Page 130 of Silver Fire

After Derek left, Marissa decided to take advantage of the marble tub at their hotel room, soaking her aching muscles in a mixture of soap bombs and aromatic essential oils.

Marissa sloshed the hot soapy water over her arms.Ahh, that felt good. She leaned back and tried to let her senses decompress.

Her phone buzzed, interrupting her meditation.

Viktor.

“Cole.”

“You didn’t call me when you were done,” Viktor said.

“Um, we had a couple of post-ops I needed to take care of, plus we had some injuries, you know.” And the whole mission was being monitored by AGS. It was not as if he was being kept in the dark.

“Were you hurt?”

“Watch it Viktor, or I’ll think you care.”

Silence.

“Look,” Marissa said, suddenly feeling guilty for her sarcasm. “I’m tired. I’m just trying to enjoy my bath.”

“Are you saying, Riz, you’re naked right now and all wet?” Viktor asked in that gravelly sexy voice of his. Oh god, she must be more than tired—what possessed her to reveal such information. And what’s with the pet name? The last time he called her “Riz” was eight years ago.

“I’m just trying to explain why I’m so grouchy.”

“Seriously, Marissa, great job,” Viktor said shortly, but there was sincerity in his voice.

“Thanks, it was a team effort.”

“Are the bombs securely in CIA hands now?”

“Yes. They’re already on a military flight back to the US.”

“Good.”

More.

Uncomfortable.

Silence.

“You’ll be on the 2:00 p.m. flight tomorrow?”

“Yes.” Of course he already knew that.

“Maybe we can catch up.”

Wait. What?

“We have that debrief,” Viktor reminded her when she failed to respond.

“You’re right.”

“We can have drinks afterwards.”

Wait. What?

“I’ll see you when you get in.”