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It was supposed to be easy. Just an average mission, find the source of the drug trafficking and get info on a person involved. Two birds with one stone. Little did he know, things would be anything but simple, not for the rest of his life.
The streets of Hong Kong were bustling at this hour. Between the masses of people, colorful signs, and his limited knowledge of Chinese, he almost missed their meeting point. Tucked between a warehouse and boarded up shop, he knew it was her.
His shoes scuffed the concrete as he rounded the corner. Taking care to look casual, Roy continued towards his target.
He couldn’t deny she was beautiful. Her hair was long and full, glistening in the light from the streetlamps. The angle of her cheekbones was as sharp as her nails. She was gorgeous in a brutal sort of way like sunlight glinting off broken glass.
“Got the stuff?” She nodded and he handed her the cash, slipping it into her fingers out of sight of any passersby. Her eyes shone in the evening light as she passed him a small plastic bag. It felt strange going through this routine again, since he had no intention of using anything. But that’s what the CBI wanted, he was only there to be undercover, to use his past connections.
“Thanks.” His finger brushed his badge as he put the bag in his pocket with a glance over his shoulder.
“Same time and place next week?” The red of her lips matched the vibrant signs around them yet she spoke in a cool tone.
“Eager to see me again that soon?” He smirked. “We’ll see--as you can probably tell, I’m a bit of a tourist here.” Roy ran a hand through his hair that was a striking sunset in a sea of black. “You seem like someone who knows a good time, any recommendations nearby?”
The gun concealed at his ankle was suddenly heavy under her gaze.
“I know a place.” Her fingers flicked, pointing further down the road. Roy’s stomach jolted when she grabbed his arm, guiding him across the street past crowds and noisy vendors. Her nails traced the inside of his wrist.
“You can call me Cheshire in this line of work.” Her flingers slipped away, leaving Roy both relieved and disappointed.
“Such mystery, I like that in a woman.” The corners of her mouth turned up at his words.
She turned around, pausing a couple doors down from a club. Red lanterns adorned with gold hung outside another restaurant, their light casting shadows under her cheekbones. There was something dangerous in her eyes, like animal stalking its prey; it was thrilling.
“Well, you’re certainly one yourself, Red.” She smiled like the edge of a knife. “Perhaps we should explore these mysteries together.” She ran her hand along his forearm, sending a tingle of pleasure through his skin.
“I was thinking the same thing.” He tilted his sunglasses down with bravado that came more from his heart pounding than his cover. The words slipped out of his mouth.
“Join me for dinner?”
He could track her down to the trafficking operation another day. His job was to gather intel, and this counted, right? But he couldn’t let his guard down, she wasn’t one of the world’s most dangerous assassins for no reason.
But, if there’s anything Roy knew about himself, he was easily distracted by dangerously beautiful things and giving in to things he shouldn’t.
With hidden identities, secret missions, and deadly skill, they we as similar as they were different. But here in Roy’s hotel room, they could get away from all that.
They’d done this a few times now, days and weeks blending in a tangle of limbs. The morning sun laid down across the bed, caressing bare skin and fabric alike.
He didn’t ask what she did when she disappeared some nights; she never questioned what he was doing in Hong Kong. Delving into the mysteries of Cheshire was his favorite part of the trip so far, whether out dancing in clubs or with her legs wrapped around him.
Right now, she was resting her head on his chest, breath ghosting across his skin. Their bodies seemed to fit together perfectly, soft and sharp in all the right ways.
“Good morning, beautiful…” He ran a hand through her hair, fingertips brushing her skin.
“Call me Jade.”
The picture in her file had left her looking angular, but he could see the softness in her features now, the curve of her cheekbones, the warmth in her eyes. Jade. Like the precious stone so many have fought for. It was fitting for her.
“My new favorite color.” Roy smiled.
Her fingers found his, green talons wrapping around his calloused palms, but where her nails ended her skin was soft. Roy looked up quickly, meeting her amber eyes. Something kind flickered in her expression, and she smiled.
Jade. A pang of guilt flickered in Roy’s chest.
Though he knew the cruelty she was capable of—the CBI had a detailed list—it didn’t seem right to gain her trust like this. He almost wished they hadn’t met this way, that he really was just a tourist meeting a gorgeous woman abroad. That he could tell her his name and he could hear her say it throughout the night.
What if it could be just them, away from mistakes of the past? He pulled Jade closer, her shoulder blade fitting perfectly in his hand. Her body was warm against his and things felt right.
But that was probably just the lust talking. He couldn’t actually feel that way about her, a sociopathic international assassin.
Still, something ached at the thought of deluding her. Every time they went out for dinner or ended up at his hotel room, it itched at the back of his mind. Yet Roy couldn’t help but fall deeper into the charade; what was good for the mission was good for getting to know her better.
Her fingers circled the hair at the nape of his neck, slowly making their way to his head. He felt Jade shift, pulling his head closer until their lips met.
Something light fluttered in Roy’s chest as they kissed.
Her hand made its way onto his cheek and when they finally parted, he was sure that was the sweetest smile he had ever seen.
The man turned around in his chair slowly, rolling a cigarette between his fingers.
“You surprised me Harper, you haven’t screwed up a mission till now, unlike some of our other agents.” He exhaled smoke alongside the insult, lips pursing into a frown.
“I put you on this case because I knew you could handle it and we needed it handled! You know how dangerous she is, how cruel.” Roy nodded, eyes downcast. “Now we have another assassin we’ve just let go, because you lost the trail.”
The man flipped through the file, “-- which I don’t know how you did with all the info we have in here.”
“I’m sorry Sir, I don’t know how it happened either.” Roy put his hand on the back of his neck sheepishly. “One moment she was there, then she was gone.”
Bare skin in the sunlight flashed in his mind.
“I won’t let it happen again.”