And all our long-maintained boundaries evaporated.
I tasted her tongue, coffee covered by a layer of mint toothpaste, and her response ignited something I’d been fighting for years. One of her legs hooked around mine, drawing mecloser. Her fingers tangled in my hair, and she made a soft sound that went straight through me.
Good god, this was Brie beneath me. My best friend. The woman I’d been fighting feelings for through college, through both her and my own relationships, through my year away. And right now, with the sun on our skin and her body pressed against mine, I felt the truth.
She wanted this as much as I did.
Chapter 17
Brie
Will’slips pressed against mine, and everything else disappeared—the mission, the beach, the team listening—gone in an instant. There was only the hunger of his mouth, the weight of his body above mine, the sudden rush of blood in my ears. My skin tingled everywhere he touched, nerve endings lighting up faster than I could track.
Someone spoke in my ear. Rav, maybe? The words didn’t register.
All that mattered was the tickle of Will’s stubble against my chin and the pressure of his thigh between my legs. I arched against him as my fingers found their way around his back, tracing along warm skin and taut muscle.
This was about our cover, right? I couldn’t remember, couldn’t think past the scent of coconut from his sunscreen and the insistent pulse between my thighs.
More words in my earpiece. Something about a target.
You should care about that.
But I didn’t.
My hands dropped lower—stop it, Brie—pulling him closer, and I heard myself whimper.What the hell?My leg latchedtighter, holding him against me, anchoring myself as if letting go meant losing the very oxygen I needed to survive. Each time he shifted against me, electricity sparked beneath my skin, shorting out any attempt at rational thought. The heat built low in my belly, and the ache deep inside me grew.
“Claire’s gone.” Rav pronounced the words so clearly… Had he said that more than once? “You can stop now.”
Will pulled back, only a fraction of an inch, so we were still breathing the same air.
Breathing? Was that what this was?
More like consuming.
Holy crap. When had Will learned to kiss like that?
“Nice work,” Scarlett said over the comms, completely unaware of the fact that the planet just flew off kilter. “Drew, you were saying something before the interruption?”
“Right,” Drew’s voice cut back in. “I’ll coordinate with Gideon—see if we can find an excuse for Brie to observe their security card provisioning process.”
I stared into Will’s eyes, trying to process what was going on. His lips were swollen, I couldn’t catch my breath, and he was still hovering above me.
“Our security documentation mentioned protocols for high-value clients,” Rav added from down the beach. “Rarely happens, but facility executives sometimes give VIP tours.”
“VIP?” Drew said. “You’re thinking of Scarlett?”
“Or Jayce.”
“I’ll ask Gideon about getting Scarlett on their visitor list for one of those tours.”
“Excellent,” Scarlett said. “Now, let’s wrap this up. Will, Brie, how are you finding the undercover aspect? Any complications maintaining the married-couple facade?”
It was… what?
It was opening a familiar door and stepping into an entirely unexpected room.
“It’s… manageable,” Will finally responded, his voice rougher than I’d ever heard it. The raw need in his eyes went straight to my core.