time and stay in this moment, half-naked in the bilge, with this amazing woman in his arms.
This was a yearning he’d never had before. He should let her go and relive the memory to carry him through the next few years. This was supposed to get her out of his system. His fingers twitched.
He couldn’t move.
“Greyson,” she whispered against this neck. “Should we go up and…” She caught her breath and added, “…see if the ship is still sinking?”
He chuckled and finally lifted his head. He tucked her wet hair behind her ear, losing himself in the beauty of her flushed cheeks and swollen lips. “We’re not sinking.”
“How do you know?” she asked with a sexy smile.
He glanced at the standing water. “The tide isn’t rising in here. Drake must’ve plugged the leaks.”
She stared into his eyes, making him wish he could read her mind. This had been her idea. Did she have regrets now? She kneaded his sore shoulders. “We should probably get our asses covered before someone comes down here looking for us.”
He nodded as she lowered her legs from his waist, and he slid free from the warmth of her body. They got their pants up and fastened, and he caught her hand. “I kept my word. I waited for you to ask.”
She laughed. The sound was a gift, better than any treasure he’d ever plundered. “I guess I have to rescind my earlier judgment not to trust pirates.”
He leaned in to steal one more kiss. “Maybe just one of us.”
She hummed as she backed away. “I think there might be a knight in shining armor hiding in there someplace after all.”
She headed for the stairs, leaving him behind in a puddle of water, pondering the ache in his chest. Her approval meant more to him than he wanted to admit. So, he wouldn’t.
He jogged to catch up with her, more certain with every splash of his feet that he was snared in a trap he might never want to escape. And by then it would be too late.
Maybe it already was.
Chapter Eleven
Aura woke to her phone buzzing. Three days had passed since the storm. Today they’d be going ashore in Glasgow, Scotland. She accepted the call. “Agent Henderson.”
“Your meeting is confirmed for today.” Agent Bale’s voice came through clear, the strong cell signal proving they must be close to their destination. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir.” She got up and peered out her tiny window. No land in sight yet. “We have a space cleared in the weapons room for storage of the Tyrfing, and I have a cam on the door. Everything is in place.”
“And your partner is solid in his backstory?”
“Yes.” She was glad Agent Bale couldn’t see her face, because the flush of heat in her cheeks would’ve given her away. Since the night of the storm, neither of them had mentioned the sex in the bilge. She shouldn’t be disappointed. It had been a moment of surrender, that’s all. If she was going down with the ship, she’d wanted to make those last minutes as amazing as possible.
And Greyson had delivered. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it since.
“Good. I want to hear the moment you have the sword in your possession.”
“Will do,” she replied.
He paused before adding, “You’ve done great work on this one. Thanks for your professionalism. I know you didn’t want this mission.”
Here was the recognition she’d always wanted, and yet now it seemed…empty somehow, overshadowed by her yearning to hear Greyson tell her he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her, that he wanted more than just one night. If Department 13 was her life, where did an immortal pirate fit?
He didn’t. Her heart needed to get a clue. It had been a hot night. It changed nothing.
“Thank you, sir. I’ll call you after the meeting.”
She dropped her cell on the cot, staring at it.
Over the six-day journey across the Atlantic, her entire world had turned upside down.
She’d made friends with the crew, helped save the ship during a storm, and she’d had sex with a guy for the first time since she’d been a beat cop on the streets of New York seven years ago.
It made her think maybe she needed more than her job in her life.
She groaned as she retrieved her phone and put it in her pocket. None of this was real. It was all part of a larger mission. She was only here for work.
She just hadn’t realized she would enjoy