I kiss Piper lightly on the forehead and watch her sleep for a minute before I have to leave. I smile the entire way to the field office at the thought of being with her. I love everything about that woman, well everything except how stubborn she can be. I love her touch, her sense of humor, her desire to understand everything, her body, her smile, her way with words. Even though I was in bed with her within the hour, I already can't wait to see her tonight.

I spend the majority of the day with a team of agents discussing how we're going to bust the drug ring at Trentina today, and Agent Thompson agrees that I should go undercover one last time as Juliet and show up at my regular time. After all, there's no way the man who was following me yesterday contacted Adamo after we apprehended him, so other than Adamo's deepening suspicion, he has no way of knowing who I really am.

I show up at Trentina at 4:15, and two agents are already there, wrapping up a late lunch.

"Hi, Juliet," Anthony greets me, leaning forward a little and whispers, "How'd the stuff work out for you?"

I smile. "It was fabulous."

"Glad to hear it." He holds up a couple bottles of wine. "There's plenty more where that came from, but like I said, I'll have to connect you with someone else who can supply it."

I point to the bottle of Chianti. "Sounds good."

Kevin walks in the door with another agent, both men dressed in suits. They head over to the bar, sitting three seats down from me.

Anthony excuses himself to take their order, and I try to peek through the serving window to see if Adamo is here. If he's not, which would be rare for a Tuesday, we'll have to abandon the operation.

Fifteen minutes later, two more agents arrive and ask the hostess if the owner is in. She goes to the back, returning moments later with Adamo.

"How may I help you?" he asks.

"We're with the department of health and here for your annual inspection," one agent says.

"I haven't received word that your coming." Adamo looks suspicious. "Usually they give me at least three or four days' notice."

The agents confirm his name and e-mail address, and then pull out a fake printout of the sent e-mail. "Sorry to catch you off guard, sir, but we can't reschedule."

"This is ludicrous." Adamo throws his hands in the air. "I'm not ready for an inspection!"

"If you're safely handling food, there should be no reason for concern," one agent replies, glancing at the letter grade of "A" posted on a sign in the door from the Department of Health's last visit. "And from what I can tell, you've had no problems with that in the past."

The other agent chimes in, "We'll be out of your hair in less than an hour."

"Anthony, will you come up here please?"

He joins Adamo off to the side of the restaurant.

He folds his arms. "These men are from the Department of Health and want to do an inspection today."

Anthony fidgets with the strings of his apron. "We must insist that you come back tomorrow."

Kevin eyes me.

"We have this permit for today," the agent says, handing Anthony the fake e-mail and an inspection permit. "As we've said to the owner, we'll be out of here in no time. Now, please show us the way to the kitchen."

Adamo and Anthony exchange glances as they slowly walk to the kitchen. They walk through the door, and I immediately hear one of the agents yell, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

As planned, I venture into the kitchen, my body positioned halfway through the swinging door. "Is everything ok?" I see Adamo holding a pistol pointed at the agents. "What's going on here?"

"This doesn't concern you, Juliet," Adamo replies. "Move this way." He instructs the agents to stand near the ovens.

Kevin and the other agent blast through the other door, guns drawn. "Federal agents, drop your weapon!"

As Adamo and Anthony turn to look at who is making such a request, the two fake Department of Health agents and I pull out our guns.

"Is this some kind of raid?" Anthony asks, hands in the air.

"I'm not going to ask again! Drop your weapon!" Kevin orders.

Adamo aims his gun at Kevin, and I move swiftly forward, clocking him on the head with my gun. A shot rings out, missing Kevin's head by inches. The other agents tackle both men as Adamo's pistol slides away. I quickly grab the gun and move to secure the rest of the employees in the kitchen with the help of the agent who was at the bar with Kevin. One of the two agents who was dining in the restaurant busts in, helping me line up three employees against wall, hands over their heads. We frisk them, and then make sure there are no knives or sharp objects near enough for any of them to reach for one.

"We've secured the front end," an agent says. "Two females apprehended."

"You ok?" I ask Kevin from across the room.

"Yeah." Kevin looks visibly shaken, but he proceeds with the task at hand, shoving a knee into Adamo's back and cuffing him.

Just then, four more agents enter from the back alley and help us secure the premises. We're all communicating effectively, and I train my ears on the agents' voices instead of the venom spewing out of Adamo and Anthony's mouths. I hear a few words directed at me, but I don't let them get to me. Agent Thompson assigns me to check the restrooms, and I'm grateful to be out of the fray.

"All clear," I say into the mic. I lower my head and take a few deep breaths. It's over.

After every Trentina employee is whisked away, a small team of us spend the next hour, going through boxes, cupboards, freezers and drawers, looking for drugs. We end up confiscating at least a hundred pounds of drugs that are worth millions of dollars. We also get our hands on paper records that Adamo kept in a safe with a list of people he's sold drugs to over the past year. All in all, we've captured the motherload.

"That was a close call," I say to Kevin as we finally leave the restaurant.

He grins. "I've had closer."

"Big shot, huh?" I nudge him with my shoulder.

"It was a close one." He sobers. "Thanks for having my back."

"Always."

In a rare moment, we hug, and it feels good. I'm reminded how much Kevin means to me professionally and personally. If anything happened to him, I don't know what I'd do.

He releases me. "I'm going to go home to my wife now, have a strong drink, and call it a day."

"Enjoy. See you tomorrow."

As Kevin walks in the opposite direction, he turns around. "You did a good job on this case, Alex. Really good."

"Thanks." I smile.

"But you're going to be the one bored stiff in the car on our next case," he quips. "Time for me to get in on the action."

I chuckle. "Deal."

As I walk to the Subway station, I pull out my phone to see a text that Piper sent about an hour ago.

Just finished meeting with Mia. She was a font of knowledge.

Good to hear.

Did you bust the bad guys today?

Yes. Had to draw my weapon.

Why do I find that so fucking hot?

I smile as I type. Can I come over?

Yes.

I take the Subway to Piper's house, checking my watch every minute and itching to touch her. When I arrive, she greets me at the door wearing the blouse I left there the other night. She only has two middle buttons fastened, and as I scan her body, I see through the slit at the bottom that she's wearing light pink, lacy underwear.

I cup her face in my hand and stare into her dark, hungry eyes. "Hi."

"Juliet." She bites her lower lip. "Come in."

Our bodies collide and our hands roam all over each other. I kiss a line down her chest, onto her stomach and finally on her center. I pull her underwear to the side and eat her pussy as she stands with her back against the door. That leads to sex on the sofa, sex on the floor, and ultimately sex in her bed. By our third round, my red wig and glasses are long gone, and I'm back to being Alex.

"I might need a little break," she pants.

I chuckle. "That would probably be good for both of us."

We don't get much sleep that night, but neither of us complains the next morning.

EPILOGUE

In the past Piper and I never really put in the work that long-lasting relationships need and deserve. We flew by the seat of our pants, adventure being the catalyst for the first time we took a stab at a relationship and the confinement of prison being the catalyst for the second. On this our third attempt, we've been together for four months, and we're learning to communicate more effectively, trust each other, ask clarifying questions, respect and accept each other's opinions, and solve problems. She meets with Mia every week to discuss the intricacies of being coupled with an undercover agent, and I answer her questions as best as I can under the circumstances. Piper finally seems to understand the seriousness of my job and doesn't get in the way when I'm on a case.

She has, however, not let up on the whole role-playing thing. I'm up for just about anything in the bedroom, but it would feel strange to be one of the characters I've played for work. I promised I'd create a character just for her, so Piper came up with certain parameters and I've been working on this persona for the past week. I'm to be a wealthy aristocrat from the UK and only just discovering my attraction to women. Piper wants my hair to remain black but worn differently (I go with loose curls) and a new pair of glasses (round, clear frames). I wear a black, one-shoulder dress and red pumps.

We decide to meet some place where it's unlikely anyone we know will find us, which takes us to a cocktail lounge near Wall Street. I fit in perfectly with the financial executives in their Brooks Brothers suits and dresses as I wait for Piper to arrive. At half past six, she saunters in and takes my breath away. I had no idea she was going to role play along with me. She has blonde extensions, so her hair cascades down to her breasts, and she's wearing secretary glasses similar to my real ones. Her magenta dress wraps around her waist leading to a ruffle that runs diagonally across her body.

I stand, lifting my hand to direct her to my position at the long, mahogany bar. She smiles, slowly walking towards me and I can't help swallowing hard as I take in her long, slender body.

"Hi, I'm Angelica," she announces with a light handshake.

"Olivia." I smirk. "Care to join me?"

She sits on the stool next to mine and the slit in her dress opens slightly. My eyes are drawn to her thigh, but I don't reach out to touch it yet. I rake my eyes over her body, hoping she understands she has my full approval.

I wave down the bartender and order a dirty martini in my best fake British accent. Piper gets a gin and tonic.

"What brings you to New York?" she asks.

"My uncle has business in the city, and I thought I'd tag along, do some shopping, see the sites."

She bites her lip, and I can tell she's as turned on by me as I am by her.

"You?"

"There's an LGBTQ conference in town," she replies, accepting her cocktail from the bartender.

"Ah." I tap my glass against hers. "Is that your subtle way of telling me you're a lesbian?"

She tilts her head. "Was I being subtle?"

"I suppose not." I grin. "Well, I'm not gay, so…"

She rubs my leg. "So it wouldn't bother you if I did this?"

I take a sip of my martini. "Not at all."

Piper lifts her hand, brushing curls off my bare shoulder, then letting her fingertips travel across my clavicle. "Or this?"

I clench my jaw, trying to will myself not to touch her yet. "You have soft hands." It's no use. I hold the hand that had been touching me, flipping it over and gently caressing her skin.

"So do you," she replies, untangling our linked fingers and placing my hand on her exposed thigh.

I suck in a deep breath as her dress opens a little more, and my fingertips rest high on Piper's thigh. I let them travel up and down, watching her leg get goosebumps from my caress. I look up to see desire pooling in her eyes.

"You've never been with a woman?"

I take another sip of my drink. "Once, but that was a long time ago."

"What was it like?" I set my glass on the bar and she joins our hands.

I lick my lips. "Soft, gentle…until a certain point."

Piper stands between my legs, draping her arms over my shoulders. "A certain point?"

I nod. "The sex was pretty aggressive…passionate."

She leans down to kiss my cheek, then my jawline, then my mouth. I'm sure we're drawing some attention from other patrons in the bar, but I don't think I could stop this even if I tried.

She whispers in my ear, "Did you taste her?"

I close my eyes, letting my head fall back. "Yes."

She switches to my other ear. "Did you like it?"

"Yes," comes out in a low moan.

She pulls back, staring at me with those familiar blue eyes. "Maybe you'd be willing to try it again?"

"I'm staying a block away at the Beekman," I say, fishing out a few bills from my wallet. "Interested in checking out my room?"

Piper nods. "I'd love to."

She has no idea that I booked a hotel room, so when we arrive at the Beekman and check-in, I can see the shock and desire on her face. She follows me into the elevator where another couple gets in with us. We stand to the side, and I hook my arm around her waist and lean down to kiss her shoulder. The couple gives us an uncomfortable glance, and then gets out on the sixth floor. We're on the seventh, so we get to the room, I fumble with the plastic key, and then we're inside. Piper thrusts me against the wall, ravishing me. We can't touch enough skin, and my mouth isn't satisfied with only kissing inches of her body at a time. I reach my hand in the slit of her dress, pulling her closer by the back of her thigh.

"You're so fucking sexy," she pants.

I hold her face in my hands and kiss her passionately. "So are you."

We stumble to the bed, halfway undressing each other, but I stop her before she takes the dress completely off. I kneel on the ground, pushing magenta fabric aside and diving in with my face. I pull her lacey thong to the side and lick her. Her pussy is already wet, and as I pull away, I see a string of cum stretch from her center to my mouth. I dive in again, licking and swallowing her juices. Piper is writhing on the bed, trying to hold my head in place, but I'm aggressively licking her and inserting two fingers into her opening. With less than 10 pumps, she cums against my mouth, and I feel her insides quiver around my fingers.

"Fuck, Alex!"

As she breathes heavily, arm strewn across her forehead, I climb up next to her and smirk.

"Good?"

"Fuck," is all she can manage.

"So this whole role-playing thing…" I place gentle kisses along her neck and massage her breast. "Really got you going?"

"Yes." She turns to face me. "But I think now, I want to make love to Alex."

I let out a low chuckle. "I could get behind that."

With that, Piper spends an inordinate amount of time licking, sucking and caressing my body. I could get used to this.

And so our relationship goes—we enjoy role playing every few months, but we prefer being ourselves, sharing our lives and caring for each other the way two people in love should. Our relationship this third time around is more mature and grounded, and I would be surprised if we didn't spend the rest of our lives together. Just think of the stories we'll have.

The End

Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading and for all the reviews!