Three weeks until the heist. Sergio had been enforcing a strict bedtime schedule to keep them all fresh and focused in class, so the members of the team were all in their respective rooms – except for Rio and Tokyo, probably, but he didn't know how to stop that. For once, Sergio hadn't adhered to his own curfew, but was instead sitting in front of the fireplace with his brother, sipping wine and talking things over.

"We're on schedule", Sergio said. "I've laid out the entire plan, we can start revising it soon to make sure everyone has it memorized."

"Are you getting nervous yet?" Berlin grinned.

"A little", Sergio admitted. "I suppose you're not?"

"No", Berlin said calmly. "I have faith in the plan."

Sergio nodded. "It's a solid plan, I know it is. There's only one thing that worries me."

"What?"

"Raquel."

"You still think she's going to be a distraction to you in the control room?"

"No, I don't. In fact, I'm grateful she'll be there. I was a fool for thinking I could man the control room alone, it really is a two-man job. No, what worries me is what will happen when I leave the control room."

"What do you mean?"

"She might need to give orders when I'm not there. Will the team follow them?"

"All orders will go through me", Berlin reminded him, "and I can assure you I'll follow any commands she gives me."

"Forgive me, Andrés, but we don't know what will happen in there and you're… you're not well. You may be incapacitated at some point. The other members of the team need to be willing to follow Raquel's orders too."

"They seem to accept her, though. Well, all except Tokyo."

Sergio nodded. "Tokyo worries me. But the others, too – I agree that they've accepted her as a member of the team, but not as a superior."

Berlin raised his eyebrows at him. "How can they accept her as their superior if you treat her like a regular member of the team?"

"What do you mean?"

"You want them to see her as their leader, but you don't let her lead. She sits in class like the rest of us."

Sergio frowned. "So what should I do?"

"Organize some activities where she can be in charge instead of you."

"Like what?"

"She's a cop – let her teach them how to shoot properly. Moscow looks deeply uncomfortable with a gun in his hands and Denver couldn't hit an elephant."

"That's actually a good idea."

"I'm full of good ideas."

Sergio gave him an amused look. "Any other suggestions, then?"

"Put her in front of the class with you when you teach. Show everyone quite literally that she's with you, separate her physically from the rest of the group."

Sergio gave a thoughtful nod. "I'll do that. Thank you."

He drained his glass of wine and involuntarily shot a look at the stairs. He knew Raquel would be waiting for him in his bedroom. His brother followed the direction of his gaze and gave him a nod, smiling.

"You should go to her."

"No", he said quickly, "I'm talking to you."

"It's only a few more weeks until the heist, though. Like you said: we don't know what will happen then. You should enjoy the time you have left with her."

Sergio shook his head. "If everything goes well, I'll have my whole life to spend time with her. Whereas you…"

Berlin raised his hand. "We already had a lifetime together. Believe me: if something goes wrong with the operation, you'll regret every moment you didn't spend with her. Go."

Sergio hesitated, torn between the only two people he loved in the world. When he stayed seated, Berlin got up instead, grinning.

"Indecisive as usual. I'll make the decision for you, then. Goodnight, little brother."

…

Sergio lost no time implementing his brother's suggestions: the very next morning, he put Raquel in front of the class with him. She knew the plan so well by now that she was able to take over parts of the lesson from him, while he stood back and watched her. She did it so well, yet it was a deeply uncomfortable experience for him to surrender control. He supposed he should get used to it, though, since he'd have to do it in the control room as well – after all, he needed sleep like anyone else, and there would be times when he'd have to leave the hangar altogether.

In the afternoon, he set them to target practice. They stood in a long line and fired at the targets he'd provided, while Raquel went by them one by one and corrected their grip or their aim. All went well until she reached Tokyo.

"Don't hold your gun like that when you want to make a precision shot", she said, reaching out to correct Tokyo's grip.

"Back off", Tokyo snapped, pushing her hands away. "I know how to shoot a gun."

"Clearly you don't", Raquel fired back.

"I don't need you to tell me what to do."

Sergio stepped forward.

"Tokyo", he said sharply. "Lisbon knows what she's doing. Follow her instructions."

Tokyo shot Raquel a resentful look, but allowed her to adjust her grip. Later, however, Raquel took Sergio aside.

"I know you meant well", she said, "but you can't keep stepping in when the others question my authority. It will only weaken my position. I need to fight this battle for myself."

"I'm sorry", he said. "You're right."

"We need a situation where I'm in charge without your presence to back up my authority."

"What do you propose?"

"Send us on a short mission, just to practice, nothing dangerous."

"Like what?"

"In the police academy they sent us on droppings of multiple days. I know we don't have that kind of time, but maybe just for an afternoon?"

"What would that entail?"

"You'd take us to an unknown location away from the house and we'd have to find our own way back, no smartphones, just a map. It's great for team building."

"I don't want you or Tokyo traipsing along public roads where anyone might recognize you."

She shot him an amused look. "We just spent an entire afternoon 'traipsing' through Madrid. Weren't those public roads?"

"That's different, that was just you and me in a big city where nobody was looking at us twice. But in small villages like the ones around here, a big group of strangers on foot will draw attention."

"We'll stay away from the villages, then", she said. "Cut cross- country. That will only add to the challenge."

When he still hesitated, she insisted: "They need to get used to following my orders, Sergio. This will be the perfect opportunity."

He sighed. "Alright. I'll arrange some things and we can do the dropping on Friday."

She kissed his cheek. "Great."

…

And so it came about that, on Friday, Raquel found herself in the back of a windowless van with seven members of the team: Berlin had stayed home, pleading a headache, though Raquel strongly suspected that he just didn't like the idea of walking cross-country all afternoon. She didn't mind – Berlin wasn't the person she was worried about ignoring her orders. The van passed over an uneven patch of road and she bumped shoulders with Tokyo, who gave her an annoyed look. Raquel sighed inwardly. Now that one she was worried about.

Her thoughts drifted as they went along, and she couldn't help but shudder at the memory of when she'd last been in a van like this, handcuffed, desperate, on her way to jail. But then the van had stopped and the doors had opened, and the men who freed her had brought her to a new life – had brought her to Sergio. Thinking back on it, she still couldn't entirely wrap her head around how her fortunes had shifted so suddenly, so completely. From the darkest moment of her life back into the light.

The van stopped abruptly and Sergio opened the back doors, making them all squint at the bright sunlight streaming in. One by one, they got out, shading their eyes, into the simmering air of an unusually hot autumn day. Raquel put on the cap she had brought and they all turned to Sergio.

"Alright", he said. "I'm leaving you here to make your own way back to the house. Remember: stay off the roads as much as possible. Lisbon is in charge. She has a phone, but it's only to be used in case of emergency – you'll have to rely on the map to get you home. I'll see you all tonight."

He got back into the van and Raquel watched him drive away, then she turned to look at their surroundings. They were on a small road in the middle of some fields, stubbly with the remains of the harvest. There was a clump of trees a short distance away and a single house in the opposite direction. She took a deep breath and addressed the members of the team, who were all looking at her expectantly.

"First things first", she said. "We need water and we need to get out of the sun while we find our bearings."

She handed the empty water bottles they'd brought to Rio and Nairobi.

"You two go to that house and ask if you can fill these bottles. Meet us at those trees over there."

Nairobi and Rio left without comment, and Raquel led the others into the shade of the trees, where she spread out the map on the ground.

"We need to find the name of this road", she concluded. "Helsinki and Denver – go right and walk along the road until you find a street name or a signpost to the nearest village. Preferably both."

"That doesn't make any sense", Tokyo argued. "They should go in opposite directions, that way there will be a better chance of them finding something sooner."

Raquel shook her head. "No. If one person finds something, we have no way of alerting the other person to come back, so we'd still have to wait for him."

"We could send someone running after him", Tokyo argued.

"We're doing it my way, Tokyo", Raquel said shortly, acutely aware that the others were paying close attention to their argument.

"But…"

"This decision is not up for discussion", Raquel snapped, then turned to Helsinki and Denver. "Go right, both of you."

To her relief, they went off without questioning her, and Tokyo walked a few paces away from her and sat down on the ground with a sulky expression. Raquel sat down next to Moscow, who gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Don't let her get to you", he said quietly.

Raquel smiled back. "I won't, but thank you."

"You certainly seem to know what you're doing."

"We did a lot of droppings at the police academy."

"Then I'm sure you'll lead us home very capably."

"If only Tokyo had as much faith in me as you do." She shook her head. "I wish I could get everyone to trust me, Moscow. They don't have to like me, but it's important that we all trust each other once the operation starts."

"We trust you", he said quietly.

"You didn't a few weeks ago when I didn't return from grocery shopping because of the car breaking down."

"Those were unusually suspicious circumstances, though. We were just being careful. Afterwards, when things calmed down, we all realized we'd been very wrong to distrust you."

"Except for Tokyo", Raquel said bitterly. "She still doesn't trust me at all."

"It will be different during the operation. Once we're on the ground and our lives depend on you and the Professor in the control room, I'm sure she'll come around."

Raquel sighed. "I hope so."

He gave her a thoughtful look. "You're a good person. You care about the operation and you care about the team. Sooner or later, she'll realize that."

She was touched. She liked Moscow, and his good opinion meant a lot to her.

She reached out and put a hand on his arm for a moment. "Thank you."

He gave her a gentle smile and patted her hand. "I like you, Lisbon. You keep a steady head. I'm glad you'll be in the control room with the Professor."

Rio and Nairobi returned with the water and a little later Denver and Helsinki returned with the name of the street they were on, and from there Raquel quickly found where they were on the map, give or take a few hundred yards. They all set out, Raquel in front and the team behind her, talking and laughing. It wasn't easy going across the uneven fields, though, and soon they were all sweating in the hot sun.

"It's so fucking hot", Denver said plaintively for the hundredth time, wiping the sweat out of his eyes.

"I thought you wanted to go live on a tropical island after this was all done, Denver", Nairobi laughed. "It's going to be much hotter there, so you'd better get used to it."

"When I'm on my tropical island, I'm not going to be tramping through the fields, though", Denver retorted. "I'm going to lie on my backside on the beach and drink piña coladas."

"I can't wait to go to my island", Rio said dreamily. "Just lie in a hammock and take naps in the middle of the day."

"Yes", Tokyo supplied, "so we can go partying all night."

"Are you looking forward to partying too, Moscow?" Nairobi said, elbowing him amicably in the side.

Moscow smiled. "I'm just looking forward to a quiet retirement."

Behind him, Helsinki nodded. "Never having to shoot a gun again. Living the good life."

Raquel said nothing. Life hadn't been particularly kind to her lately, and she wasn't going to tempt fate by day-dreaming about their idyllic lives after the heist. One day at a time, she kept telling herself. One day at a time.

There were frequent stops to consult the map, which was made harder by the fact that they weren't using the roads. Everybody had an opinion about what direction they should take, and there were some heated debates, but Raquel made the final decisions. Once, though, the entire group insisted they should go left when her gut told her they should go right, and she let herself be persuaded. After a difficult trek through a patch of forest with thick undergrowth, they came to a village that told them they had gone in entirely the wrong direction. Raquel quietly turned around to head back, but Tokyo walked up to her angrily.

"I thought you knew what you were doing? Now we have to go through that forest again and I'm sick and tired of getting stung by nettles."

"It's our own fault, Tokyo", Nairobi said. "We were the ones who persuaded her to go left after the last stop."

"No", Raquel said calmly. "She's right. I'm in charge, this is my responsibility."

"You shouldn't be in charge if you don't know what you're doing", Tokyo said acidly, then fell back to her usual position at the back of the group. From that point onwards, Tokyo argued with every decision Raquel made, and after a while it really began to piss her off. The others accepted her leadership without question though, and all in all, they were working together rather smoothly as they made their way, slowly but steadily, back in the direction of the house.

By the time that it was getting dark, however, everyone was tired and hungry. They hadn't brought any food, because Raquel had expected to be back by the house by dinnertime, but moving through the fields and patches of forest was rather slower going than she had anticipated. When they passed close by a village, Tokyo stopped.

"Let's go get some food."

"We don't have any money", Raquel pointed out.

"So? I can sneak some things out of a supermarket."

"We're not shoplifting", Raquel said firmly. "Nobody's taking a risk like that this close to the operation."

"But we're all hungry", Tokyo complained.

"Then let's stop this pointless arguing and get back to the house so we can eat."

There were nods of agreement all around, and they moved off the road again into another patch of forest, Tokyo at the back of the group. A few minutes later, however, Raquel heard Rio call out.

"Lisbon! Tokyo's gone!"

She turned back sharply. "What?"

"She was right behind me a moment ago, but now she's gone!"

"But… where?"

"Knowing Tokyo", Moscow said tiredly, "she's probably gone into the village anyway."

Raquel cursed heatedly. "Alright, let's turn back. Quickly!"

They all hurried back the way they came, and when they stepped out of the trees, they were just in time to see Tokyo walk into the village in the distance and disappear between the houses.

Raquel stared after her, astonished that Tokyo would go to such lengths just to spite her. They had a quick argument about what to do, then Raquel took them to the edge of the village, where they peered down the street. There were several small shops that Tokyo might have gone into, but they had no way of knowing which. Raquel was just instructing them to each check a different shop, when a police car came tearing out of a side street with its lights on. It stopped in front of one of the shops and a police officer stepped out and went inside.

"She's been caught", Rio said with a stricken look. "If they take her to a police station she'll be recognized for sure!"

They all turned to look at Raquel, who was thinking fast. There was no time to call Sergio – in a few minutes, Tokyo would be at the local police station and her fingerprints would reveal her identity. She would be questioned… and then who knew what she might say?

"Lisbon!" Nairobi said urgently, pointing at the store, where the cop was leading out Tokyo in handcuffs. "What do we do?"

Raquel swallowed hard. There was only one thing for it.

She grabbed Rio by the arm and gave him some quick instructions, then she took a deep breath, stood up straight, pulled her shoulders back, and walked straight towards the cop before she could think it through and change her mind. She was counting on something she'd observed so often in witnesses: the inability of most people to recognize faces outside of their usual context. The police officer was pushing Tokyo into the back seat as she reached him, and to her relief she saw that he was just a kid, not much older than Rio. A rookie. She cleared her throat.

"Everything alright, constable?"

He turned and gave her a confused look. "Yes, ma'am. Uhm…?"

"Chief Inspector González", she introduced herself. "Madrid, second district. I'm on holiday here. I was just passing by."

She shot a look at Tokyo in the car, and the cop clarified: "Just a shoplifter." Then he gave her a closer look. "Do I know you from somewhere? You seem familiar."

Exactly as she'd expected – he recognized her but didn't know from where. Now she just had to suggest a plausible explanation to him before he could think about it too hard.

Her heart was racing, but she kept a carefully neutral expression. "Yes, you look familiar too. What station were you in before this one?"

"Madrid fourth district, patrol duties, for a year. Until three weeks ago, when I was transferred to this backwater."

She nodded. "Yes, I was at the fourth until about a year ago. Vice. Our paths must have crossed just as I was leaving there."

"Vice, huh? So you were stationed under Inspector Gómez?"

She gave him a mild smile. "Gómez was stationed under me."

The kid looked impressed. Right on cue, Rio came running up, panting.

"Sir! The supermarket around the corner was robbed! They're asking if you can come quickly."

"Another robbery?" the cop said, flustered.

"Must be a gang", Raquel said.

The cop frowned. He shot a look from Tokyo in the car to Rio, clearly suspicious that the situation was exactly what it was: that Rio was there to create a distraction and bust out Tokyo.

"Please sir!" Rio said. "Someone's hurt!"

"Alright", the cop nodded. "But you're coming with me."

Rio shook his head. "I can't, I have to get home."

He scampered off, and the young police officer was clearly torn, looking from the direction Rio had disappeared in to the direction of the supermarket. Then he shot an uncertain look at Raquel, who nodded at him.

"Go. I'll stay here to keep an eye on this one."

The kid shot her a grateful look. "Thanks."

Raquel heaved a sigh of relief as he pushed a button to lock the car and started to go, but after only a few paces he turned back to her and she tensed again.

"That guy might come back though, to try and free the girl."

"Don't worry about it", she said. "I can handle him."

The cop shook his head. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you here without a way to defend yourself."

He took the baton off his belt and handed it to an astonished Raquel.

"Thanks", she said, and the kid nodded at her and hurried off.

Raquel waited until he disappeared around the corner, then turned to the car and, without a second's hesitation, smashed the baton through the driver's window. Then she reached in, pressed the button that would unlock all the doors, opened Tokyo's door and pulled her out by the scruff of her neck.

"You idiot girl", she hissed. "You absolute imbecile. Now run!"

The two of them ran out of the village as fast as they could, picking up Rio around the corner, who laughed and whooped at the sight of Tokyo. The others were anxiously waiting for them at the edge of the houses.

"Let's go!" Raquel yelled as she ran past, and they dove straight into the woods at the side of the road.

She didn't allow them to stop running until they were quite a way into the forest, then she halted and they all stopped, panting.

"I can't believe you did that", Denver said, staring at Raquel.

Raquel grimaced. "What was I supposed to do? Let him take her?"

"But you could have been recognized!" Nairobi said. "Your face was all over the news when you escaped."

"It's dark and I'm wearing a hat. Also, it's been four months since I escaped from that prison van and the police were looking for me."

"Still", Moscow said, shaking his head. "You took quite a risk."

"It had to be done", Raquel said. Then she turned to Tokyo. "And you! If you ever disobey orders again, I will not hesitate for a second to kick you off the team! This is not a fucking game, Tokyo, I am your superior and all of your lives will depend on you following my commands. Fuck with me again and you are out! Do I make myself clear?"

Tokyo gave her a defiant look, and for a long moment, they stared each other down. Then Tokyo lowered her eyes. "Yes."

Raquel felt a fierce rush of satisfaction. "Good. Now let's get the fuck back to the house."

…

"You should have seen her, Professor", Rio said enthusiastically. "She was so cool about it. She didn't hesitate or anything."

They were sitting around the dinner table, hungrily eating the pasta Berlin had cooked, and telling Sergio all about their adventure – all except Tokyo, who was staying remarkably quiet.

"Yes", Nairobi chipped in. "She walked straight up to that cop like it was nothing."

"I wouldn't have known what to do", Denver said, "but Lisbon came up with a plan like that." He snapped his fingers.

"She's a quick thinker", Moscow added appreciatively. "And she certainly saved Tokyo from a one-way trip to jail."

Raquel wished they'd just shut up. Sergio was listening to the story with a carefully neutral expression, but she could see that it was costing him a lot of effort, and beneath his calm exterior, she could feel a storm brewing. When they had walked up to the house, Raquel had considered asking the others not to talk about what happened in the village, but she felt that she couldn't very well ask them to lie just to save her a fight with her boyfriend. Now she had a fun conversation to look forward to after dinner. She realized very well that his quick mind had probably already figured out all the ways in which the scenario with the cop could have played out differently, ending with her and Tokyo both in jail.

The others didn't pick up on Sergio's mood, however, and the atmosphere around the table was one of celebration, of elation that everything had turned out so well, that one of their own had outsmarted the cops. That's something, at least, Raquel thought. Nobody's going to doubt my loyalties anymore after this. She was well and truly one of them now, and she basked in the warm feeling of acceptance she felt emanating from the group.

Tokyo quietly disappeared upstairs right after dinner, with Sergio following her soon afterwards, and Raquel assumed that Tokyo was in for a rough ten minutes. Good, she deserved it. Raquel stayed at the table a little longer after she heard his bedroom door close, letting him cool off, gathering her strength for her own rough ten minutes, for the fight she had known she was going to have from the moment she walked up to that cop. She understood why he was angry, but she was very tired and she wished they could just have this fight tomorrow. Finally she decided she should just get it over with, so she took a deep breath, wished everyone a good night, and went up the stairs.

Tokyo was waiting for her in the hallway, the very last person she wanted to see right now.

"What?" Raquel said coldly.

Tokyo gave her a thoughtful look. "You took a big risk out there. That cop could have recognized you and then you would have gone to jail."

Raquel nodded, silent.

Tokyo seemed to struggle with herself for a moment. "Why did you do it? You could have let him take me in. You didn't need to put yourself in danger."

"Yes, I did. We're a team."

"I wouldn't have done it for you."

Raquel gave the girl a long look. "Well, then that's the difference between you and me, Tokyo."

She started to turn around, but Tokyo spoke again. "I was wrong about you."

Raquel turned back.

"I didn't trust you, but you risked everything for me tonight." She hesitated for a moment, then said: "That was a pretty badass thing to do."

And she turned around and quickly walked to her room. Raquel watched her go and realized that this was the closest thing to an apology or a 'thank you' that she would ever get from Tokyo. She smiled to herself. It was enough.

Then she turned to the door of Sergio's bedroom, steeled herself, and walked in. He was standing by the window, looking out into the night, his arms crossed. When she closed the door behind herself, he turned and gave her a look of cold anger.

"What were you thinking, Raquel?"

She refused to get angry in return.

"I wasn't thinking", she defended herself calmly. "That's the point: there was no time to think. I made a snap decision, and I don't regret it."

"Do you have any idea of the risk you took?"

She raised her chin defiantly. "I'm not apologizing for doing what needed to be done, Sergio. I had to get Tokyo out of there, I thought you'd agree with that."

He gave her a look of horror. "You think I'd want you to sacrifice yourself for Tokyo? What do I care about Tokyo, compared to you?"

"You're not thinking straight", she said firmly. "If she'd been taken in, who knows what she might have confessed to get a reduction on her sentence?"

"You think she'd have betrayed us?"

"I'm saying it's not impossible."

"What about Rio? Do you think she'd betray him too?"

"Honestly Sergio, who knows what Tokyo thinks or feels? She may be in love with this boy or she may just be fucking him, and I wasn't going to risk the operation on the mere chance that it's the first option."

"Still, you were damn lucky it turned out the way it did! This could have gone so wrong!"

"But it didn't", she said reasonably. "Please don't get so upset over something that didn't even happen."

"I'm not allowed to get upset?" he said heatedly. "Raquel, have you even considered what could have happened? If that cop had recognized you, you would have been arrested! You would have gone to jail, and I would never have seen you again! I didn't… I didn't even kiss you goodbye!"

His voice broke, and he took a shaking breath. She quickly crossed the room and he opened his arms to her, then held her so tightly it hurt. She didn't say anything, however – he needed this. She just held him in return, leaning her head against his chest.

After several long moments, he whispered: "Raquel… what would I do if something happened you?"

She pulled back to look at him, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek and saying gently: "I'm okay though. You worry too much."

He took her hand and kissed it – her palm, her fingers, her wrist – and she was reminded once again how deeply he seemed to feel things. It was so easy to forget that in day-to-day life, when he presented such a cool and detached façade to the world, and often even to her. But when he let his guard down and looked at her like he did now… nobody had ever looked at her like that before.

He bent his head and pressed his lips to hers, and she felt her body respond to him the way it always did: instantly and with boundless enthusiasm. She'd had her share of sexual partners in the past, and she knew that some people were simply more compatible in bed than others, but she'd never felt anything like this. The first time he'd kissed her had been such a surprise to her – the thrill of it, the breathtaking intensity of the desire he woke in her. Theirs was a compatibility on a level far beyond anything she'd ever experienced before, a connection that went so much deeper than the physical, but that reflected on it as well, and made the experience so much richer. It wasn't that he was more skilled than the other men she'd slept with – though he was learning quickly – but simply that he made her feel so much more. She couldn't explain it. She only knew that, at forty, he was making her feel like a hormonal teenager and she simply couldn't get enough of him.

He was kissing her more deeply now, one hand in her hair and the other on her back, pressing her close to him, and she felt the familiar tingle between her legs that his kisses never failed to elicit. She kissed him back hungrily and started undoing his tie, pushed his jacket off his shoulders, unbuttoned his shirt, at which point, to her delight, he lifted her off the floor and carried her to the bed. He lay her down carefully and joined her, kissing her throat while letting his hand roam down her body – over her breasts, down her stomach, between her thighs – until she simply couldn't stand it anymore. She started unbuttoning her own shirt, but he pulled her hand away and took over, making his way down slowly, button by button, kissing every inch of bared skin along the way. She was still getting used to the way he treated her body – not like it was something to possess, something that existed to give him pleasure, but like every inch of it was precious to him, like he was discovering it all over again every time they made love, and every time he seemed delighted by what he found. He made her feel so beautiful.

He didn't allow her to take off a single item of her own clothing, gently but firmly pushing her hands away and undressing her with that quiet confidence he had developed over the past few weeks. She couldn't help but smile as she thought back on their first time, in the fake workplace, how nervous and careful he'd been, asking for her consent at every step. It had been exactly what she needed, after Alberto. Even now that he was getting more confident – which she loved – he was never rough with her, never demanding, never taking more than she was willing to give. As he ran his hands over her naked body, she realized how safe she felt with him, how attentive he was, always putting her needs first, always making sure she was comfortable in every way. But he could make her shiver, too. In just a few weeks, he had uncovered all the secrets of her body, and she sighed as he unfailingly found her most sensitive spots, playing her expertly with his fingers, pressing his warm mouth against her skin until she gasped, until she trembled, until she ached for more.

"Sergio", she whispered. "I want you."

"Not yet", he murmured, then closed his mouth over a nipple and sucked, making her moan as the fire between her legs flared higher and higher until her longing for him became almost unbearable. He switched to her other nipple and reached down a hand to stroke the inside of her thighs, coming so close but never quite touching her, driving her to distraction. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore – she took his hand and pressed it against her, and he looked up with a smile.

"Always so impatient" he said softly, moving up to kiss her, and she shuddered as his fingers merely brushed against her.

"Yes", she groaned. "Will you hurry up, I can't stand this."

She'd never been with a man who liked to take his time with her as much as he did, and she loved it as much as it pushed the very limits of her patience.

"Hmm", he murmured. "Let me see what I can do."

She whimpered softly as he slipped one finger inside of her – that made her hunger for him so much worse, teasing what was to come without satisfying her in the slightest. She grabbed his hair and gave him a threatening look, and he chuckled softly and slipped in a second finger, making her sigh.

"You're so wet", he whispered in her ear, and she gasped as he added a third finger and pushed in deeply. She closed her eyes and sighed with pleasure, but it still wasn't what she craved so desperately – his body on hers and his arms around her as he buried himself deep inside her.

"Sergio", she moaned, and this time he obliged her, pulling back his fingers and settling himself between her thighs, and she sighed as he covered her body with his, loving the solid warmth of him in her arms, the delight of lying skin to skin. He didn't move for a moment, and when she opened her eyes he was looking down at her with a softness that struck an answering chord deep inside her, making her reach up a hand and gently pull his head down for a kiss. It kept surprising her, this sweetness in him, that he was capable of such tenderness. She'd had a lot of good sex in her life – great sex, even – but until she met him, she'd had very little experience with tender sex. Perhaps, she reflected, she'd always chosen the wrong men. Until now.

He kept kissing her as he entered her, and she moaned against his lips at the bliss of feeling him fill her up inch by inch. She loved having him inside her, and she loved it even more when he started taking her with slow, deliberate strokes, pushing in deep each time. She closed her eyes and held him tight, reveling in the sensation, lifting her knees so he could take her even deeper, making her sigh with every thrust. He picked up the pace and soon they were both breathing fast, their bodies moving in perfect synchronicity, and she felt the familiar pressure inside her begin to build. She knew it wouldn't lead to an orgasm in this position, but she wasn't worried – he'd never left her disappointed yet. Suddenly he gasped and tensed, and she held him close and stroked the back of his neck as he shuddered his release.

He remained motionless for a few moments to catch his breath, then he looked up at her with a smile and kissed her, first on the lips and then along her neck, over her chest, down her stomach. She smiled broadly in anticipation as he settled himself comfortably between her thighs – she loved how generous he was in bed, never satisfied until she was satisfied, sometimes making her come more times in a week than she used to come in a month. In the past, she'd often had trouble reaching orgasm, but it all felt so right with him, and he had such a startlingly intense effect on her body that he barely had to touch her to set her off… again… and again… and again. She settled herself deeper in the pillows and sighed with pleasure as he pressed his mouth against her and began exploring her with his tongue, long, broad strokes interspersed with teasingly light ones until she was squirming to feel him where she wanted him most.

Finally he settled in the right spot, and she moaned as he set to work in earnest. She'd already been halfway there, so it didn't take long before she felt a delicious tingle start up in her core, making her tilt her hips as she tangled her fingers in the sheets.

"Yes", she breathed, her voice strained. "Yes, just like that. Oh, yes, yes, yes!"

She gasped loudly as the wave inside her suddenly crested and broke, making her shake uncontrollably as the feeling rushed through her with an intensity that took her breath away. She threw her head back and moaned and moaned as the sensation just kept going – he eased off ever so gradually, drawing out her pleasure for as long as she could bear. Finally he pulled back, but he didn't come up, and kept her tingling with little soft licks as she caught her breath. She wasn't surprised – he was rarely satisfied with making her come just once. Not that she minded.

After a few moments, he moved up again and immediately had her gasping. She was so sensitive now, and his tongue felt so, so good against her. A moment later, he added another delicious sensation to her experience as he pressed into her with two fingers, and she moaned as he curled them upwards and hit just the right spot. Soon, her breathing was fast and uneven again, her back arched, her hands tightly gripping the sheets. He picked up the pace slightly, and that was all it took to bring her to the edge – she tensed, every muscle taut, then started trembling as the feeling crashed over her a second time with a tingling she felt down to her toes, and she rose up on her elbows with a soft cry as wave after wave of pleasure rushed through her. After several endless, ecstatic moments, she pushed his head away and fell back into the pillows, shaking, her breath coming in sobs. When he moved up to take her into his arms, she buried her face against his chest and held on tight to him as he gently stroked her back.

After she'd recovered, she looked up and kissed him.

"That was amazing", she whispered, and he gave her a pleased smile and bent down to kiss her again, a long, slow kiss that they both sank into.

Finally he pulled back and gave her a serious look.

"I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier", he said quietly. "I shouldn't have gotten angry at you."

"It's alright", she said. She was pretty willing to forgive him at this point.

He shook his head, however. "No, it's not. You did such an amazing thing today."

She looked up at him. "Really?"

"Really", he said. "You were brave and clever and selfless, and you've earned everyone's respect, including Tokyo's. I'm… I'm proud of you."

She felt a warm glow at hearing him say that and hugged him close. He tightened his arms around her in return and buried his face in her hair.

Then he whispered: "But please never do anything like this again."

"I won't", she assured him. "Next time Tokyo gets herself arrested, she's on her own."

"It's just…" he said, "it took me forty years to find you, Raquel. I can't stand the thought of losing you now."

She thought about the heist, coming closer every day, dangerous and unpredictable. There was no way of knowing how things would end. One day at a time, she warned herself. One day at a time. Yet here in his arms, she felt strong enough to tempt fate, just this once.

"You're not going to lose me", she said. "It's you and me, my love. Always, you and me."

"Yes", he whispered, holding her close. "Always."