Page 88 of Elusive Promise

"I'm about to blow your mind."

"Again?" he asked. "And I thought I was the cocky one."

"Well, you already had your turn. Now, it's mine."

"I do like the way you think. And the way you kiss," he added, as her mouth touched his. "And yeah, that, too," he said, as she moved down his body.

* * *

While Jared was showering, Parisa got dressed and went downstairs to make coffee. It was seven fifteen, so they had a few hours to drive into Manhattan and get to the consulate before the scheduled ransom exchange.

She felt a twinge of regret as her brain focused back on the job at hand. It had been more than a little nice to let it all go for the night. Especially since the night had turned out so fantastically amazing.

She smiled to herself at her use of double adjectives. She didn't really have enough words, or maybe the right words, to describe her night with Jared. And it wasn't even all about him; it was about herself, too. She'd felt free for the first time in forever. Unfortunately, she suspected the emotions Jared had helped her unleash were not going to go back into the box she'd put them in a long time ago.

But that was a problem for another day.

Opening the refrigerator, she pulled out the sandwiches they'd gotten from the neighbors the day before. Unwrapping the first one, she bit into turkey and Swiss with sliced tomato and pesto sauce. It was delicious, and she'd definitely worked up an appetite. She was just swallowing the last bite when Jared entered the room.

His dark hair was damp from the shower, and his cheeks were cleanly shaven. He smelled good. He must have found some aftershave somewhere.

He walked straight to her and gave her a long, deep, minty kiss. "It's been too long since I kissed you," he said.

"It's been about an hour. You taste like toothpaste."

"And you taste like pesto."

"I saved you a sandwich. They're delicious."

He grinned. "Not as delicious as you."

She flushed at the look in his eyes. "You're going to need to rein it in, Jared."

"Is that what you want me to do?"

"Not really. It's kind of nice to have a man so boldly interested in me."

"That's a change for you?" he asked in surprise.

"Well, they might have been interested—but not in the real me, which I didn't show them, so I guess I can't complain."

"I get it," he said, taking a sandwich out of the fridge.

"Do you want some coffee?"

"I'd love a cup."

She filled a mug and brought it over to the table, as they sat down. "Have you had a lot of relationships out in the field?" she asked curiously.

"I wouldn’t call them relationships. What about you?"

"Same," she admitted. "I've done far more flirting than anything else, you know? It's a lot of smoke and mirrors."

"I agree. If we need a change in career, maybe we should just become magicians."

"You could be my pretty boy," she said with a laugh. "The one I put in the box and cut into pieces."

"I was thinking of you as my pretty assistant."

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