"Our cargo arrives at 02.40 military time. We have twenty minutes to get in, label the guns and get out without anyone knowing," Mike reiterated into the phone, locking the door to his hotel room. "It has to be a clean job. There's no time for mistakes," he added, finally ending the call, rubbing his neck.

"Easy-peasy, that's how it's done." A voice rang out in the darkness, startling him to the point he had to draw his gun out.

Switching the lights on, the lump in his throat almost made him cough: Paige was lying on the bed, dressed in short black lace, legs crossed, leaning back on her arms with her head tilted to the side and her bare foot rubbing sensually up one of her ankles. Her red lips looked so inviting that he almost forgot how to breathe.

"Jesus Christ, you scared me." Mike took a deep breath, uncocking his gun and placing it on the table. "How long have you been here?"

Flirty. Seductive. That was what the dress looked like on her, with its form-flattering, short cut, and the delicate lacework that crawled and burst and flowered across the stretchy black fabric. It was a dress that said, with a smile and a wink that the real her would always give out to him when they were together, 'I know what I want, and I know what you want, but you can't have it; you've gotta work for it.' God, how he hated she had to use that kind of power on Toros knowing she would never say that, she wouldn't even say that to the real him now, either...but tonight - tonight, with her dirty blonde waves temptingly ruffled, her eyes darkened with shadow and bold lines of kohl, her plump lips reddened and parted, just begging to be bruised with a false kiss... tonight, she would.

And he had no choice but surrender to her. It was inevitable.

"Long enough."

They were on the top floor of an elegant hotel in West Beverly Hills. The penthouse suite was wide and spacious, decorated with large windows that gave a nice and colorful view of the city.

"Undress," he boldly ordered her, having checked her out with ardent passion written in his eyes. His tone was still light, but so different that Paige wondered if he was just too much into his character or if he was actually serious. She had no clue what game he was playing. "Take off your clothes, all of 'em."

"Aw, you're no fun tonight," she murmured in response.

"I'm not taking any chances this time," he pointed out with a tiny sly smile.

"I don't recall you being this boring last time," she plaintively accused him, getting on her knees and raising an eyebrow at him, hoping he would catch the silent question beyond her body language. 'What are you doing?'

But Paige didn't have time to think that Mike was already stepping closer, unbuttoning his jacket.

"Clothes off. Now."

Paige clicked her tongue to signal the exact moment when Mike 'fell' into her trap. She met Toros' eyes on the other side of the counter. The Armenian dealer nodded and walked away to join Ari and Briggs at the pool table. Mike promptly followed him with his eyes and she took that as an opportunity to squeeze his thigh, to show their mark was being handled and their plan was working. Toros was so angry and frustrated that all it took was that brief touch to send him over the edge: Paige wouldn't go home with him tonight. She would leave with the agent, and it was enough to tick him off.

Mike grabbed her wrist to stop her hand from going further, ignoring the tingling she left on his leg. He had to try and pretend not to want this, her, even if her scent was hypnotizing him.

"Looks like you're quite the loner tonight, babe."

She saw him stiffen and nervously shake his shoulders. For a moment his eyes were glazed over, like he was trapped in some sort of unfortunate thought or memory. But he forced himself to get rid of that sudden disturbance, flashing a not so convincing smile her way.

"Is that an offer?" He ended up asking.

"I don't know," she cautiously replied with an indecipherable look in her eyes.

Mike snorted, taking a sip out of his beer.

"Lighting the blue touch paper and standing back? Nice, nice."

He hiked one foot up his stool, leaning slightly closer to her. Even if he had some long strands orchestrating his moves, Paige would still be able to brilliantly play her part to perfection, much better than he was.

"What do you think?" She flirted back, wetting her lips to sensually smile at him.

Mike took one more sip, hoping it would never end - Paige was all too good at this game.

"Gorgeous woman in a bar goes away with a stranger," he thoughtfully listed out. "I'm pretty sure I've heard this story before and it didn't end with a happily ever after."

"Well, now that I think about it, you could be a werewolf."

"A werewolf? Really?"

"Uh-uh." Paige ran her fingers up his arms and to the back of his neck, toying with his much longer hair. Her other hand lightly traced his, before lacing their fingers together with a quick squeeze - her voice purposefully much more velvety than usual. "Big hands, long hair, bluest eyes I've ever seen. You keep to yourself, your skin is unusually hot. All signs are there."

"And you think I'd tell you if I were a wolf?"

"Werewolf," she correct him with a smile before snatching his beer and downing what was left of it. "Mhmm probably not, but tell you what... I like playing with fire."

"No shit." Giving her the once over, Mike decided to raise the stakes. He leaned close to her and lightly brushed his lips over the shell of her ear, his hot breath tickling her neck. "Are you here to kill me, sweetie?"

Paige had to summon all her self-control not to drop her act. Her heart began pounding furiously in her chest, giving rhythm to the flow of boiling blood in her veins. A feeling in the back of her neck suggested she was in deep trouble, but the knot in her stomach revived her spirit of defiance.

"That depends. Are you gonna eat me?" she teased him, setting his beer down. "I taste pretty good."

"Mhm, you sound pretty confident about that." He commented, cryptically, his tone amused and seemingly carefree.

"You have no idea."

They stared at each other for a long moment, weighing all the pros and cons at once if they decided to take it further. They both knew she was walking a thin line. The bar was small, Toros, Ari and Briggs were far from them, but close enough to hear – Toros could lose his temper in name of blind hatred anytime, she was more than aware of that, but she also trusted her skills - and Mike's. There was no doubt in her mind they would be able to neutralize him, if necessary.

"There's a motel nearby," he threw in, inching his fingers up her arm. "I was planning to spend the night there."

"You were," she commented, as if she was ironically flushing out his deceit.

Something told her that the time of flattery was over, and their game of cat and mouse they had planned was about to begin. A game Paige was a master at, always making sure to earn the role of predator rather than that of the helpless prey.

"I was," he brazenly confirmed.

"Let's go, then," Without further hesitation, she hopped down from her stool, clutching her purse and a hint of pure fun lightening up her eyes.

A trembling smirk settled on her face, well aware that Mike's eyes were fixed on her swaying hips. Unfortunately, so were Toros'.

Puzzled by the sudden change, she maintained eye contact as she lowered the zipper on the side of her dress. Finding no problem in grabbing the edges of the black dress clinging to her curves, Paige got rid of it like a second skin, slowly dragging it down her body along with the hidden holster wrapped safely around her thigh. His eyes became deeper and darker when she lowered her strapless bra and slipped out of her corset, dropping her undergarments with the rest of her clothes. She saw him shift imperceptibly while the fabric of her black panties slid down her legs and joined the messy pile of black fabric pooling on the floor.

She violently bit her fleshy lower lip, painted in blazing red, when Mike reached out to lightly trail his fingers over her skin. Her eyes drifted closed under his tenderness. Suddenly this didn't feel like a forced deadly mission anymore, they were there. Together.

The sincere, passionate look in his eyes when she bared herself in front of him, his dark blond hair combed to perfection, his lips over hers, meeting in a delicate outpouring of hidden emotions.

Not wanting to think about him that way, she opened her eyes and let him lean into her as she tentatively placed her hands on his leather jacket, pushing it off his shoulders.

Her mouth was suddenly claimed by his greedy one, as he let her hands quickly deprive him of his tight fitting shirt that clung nicely to his lean muscles.

"Why did you sleep with me?" Paige whispered in a weak voice.

There was a hint of embarrassment and mischief in Mike's eyes as he smiled at her, trying to stay in character.

"Why did you sleep with me?"

He turned her words around, as she eagerly and yet slowly rediscovered his body, his abs rising and falling with each breath he took, his lips slightly parted to let out a sigh of appreciation when he felt her fingertips touching his skin.

"Because I wanted to kill you."