Chapter One

Sarah

T he last place I expected to see a ghost from my past was when it walked in with the next White House tour group.

But there he was, standing near the back, that same smug, self-centered half-grin on his face, the one he didn't know he wore. The same one that transformed into a toe-curling stare when he saw something he liked. I could still remember how I'd shivered the first time it landed on me, burning through my outer defenses and igniting every pleasurable nerve ending along the way.

He was like that. A predator among chaff. At first, it had irked me that I'd fallen so easily before his aura. I'd prided myself on being tougher than that. All my years of training in the Secret Service should have left me hardened against his good looks. Instead, all I'd wanted was to make him hard.

For several months at least, I had.

I stiffened in alarm as his eyes swung toward me, doing my best to pretend I was a part of the wall. It had been nearly six years. He wouldn't remember me. Not when I was in uniform. Hair put up and out of the way. Minimal makeup. And besides, I'd changed in the years since we'd last seen each other. I was different. I was still myself, but our dalliance had changed me internally and externally in ways I would never lose.

One of the other agents stationed around the room noticed the change in my demeanor as I struggled to do nothing and everything to try to avoid being noticed. Unfortunately, subtlety wasn't one of my strengths.

Especially not when it came to him .

My earpiece came to life almost immediately.

"Detfield, report. What is it?" That was Hendricks, my team leader, standing on the far side of the room, watching everything and everyone. He wasn't alarmed. But I would have to find my voice. To tell him it was nothing, just a familiar face.

But at that moment, those eyes, the ones that burned like embers of fire in the dark of night, landed on me, and recognition flooded his face.

Fuck. There was no avoiding a confrontation now. Levi wasn't the type who ever backed down. Nor was he up to date on typical social mores, particularly the ones that would preclude him from bothering me while I was working.

I worked feverishly to pull myself together as he detached himself from the crowd and made a beeline for me, ignoring the signs telling him to keep back. There were a handful of written ones, but there was also the big giant Fuck Off I knew I had stamped across my face.

All he did was smile more broadly and ignore it all. Typical Levi. Used to getting what he wanted. Not that I had a history of denying him what he wanted, either.

Dressed in a deep, rich blue suit with rust-red tie, he was a cut above anyone else in the room, and he knew it, as evidenced by the utterly wicked promise contained in the upward curve of his smile directed my way.

As he neared, I clamped down on every sexual organ, urge, feeling, and need within me. All manner of memories flooded my brain now with a reminder of just why he was so confident.

Unfortunately for Levi's ego, however, the last five and a half years had taught me a very, very valuable lesson.

How to be wise to his bullshit.

My pussy might still be on fire, riding the echoes of his delicious cock. But that was the old Sarah Detfield. The new one wasn't like her. It was hardened. Battle scarred.

And absolutely fucking furious with him.

"Stay back! " I barked as he neared, raising my voice so that any agent in the room or monitoring the radio who hadn't realized what was going on would be well aware of it now.

Levi didn't slow. He didn't even hesitate. Waltzing forward as if he hadn't walked out on me without looking back, as if he hadn't left me with a totally unexpected gift to open nine months after his departure, he opened his mouth.

"Hello, Sarah," he purred, the words like liquid sex dripping from his mouth, flowing over me.

My nipples hardened against my willpower, though in my formal suit at least I didn't have to worry about him noticing and thinking it was because I wanted him.

I didn't.

Not really. I no longer needed a good cock to hop on after a long shift. I had something way better waiting for me at home. Something with needy eyes and chubby cheeks and a smile that made me absolutely melt.

"Return to your group, sir," I growled. I'd like to say I did so with every ounce of fierceness I possessed. But that would be a lie.

My heart wasn't in it. Not really. Truthfully, I wanted him to cross the barrier between us. I wanted to watch him slide his leg over the velvet rope with a smooth precision to his movement, thinking he had me right where he wanted me.

It would give me great satisfaction to prove him wrong by dropping him to the floor with 50,000 volts coursing through his body.

Asshole.

His grin grew wider at my command, however, and I felt my resistance fading.

"I'm glad you remember how I prefer to be addressed," he said in an answering growl that warmed parts of me that I wanted to be frigid at that moment. "You always were such a good girl for me."

"What was that last?" someone muttered into their com. I thought it might have been Rickle. If it were, he would pay.

"Sir, this is not a civilian area," I said, gesturing for him to back up. "Please return to your tour group. Now ."

As I said the last word, my left hand slowly came up to rest on the butt of my taser, holstered on my off side. Despite his attitude, I doubted I would need my proper sidearm to deal with Levi.

Something burned deep in his eyes at that, and my fingers wavered. Training instinct warred with basic instinct.

Sex versus duty.

"It's good to see you," Levi rumbled, pausing just short of the barrier. "And on White House duty as well. Good for you."

All my criticisms of the president's refusal to shut the White House down to the public during a war disappeared at that instant as I was reminded of where I wasn't .

"I'd be on the President's Detail by now if it weren't for you!" I lashed out angrily, finally acknowledging that I remembered just fine who he was and how he'd left things off between us.

Levi's cocksure attitude momentarily flickered as real confusion marred his handsome, macho-masculine features. "What do you mean?"

I bit my lip. Of course, he wouldn't understand why it was his fault. He wouldn't understand how much I'd changed since he'd left. How much my entire life had changed.

All because of him.

A partial admission of fault flickered somewhere deep inside me, but it was immediately extinguished by the anger of his absence. Of all the sleepless nights on my own. The lack of support.

Had he known?

That was the first time that thought had entered my mind. Could Levi have somehow known I was pregnant with his child? Maybe he hadn't just left me but instead run away? Avoiding responsibility?

That certainly fit.

"Get back with your group," I said, all business once more, my hand still on my taser. "This area is off-limits."

Levi's orange-brown eyes dropped to my hip, then slowly rose, taking their time over my breasts. I ignored it.

"You aren't really going to tase me, are you?" he challenged playfully, taking a half-step forward.

He was almost in range.

"Cross the line, and I'll do what I must," I said, pointing at the velvet rope between us. "Don't try me."

Levi sighed playfully, eyes twinkling with unrestrained amusement. "You know, Sarah, that's not the type of electricity I remember being between us."

I ignored the snickering over my radio, which was swiftly cut off by Hendricks.

" Detfield. Move him along. This is no time for getting a date. You're on duty at the White House."

That was Hendricks. All business. All the time. Sometimes it grated on me. Just then, I was beyond grate ful .

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to return to your group and keep moving," I ground out.

"I'll tell you what I do remember," Levi went on as if I hadn't said a thing. "I remember the way your body would flinch when I touched it. The way your eyes rolled up in your head when I grabbed your waist and pulled you back against me. Or the way you moaned when I—"

" Enough!" I barked, stepping slightly forward, raising my other hand to try to get him to take me seriously.

Instead of listening, Levi reached out and grabbed my hand, his massive paw engulfing it completely.

Likely, he expected his touch to stun me, to keep me immobile and wanting more. Almost six years ago, he would've been right.

But that was then.

Lightning fast, I rotated my arm, tucking my hand over his and breaking his grip, while my other hand yanked the taser free as I stepped forward. Shoving it into his gut, perhaps several inches lower than necessary, I pulled the fucking trigger with glee, grinning as I waited for him to collapse in writhing pain.

The weapon went off, the crackling noise of electricity discharging filling my ears while ozone wafted to my nostrils.

Hendricks was barking orders on the radio.

"It's okay," I said. "I've got this. Keep calm."

Hands that had been moving toward guns around the room slowed. They didn't, however, stop. It was the White House. No threat was taken lightly, and the discharging of a weapon was no minor incident.

It should have ended there. I could have turned Levi over to Hendricks and watched as he was taken below for … debriefing, all the while still twitching from my attack.

"Are we done yet?" Levi asked instead, standing calmly without flinching as the weapon finished its discharge.

I stared at him in shock. I'd heard of people on extreme amounts of drugs who could mostly resist a taser. But that?!

"What are you on?" I whispered, stepping back, my right hand dropping toward my service pistol. I didn't want to go to that length, but it was a threat. Levi should have been on the ground pissing himself. Literally.

"Nothing," he said with a snort, gently pushing the taser away from his lower stomach.

"Bullshit. I just hit you with fifty-K volts. You didn't so much as blink. Nobody can do that. It's impossible."

Levi shook his head. "Not impossible. Just unlikely. Now, I believe we were talking about you and me? I seem to recall a certain couch in your living room. Do you still have it? You know the one that when you get on your knees on it and bend over, your ass is at a perfect height for me to—"

"Shut up," I snarled, knowing full well I wasn't going to hear the end of this, no matter the outcome. The Secret Service had women in it, but it was still very much a boys' club. Tales of me getting railed by some super-stud would be in full force for weeks.

Agents around the room were still on their way over to me. I could hear Hendricks talking calmly, but to me, they were miles too far to be of any help.

"Whatever you remember," I said, deciding to face his words directly, "that was in the past, Levi. You walked out on me, among other things. Without a word. Just disappeared. You can't just show up six years later and act like nothing happened, moron. I've moved on. Now, get your ass back with your group. Last chance before these guys arrive, throw you in cuffs, and take you below."

Levi just stared at me. His nose flared, and his eyes ran down my body and back up.

"Liar," he said softly. "You haven't moved on at all. I can still smell your arousal. You want me."

"Leave. Now ."

He shrugged. "Very well, have it your way. Call a supervisor over. It might be for the best in the end."

"Please just go," I said. The last thing I wanted was for Levi to start retelling Hendricks in all the gory detail of just how well he knew me. Besides, that would simply increase the paperwork.

The other agents were now less than a dozen feet away, standing menacingly, but letting me handle the situation. For now. I didn't have long left, however, before they would step in. I could sense the confusion among them on how he was still on his feet. But if things could be resolved calmly, that was what we preferred to do.

"I'll leave," he said, " if you agree to see me after your shift ends."

"I can't," I said. "I'm busy."

I didn't add "with the child you left me with." I wasn't about to tell him about Jakub.

There was a pause as he evaluated my seriousness. Then he sighed. "Fine. Have it your way. Call your supervisor."

"You won't leave?"

He snorted disdainfully. "Sarah, my dear, I just took your taser on full bore and didn't even flinch. Shouldn't that be slightly concerning to you?"

Hendricks, having heard everything, had made his way over and was now within arm's reach.

"What do you want?" he asked, gesturing for some of the agents to return to their posts.

Levi lifted both arms, wrists together. "I'm not leaving. You should probably put me in cuffs and take me below, no? That way, I can talk to Sarah here some more."

Hendricks glowered at me unhappily. The White House was not a workplace where visits were encouraged. I shrugged at him helplessly. How was I supposed to know that Levi would show up there nearly six years after I'd last seen him? It's not like I invited him!

It wouldn't matter, though. I was going to hear about it, that was for sure.

There was no hesitation from Hendricks in tossing Levi into cuffs, and moments later, we were in a secure section out of public sight.

"Who the fuck are you, and what the fuck were you trying to prove with that little taser stunt?" Hendricks snarled, tossing Levi into a cell.

Levi turned, his hands still cuffed behind his back, and looked calmly at my shift leader. "You need to turn Detfield loose so she can come with me."

I groaned internally. "Give it up already."

"Unless you're far stupider than you seem," Hendricks snapped, "then you should be able to see she's on duty ."

Levi calmly shrugged. "Not for long, I suspect."

Hendricks and I both shared confused looks.

"And why is that?" I asked, taking charge.

"If I had to guess, probably because they're going to fire you."

It was my turn to snort. "Hendricks is pissed at me, but he's not going to fire me over this."

"Detfield is a good agent. Just because you're an idiot for coming here and for leaving her in the first place, doesn't mean I'm going to fire her."

I didn't acknowledge the compliment from my boss, unexpected as it may have been.

"You are, actually."

"Give me one good reason to," he said, about as done with Levi as I was.

Levi nodded. Then, in one smooth motion, he pulled his hands from behind his back. The metal cuffs snapped with preposterous ease as he brought his arms up to rest on the bars of the prison cell.

Arms that were quickly becoming covered in miniature scales as his skin literally morphed .

"Because," he said with a hard smile, "she just let a dragon into the White House."