7

  Tabatha

  I kissed Gabe last night. For a mission.

  Liar.

  Okay whatever. Either way, I’d kissed him. And that had been single-handedly the biggest mistake of my career. Maybe of my life. He’d looked so mugged-off at the end of the night. I was used to Gabe’s scowling, but he’d been well ticked-off and snappish.

  It wasn’t exactly my fault I’d had to kiss him.

  You keep telling yourself that.

  But the real brain spinner was that for a moment last night, I could have sworn he kissed me back. But given the death glare he’d been shooting at me when we wrapped things up, I must have been wrong about that.

  Thanks to the sleepless night, I was walking around the Rogues campus in a hazy fog. I hadn’t bothered to head back to my place in Mayfair but instead just crashed in my training bungalow.

  Last night had gone completely to hell in a handbasket. It wasn’t even worth wasting my birthday on.

  Except for that birthday kiss.

  Heat immediately bloomed in my core, making me squeeze my thighs together. Gabe had always had that vibe like he knew his way around a woman’s body. Like once he started on you, you would be caught up in a fiery maelstrom of desire until he released you.

  Dramatic much? Yes.

  Was it true? Also, yes.

  I’d barely been able to sleep. Every dream featured him sinking his hands into my hair, angling my head, and plundering my mouth. Every dream included him wrapping his hands possessively around my neck as if claiming me.

  God help me, I needed to get a grip.

  I’d slept like shit, thanks to him. Okay fine. Thanks to the failed mission and Gabe. Sure, lots of missions were failures. We couldn't pick up the asset, or maybe they didn’t show, or, God forbid, one of us got injured or we lost a member of the team.

  But you accidentally kissed your boss?

  I was an idiot.

  Saff came jogging around the corner and stopped short when she saw me. “There you are. I was worried I wouldn’t get to say goodbye.”

  “Hey, shouldn’t you be in bed with your gorgeous husband?” I asked, bumping her hip.

  “I love that word in reference to Lock.” Her joy was palpable. “How you doing? Upset about having to spend your birthday working? I know it sucks, but as soon as we’re back, you and I are going to do this right. Don't be bummed, please."

  "I'm not bummed. I swear. I’m just knackered. I didn’t sleep well. I got the wake-up call to end all wake-up calls from Kira a couple days ago. She was miffed that her card didn’t work."

  Saff winced and squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh, Jesus.”

  “I tried calling her, but she ghosted me, then she called me this morning with an attitude."

  She groaned. “That sucks.”

  “It’s fine. As long as I can avoid Gabe this morning, all will be good. I don’t think I could take a Kira-Gabe double hit.” Also, I couldn’t look at him after that kiss.

  "I'm sorry. He has been extra grumpy lately. I don't know what's wrong with him. Sometimes I think it's work, but he won't talk to me. I worry he feels weird about the wedding, like he's lost me, but I know he's happy I'm happy. What did he say this time?"

  There had been lots of times when Gabe acted like a massive wanker. But over the last year or so, ever since Saff and Lock moved in together, he had been worse and worse to live with. If he missed his sister, he just needed to say he missed his sister. Instead, he took it out on all of us.

  He had looked a little shell-shocked at the wedding. Like he wanted to bolt.

  “When I get back, we’re doing drinks,” Saff promised. “Then we’ll throw darts and picture my brother's head. Remember when we used to do that? That was fun."

  “It was, and you’re on. Now if I know you, you’re already packed, but you desperately want to double-check everything.”

  Saff bit her bottom lip. “It never hurts to be prepared.”

  Giggling, I hugged her tight. “I’ll miss you. Send photos.”

  When she was gone, I headed down the hall past Gabe's office, trying to both walk quickly and tiptoe to the elevators that led to the training floor.

  I sucked in a deep breath. His door was closed, and he likely wouldn’t even notice that I was passing by. So why were my palms sweating?

  Oh fuck, don't be a ball sack, Smith.

  I marched briskly past his door, and he called out to me the moment I passed by the security camera. "Monarch!"

  Fuck all.

  I sighed and then did an about face and opened his door. "Yes, Spy, is there a problem?"

  His jaw ticked. "No, there is no problem."

  "Okay, then in that case, I’ve got new recruits to torture, and I need to get ready."

  “Aren’t you always ready?”

  He's trying to pick a fight. Don't respond.

  See, that was the problem every time I was anywhere near Gabe. Didn't matter if it was an actual goddamned mission or if we were sitting at the lunch tables. My smartass mouth couldn't help but spout off. There was a big giant proverbial red button glued to that man somewhere in my mind that said, 'Go for it. Poke the bear. See what happens next.' I had some sick, sadistic compulsion to just go to that well every damn time with him. Some kind of silent code words I would say to him.

  Yeah well, what was the silent code for, 'I think you are a sexy beast’?

  But I couldn't do that today. Not after that hot-as-the-sun kiss.

  So I had to drop my best Mr. and Mrs. Smith style line.

  “I’m always ready to kick arse, but I do take my job seriously. Every recruit is different. I need to know how far I can push them. What buttons to push to make them lose it. I don’t just turn up and let them fight. I need to know how to dig into their emotions.”

  “I’m shocked you put in so much effort and thought.”

  I ground my teeth. “I’m sure you wouldn’t understand.” Why was he like this? I questioned everything about wanting him when he was like this.

  He narrowed his eyes. "Oh, original. You're calling me a robot when you’re generally over-emotional and undisciplined."

  I smiled sweetly at him. “If you weren't my Ops Command, I would set your car on fire. I mean, I want to make it original, you know. Something like Waiting to Exhale.”

  He lifted a brow. "Who is waiting to exhale?"

  I rolled my eyes. "Not a who. A what. A movie, specifically, starring Angela Bassett. Very nineties. Totally worth the watch."

  "Whatever. I need to speak to you about last night."

  My stomach went into freefall, but I kept my face impassive. I would not let him see me sweat. I put up a hand. "Sorry, Gabe. Is this urgent? Related to a current mission? If not, I need to get to training."

  He crossed his arms and leaned on his desk, forcing his top two buttonholes even farther apart on his shirt and putting those divine pecks of his within sight. Why was this man so hot with a shirt still on his body? Demethi.

  "Yes, it is work related, and you know it."

  "Sorry, boss, you need to wait until later to talk to me about whatever you’ve got. Didn’t you just say you questioned my work ethic? Right now, I am on duty. And I don't have to see your ugly mug until twelve noon."

  He chuffed out a laugh. "My ugly mug? You are such a goddamn pain in my arse. What the fuck was that in the wardrobe?"

  I swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  "Ugh, real fucking rich, Smith."

  I shrugged. "I can't hear arseholes who are trying to distract me from my job. You are going to have to talk to my HR representative."

  "You're a fucking spy. You don't have an HR representative."

  "Really? Because the things I'm asked to do sometimes really do require some HR assistance."

  "Shut it."

  He was in a mood today. "No, I won't. Matter of fact, when Saff becomes Ops Command, we're going to have a whole discussion about the harassment that goes on."

  Abruptly, he pushed away from his desk, stalking me. I tried to open the door, but I’d already shifted too far away. Instead, I backed into a wall as he approached quickly.

  He towered over me, and I wasn't short. I was five foot five. Perfectly average. He was just a giant with dark moss-green eyes and thick dark hair that usually fell over his brow whenever he ran his hands through it.

  "Answer me. What the fuck was that?"

  I just stood there, silently staring up at him. What could I say? That I’d been acting on instinct?

  "Answer the question, Tabatha. What the fuck was that on the mission last night?"

  "I'm not sure what you mean. The part where we found the sex cult, or when you danced badly and stepped on my feet?"

  "I'm not playing a game with you. It shouldn't have happened."

  "You're going to have to be more clear." I was desperate, panic seized me and pounded inside my chest cavity.

  There was this sound that emanated from somewhere in the region of his chest. It sounded like a half purr-half growl, and I wasn't sure it was entirely bad, but God, I could feel the vibration. And I wasn't even touching him. He wasn't touching me either, which, if you asked my damn panties, was a travesty.

  "The kiss, Tabatha."

  I tilted my chin up. "Considering we have a no sparring outside of training rule, I don't think you want any of this smoke."

  A wicked grin flashed over his full lips. And oh God, soaked panties. Gabe Webb grinning like that should be a hundred percent outlawed. But there he was, grinning at me like the Cheshire Cat who wanted to lick my cream.

  Yes, please.

  No. No. No licking creams.

  Do not think of licks from the boss.

  Do not think of licking the boss.

  Just because the man was fine did not mean I needed to go there. Licking was off the table.

  Taking a deep cleansing breath, I took the chance to look back at his moss-green eyes. "What exactly do you mean, Gabe? I saved our arses. You’re the one who seemed to like it." And there it was. Gauntlet thrown.

  His nostrils flared. "You kissed me on a mission."

  "We were about to be discovered, or did you miss that part? Because believe me, if I’d had a choice, I really would rather not," I lied smoothly.

  "Here's the thing, Monarch. I kept going through everything in my mind, and there are a million ways to conceal your face. You know all of them. Hell, you trained half the female agents. You could have planted your face in my neck. Instead, you fully fucking kissed me."

  "In case you missed the memo, these people were in a sex cult, right?"

  "We didn't know the score until after with Amelia and her team."

  "But you saw what was going on in that room with the bed. They weren't going to buy a little kissing-each-other's-necks situation, okay? And let's not forget something else," I said as I poked and jabbed him in the chest several times for emphasis.

  The man did not move, and my fingers sort of hurt from the jab. But whatever.

  "You kissed me back, arsehole."

  "Arsehole? You kissed me first."

  There came that purr-growl sound again. And this time, he was pressing his chest into me. "Really, Gabe? Attempting to intimidate a subordinate officer? Honestly, tsk-tsk, young man. You should know better."

  "It’s not going to happen again, Tabatha. There's a whole list of things that will happen if it does, and you're not ready for any of them."

  Oh yeah? What kind of things? I bet they are yummy things.

  "Trust me, I don't want it to happen again. And let the record show that right now, you are the one touching me, sir."

  "Fuck. Why are you such a goddamn pain in the arse?"

  "Honestly, pushing your buttons is a fucking joy. If you could just pay me to do this all day I'd be very happy and fill out the employee survey as such the next time it comes around."

  "Why the fuck are you like this? Why?”

  "Like what?"

  "Fuck this," he murmured and then slammed his lips to mine, again.

  I froze.

  The boulder that hit me was all heat and electricity. At first it was just his lips. But God, what he could do with his lips and his tongue. Holy fucking Christ. And then someone whimpered. God, that whimper sounded so pathetic and needy.

  Hey you daft cow, that's you. You stupid twit, you're moaning. Stop moaning. Matter of fact, rip your lips away. Say stop. Make this go away.

  I could have done all of those things. I just didn't. Instead, I turned further into the kiss. And then I made that sound again.

  This time, he growled outright, his hand sliding over my arse as he pulled me up over the very large, very thick erection I’d patted down at the wedding. Mother of God, this was too good to be true. I would be shocked if he were working with anything less than ten inches.

  Fuck a duck. Mka.

  I should have screamed.

  I should have punched him in the face.

  Nope. Instead, I just melted into a puddle of hormones, and God help me, I wanted it to never end. Wanted him to take me right up against the wall and make me forget everything else around us.

  He growled again as he shoved a hand into my hair, grasping with just enough intensity to send a prickle of adrenaline down my spine. His taste was intoxicating, and I felt like I had stepped over the edge of control and into madness as our kiss deepened further with every passing second.

  Then suddenly, a loud thumping on the door sounded, and we jumped apart.

  Through labored breaths, Gabe muttered the words neither one of us wanted to hear. "We should never have done this."

  8

  Gabe

  I may or may not have royally cocked that up.

  What the fuck were you thinking?

  I hadn’t been thinking.

  I just happened to be looking at the security cameras at the same time she walked by, and Gennifer's words had been playing in my head.

  She thought we had a mole. Which meant she was coming for my team. And I needed to make sure they were all covered.

  If you think she’s full of shit, why cover your team?

  Because I knew Gennifer Goode. Looking good to the Home Secretary was all she cared about. Her star was on the rise, and I had no doubt she’d be willing to burn my team to make it happen.

  I could almost hear my sister in my head, telling me not to do what I always did. Try to control the situation.

  But I was a creature of habit. Besides, I couldn’t tell the team. I trusted them, but every one of them except for Saff had a liability. King’s was his family. Saint’s was his father. Rook was clean, but his fiancée, Nissa, and her sister were wild cards. And then there was Tabatha. The idea of her betraying me, betraying us, betraying Saffron was too much.

  She would never. But she had a lot of liabilities that could be exploited.

  I usually preferred agents with no ties, but she’d been special.

  You mean she’s always been under your skin.

  I’d fucked up just now. I’d only meant to talk to her. Now the scent of her was in my nostrils, and I felt like it was crawling on my goddamned skin.

  Get your shit under control, mate.

  Ever since she kissed me in that closet, it was like my brain had bloody short-circuited. That was the last shit I needed to happen right now. There were more important things to think about.

  Things that mattered to the safety and integrity of this team. If Gennifer Goode was coming for her, I needed to cover her arse.

  Unless she’s playing you.

  No. Tabatha might have been the most infuriating woman I knew, but she was no traitor. That much I knew in my gut. In my soul.

  I needed to get this right if I was going to protect her.

  You mean protect Rogues, right?

  Yes, protect Rogues.

  I needed to focus. But instead of staying focused, I was thinking about how close I came to shagging Tabatha in this office and the taste of her kisses.

  I had known that one taste would be the end of me. Because like a moth to a flame, I’d fallen into that fire again. I was an addict after one bloody hit.

  Who knew there would be this underlying sweetness and a hint of spice to my butterfly? I just—

  Fuck me.

  My butterfly. I was so very screwed.

  I forced myself to take a deep breath.

  You're losing it after just one kiss, Gabriel. Okay fine, two kisses.

  I leaned forward and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. I could bloody do this. I had to. I certainly wasn't going near her again. It couldn't happen again. Wouldn't happen. I had bloody self-control. I was known for it.

  Besides, that shit wasn't real. It was for a mission anyway.

  Oh, sure. Keep telling yourself that, mate. What about the kiss in your office?

  The moment I closed my eyes, I could practically feel Tabatha's lips sliding over mine. The long moan she made at the back of her throat. The little whimper that drove me to the brink.

  When I backed her up against the wall and delved my tongue into that sweet sinful mouth, the rise of adrenaline through my blood and up my spine made me shake. The way she tilted her hips ever so slightly, rocking along the length of my cock, had me aching for more.

  For two glorious minutes, I hadn’t given a fuck about anything other than making her scream and come all over my dick. My brain had offered several versions of how this could happen. Bent over the desk. Spread out on the faux cowhide rug on the floor. Reverse cowgirl in this very office chair.

  Every single scenario ended with me fucking her raw and coming inside her with my name on her tongue.

  My head snapped up, and I cursed under my breath. I needed to erase Tabatha from my memory, post haste. I couldn't have her. She wasn't mine. Hell, I didn't even like her most days. She was mouthy, difficult to work with…

  And fucking sexy as hell.

  There was no way I would ever be able to erase the memory of how her body felt against mine.

  You need to. Because if Oversight is coming for her, she needs you to protect her.

  So I forced all thoughts of her from my mind and did the one thing I knew Saff would tell me not to do.