Vixen - a dark romance story

Chapter 6

Ray Valentino

Ray took a small breath, trying to steady her racing heart. She looked up at him, maintaining her signature smirk.

"We'll see about that,"

His closeness was dizzying. He was so near to her that she could feel heat emanating from his body. His scent engulfed her, a combination of cologne, gunpowder, and something warm, uniquely his. Why did he have to smell so good? 

She clenched her jaw, attempting to maintain her disinterested demeanor. His words rang in her head, and she despised herself for the way her heart skipped a beat at the thought of them.

Her eyes met with his. His eyes were like smoldering coals, and his face was a combination of annoyance and interest. It gave her a tiny joy to see the impact she made on him. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing how much he was affecting her too, that his proximity was causing her to feel feelings she thought she had long buried.

"We'll see, indeed." He spoke after a while.

She watched as his eyes returned to the view beyond the window. His broad back was now turned to her, yet his presence remained intimidating. She used the little break to take a deep breath and compose herself. But it didn't do much to quiet her muddled thoughts.

She glanced at him, her attention gradually shifting from the broad width of his shoulders to his muscular arms. She caught herself admiring his strong build and inwardly cursed herself. This was so not the time to be noticing how attractive he was. God, she had to focus. This wasn't about attraction or physical distraction. This was about a job. And she hated him.

"We'll need a plan," He announced, breaking through the quiet between them. "The Syndicate's security is tight. We'll need a solid cover story, identities, the whole nine yards."  His back was still turned to her, but she could feel the tightness in his body, the restrained energy coiled within him.

Ray nodded, grateful for the chance to focus on the task at hand. She pushed aside all the treacherous thoughts and emotions, shoving them down into the deep recesses of her mind.

"I'm aware," 

Ray watched him turn to face her, his expression still serious but with a glimmer of respectful admiration in his eyes. She tried to ignore the way her pulse quickened as he looked at her, focusing on maintaining her composure. When he spoke, his tone was forceful and businesslike.

"Good. Let's get to planning."

He walked over to the table, where a stack of files and maps were laid out. He spread the maps out, pointing to different areas and explaining the approximate layout of the Syndicate's headquarters. She moved closer, her eyes scanning the maps and files, her mind already formulating plans and strategies.

They set to work, pouring over detailed maps of the target location, analyzing security schematics, and planning their cover identities. Despite the tension between them, they worked unsurprisingly well together. Years of expertise and familiarity had given them an uncanny ability to anticipate each other's moves, and they fell into a rhythm of planning and strategizing. The hours ticked by, and they barely spoke, their attention solely on the task at hand.

As the night dragged on, the only sounds in the room were the soft rustling of papers and the occasional sound of them scribbling notes. The atmosphere was heavy, the implications of the mission weighing on both their minds. They were planning to infiltrate one of the most secure buildings in the city, and if they screwed up, the consequences could be severe.

Ray found herself engrossed in work, her usual laid-back demeanor replaced by a more measured and serious one as she intently studied the plans laid out before her. She occasionally fixed an out-of-place curl, unaware of the glances he threw her way.

Unable to bear the silence that had been hanging in the room, Ray looked up from the plans in front of her.

"What about the timeline?" She turned to him, asking a decisive question.

He was jerked out of his contemplations at her inquiry, instantly shifting his focus back on the job. He consulted his notes, running his finger down the list of items they had to tick off before the mission.

"We need to be in position within the next two weeks," he stated, his voice firm. "That should give us enough time to solidify our cover identities and gather any additional intel we need."

Ray nodded in agreement, a small hum of acknowledgment escaping her lips. She flipped through the pages of her notebook, quickly scribbling down some notes. Her pen flowed across the paper, each action being efficient and purposeful.

"Why do you insist on going?"

Her question hung in the air like a heavy cloud. Ray bit her tongue, regretting the question as soon as it had left her lips. She had meant to keep her thoughts to herself, but the silence was suffocating. Her question had been too direct, too invasive for their usual guarded interactions. She dared a glimpse in his direction, bracing herself for an angry reaction. However, he didn't appear to be angry. Instead, he just looked at her with a puzzled expression, as if trying to figure out how to answer her question.

"I have my reasons," he paused. "This mission is too important, and I refuse to send you in there on your own."

Ray couldn't help but feel a surge of frustration at his response. She tried to keep her voice steady as she spoke again, knowing that she was treading on dangerous ground.

"What if we fail?" Her voice raised slightly. "Our base would be leaderless. Do your reasons really outweigh that possibility?"

She was aware she was being impulsive, but she couldn't help but feel upset by his lack of explanation. She wanted to understand what was driving him to insist on going on this dangerous mission. No, she needed to know.