Disclaimer: I do not intend to profit from the use of the Covert Affairs premise or its characters
Chapter 1
Standing the middle of his living room, Eyal felt Annie's pulse accelerate underneath his fingers placed as they were along the side of her throat with his thumb under her chin tilting her head back. It was nothing short of miraculous that after the events of the last two days Annie still trusted him. This realization had him pulling her closer and deepening the kiss.
He felt Annie's arms steal around his waist. The bedroom was only a matter of a few meters behind him, but unlike the last time the two of them were in this apartment, there was a better than even chance he was being surveilled. He knew without question that Rivka would have someone form Mossad watching him. It wouldn't surprise him if the CIA did as well given what his former superior had said about him. It wouldn't do to have Annie seen with him by either agency.
Eyal gently ended the kiss and tried to pull away, but Annie tightened her hold. He should have realized that she would have reached the same conclusion and been anticipating what had to be done next.
He gently kissed the top of her head. "Neshema," he started.
"No, Eyal, not yet, please."
"Annie, we have to play this smart. In all likelihood, one or both of our agencies will be watching me. If I am not much mistaken, you've probably even been warned not to associate with me any further?" Annie's grip tightened slightly which Eyal took as confirmation. "I don't want you losing your job or worse because we weren't at least as cautious as we would be during any mission."
Annie pulled back just far enough to look into his eyes. "So, what is our next move? Where do we go from here?"
Eyal gave Annie a brief but genuine smile at hearing her link them together. "'Our' next move starts with me going out and having a few drinks which should have anyone watching me following along allowing you to exit the building undetected." He watched Annie's expression seeing want battle logic for a moment or two.
"Alright. Will I be seeing you later?"
Eyal brought his right hand up to caress her cheek. "Don't tempt me. For both of our sakes, I don't think we should risk it. I will text you when I make it back to the apartment."
"I'd rather have you wake me up with a kiss, but I understand."
He'd been trying so hard to be strong, but he was only human. "I think perhaps we have enough time for me to say 'Good night' before I go." Eyal put his arms around Annie and lifted her off her feet. He walked the three steps to the couch and sat down with Annie straddling his lap. Annie's eyes went wide registering the sensation of Eyal beneath her. Eyal's hands on her waist encouraged her to settle herself more fully against him. He made quick work of the buttons on her coat. He then pulled her shirt free of her slacks and undid those buttons as well. Eyal's hands caressed her sides and back while he leaned forward to trace the edge of her lacy bra with his lips and tongue. He gently kissed the scars that resulted from Lena's gunshot.
Annie had thought that his whiskers would tickle, but instead she found them highly arousing as they brushed against her sensitive skin. She allowed her fingers to play with his thick dark hair as she watched him tease her nipple through the sheer bra. She pressed herself harder against his groin which elicited soft moans from them both. It was a lovely form of torture that they were wrecking on each other.
Steeling his resolve, Eyal kissed the scar over her heart one last time before slowly beginning to re-button her blouse. The process took twice as long as it should have since his movements were more than a little unsteady. He took her face in his hands and kissed her thoroughly. Reluctantly, he ended the kiss, lifted her off his lap and sat her next to him. He stood and reached out his hand to her.
Annie took his hand. Frustrated didn't begin cover how she was feeling, but she knew the feeling was mutual and he was right this was not the time and place. Dammit. Gaining her feet, she pulled Eyal into one last hug.
Stepping back, Annie put on a smile and said, "Enjoy your Sazerac."
"I will. I'll text you later." He practically had to bite his tongue not remind her to use a scarf or hat to hide her hair and to make sure she looked for a tail just in case. "Where are you staying tonight?"
"I already checked in at same the hotel I was staying at when I came back from Russia. My car is parked there, so as soon as you leave I'll call the cab company to come get me."
"Good." He fought the urge to touch her face, her hair, to kiss her again. He inhaled and stepped away. "You'll see me again soon." With that, he turned and walked across the apartment and out the door.
Annie stood there and watched him leave. Start to finish, she hadn't been with Eyal fifteen minutes and yet those few minutes had her re-evaluating her foreseeable future. He had left his agency which was tantamount to admitting she was right about the file and reinforced her decision to trust him and their friendship. This led to considering the possibility of a long term romantic relationship (which now that Eyal was no longer Mossad theoretically had potential), even though just having him as a friend was made difficult to say the least by Joan's edict. And if she were willing to defy Joan, being together would still be problematic at best given the fact that Mossad was most likely going to take an active interest in his actions and whereabouts for the rest of the year if not longer. Oh yes, and let's not forget that now that he was no longer an agent did he even intend to stay in the U.S.?
Annie shook her head slightly to stop this train of thoughts. She could make herself crazy with all of this once she got to the hotel. Pulling her cell from her coat pocket, she hit redial and in three rings was connected with the cab company. Five minutes later she was climbing into the back seat with her purse and two bags. Before Annie stepped out of the apartment, she had pulled her favorite paisley scarf from her bag to cover her hair. She directed Gus, her cabbie, to a pharmacy a few blocks away to pick up a prescription only to remember as they pulled in the lot she'd already picked it up. Gus could have cared less and was no doubt happy to get a few more miles out of her fare. Having spotted no one following her, she gave him the hotel's name and was opening the door to her room 20 minutes later.
Annie busied herself unpacking part of her larger bag and putting away the two suit coats, 4 pairs of slacks and blouses to keep them from wrinkling. Standing there in front of the closet, it occurred to her she'd just have to do this again tomorrow when she went home.
Back home? The thought rocked her for a moment, but the longer she considered it the more positive she became. Yes, it was time reclaim her home. She'd let Lena take enough away from her. She liked the rooms Dani had decorated for her and until the house sold, she wanted to be there.Having settled that, Annie pulled out from her bags only what was necessary for the night. She carried her cell phone with her into the bathroom as she got ready for bed not wanting to miss Eyal's text. He still hadn't contacted her a half hour later as she sat in bed channel surfing. Finally, just as she was going to give in to closing her eyes, her cell buzzed.
"Home now. Saw 2 friends on the way."
"Uneventful trip here. Hotel is quiet, but going home in the morning." She sent in response.
Buzz. "Really? Are you ready for that?
"It's time."
Buzz. "Get some sleep then."
"Good night."
Annie turned off the TV. She smiled to herself as she placed her phone right next to the lamp. The alarm was set for 6 which she hoped would give her enough time to check out, drive to the house and drop everything off and still be to work on time.
Everything was going off without a hitch. She had slept thru the night without a single nightmare. She was up and checked out of the hotel just before 7. 40 minutes later she pulled into the driveway. Knowing the trip to Langley would take at least double that amount of time, she wasted no time but rushed into her garage apartment dropped the smaller bag by the bed, carried the larger to her closet, speedily hung the necessary items and left the rest for later.
Annie walked into the DPD with three minutes to spare carrying two cups of coffee and a bag containing pumpkin bread and a berry muffin. Everyone seemed a little busier than usual. She quickened her pace slightly and entered Auggie's office.
"Good morning, Walker. Coffee and pastry? What did I do to deserve this?" He quipped from his usual place behind his desk.
How does he do that? "The muffin is part thank you for yesterday and part I'm sorry for passing on Allen's last night." Annie said stopping at the corner of his desk.
"Well, you're welcome and as long as you don't pass again tonight, you're forgiven."
"I have nothing else planned. There has been a conversation we've needed to have for weeks now."
"There is indeed, but now, we have a briefing to get to. Leave the goodies and bring the coffee." Annie dropped the bag on the corner of his desk as Auggie stood and picked up his laser cane, but placed it in his pocket so he could claim his java from her.
"Someone is feeling a little full of themselves."
Auggie just chuckled as she guided them to the briefing room. Less than 15 minutes later, they were back in Auggie's office.
"Did you know about Joan going on vacation?" Annie queried.
"No and we actually spoke several times yesterday."
"Do you think she's ill?"
"She might have been while you were in Russia, but she's seemed fine lately. Why?"
"Nothing specific. She just seemed thinner and maybe a little tired when we spoke last night?"
"Well, it hasn't been the easiest of weeks or months for that matter. Off to your desk, I have things to do and so do you."
Annie opened the pastry bag and removed the muffin. She placed it on an extra napkin. "Breakfast at your 10 o'clock to the left of your coffee. See you tonight."
The day passed in something of a blur. Just before lunch, Annie was given the go ahead to try and find under what alias Megan had left the U.S. So she'd spent a good amount of time talking with Barber about setting parameters for searching various databases checking for female international travelers of the right age and height leaving the US within a 12 hour window via the 4 major hubs – DC, Atlanta, Newark and NYC. She also put in a request to be notified if Megan's name came up in any communication traffic. Annie just had a bad feeling Megan reuniting with Khalid was not going to end well.
Before she knew it, Auggie was standing next to her desk. "Please tell me you aren't suddenly staying late?"
Annie looked at him in surprise. "What are you talking about?" She looked at her watch. It was after 6. "Give me five more minutes and I'm all yours." Annie smacked his arm in response to the wicked grin her comment had inspired. "Don't say it or you can find your own ride to Allen's."
"Wouldn't dream of it, Walker," Auggie responded. Actually, yes I would and have, but you don't need to know that yet, he thought to himself.
The pair made their way to Annie's car. As a matter of habit, Annie picked up her personal cell from the cup holder between the seats. It showed a missed call from Eyal. She wasn't aware of making any kind of sound, but she must have.
"Something wrong?"
And so the evasions begin. "No, I don't think so. I missed a call from Danielle. If it had been urgent, she would have called thru on my work line. With the time difference I'll have plenty of time to call back after Allen's."
"Onward then Jeeves." She'd missed a call from someone, but he wasn't certain it was Danielle. The way her breathing hitched he'd bet it was a certain former Mossad agent. "We have some time to make up for."
A/N – Thank you to all that read and followed A Matter of Trust. I hope you enjoy the continuation of that plot line. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and any constructive criticism is welcome. GS
