Page 92 of Silk Shadow

“What happened to my front door?” Izzy gasped, as Viper helped her into her apartment.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I couldn’t get in, so I shot it.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I don't care about the door. I'm just grateful you got here when you did. You saved my life. Again."

"Hopefully, this will be the last time.”

Now that he was back, she didn't want to let him go. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. I’m sorry for leaving without saying a proper goodbye. I panicked. I didn’t want to risk?—"

"Shh…" She kissed him gently on the lips. "I know how important this job is to you. I would never knowingly jeopardize that."

He took her face in his hand. "You don't think you can kiss me like that then stop, do you?"

She smirked. "I was trying to get you to shut up. I've had enough talking?—"

He kissed her this time, effectively cutting her off. She moaned softly as he delved into her mouth, sliding his tongue against hers. God, she loved kissing him.

It deepened, became more intoxicating, until they were both gasping for breath. Deftly, Viper picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.

"I've been wanting to do this ever since we got back from Mexico," he said, dropping her gently onto the king-size bed.

He wasn’t joking. She glanced up and saw him straining against his trousers.

“Me too,” she whispered.

He took off his shirt, dropping it onto the floor. The Kevlar vest hugged him like a suit of armor. Izzy stared at it. "Oh, my God. Is that a bullet?"

"Yeah, lucky I was wearing this. I grabbed it at the last moment, thinking it might come in handy." He tore it off and tossed it onto the bed.

Izzy fingered the bullet, compressed into the vest. To think that could have been in his chest.

He took it from her and put it on the floor. "I forgot about that. The CSI team will want to have a look at that."

“You forgot you’d been shot?”

He shrugged. “I was trying to get to you.”

Trembling, she reached up to him. “You could have died.”

He lowered himself into her arms. "But I didn't."

Tears welled and she couldn’t stop them. "I love you, Viper Morgan. I don't know if you know that, but you should by now."

He nuzzled her, his voice a husky whisper in her ear. "You should know that I love you, Miss Beaumont."

She giggled. "I had hoped that was the case."

He ran his finger over the bruise on her cheek. "Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

"That's my girl."

He lowered his head and reclaimed her mouth, picking up where they'd left off. Izzy wrapped herself around him, feeling every muscle in his hard, toned body. Her hands ran over his ripped shoulders and down his sculpted back. This was her hero, her savior, her Navy SEAL, and master of her heart.

No matter how many times he'd rescued her, he'd also captured her body and soul, and she didn't want to ever let him go. Sure, they had different lives, but none of that mattered now.