Page 32 of Synnr's Ride

The pleasure was too much for Jori, but he tried to hold on, even as his cock began to vibrate with the inescapable need for completion. He wanted this to last forever, to revisit it in his dark days and know that he'd had this one perfect moment, where Hanna's face was contorted in pleasure, all walls gone as she surrendered and accepted what he gave her.

Then he let go, the release thundering through him so strongly that he bellowed in pleasure and his vision momentarily whited out.

When his heart beat started to calm, Hanna lay down next to him, body pressed tight, and Jori flung an arm around her.

Doubts threatened to creep in, and they warred with the emotions roaring strong from so deep inside of himself that he didn't realize they were there.

From the moment they'd met, she'd made him feel something almost indescribably strong. Animosity. Loathing.

Desire.

The first two had burned away and all that was left was the desire. And in the embers of his emotions, he could feel other things growing. Tenderness. Hope.

He didn't have time for this. Jori was a loyal Synnr soldier. He had goals, plans. None of those included falling for a reformed Apsyn spy.

But all of that was far away. Hanna's breathing evened out and Jori stared at her. Light from outside filtered in around the corners of the curtains, just enough to make out her relaxed features.

He'd never had trouble leaving a bed when it was time to go. The smart move would be to slide out from under the covers, shower off the scent of her, and sleep on the couch where he belonged.

The couch that was indelibly imprinted with her memory.

Instead of walking away, Jori pulled Hanna closer and pulled the sheets up around them. He was warm and content. Trouble would come for them later. They'd have to court it to get the job done. But tonight Jori could sleep and dream that when all of this was done, Hanna really would be his.

11

Work.Right. The job.

Hanna's body ached in all the right places, and she'd found bruises on her hips in the shape of Jori's fingertips. There was a hickey on her neck and she couldn't stop smiling.

Work.

He was still asleep. Hanna had slid out of bed and been determined not to wake him. When he woke up, they'd have to deal with the night before. When he woke up, she'd have to admit it had been a mistake.

But he wasn't awake yet, and Hanna refused to have that conversation with herself.

Instead, she looked at the projection of the picture she'd taken of the map in Kark's office. Blown up to three times its normal size, it still didn't tell her anything.

"What's that?" Jori asked as he padded downstairs, bare feet silent against the carpet.

Hanna nearly jumped out of her skin, but she kept her expression cool. Work. This was work. "I found this map in Kark's office and took a picture. It feels important. It's the same neighborhood where the bomb went off, but I'm not seeing any special notations or anything."

Jori approached slowly, keeping more than an arm's length of distance between them as he studied the projection. He reached out and tilted it to get a better look. "That's weird."

"What?" She angled her head to try and see what he was looking at.

"The street names are misspelled." He expanded the image until she could see the writing at the intersection: PRYMROSE WAY and SICAMORE STREET.

"The bomb was planted in a building at that intersection." She stared at the projection until her eyes burned, then she grabbed a tablet and pulled up a map of that area. "This map confirms those spellings are wrong."

"Did you think I was wrong?" Jori asked. He didn't take the tablet when she offered it.

"No, but I wanted to confirm it. For all I know, there was some famous Synnr family named Prymrose with a Y and that was what the street was named for. I trust you." That hung between them for a moment before Hanna stepped back to put even more distance between them.

This was going to be torture.

Jori took a deep breath. "We should—"

"I need to get back into Kark's office." She spoke over him before he could start a conversation she didn't want to deal with.

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