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disappear. “You’ll have to keep up, though.”
    He leans back while cupping my face. His lips hover over mine. “I don’t have any problems keeping you satisfied, princess.”
    My pulse spikes. I know he can hear it, feel it, see in my eyes that I’m affected. My breaths are shallow as his hands slowly make their way down my arms.
    “Arrogant prick,” I mutter.
    I can tell he’d be an incredible lover. His overconfidence would only play to my benefit. We’re both cut from the same cloth, ready to fight for dominance. He’d win, though. I can see it in his eyes. There would be no battle, Mark has already won. Right now, he controls me. He determines whether we kiss, what it’ll be like, and for the first time in my life—I surrender.
    His lips come closer. “They’re closing in,” he whispers, his eyes locked on me. “Charlie?” he asks.
    “What?” My voice is barely audible.
    “This will happen again when we don’t have to fight off people, and then you’ll be mine.”
    I don’t have time to reply. His lips crash down on mine as he spins me around so he leads our exit. The second our mouths collide, my brain disconnects. My fingers tangle in his hair, grabbing it to pull him close. Mark’s hands hold my face to his and he continues to guide me. I know we’re moving but I have no idea to where. In this instant, I don’t care. Never has someone made me feel so desperate for them. I never lose control, never feel so lost, yet right now, I am. I’m raw, exposed, and completely vulnerable.
    And it’s only a damn kiss.
    Mark pulls my face back all too soon as we slip into the crowd. He takes my hand, pulls out a ball cap, and slips it onto my head. To disguise his clothing, he removes his button up shirt while he pulls me along. “Damn, you’re a good actress. I almost bought that,” he says, only wheezing slightly. “They got close enough I could hear a word or two, but nothing I could make out.”
    I can’t get air into my lungs fast enough. “Yeah,” I say half-heartedly. My walls go up fast as they came down. “Did we lose them?”
    “Let’s keep moving. Were you able to get a description of the guy behind me?” He grabs his phone. “Six-foot-three, short black hair, tattoo on the left arm, wearing a white shirt and black shorts. Mediterranean descent, spoke in either Italian or Spanish, but couldn’t hear enough.” He speaks into the recorder.
    I stare, trying to process what the hell just happened.
    We were kissing, or I was kissing him, while he was watching the person following us and guiding us away.
    I’m the CIA agent.
    One of the best CIA agents.
    I’m the daughter of the former Director of the CIA. I was born and raised to be the best.
    Mark just did my job. He was in control, acting.
    But I stopped acting somewhere back there, and that’s a problem.
    A very big problem.

W e get back to my apartment and I check for anything out of place. My house is a map—everything leads me to something else. I follow the exact same routine each day, and if something is missing or even a half an inch off, I’ll know.
    “So the guy moved too fast for you?” Mark asks me again.
    “Are you hard of hearing?”
    “Why didn’t you ever bring me here before? This place is different.” He looks around at my things and adds, “I’m just surprised. I figured you’d have his name already. Aren’t you like a super spy?”
    “I don’t have X-ray vision. Plus, you were spinning me and moving me. It’s kind of hard when I’m not leading.” I turn and glare at him. “Stop touching things!”
    “Oh . . .” he nods. “You’re one of those kind of girls. Got it.”
    My jaw falls slack. “What kind of girl is that?”
    “Tell me again how you failed to get the description of the other guy.”
    I want to slap that damn smirk off his face. Instead, I decide to focus on what we know and what I need to do. First, is to learn why I’m being tailed. Second, find out who it is and if