Page 67 of Shadow

His expression made her chuckle. She got it a lot from people who didn’t understand the games she played. But she’d always been drawn to games like D&D. It wasn’t until college that she actually embraced that side of her personality and joined a weekly gaming group. When college was over, she was immersed fully in the culture and went to conventions and did full cosplays, collected dice, and everything else that came with that community.

As she explored her sexuality, her costumes got more elaborate and sexual, and she started attending more adult conventions. Now she was on planning committees for several around the country.

“I’ll go wherever you are, baby. I can’t promise to play, but I’ll watch. Watching you have fun is a highlight for me.”

She grinned. “Fantastic. And if it doesn’t work for you, we occasionally pull out Cards Against Humanity.”

He laughed. “Now that one I’ve heard of. I think I even played it once.”

There was a knock at the door before Olivia could say anything else, and Ripley kissed the top of her head as he stood to answer it.

Olivia followed him in time to see him tuck his phone into his pocket and hear the man at the door say, “Mr. Mercer will be here in three hours. Everything is all set for tonight.”

Her eyes lit up.

“Our escort is Peter?”

Ripley turned and nodded. “Yep. I figured it was the least annoying way for you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. He broke the kiss a few minutes later and pushed her away. “Stop turning me on, woman. I have to save my energy for the club.”

She laughed and ran off to the bedroom to unpack her suitcase.

He stood in the doorway a few minutes later and watched her.

“I also arranged to have the cat brought over.”

Her shoulders sagged, and she paused folding t-shirts to smile at him. “Thank you. I was trying to be OK leaving her with Jack, but I much prefer having her here.”

He blew her a kiss and headed back to the living room to work on something on his laptop.

“You two sure have gotten yourselves into a pickle,” Peter teased when he picked them up three hours later.

“Something like that,” Ripley agreed. “It’s complicated.”

Peter glanced in the rear-view mirror and nodded. “I understand. Any idea how the details got attached to your real name?”

Ripley shook his head. “Not a clue. It was a name I used for exactly two ops. There might have been a couple of one-off assignments where I didn’t need deep cover, and I just pulled the name out of my ass to get what I needed, but I don’t think it’s going to be tied to any of those. Agents are digging. I’m sure we’ll have answers soon. I could use all the help I can get, so feel free to poke around.”

Peter nodded as they pulled into the parking lot for Exposure. “I have some thoughts, but we’re here now, so it’s up to you if we table it or talk shop here.”

Olivia wanted to hear Peter’s thoughts but didn’t want to interfere in the conversation.

Ripley waved a hand. “Let’s grab breakfast or something this week and we can talk about it then. After the weekend we’ve had, My girl and I could use some downtime.”

Inside, Olivia hugged Gage tight. He didn’t let go for a long time, and she feigned struggling to breathe. “You’re smothering me, man.”

He laughed and let her go. “Just getting a little extra squeeze in case you decide to abandon us again.”

She frowned. “I already apologized for that. I’m back. Promise. This is my third time here in two weeks. What more do you want, man?”

He winked. “If you really want to make it up for it, come meet a new friend of mine. I think you’ll like her.”

Olivia waggled her eyebrows, and Gage shook his head. “Not that kind of friend. She’s happily married.”

Olivia snorted. “Since when does that stop you? You’ve done the poly thing before haven’t you?”

Gage chuckled. “I have. But that’s not this. Just come on.”

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