Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats 2.50)

Instead of going to the kitchen or even sitting down on the couch, he moved to stand behind her. “No, I think I’m going to stay here and watch over your shoulder.”

She shrugged, wanting to show she wasn’t intimidated by his proximity. “Fine. The report I’m about to type isn’t anything you couldn’t find out yourself.”

He remained silent, but he was standing close enough she could feel his heat behind her. Ignore it, Sabrina. She’d been around hot men before without drooling all over herself. She could certainly do it now, when both her career and a school of children were at stake.

With the safety of the children in mind, she started typing her report.

Chapter Four

Jorge read Sabrina’s email to Watkins as she typed. It was all about school dimensions, weak points, and when the cleaning staff arrived and left. She’d been right—all of this he could have found out with half a day’s stakeout.

None of it was the key to taking down Watkins. Only the woman sitting in front of him could do that.

As he waited for her to finish typing, his gaze settled on the skin of her neck. The last time he’d seen her, Sabrina’s hair had been a few inches past her shoulders. He wondered if the change of appearance was a sign of her about to switch identities again.

He tried to use her lying to him to stoke his anger, but it wasn’t working as well as it had in the restaurant or back at the van.

Taking her hand and holding it the whole way here had been a mistake. He’d done it to make sure she didn’t run away, but all it had succeeded in doing was reminding him how soft and delicate her hand felt in his.

Of course, describing Sabrina whatever-her-name as delicate was ridiculous. The woman could run ten miles and still breathe easy; she was even stronger in the water. Not to mention she could take down men nearly twice her size with nothing but a few quick self-defense moves.

Yet despite all of that, standing right behind her, her vanilla and womanly scent filled his nose and he couldn’t help but notice her as a woman. Memories of her vanilla scent had both tortured him over the last nine months as well as focused him. Being chained to a bed and pumped full of drugs to keep from shifting had become routine during his time with the Collector. Thinking of how to get back at Sabrina had kept him from going insane, or worse, turning into a sociopathic killer.

Yet here she was, right in front of him, and revenge was the furthest thing from his mind. His semi-hard cock was proof that while his head understood what Sabrina had done, his dick did not.

Luckily, Sabrina closed her laptop and turned around. Good. He could finally get down to business. The sooner he finished this, the sooner he could leave this woman and never have to see her again.

Sabrina stood up. “I’m done. I should receive a follow-up email in the next half-hour, so start talking because I’m kicking you out as soon as I hear the little buzzing on my phone that signals Watkins’s response.”

To put distance between them, he stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest. “As much as I’m glad you’re submitting so easily, I feel there’s a catch.”

She rolled her eyes. “I resist, and you bitch. Then I cooperate, and you bitch some more. I don’t know what happened to you, but clearly it erased any sort of manners you once had.”

“That’s right, princess. And let’s not forget who’s ultimately responsible for that.”

“Right. Me.” She waved an arm and moved to the kitchen. “Have at it. Call me names and blame me some more. But if you don’t mind, some grumpy, angry man interrupted my meal, so I’m going to make something to eat while you do it.”

She opened the fridge and Jorge narrowed his eyes. Unlike his other targets in the last few months, Sabrina wasn’t afraid of him. She probably remembered the kinder, somewhat shy version he’d once been.

Well, he needed to fix that because that young man was dead.

He was across the room with a few strides. Grabbing her shoulder, he turned her around so her ass was against the counter. He switched his grip to her wrists and pinned her legs with his own to prevent her from trying to escape. “Listen, Sabrina the Mystery Woman. This is not a game. You know as well as I that the clock is ticking. I need you to tell me why you don’t want to get kicked off this assignment for Watkins, and then start spilling everything you know.”

Sabrina was not only hungry, but also irritated with both herself and Jorge. The fact he now had her pinned in place didn’t help her mood.

But her irritation was stronger than her hormones, and she barely noticed his heat surrounding her. Right now, all she wanted to do was scream that she was an undercover agent. Maybe then he’d shut up. Of course, she couldn’t do that. Any human working for one of the Feiru Liaison offices who exposed their employer would be pulled from the field and usually stashed away for life. She didn’t know where—nobody did—but call her selfish for not wanting someone to make her disappear.

She tried to wiggle free, but just as she expected, it was hopeless. The only way to get free was for Jorge to release her. For once, she wished she wasn’t human but rather a first-born Feiru with magic at her disposal. Then she’d be able to teach him a lesson about manhandling someone against their will.

But no, she didn’t have any magic. All she could do was answer his questions and stick as close to the truth as possible without revealing her secrets. “First, despite whatever you might think, I do have a heart and I’m not about to let a school full of children be blown up for who the hell knows what reason.”

He frowned. “So you don’t know why Watkins is targeting this school?”

The Fed League’s usual M.O. was to target AMT-related people or former employees. As far as she knew, the school didn’t employ any former AMT employees. The parents of the school’s students didn’t check out either.

She shook her head. “No. I have no idea why the school was chosen.”

He looked skeptical but thankfully didn’t push. “You said ‘first’. So, what’s the other reason?”