Sloane:
"...The sharks will come and they will tear you into shreds!"
Those were the words that rung in my head as I drove home. I looked at the file from time time time, begging whoever was up in the sky that this was a dream. A nightmare I was going to wake up from.
How could I kill the man who had saved my life? A man who I had watched struggle to kill his father who had murdered his mother?
For someone who I met briefly three times, I was starting to care so much about him. I knew I couldn't bring myself to kill him no matter what.
But I had no option.
McQueen had given me two options: To walk away and die, or to kill Maximus and live.
"Fuck!" I screamed in anger before stepping out of my car and slipping into the house.
I went in search of him and I found him in one of the guest rooms. He was sleeping peacefully, bare chested with a clean gauze wrapped around his chest.
Walking over to him, I crouched to his level and watched him.
He was a handsome man, one I couldn't even resist. He was built like a god, a descendant of Zeus. His chest was heavily muscled and he had several tattoos beautifully warping around his chest and his arm. They were symbolic, showing the workings of a man who had spent his life training to fight. Training to kill. I yearned for him. I wanted him terribly. I reached out to touch his soft silky hair, sighing when I remembered that soon, I was going to have him killed.
I shut my eyes tightly and pulled away, raking my fingers through my hair as I fought with my thoughts in despair. I couldn't do this to him. I definitely couldn't.
McQueen had refused to tell me why he was wanted or who exactly wanted him. Apparently, it was top secret and that meant he was more dangerous than I thought.
Secret bounties were only carried out on people like McQueen who were bosses and CEOs so I guessed he was something close to that.
"What are you hiding?" I whispered, watching him sleep.
Pushing to my feet, I walked back to my room, falling asleep as soon as my head hit my pillows.
____
The next morning, I woke up to voices and the smell of coffee and bacon.
I was a bad sleeper who also battled with insomnia and it was why I couldn't sleep for long periods. I should have taken my pills.
A numbing headache hit the back of my head and I winced, grabbing a pill bottle and swallowing two tablets of Advil before wrapping a robe around my naked body and making my way to the kitchen.
There he was, seated on one of the stools, shirtless as he spoke with my cook. He didn't look like he had been shot last night and the only reason I knew was from the gauze around his torso.
Good heavens. I swallowed.
He looked like a snack and all I wanted to do was have a taste of him. I wanted to lick off the sweat building around his chest. I wanted to kiss the tension of his muscles away, I wanted to run my fingers down his lithe body while riding his cock. The image in my head was vivid.
I could imagine him pulling my hair as he rode me from behind and called me his slut. I could imagine him pushing me against the desk, bending me over while he smacked my ass and made me suck his dick.
Get a grip, Sloane!
"There she is." Maximus pointed over to me and Sigrid turned to look at me with a smile on her face.
"Good morning, guys," I muttered, yawning sleepily as I slid into the stool. "How are you feeling, Max? That's your name, right?"
He nodded and flashed me a grin that had my nonexistent panties nearly dropping. That smile alone was enough to have me ripping my robe apart and offering my body to him as a living sacrifice.
But I sat there, battling with my thoughts and the wetness pooling around my legs.
"Yes. It's Maximus but I see you have chosen to address me as Max. Catchy." He winked. "And yes, I am feeling absolutely better."
I nodded and took the mug of coffee from Sigrid with shaky hands. "That's good. Have you taken your medication?"
"Yes, I have."
How could a man who sounded this nice and cheerful be dangerous? I didn't believe one bit of it. He looked like a man who could take care of his woman in bed. I wasn't too sure about a man who could bring thirty dead bodies to the ground.
We had breakfast and Sigrid left us to go grocery shopping and now, it was just us both in the kitchen, eating while I tried not to stare at him.
"I don't even know your real name?" He asked. "Of course, you can tell me now because I am literally in your house."
"It's Sloane." I replied.
"Sloane," He repeated, drawing out each syllable against his tongue. "You're German."
"How can you tell?"
"Your accent. It's obvious." He shrugged.
This was the accent I used for this identity and of course, I didn't tell him that.
"How are you by the way?"
"I'm okay, as you can see."
Silene.
"Last night, why were you at the club?" He asked.
I dropped the last chip in my mouth before sliding out of my stool and going over to the counter. "I should also be asking you that, Max. Why were you at the club at the same time as me?"
"Coincidence, I guess."
I was about to ask if it was part of his classified information but I stopped myself, remembering he had said that to Red Nemesis and not me. He only knew me as Cheshire. My other identity was hidden from everyone.
"That's…" Interesting.
I felt his presence behind me just as I wiped my plate clean and placed it in the rack. I was unable to move after that, loving the warmth his body brought.
My desire to kiss him prevailed over my desires to push him off and walk out of the kitchen for my own safety.
This was a man I had been assigned to kill and somehow, he had fallen into my trap. I couldn't risk falling in love with him. I couldn't risk breaking my own heart with my own hands.
But it was too late because his body pressed into mine and he dropped the plate into the sink.
"Do you mind moving out of the way?" He whispered into my ear, his fingers grazing the skin of my wrist. "I don't want to get you wet."
I already was. I wanted to tell him how wet I had been since I watched him sleep last night.
"Oh, sure! I didn't realize."
I turned right in his arms, realizing that he had caged me in. His gunmetal grey eyes swam with ferocious desire and need. I knew he felt the same way for me but one of us had to take the bold step and walk away.
And that person was me.
But I couldn't bring myself to do that.
"I see why you are called Death Silver. Your eyes are the most beautiful shade of grey. Unreal."
He raised his brows in confusion. "How do you know I am Death Silver? Nobody knows until I tell them."
Forcing a smile, I tried to cover the fear that creeped into my eyes. "I have my ways, you know?" My fingers traveled up his chest to distract him, softly and slowly caressing as I watched his eyes darken the more. "But does that really matter now?"
He pressed his body harder and grabbed my waist. "What are you doing?"
"You, tell me what I am doing."
"You want me to fuck you, right?" He growled softly, pressing his lips against my neck. "I know you've always wanted to from the first day you met me. I saw that look in your eyes moments ago while you were checking me out."
"That's... That's not true," I whimpered, pressing my thighs together.
"You pretty little liar," He hissed. He was dominating me. He was showing me a dark side of him I needed to run away from. "Let's be honest with each other. I want you as much as you want me, Sloane. We can both feel the sizzling chemistry and you can't deny it. Let me touch you. Let me make you feel more than the woman you think you are."
No. Nada! Zilch! Run, Sloane! You're about to walk into a deep pit you won't be able to come out from! My thoughts raged.
"Max," I whispered, brushing my lips against his in a feathery movement. "Do you really think we should be doing this?"
His free hand cupped my breasts and he nodded, plunging his tongue deep into my mouth like it was a positive response to my question.
"I don't give a fuck. I want you, Sloane."
"Then take me."
In one movement, he tugged at the rope of my robe, pulling it free, my robe falling around my feet in a pool of red, leaving me stark naked.