Page 61 of Close Protection

But Ivy Monroe—brilliant, fearless, and seeing through every defense Julia had constructed—had rewritten those parameters with her very existence.

Julia moved forward, closing the remaining distance between them with thesame controlled purpose she brought to everything. Her hand came up of its own accord, fingers tracing the line of Ivy's jaw with unexpected gentleness.

"Just for tonight," she whispered, the words both surrender and condition.

And then she was kissing Ivy, the contact tentative at first, then with growing certainty. The kiss was nothing like their first night together. This was recognition, acknowledgment, choice.

She felt Ivy's hands find her waist, pulling her closer as the kiss deepened. She tasted of champagne and surrender. The careful walls Julia had maintained crumbled under the simple truth of connection she could no longer deny.

Outside, Phoenix Ridge continued its nighttime symphony, unaware that in a converted firehouse apartment, something was shifting—a new alliance forming that would forever change the battle being waged within its boundaries.

And across the city, Vincent Knox's empire continued to crumble, unraveling strand by strand as his hunters became the hunted.

Julia felt the kiss deepen, her carefulcontrol finally surrendering to something more primal. Her hands moved to Ivy's waist, drawing her closer until their bodies pressed together, the contact sending electricity arcing through her system. When they finally broke apart, both breathless, Julia was aware of a shift inside herself—all professional distance burned away by something far more powerful.

"We shouldn't," she whispered, even as her fingers threaded through Ivy's honey-blonde hair, freeing it from its practical ponytail.

"You keep saying that," Ivy replied, her hands sliding beneath Julia's shirt to find skin. "But you don't mean it anymore."

A smile—unfamiliar on her own face—rose unbidden. "Maybe I don't."

They moved toward the bedroom without conscious decision, Julia's awareness narrowing to this single focus, this connection she could no longer deny.

She paused at the threshold, suddenly serious as reality reasserted itself. "If we do this again, everything changes. You know that."

"Everything already has," Ivy countered,her fingers tracing the sharp line of Julia's jaw. "The only thing that hasn't changed is your insistence on denying it."

The words cut through Julia's last defenses with gentle precision. She felt something shift inside her chest—acceptance replacing resistance, truth displacing retreat.

"I'm not good at this," she admitted, the confession torn from somewhere deep inside. "Wanting something I can't control. Someone who makes me…vulnerable."

The word hung between them, weighted with meaning. Vulnerability wasn't just emotional exposure; it was tactical disadvantage. Vulnerability got officers killed. It got witnesses killed.

"Vulnerability isn't weakness," Ivy said softly. "Not when it's shared."

Instead of answering, Julia drew her into the bedroom to the rumpled covers. When their lips met again, she allowed herself to release the discipline and control she'd maintained since academy training.

She stood perfectly still as Ivy's fingers found the buttons of her shirt, working methodically down the line. Trust replaced the vigilance that never fully left Julia'sconsciousness, a surrender more profound than physical intimacy. When the fabric parted, revealing the scar along her ribs, she felt Ivy's questioning gaze.

"Kazakhstan," Julia explained briefly. "Four years ago."

She caught her breath as Ivy leaned forward, pressing her lips to the mark in a gesture of acceptance that touched something beyond physical desire. Then Julia was moving, stripping them both of their clothes.

"I tried to forget," she murmured against Ivy's collarbone. "How you felt. How you tasted. I told myself it was just one night."

"And now?" Ivy asked, her fingers tracing the sharp angle of Julia's shoulder blade.

Julia looked up, something shifting in her chest as moonlight silvered Ivy's features. "Now I know better."

The admission felt monumental. They came together with fresh awareness, Julia's body remembering what her mind had tried to forget, finding rhythms that echoed through memory and present moment alike.

Julia's usual control transmuted into focus, attention shifting to reading Ivy's body like a map, finding her sensitive points.When her fingers traced lower, Ivy's breath caught, back arching in anticipation.

"Please," Ivy whispered, and Julia felt a surge of something beyond desire: tenderness, protection, connection.

Julia’s touch grew more insistent, light brushes giving way to more pressure as she found Ivy’s clitoris and massaged tight circles around the nub. She watched as Ivy writhed beneath her, moaning as she moved. Julia dropped her hand lower and teased Ivy’s folds, her fingers slick with wetness.

“Ready for me?” Julia teased.deep inside her, then another finger and a third. She began to thrust her fingers rhythmically while massaging Ivy’s clitoris with her other hand. Ivy bit her lip and grabbed her breast, pulling on her taut nipples as she wriggled under Julia.

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