Page 77 of Garrison's Creed

There were a lot of ways to wake up in the morning. Nicola turned in the rumpled sheets to snuggle against Cash’s naked chest. Her legs entwined with powerful thighs and calves. One of his arms was pinned beneath her. The other arm drew her closer even though he never seemed to wake. A sleepy sigh blew into her hair, stubble brushed her skin, and her lips tugged into a grin. Yeah, lots of ways to wake up, but this was the best ever.

“Going somewhere?” his sleep soaked voice asked as he pulled her tighter then kissed the side of her head.

“Good morning,” she whispered, not wanting to disturb the morning quiet. A warm rush of tingles ran through her.

“Yup, it is, but go back to sleep. You kept me up entirely too late last night.”

She laughed, recalling the night. They’d lain on the couch forever before he’d baked a frozen pizza. Cash really needed something besides frozen food in his kitchen, but those were the breaks of the job: never knowing when he’d be home. Pizza was the most benign problem he could have in the housing department.

Nic shook her head, not wanting to think about the sacrifices and decisions their jobs drove them to. Instead, she remembered Cash rocking her world in bed. And in the whirlpool bath. No wonder he was still out. Blissfully numb, Nicola smiled at the ceiling, ready to sink back to dreamland.

“I don’t want to deal with today yet, Nic. Go back to sleep,” he murmured.

Today, she’d have to deal with David the Butler and milk enough intel to warrant an on-the-books espionage investigation. At least Istanbul was one of her favorite cities, and she had the opportunity to wear another designer dress, paid for with the CIA’s credit card. Beth would pick out another beauty, arrange for all necessary documents and back story, and have it delivered to her apartment by the time she arrived home. Too bad Cash wouldn’t be able to see her dress. Maybe this one would survive the job, and she could wear it out sometime. Or at least try it on so he could take it off.

Nic closed her eyes, drifting to sleep, and hoping to dream of him.

***

Cash eased up on the gas. They were closing in on Nic’s apartment, and he wasn’t ready to let her go. Nor was he ready for her to fly halfway around the world with the freakin’ butler.

“This sucks.” Cash blew out another annoyed breath.

“Get over it, Cash. You can’t throw tantrums every time I have to work. You knew partnering with me meant that I had to go on assignment with David first.” Nic pointed to the front of her apartment, a first floor balcony setup.

She really shouldn’t live on the first floor. Too easy for an asshole to slip in, even if the apartment was wired, and she slept with a gun under the pillow.

“Yeah, yeah. I know.” He could bitch all he wanted. Nic heading into the field with that dickhead David wasn’t doing much for his mental state. Anxiety burned off his good mood and made his hands itch to palm a .45 and follow her around. Just in case.

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be back in a couple of days. I’ll send you intel as I can. You’ll hear from me a thousand times before my feet hit U.S. soil again, then we’ll hook up and take the fucker down.”

He grumbled, staring at the too-high bushes near her windows. Those should really be trimmed back. He could do that for her while she was gone, make the place a little more safe.

How had he given in on this partner shit anyway? Oh yeah. She gave him no choice. Plus, she could handle herself. All things he knew well, but they didn’t do shit for his nerves. A man-gene somewhere in his brain lit up like a neon sign, screaming for him to put an end to this operation, or at least put an end to her hopping on a Learjet with a double agent and doing a Farm job.

She didn’t direct him to a parking space, which was just as well. Nic leaned over and gave him a kiss.

“It’s going to be fine, Cash.”

“I’m not worried.”

She laughed. “You look ready to rip the steering wheel off its column.”

Cash shrugged. “Not going to rehash it again. If you change your mind, call me. There’s always a plan B.”

Nicola kissed him again. “The reason you love—like me is I don’t need a plan B.”

“True.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. She was going to say love.People say love all the time. He loved pizza. He loved working for Titan. They didn’t cut back and say like. Casually, the words were interchangeable. Unless they weren’t. Holy fuck. Or was he over-thinking this? Cash cleared his throat. “Bye, sweet girl.”

Waving over her shoulder, Nicola bee-lined without looking back and opened a door. One set of keys for one lock. Easy deadbolt action. She needed more security than that. He revved the engine, toying with the idea of telling her that now. It’d only take a second. But, shit. She wouldn’t see it like that, would she? Nope. It’d be all, “I can take care of myself.”

He put the truck in drive. Maybe he’d go track down Sugar and see what she had to say about her one-on-one with Nic. Maybe not. He wasn’t trying to piss Nicola off, just get some details.

Pulling out of the apartment complex, he reached for his phone to call Rocco. Calling Roman would be a mistake. Rocco knew enough about him and about the situation to provide some kind of sounding board, even if he only did it to have a live role in their drama.

Two rings and Rocco was ready for his role as Dr. Drew. Good, because Cash was throwing him a big one.

Cash merged into traffic and let the convo rip. “Roc, man. You think love can be all just add water and resuscitate?”

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