Chapter 1

The main part of the day was meant to be spent cuddling, just laying there together. And for the most part, it was. James found himself looking at his wife more and more often now, more so than other times he had come home and then left. Their anniversary was coming up, ten years. Longer than that of any other Double-O internal relationships lasted. What to get the one woman I hold above all others? That was a perplexing thought. Ana shifted, and as the light struck her face, he was struck by the beauty that was laying there. A long, slim body, mostly made up of legs. Jet black curls. And emerald eyes that any man would take a bullet for. A lock of her curls were lying across her face, and he gave in to the urge to tuck it back behind her ear. Emerald green eyes opened, met his sapphire blues, and a smile brought dimples to her cheeks. She brought her hand up to his face and touched the newest scars on his eyebrow. A few small worry lines creased her forehead, and on a spur of the moment, James leaned over her and kissed each line. Why does she love me, when all I do is bring her pain? Upon seeing her lover retract, Ana gripped his forearms and pulled him down for a kiss. That's when the phone went off. His phone. Putting it on speakerphone so that he could still hold on to her, he pulled Ana into his lap and they sat like that.

"Bond."

"James, we need you to go on a mission."

"Isn't there any other Double-O's who aren't just home from a mission with their wives?"

"James, this has to do with the network we keep hearing about."

"I don't care, M. I just got back home to Ana. I would like to spend some time with her."

Ana's hand covered the phone. "James, you need to go. We can celebrate later, after you're done with this mission, ok?"

"Yes, darling." Reaching over and picking the phone up, he began to make a snarky comment at M. "Fine, I'll be there in half an hour."

"Good. And hello, Ana." Click.

Ana's face was worried, and he wished that he could change the look. She was the apple of his eye, and she was scared. Visibly. M was going to get a tirade when he got to work. This is going to be an in and out job, and then I'm coming home to her loving arms. With that, James began busying himself with getting ready to go to work. A picture of his target came up on the phone, and he was out the door. Ana took a little longer getting dressed. The shower was short, her hair dried into its curls, and her makeup was simple. But her clothing was what made anyone who saw her stop and stare. At 28, she was the youngest Double-O to date. James had been a marriage arranged by her mother, but it was one of her better moves. Ana loved her husband, but there were things that no man should do, that James did constantly. His cheating, his drinking like a fish, and his gambling were his only vices. And she loved every little bit of him, even when he came home smelling like another woman, because she was the one he came home to.

Her clothing was a little bit on the not-for-work side of the spectrum, but the bosses and techs at MI6 had gotten used to it. It was the way she dressed when James was supposed to be coming home, or when he was home. Her phone went off.

"James? What's the matter, dearest?"

"Ana, I'm not going to be home in time for our anniversary. I've been shipped out after a target, and I'm getting a little bit of trouble from this one, slippery snake."

"James, I'm going to head over to MI6 and I'll be in the comm. room there."

"All right, my darling. Stay safe."

"You too, James. You too." Click.

Ana's skirt flared at the waist and it turned into a thigh high dress, with a diving neckline. It was black, as were her fishnets. Her heels were 4 inches, and black. She was dresses, literally, to kill. In each heel was something that Q had given her. A miniature grenade in one and in the other was a sleeping gas vial. The new Quartermaster had taken a liking to her, and made it obvious. She was flattered, but it was strictly business on either end for them, because the only person she had eyes for was James. The only thing he had eyes for was his technical equipment, and the cat that James hated with a passion. Ana adored the cat, mainly because it reminded her of her sister, Kaleigh.

Kaleigh and Anastasia had been twins. Their mother was the head of MI6 when they were born, and their careers had been mapped out since birth. Their mother was also one of the most cold hearted women in the world, rivaled only by Ana and James' boss, M. Ana was closer to her mother, but Kaleigh was closer to their father, a Double-O himself. The original Double-O to be exact. The girls witnessed the murder of their father by the hands of their mother. Well, technically. He was on a mission, and as head of MI6, it was their mother's call on what to do. She told them to "take the damn shot" and the next thing they'd heard from the agent escorting him was: "Agent down. Jacob Barton is dead." It scarred Ana and Kaleigh. Kaleigh's reaction to the words was worse than Ana's. She ran away from home, and no one heard from her again. Ana went on for about 3 years before she saw a familiar face. Kaleigh had died that day, but there is another woman walking around in her place. Two years later, at James and Ana's wedding, the day she turned 18, there was a lone girl standing at the top of the hills behind the house. Close enough to see the wedding, but not close enough for anyone to see her. That was the last day anyone but Ana ever saw her.