The hotel room door opened. Edgerton stood in the doorway. She drank him in. He was tall with dark skin and hair. His eyes were sharp as razors. They missed nothing.

She remembered back at her bureau academy days, he had been their gun safety instructor. He had given this whole speech about your piece becoming an extension of you and had demonstrated what he meant by assembling his revolver with his eyes closed. Something in that moment had affected Kim deeply. Seeing his face revealing no emotion while his fingers flew, she had developed a crush on her instructor.

She knew her feelings were one-sided. She was just one in a sea of recruits. In their sniping course, when he had taught her how to position her body, she knew that his hands manipulating her hips while he talked softly in her ear did not have quite the same effect on him as it had on her.

And so she had graduated as a matter of course. It wasn't until many years later, when she was stationed in Virginia near Quantico that she saw him again. Her relationship with Don, which had been on life-support for some time, was over. She had stopped absent-mindedly touching her hand to toy with an engagement ring she no longer wore, but she felt the absence of Don every day.

She had gone to a poker game that one agent was holding and was surprised to see her old instructor. Having gone so long without a man's touch, and no longer being saddled with the student/teacher stigma, she had shamelessly invited him back to her place. He had agreed and proceeded to fulfill every academy fantasy she had ever had in one night.

He was exactly how she wanted him to be. Strong, in control, but in tune with what she wanted. Over the next two weeks she saw him every night. She would meet him at the academy on the evenings she just couldn't wait for him to shower and come over. He never complained or refused, no matter how bold her request.

She understood why some people didn't like him. He could get into the mind of a killer. It was more than just an understanding, it was like empathy. He had that in common with Don, the ability to give himself over to the crime, to explore his dark side and then use those insights to catch criminals. It was why both of them were so good at their jobs.

And now, with him standing in front of her, she physically reacted to his presence. Her body tingled, anticipating his touch.

"Hi," he said, and that was as far as she let him get. She entered the room without invitation and threw her arms around his neck. The last thing she wanted to do was talk.

He slid his hands around her slender waist. If there was one part of his body that she missed the most, it was his hands. They represented the brazen masculinity that she associated with him. They were large, strong, calloused, nimble, careful, and knew every inch of her intimately.

They had been together for six months when she had finally been accepted into the Secret Service and transferred to LA. She had rejected the idea of a long-distance relationship before even listening to his opinion on the matter. She preferred a clean break than to watch the steady decline of a relationship like had happened with Don.

Edgerton covered her mouth with his. She could taste Scotch on his breath, although he didn't seem drunk. She wondered if he had been as nervous about their meeting as she had been. It struck a chord with her that she could throw such a confident man off-balance. His lips drifted down, exploring her neck and nibbling on her ears. Kim lost herself in the moment, forgetting all about the two brothers she had left sitting in the bar.