Slowly pushing inside, groaning, I don't move at first. "Oh my G.o.d, Anna, you feel . . . ."

She places a series of kisses on my neck. "So do you, Gabriel." Holding her in my arms like this, it's amazing.

I begin slowly, afraid of hurting her, but instinct has her responding faster than I'd imagined. Guess she does know what she's doing. She digs her nails into my back as I increase my speed. A minute or two later, she's climaxing and I'm doing my best to enhance it for her. As she's moaning, I kiss her cheeks and forehead, reveling in it, reveling in her. As she begins to tumble into another one, with her beautiful eyes half-closed, I follow her over the edge into a blinding climax of my own.

Staring down at her, with her wet hair smelling of the ocean and make-up free beauty, I can't hold back my feelings. "I love you, Anna."

Her big brown eyes go wide, but she doesn't say it back. Instead, she holds me tightly and whispers my name. My stomach drops and I move away from her and off the bed. After cleaning up, I lay on my back, pulling her against me. She still doesn't say anything about my declaration of love. I don't want an awkward silence after making love with her for the first time. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." She lifts her head off my chest smiling up at me in satisfaction. "I'm better than okay."

She still hasn't responded to me saying 'I love you', so I figure she just needs more time. It doesn't bother me because I know she feels the same way. Maybe she's just having trouble saying it back. Making a sound of content, she starts kissing my chest. "Anna, what are you doing?"

"Taking my turn." I can feel her smile against my skin.

"Aren't you sore? Don't you need time to recuperate?" I ask skeptically, not having a whole lot of experience with virgins.

"No. Do you, Gabriel?" The movements of her hands have me more than recuperated.

"Not if you don't." I start to sit up, but she pushes me back down with a hand on my shoulder.

"I said it was my turn." She straddles me. Oh h.e.l.l. I need to find out the name of that Madam in Paris and write her a nice long thank you note.

We make love again and this time I only repeat 'I love you' in my head.

Chapter 12.

Annabelle Stupid Annabelle. What was I thinking? Obviously not with my brain. But, really? Sleeping with the target's son? This isn't how I operate. Sloppy Annabelle. But it's Gabriel! My heart tries to argue with my head. I gave too much of myself to Gabriel. Secrets. Love. My Virginity! I may not have spoken the words to him, but I do love him, more than he'll ever know.

Gabriel's my angel, everything good in this world. Unfortunately, I kill the bad things, having no time left for the good. There's no place in my world for him and I don't belong in his world. My world is filled with predators, suffering, drugs, rape and murder. His world is hanging out with friends, going to the movies, eventually graduating and going to college. Dating normal girls, whom I now despise! College isn't in the cards for me, unless I ever get a contract involving a college student or professor.

It's the middle of the night and Gabriel is sound asleep next to me. The room is lit only by the moonlight coming in through the open curtains. The open window is letting in the cool October air, but the comforter coc.o.o.ning us together holds back the chill. I brush back the hair that's fallen on his forehead. He's so handsome. I don't think I'll ever love any man the way I do him. It's time to distance yourself from the situation, Annabelle.

I slowly get out of bed and get dressed. Grabbing my things, I step out onto the front porch and call Jackson on my cell. He answers with a groggy, "Sup?"

"Come pick me up," I say softly into the phone.

"Has something happened?" he asks, sounding more awake.

"Not really. Come get me at the Sanchez beach house." I hang up before he can question me further and sit down on the steps.

Well, mission halfway accomplished. I have Xavier Sanchez's son wrapped around my finger. I can get access to the Sanchez home at any time. Too bad he almost has me wrapped around his finger too. It was necessary for him to fall for me. However, it was not necessary for me to fall for him. It was definitely not necessary for me to have s.e.x with him. But berating myself will do no good. Action is required. Although, I'm glad my first time was with someone I care about. Everything else I've told Gabriel is a lie but my feelings aren't. Well, most of them aren't.

I would die for him. I would kill for him. Of course, that's not saying much coming from me. If he knew who I really was would he still love me? I know he definitely wouldn't love me if he knew that I was sent to kill his father. He said he loved me. No one has ever said that besides Jackson. I know my parents loved me, though. I wish I could remember them. I wish I could remember them telling me that they loved me. I'll always remember tonight, Gabriel telling me those sweet words. He could never understand how much that means to me, how much it's going to hurt to walk away.

When Jackson shows up, I get in the car and don't say a word. I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone. "Well?" he prompts.

"Well what?" I ask belligerently, finally meeting his gaze.

"Holy c.r.a.p, Annie! You didn't!" he yells at me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Stubbornly, I look out my window, trying to ignore him. How the h.e.l.l did he guess?

"You had s.e.x with him, didn't you?" Something in his voice warns me that he's angry.

I still refuse to look at him. "That's none of your business."

"I've been killing people for years, but this is the first time that I've ever wanted to murder someone for personal reasons," Jackson growls through clenched teeth.

I whip my head around to glare at him. "Don't you ever touch him! Promise me, Jackson! Promise you won't ever hurt him!" My tone warns him that there's only one answer he can give, or there'll be h.e.l.l to pay.

"Fine, chill out! I won't hurt your little boyfriend," Jackson responds. He adds, "But I'll fantasize about it." His smile is more of a baring of teeth. It doesn't give me an ounce of comfort.

"Jackson," I warn slowly.

"Hey, it's a big brother's job to be upset about these things. I'm just trying to give you a little normalcy here, baby sis," he teases and I can tell that he's starting to calm down.

"Besides," I tell him, "I think that if Gabriel had a big brother, he should be the one upset. Gabriel is just an innocent teenage boy. I'm the predator."

Jackson laughs humorlessly. "It's not like it was his first time. I read the file too-"

"Whatever! We're done talking about it!" I cut him off.

"One more thing, Annie. What's he going to think about you sneaking off in the middle of the night?"

Gabriel I wake up with a smile on my face. Last night was awesome. Anna was awesome. Reaching out with eyes half-opened, she isn't lying next to me, so I pull myself out of bed to walk around the beach house looking for her. When I don't find her, I walk out to the beach to see if she went for a morning swim. When she isn't out there either, I start to get worried.

In the bedroom I find her stuff missing. "What the h.e.l.l?" Muttering, I grab my phone and call her. She doesn't answer, so I text her.

Where are you?

I sit on the edge of the bed, waiting for her to text me back. After ten minutes I give up and take a shower. Getting out of the shower, I sit on the bed in a towel and check my phone again. Still no text message or return call. Grabbing my bag to get dressed, I leave the beach house, needing to see Anna and find out what's going on. I drive towards her hotel, sending another text.

Going to your hotel.

She finally texts me back.

Okay.

That's it? No explanation? As I'm driving to the hotel, I try to think about what could be wrong with Anna. It was her first time having s.e.x, maybe she's freaking out about that. Anna seems too strong and confident to play the remorseful virgin, though. Is she freaked out because I told her that I love her? I thought girls were supposed to like it when a guy says that. Maybe she doesn't love me back. That can't be it. I can feel that she does. I just know it. Plus, I'm lovable as h.e.l.l.

I've never been in love before and I don't think she has either. I just need to rea.s.sure her that we'll work through all these new feeling together. Maybe she needs rea.s.surances that I want to be with her forever. Whatever she needs from me, I'll give it. She's too important for me to do anything else.

I finally reach the hotel and pull into an empty parking spot. Rushing through the lobby, I get onto an open elevator. I'm so frustrated, having to wait for the slow a.s.s elevator to move up the floors. It stops on her floor and seconds later I'm knocking on the door. She answers it immediately with a blank look on her face. I grab her and kiss her pa.s.sionately, putting everything I have into it. When I pull back to look in her face again, it's not so blank anymore. Her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are sleepy. That's more like it, baby.

Despite the aggressive kiss, my tone is gentle when I ask, "Why did you leave?"

She pulls away from me, obviously trying to gain her composure, probably her air of detachment too. I'm not going to let her. I shut the hotel room door and walk to where she's standing, staring out the window. Grabbing her shoulders, I spin her around to face me again. "Gabriel, what are you doing?"

"Tell me what's wrong," I demand.

"Why would you think that something was wrong?" she asks coolly.

"Hmm, I don't know," I begin sarcastically, "Could it be that when I woke up this morning you were nowhere to be found?"

"So?" she asks. Clenching my fists, my frustration increases by the second.

I inhale and exhale deeply before answering, "What are you so scared of, Anna?"

She scowls. "I'm not scared of anything."

"Why didn't you tell me that you love me too?" I ask.

"You don't love me, Gabriel. You don't really even know me." She has the saddest look on her face that I've ever seen. "You don't know the real me."

I carefully place my hands on either side of her face, feeling like I'll scare her away if I don't tread carefully. I can't figure out what's wrong with her. "Anna, I do know you. I love you."

She pushes my hands away in agitation. "No. You don't. Gabriel, there are things about me that you don't know. Things from my past and things in my present."

"I don't care about any of that. I don't care about any fault you think you have. I love you, Anna. No. Matter. What."

"I'd like to believe that . . . ," Anna trails off, looking unsure.

"Believe it. Anna, why don't you tell me what you think is so horrible? It might make you feel better," I suggest, hoping that she might finally open up to me, if even just a little bit. What could be so bad?

She instantly gets a guarded look in her eyes, body tense, tone firm, "No, never. It's not anything that you could possibly understand."

I realize my mistake and backtrack. "That's okay, baby. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to. Just know that I love you and I know you love me too."

Anna turns away from me and walks to her bedroom door. She's running away from me and our feelings for each other. I go after her and grab her arm, spinning her around. "You can't run away from it, Anna."

She yanks her arm out of my grasp and for a moment I think she's going to hit me. "I can do whatever I want." Walking past me to the couch, she's running away again.

I grab her around the waist from behind and pick her up off of the floor. Carrying her into the bedroom, I drop her down onto the bed, pressing my lower body down on hers. "I love you and I want you to tell me the truth. Say you love me too."

She does a move that I've never seen before and flips me onto my back. "I don't love you." If that's true, why is she refusing to meet my gaze?

I jump on her again and press my whole body weight down, pinning her forearms under my own. I bring my lips down to hers and whisper, "I love you, Anna, and I know you love me too. Please tell me the truth, baby."

Her mouth opens as if to say something then she closes it as her eyes start to water and she starts blinking rapidly. She's trying to hold back her tears and, even though I don't really understand why she's crying, it pains me to see it. "You don't understand," she whispers earnestly.

"I don't need to understand anything. I just need to hear it," I softly whisper back.

She closes her eyes and the tears fall down her face. "I love you, Gabriel." Jeez, she says it like she's confessing to murder, but I know how to make her feel better. Sliding my hand along soft skin, I slip my hand under her skirt and start pulling down her panties. Her eyes fly open. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to make you feel much better," I tell her and throw her panties on the floor.

She doesn't say anything as I run my hand back up her thigh and rub my fingers against her. She just moans. Once I have her on the edge, I gently remove the rest her clothes. Quickly, I shed my own clothing. Now it's my turn to moan as I move over her. She feels so perfect. Pure male satisfaction fills me when she climaxes minutes later whispering brokenly, "Love you forever, Gabriel."

I kiss her tenderly. "I know, baby." I don't want it to end, but it inevitably does. Afterwards, I pull her into my arms, cover us with a sheet and hold her until she falls asleep. Kissing her forehead, I gently disengage from her to go to the bathroom.

On my way back, I see a picture on the dresser. I walk over to get a closer look. It's of two toddlers. The kids are cute, both with dark hair and eyes. I'm curious because Anna doesn't ever mention her family. Her parents are living at the same hotel, but I've never even seen them. She never mentions any other family at all, except for an Uncle Simon. Maybe they're cousins of hers.

I flip the picture over and on the back is written two names with ages.

Jackson Antoine Blanc, age 3 Annabelle Claire Blanc, age 1 Anna's last name is Walker, not Blanc. Who are these kids? Cousins? Friends of the family? They must mean something to her, for her to keep a picture of them. I put the picture back down on the dresser and lay in bed with Anna, pulling her back into my arms, the children forgotten.

Annabelle I wake up to the sound of my phone vibrating on the nightstand. Gabriel is wrapped around me from behind, sleeping and breathing deeply. Pulling on his discarded t-shirt, I quietly reach for my phone. Slipping out from under the sheet, I go out onto the balcony, shutting the sliding door behind me. There's a warm afternoon breeze which beachgoers are taking advantage of down below. By this time, the call has gone to voicemail. It was Simon so I call him back.

"Annabelle," he answers.

"Yes?"

"I just received information that Xavier Sanchez is already back in town. Finish it tonight," Simon says.

"Consider it done," I tell him, pressing the 'end' b.u.t.ton.

Chapter 13.

Annabelle Opening the balcony door, I reenter the suite. Gabriel is standing there on the other side, now wearing his boxer briefs. "Who was that on the phone?" Glancing down at the shirt I'm wearing brings a pleased smile to his face.

"My mom and dad. They're up in Orlando. They just wanted to check up on me." While lying to him, I look right into his eyes. Giving him a peck on the cheek, I brush past him. "I'm going to take a shower. Will you order us some room service?"

"Sure babe," he answers from behind me, satisfied with my lie.

While in the shower a sense of panic comes over me. This is it. I'm going to lose Gabriel forever. A part of me wishes that I'd never taken this job and a part of me is grateful for it. This situation is so messed up. The job has to get done, though. Xavier Sanchez is a monster and it's my job to rid the world of him. I'm the necessary evil.

I just wish there was a way to do this job and keep Gabriel at the same time. I love him so much. He's becoming more important to me than anything else in this world, except my duty. Now I can see why Simon always lectured Jackson and me to never fall in love. He said that love is a weakness that those in our profession can't afford. I think it's just d.a.m.n scary. I never imagined any person having this sort of emotional power over me.