Page 45 of Protecting Her

The admission made Carmen's chest tighten. She remembered their first security briefing, how they'd maintained careful distance and professional facades. Now Jude's presence in her home felt as natural as breathing.

"I've been thinking," Carmen began, turning to face her fully. "About what happens next. The State Department will have opinions about our arrangement."

"Let them." Jude reached for her hand, callused fingers gentle against Carmen's skin. "We've proven our partnership works."

"It's more complicated than that." Carmen traced the healing cut on Jude's cheek, remembering gunfire and safe houses, desperate escapes and quiet moments between danger. "I'm in my fifties, Jude. I’m a lot older than you, with decades of negotiating baggage and political enemies."

"And I'm a SEAL with PTSD who sleeps with a weapon within reach." Jude's voice carried equal parts humor and honesty. "Age is hardly our biggest challenge."

Carmen laughed softly, letting Jude pull her closer. "The missions will be difficult. Corporate interests are already regrouping in Southeast Asia, and there will be other battles that need fighting."

"Good thing you have an experienced protection detail." Jude's arms slid around her waist, steady and grounding. "One that's particularly invested in keeping you alive."

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Carmen rested her forehead against Jude's, breathing in the familiar scent of gun oil and safety that always clung to her skin. "Just a protective interest?"

"You know it's more than that." Jude's voice roughened. "It has been since that first night on the hotel terrace. Maybe even before."

The admission hung between them, weighted with everything they'd survived together. Carmen thought about all the lines they'd crossed, the protocols they'd shattered, and the professional boundaries they'd redefined.

"We'll need separate addresses on paper," she said practically. "Maintain some appearance of professional distance. The diplomatic corps isn't ready for?—"

"For what?" Jude's smile held understanding. "For a decorated diplomat finding love with her security detail? For two women choosing each other despite protocol and duty?"

"For me being happy." Carmen touched the dog tags that rested against Jude's chest. "I've spent my career being the perfect diplomat, making acceptable choices, playing by their rules. This—us—it breaks every convention they have."

"Then let them break." Jude caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "We've earned the right to choose something for ourselves."

Carmen studied the woman who had changed everything: the precise line of her jaw, the strength in her shoulders, the way her eyes held both tenderness and steel. Somehow this warrior had slipped past decades of diplomatic armor, making her feel safer than any security protocol ever had.

"The age difference doesn't bother you?" she asked quietly. "The silver in my hair, the career baggage, the?—"

"I love your silver hair." Jude ran gentle fingers through it as if proving her point. "I love your diplomatic precision and how you can stare down corrupt officials without blinking. I love watching you negotiate peace treaties and throw wine bottles at assassins."

The words made Carmen's chest warm. "I was afraid," she admitted softly. "After Sofia died, I thought that part of me was finished. That I could pour everything into the work and never risk that kind of loss again."

"And now?"

"Now I have something worth every risk." Carmen leaned up to kiss her. "Someone who sees past every mask I wear and loves what they find beneath."

When they broke apart, Jude's eyes held promises that made Carmen's pulse race. "So we'll maintain separate addresses, keep things professional in public, and let them adjust to our partnership in their own time."

"While privately rewriting every protocol they have?" Carmen smiled against her mouth.

"While choosing our own path forward." Jude pulled her closer, strong arms steady around her waist. "Together."

They stayed wrapped in each other as night settled over Georgetown, the city's rhythms fading to comfortable quiet. Tomorrow would bring new challenges: missions to plan, battles to fight, conventions to challenge. But they had found something worth protecting in each other's arms, something stronger than protocol or professional distance.

Something worth keeping, no matter the cost.

Evening draped itself over Washington as Carmen stood on her townhouse balcony, reviewing intelligence briefs about Southeast Asia while Jude cleaned her weapon at the small table nearby. The familiar click and scrape of metal components felt oddly domestic now, a counterpoint to the city's distant hum.

"Three corporate foundations have been identified in the region," Carmen noted, scanning the most recent reports. "All with suspicious ties to mining operations near protected indigenous lands."

"And two former special operations teams were hired through shell companies." Jude's hands moved with practiced efficiency, each component placed with precise care. "They're recycling the same playbook."

"But this time we know what to look for." Carmen lowered her tablet, studying the woman who had transformed from protector to partner. Jude wore casual clothes now, but that contained power remained—a warrior at rest, but never truly off guard. "Sarah's preliminary report suggests they're targeting communities near rare mineral deposits."

"Essential for modern technology." Jude reassembled her weapon with fluid grace. "Perfect leverage for corporate interests trying to force land concessions."

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