Page 32 of Driven By Impulse

Hanna smiled, and it was almost real. She and Ash had always been flames and whiskey, stoking each other higher until the whole world caught alight. But for all his bravado and anger, for all that he’d been filled with fight and vinegar that first year, he had a softness about him too, in the gentle creases around his eyes from laughing too much, in the soft blond curls brushing his shoulders, in the way he had always, always had time for her. Ash had been dropped on her father’s door as a last resort to save a broken kid, but in so many ways, that year he had saved her.

“Then would you like to share a dance?”

He took her hand in his and guided her to the dance floor, joining several other couples gently swaying to the music of a live orchestra.

His hand was so much larger than hers, and it made her feel that much more feminine, light and elegant with his touch. It reminded her of the altogether dangerous connection she had shared with Niccolo out on the balcony in many ways, and in many ways it didn’t. The two men were entirely different, in the way they walked through life, in the way they made her feel.

The problem was that Hanna couldn’t deny that they both made her feel…

Something.

She leaned her head on Ash’s shoulder, which was a tactical mistake of the highest order, because she could smell him, leather and fresh air, lemons, somehow, fresh and bright but with a bite.

“The comms don’t work inside the building,” she muttered in his ear. “We saw Jinx outside, but he won’t be able to feed us any details about who’s coming or going toward the office.”

Ash nodded. “I was starting to suspect as much. Jinx is never able to stay quiet for this long. What about cloning his phone?”

Hanna glanced over at Niccolo, who stood on the side of the dance floor. He caught her gaze and stepped up to them. “May I cut into this dance with my beautiful date?”

Ash nodded. “If you insist.”

He swirled Hanna into Nicco’s arms, and despite herself, Hanna watched as the two of them very nearly brushed hands, as if for a second, a breath, a blip in the span of space and time, Nicco and Ash were the ones dancing together.

Nicco spun her around, and Hanna tried very hard not to let herself become completely overwhelmed with his nearness. Perhaps kissing him had been a terrible idea. But all she could think about was when she would get to do it again.

She leaned her head on Nicco’s shoulder this time. “Did you talk to Jinx?”

Nicco pulled her closer into his hard body. “He confirmed it. No communication within the building. Iverson must have some kind of signal jammer.”

Hanna swore under her breath. “So we’re flying blind when we get to his office.”

Nicco nodded. “But he also confirmed that we successfully cloned Iverson’s phone.”

He spun her around, and when he caught her again, all Hanna could think about was that first rich taste of fresh coffee in the morning, strong and bold.

And sure to jumpstart your day.

Perhaps kissing him had been a bad idea, because Hanna could barely keep from leaning over to do it again. Spinning back and forth between Nicco and Ash was sure to turn her entire body to fire, even if they were discussing how to break into a locked office to commit theft, which was the entire opposite of what she had promised to do as an officer of the law.

But goodness, they both called to different sides of her, both dragged her attention to the strength and feel of rough fingers under her own, of harsh whispers at her ear. Neither man was soft, but she felt their roughness in such unique ways, in the smooth elegance with how Nicco handled her, for he most certainly handled her, as he guided her on the dance floor, in the way Ash seemed to claim and invade her space, demanding so much more than either of them had said out loud.

“That’s…” Hanna struggled to get the words out. “That’s good news.”

Nicco seemed to understand where her mind had wandered to, and he pulled her in close, his body so rigid and powerful beneath her touch. It wasn’t magnetic, no, it was more organic than that, like honey dripping through fingers, the crash of the waves on a shore.

Ash came in like a hurricane, explosive and bursting. Nicco was a summer storm, the sky crackling, a sense of wild anticipation in every move he made.

“We need to get into that office, and it’s going to be harder on our own,” Nicco whispered against her ear. “Jinx is going to call the security away from the office. Can you tell Ash to meet us down the hall in five minutes?”

He spun her then, and Hanna felt the strength of a hard, large chest at her back, and the sensation made her lose herself, to the images of what it would be like to be caught between the two of them outside of a dance floor and a dangerous gala, to be trapped, just like that, in a moment that didn’t require her focus or attention.

But then Nicco was slipping away and she was once again back in Ash’s arms and sharing the details of their conversation, and wondering why one set of arms didn’t seem to be enough, and also why she didn’t seem to care that it wasn’t.

“Five minutes,” Ash repeated, holding her close. He leaned down and whispered against her throat, his mouth too close, his words burning hot against her skin. “You look so beautiful tonight, Hanna.”

Hanna let his dark tone consume her, just for a moment, the offer in his words, as it had been in the mountains, the promise of something grand if either of them had ever been able to push the limit further than they had.

“So do you,” she whispered. “But, Ash, I have to tell you…”