine-boned, like a dancer, but there was nothing fragile about her. No. She moved like someone who knew exactly how lethal she was—and how easily she could toy with me if she wanted to.

I should’ve looked away when she reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, but I didn’t. I couldn’t. The bra dropped to the ground, and she didn’t spare it a glance, keeping her focus on me. Her fair skin gleamed in the sunlight, and her breasts—two perfect handfuls and unapologetically bare—left me absolutely wrecked.

When she hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and slid them down those long legs of hers, I stopped breathing altogether. She rose to her full height, standing unabashedly naked in front of me, her head held high, her blue eyes daring me to look away. I didn’t.

All rational thought escaped me. My heart started pounding like a damn drum, and my throat became as dry as sand. She was perfect—every inch of her.

Daria must’ve noticed how enthralled I was, because her lips curled into a teasing grin. “What’s the matter, Boy Scout? Never seen a naked woman before?”

I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out.

Confidently, she traipsed into the water, her hips swaying sensually with every step, and I was helpless to do anything but watch.

“Careful,” she teased, her legs disappearing beneath the cool water as she approached me. “You’ll attract flies if you keep your mouth hanging open like that.”

Before I could fire back, she scooped up a handful of water and threw it right into my face, snapping me out of whatever spellshe’d cast over me. I sputtered, shaking the water from my hair, but she was already swimming away, her laughter ringing out.

The sound of her playful joy caught me completely off guard. It was warm and unguarded, something so light and full of life that I could never have imagined it belonging to the stoic, deadly woman I’d come to know. It was the kind of laugh that hit me hard because it was real. Genuine. For once, I was able to see that her walls weren’t impenetrable. I knew instinctively that this wasn’t a side of her she let just anyone see.

Daria dove under the water and came up several feet away from me. She floated on her back for a moment, her eyes closed and her face relaxed. Here, she was completely at ease, baring herself to my gaze. In this moment, she could have been any woman from back home, out having a good time skinny-dipping with her friends. This Daria was so different from the woman I’d observed over the last few days, the double agent living on the edge of danger.

A few minutes later, she flipped over and began to swim through the water with slow, steady strokes, gliding effortlessly.

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