Alpha One (Shadow Agents 1)

She believed him. His words terrified a part of her, a part that wasn’t wild with need and lust. This man—she knew how dangerous he was. To her and to others. But at that moment...

She didn’t care. She wanted his strength. She wanted him.

So when his hand slid under the elastic waistband of her shorts, Juliana arched her hips up, giving him better access. She wasn’t going to pretend she didn’t want this—him. She needed his touch more than she needed breath right then.

Her whole body was tense. Too eager. Her muscles straining. Then he was pushing his long, broad fingers under the edge of her panties. Touching her in the most intimate of caresses. His name broke from her even as she squeezed her eyes tightly shut.

H

e didn’t touch her with hesitation or uncertainty. He touched her the way a man did when he knew his lover’s body and knew how to give her the most pleasure.

His fingers slid over her flesh, found the center of her need. His touch grew more demanding. Her breath came faster, faster...

His mouth was on hers, kissing, thrusting his tongue past her lips. Her hands dug deeper into his shoulders. The pleasure was so close, driving her, making Juliana desperate for the release that would rip through her and take the pain away.

A shrill alarm cut through the room. The ringing pierced her ears even as she choked out Logan’s name. The pleasure hit, fast, brutal, but he stiffened against her.

The alarm’s shriek continued and Logan swore.

Juliana’s body shook when Logan pulled her to her feet.

“Someone’s coming,” he snapped.

Her heartbeat was still racing. She swallowed as she tried to ease the dryness in her throat. Her hands fumbled and she attempted to fix her clothes.

“You’re safe in here,” he told her even as he stepped away and opened a nearby drawer. When his hand rose again, she saw that he was holding a gun.

Someone’s coming.

Logan caught her hand and pulled her with him into the small room to the right, a room filled with about five monitors. On those monitors, she just saw trees. Empty woods. He must have been using some kind of night-vision cameras so that they could get the view, but she didn’t see anyone approaching the cabin.

“Someone triggered the alarm.” He yanked on a thick shirt, shoved into shoes.

Juliana shook her head. “They couldn’t have found us already.” It had just been hours. Hours.

Her thighs pressed together. The pleasure had left her emotions raw, and this—now? “They can’t be here,” she whispered.

But as she stared at those monitors, she saw the men creep from the shadows and close in. Men dressed in black with hoods covering their faces and big guns cradled in their hands.

The images were grainy on the screens. She leaned closer, narrowing her eyes.

And the gunfire erupted. No sound came with the shots, but she saw the men begin to fall. Two staggered back, clutching their chests. The others lifted their weapons. Fired at enemies she couldn’t see...even as they raced forward, their images flickering on the monitors.

“Give me a weapon,” Juliana said, surprised that her words were so steady.

Logan glanced at her and studied her face with narrowed eyes.

“Give it to me.”

Logan’s team was out in those woods. She got that. They were firing at the men. But if they didn’t take them all out, if someone got to the house...

Logan opened a thick safe on the left, nestled behind the screens. More guns were inside. Knives, too. What looked like a giant stockade of weapons.

He handed her a gun. “Here’s the safety. Make sure it’s off when you fire.”

The weapon didn’t feel heavy in her hands. She’d expected more.

It was cold. Hard.