Out of Sight by Cherry Adair

game.
    This op was going to require all of his skills just to keep them both alive. He had to be sharp, in control, and focused. Normally none of those would present a problem, but he'd known the first time he'd set eyes on Cooper she wasn't going to be the norm. Just the thought of once again being responsible for her safety knotted his stomach. Goddamn it. Too hungry to communicate, they ate in silence. He was silent, anyway. She couldn't seem to stop talking, even to chew. He blocked out the sound, but had a harder time with the visual. Barefoot, she wore blue jeans and a white tank top, which left her tanned shoulders and lightly muscled arms bare. Pale, ginger-gold hair was unceremoniously slicked off her face and twisted into a braid that hung almost to her waist. She absently tossed the long rope over her shoulder, leaving the front of the thin white cotton shirt damp. She was tall, toned, and drop-dead beautiful.
    And way too much trouble.
    "What?" she asked, looking up to catch him staring at her.
    "You clean up well." Her moods were fascinatingly mercurial. She'd been furious in the elevator—why, he wasn't sure. Because he'd called her on her flirting? Possibly. He'd been well aware of her control. Yet the mood had passed almost before they reached their suite.
    She smiled a smile potent enough to shoot straight to his groin. "Thanks. So do you." She gave him a thorough once-over in return. Kane sat still for her perusal. She inspected him with the careful attention he'd just given her. "You're really a master of disguise, aren't you? Just looking at you an hour ago, I would've sworn you were a hundred."
    "That was the idea." He wasn't used to being scrutinized with such intensity. Although he was damn sure Cooper was. He knew there'd been disciplinary action taken with several male students in her class. Now that he'd seen her up close and personal, he pitied the poor bastards who'd given in to their hormones and fucked up promising careers.
    "Eat before it gets cold." His tone was slightly annoyed. Which irritated the hell out of him. For years he'd gone for the Mr. Spock school of emotion. None at all served him well, and he had no intention of changing that now.
    His cover as an internationally renowned photographer was more than a job. Photography was his passion. His artistic and creative outlet. He'd photographed many beautiful women over the years, they were a dime a dozen, but none of them had what Cooper had. She'd been chosen for this op specifically because she was a crack sharpshooter, but God only knew, it was her physical appearance that had proven to be her biggest selling point.
    She smelled of roses.
    Damn it.
    "Have we had an update on Raazaq's location in the past six hours?"
    "We know where he's going and when he'll be there." Good. Mind on business. Safest that way. Kane cut into his steak. Nice and bloody. Just the way he liked it.
    "Are we still going to intercept?"
    "Plans have changed." He motioned to her plate. "Eat. I'll fill you in."
    She picked up her fork and resumed eating. "Go."
    He told her the new plan, changed because of what had happened the day before. When he was done, and it had taken him all of four minutes, he rose from the table and crossed the room to retrieve a small bag.
    "I bet if you read War and Peace you'd summarize it in a minute thirty," AJ said waspishly. "You could give Cliffs Notes a run for their money."
    He returned to stand behind her. "I gave you the salient points."
    She twisted around to see what he was doing. Kane made a motion with his hand for her to show him the back of her head. She sighed and obediently lowered her head. He began unplaiting her hair. "There's more to life than salient points, you know. Color, drama—"
    "This is a mission," he informed her coldly. "You don't require either color or drama to do your job. In fact, the least amount of color and the absence of drama are preferable. Every legal avenue has already been attempted," he told