Page 117 of Amethyst Flame
I didn’t want him to let me go, and since everything else was so unbelievable, why not add a kiss from Super Secret Agent Dane. I nodded, yes.
His smile grew just a little bit before he fit his mouth to mine. And upon contact, I knew I had never been kissed before. Not really. The kiss was firm, confident, seeking, and slightly salty. His bare chest was hard, and my hands flattened there, though they felt scalded by the heat of his skin. The combination of all of it was like the purest high, better than sugar and caffeine combined, hotter than a dragon unfurling inside me, sending a delicious quiver through my body. For a moment, I didn’t hurt and I wasn’t scared. The clamor around us muted, and all I heard was the pounding of my heart.
That the kiss was PG made me ache for more because when else would I ever have the opportunity or excuse to get back to this place again?
When he broke it off, the bright, noisy world swam around me as if he’d been the only thing forcing gravity to obey its own laws.
He brought his lips to my ear. “Can you take a little bow for our audience? For our cover story?”
“I might fall over,” I managed to tell him.
“I’ve got you,” he said.
Yeah, he got me. He’d gotten me through this whole thing. “Okay.”
And sure enough, with a strong grasp of my waist, he opened our embrace to the audience. They went absolutely bananas with their hollering and applause. Dane bowed his head slightly, waving to everyone with his free hand. And I did the same with what I hoped looked like a natural smile. He turned us around so we could wave to the other absolutely raving side of the street. Despite their frenzy, Dane seemed to decide enough was enough.
Which was a good thing because it appeared the cavalry had finally arrived.
Three other Kidnappers had managed to part the crowd, park, and were disgorging their super secret agent people. If Dane’s consortium had some pizza or burgers or donuts, even better. At this point, I might even be willing to try some of Dane’s green smoothie. Ha! And here I thought smoothies were behind me. Also some Rx strength pain killer wouldn’t be a bad idea.
As we hobbled over—Dane taking at least half my weight—his people broke into coordinated teams. A few approached the cops and flashed badges at them, then seemed to be giving instructions on crowd control and dispersal. Nice. A couple of the other agents were at our Kidnapper, pulling Jacob and St. Croix out of the car.
Jacob had turned hero with the rocket launcher, though I’d never forgive him for the billboard. Never. As for St. Croix, I was reevaluating my opinion of that egalitarian asshole.
But Jacob’s expression went dark and angry when the new agents grabbed hold of his laptops with the apparent intent to take them into their custody.
“Uh oh,” I said to Dane.
“I’ll take care of it,” he replied evenly. “You know I have your back.”
After everything we’d just been through, I was Team Dane all the way.
As we neared, he began, “Ms. Taylor here needs immediate medical attention.”
“And food,” I muttered. Like now. My butterflies were eating me up from the inside.
But instead of a welcome, the new person in charge yelled, “Stop right there.”
Dane paused us, mid-street, though I was pretty sure if I didn’t get a chair or a stretcher, I was going down on the asphalt. “Ms. Taylor presents no risk.”
“Step away from her, Agent Dane,” the voice called.
I blinked in confusion as Jacob and St. Croix were forcibly turned to face the hood of a Kidnapper and were in the process of being searched and handcuffed. And worse, much worse, the rest of the agents had circled Dane and me and were planting weird hexagonal boxes on the street.
“Set,” one agent said.
“Set,” said another.
“Set,” came a voice behind me.
“What’s going on?” I asked Dane. Because they were freaking me out.
He pulled me in close again, breath warm on my neck. “They’re securing and containing the site,” he said. “It’s standard protocol. No explanation right now will deviate them from the task. Just go with it. Cooperate. Trust me.”
“Set,” said another agent.
“Cooperate? But—?” Hadn’t they seen me just fight Will? I was one of the good guys. I’d risked my life to take down Will.
