Page 142 of Fire and Ice

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

It was the dead of winter, not the most ideal time to be walking along the River Seine. But there's nothing more romantic than watching couples all-bundled up and clutching at each other tightly as they strolled along Paris' iconic waterway.

"Want some ice cream?" Jack asked.

"Are you kidding me?" Maia groaned. She was stuffed from dinner. They had arrived at Charles de Gaulle at around 3pm and taken the RER to their hotel in the 8tharrondissement where Jack was able to secure a premiere suite. There was nothing Maia wanted more than to soak in the marble bath tub, but Jack insisted on getting ready for an early dinner.

By 5pm, they were seated at a restaurant known for the best duck confit in Paris. They followed the meal of crispy duck with the restaurant's famous but simple apple tart. So despite Maia's penchant for overeating, she couldn't understand Jack's suggestion of more food.

"Well, there's a popular ice cream shop right on Ile Saint-Louis," Jack informed her.

"Why do I get the feeling that you're fattening me up for the kill?" Maia said as she angled her clear blue eyes on him.

Jack looked sheepish and glanced down at his feet. He guided Maia to the railings that lined the river embankment.

"We haven't really talked about what happened," Jack began tentatively.

"Oh, the night you kicked me out of your apartment?" Maia said sarcastically. Her eyes flared with the beginnings of her temper as the events of that night came back to mind.

"Let's go back a bit further than that," Jack fired back, obviously getting himself riled up as well. "About the night you just packed up and left me to go on some dangerous assignment. I know I said I'm okay and I understood it's your job. What I'm not okay with is you just up and leaving me like I'm some damn roommate or some damn meaningless fuck. I thought we were in a committed relationship, I deserved more than just a 'Hey I need to be somewhere, see you in three weeks'kind of deal."

"Well if ..."

"I'm not done talking," Jack snapped. "I was okay with that then. Not now. After this shitstorm you got yourself into this last time, you are done accepting these kinds of assignments. I don't care if you quit AGS to do this. You will tell me exactly where you are going, when you are leaving, what you are doing and who you'll be dealing with. I want names. I told Viktor, once I get you back from this I make the decisions to keep you safe, not him. Got me?"

Maia gaped at him in disbelief. Her mouth must have hung open.

"You can say something now," Jack said impatiently.

Maia snapped her mouth shut. She stalked a few steps away, spun around and walked back to Jack and got into his face.

"Unbelievable! You are delusional! What gives you the right to control me like that?" Maia sputtered. "Quit the AGS? In your dreams, buddy! You've got the wrong girl if you think you can enforce those rules on me." She poked her fingers in his chest three times for emphasis.

"No, you're the girl I'm in love with. I love you more than my own life," Jack declared fervently. "If anything happens to you Maia, it will be over for me. I'm never gonna come back from losing you—not in ten, not in fifty years. So I'm asking you not to throw away what we have on some fucking job someone else can do. I'm begging you to give what we have a chance. You've done your time; it's OK to slow down, babe. I promise you, I'll make it my life's priority to make you happy."

They were standing apart, close but not quite touching. Maia's eyes were defiant, the set of her mouth mutinous. But her heart was melting with what Jack had just said. It was probably time to put him out of his misery. After all, she had had a plan for after this last assignment.

"Jack, even before I left for Russia in early January, I had already told Viktor I was planning to slow down," Maia said. Jack's eyes flared with hope. "I was going to suggest taking a more active role in our training program. AGS is growing and Viktor is complaining that there are no experienced instructors as most of the good ones are in the field."

"Maia, that would be perfect!" Jack said gruffly. He tried to yank her into his arms, but she evaded his reach. She needed to get this all out before he kissed her and got her distracted as she always did when he touched her.

"Wait!" Maia said quickly. Jack froze and then crossed his arms in front of him, impatience crossing his face. "I might have to do the odd mission. But I won't keep you in the dark about the nature of them or when I plan to ship out. Though names and locations may still be a problem."

Jack considered this for a minute. "I won't be happy when you keep things from me, but I understand the nature of covert missions. Of course, I can always come rescue you when you get into trouble." He smiled wryly. "What I do promise you is I'll deal with it. I may be angry, but I won't ever let you go again. That was the stupidest thing I have ever done and I hope you forgive me."

Maia smiled as she stepped into the circle of his arms and raised her right hand to caress his face. Jack caught her hand and kissed the inside of her palm and held it to his face while using his other hand to pull her fully into his space.

"I love you, Jack. I admit I was hurt, but after all that went down this past week, I realized life is too short to hold that against you," Maia said, and her lips quirked up. "And those twenty messages you left me on the phone kinda gave me an idea of the freak out you were in. But don't do it again."

"I won't," Jack promised quickly. "I lasted about a day before I panicked when I realized you had erased yourself from my life. How did you manage to do a clean sweep like that? It was like you were never there."

Maia grinned mischievously. "I recruited the AGS clean-up crew. That was how Viktor knew we had broken up. No fingerprints, no hair or fiber. You'd be hard-pressed to find my DNA even on the jewelry."

"Don't you ever disappear from my life like that again," Jack whispered worriedly.

"Don't give me a reason to," Maia retorted and gasped when Jack slammed his lips down on hers for a quick, hard and punishing kiss.

"Something tells me you'll be keeping me on my toes for the rest of my life," Jack muttered in resignation.

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