"You know, Neshama, a lesser man would be insulted by how tense you are so soon after such glorious sex." Eyal's voice rumbled out of his chest where Annie's head lay.

Annie picked her head up to give him a disbelieving look. "I don't think the sex would have been as glorious with a 'lesser man'." She dropped a kiss on his lips before snuggling back into the crook of his arm. "Sorry. I was just thinking about an assignment."

"Which means you were thinking about Simon Fischer. Now I am insulted."

"Simon is—was—work, Eyal."

"And this isn't?"

"Not for me. You did volunteer to handle me. Am I just work for you?"

"Of course you are. This is just one of those happy occurrences when my needs coincide with the wishes of King Saul Boulevard."

That admission made Annie chuckle. "I missed your brutal honesty."

"It's my version of tough love, Neshama." His fingers twisted in her still-drying hair. "I've told you before that we Israelis are not as prudish as you Americans, especially when it comes to mixing business and pleasure."

"Lena must be part Israeli, then. She urged me to seduce Simon."

"Then this Lena is an idiot. You, Annie Walker, are not capable of seduction."

Annie jerked to a sitting position, grabbing for the sheet as she moved. Eyal regarded her from half-closed eyes for a moment before reaching out to rip the sheet away. She shook with outrage but her eyes betrayed the hurt he'd caused. His jaw firmed. "Look at you, sitting there, quivering with anger and embarrassment at the same time. You're proving my point, you know."

"I'm very good at my job."

"Don't be a child, Annie. I never said you weren't. You are incredibly good at what you do. You make people trust you even when it is in direct violation of their own self-interest. You see the good in the worst people in the world. There is no way in hell you should have rescued me in Paris or come for me in D.C. You should not be in bed with me right now. You aren't an ice queen, Annie. Sex for you is as much about as emotion as it is physical."

"I don't love you. This," she waved a hand between them, "doesn't mean anything."

"What a wonderful liar you've become." He reached and pulled her, gently, beneath him. Stroking her hair away from her face, he whispered, "It does mean something, Neshama. If you didn't care, you would have kicked me out."

"I still should."

He kissed her softly. "You shouldn't. Not yet. You don't have what you came for."

"I came here for intelligence on a possible American traitor."

One large hand splayed over her hip. "You came to Israel for that. You came to bed with me for comfort. To remember." He kissed her shoulder, nipped at her ear.

"Remember?" Her nails carved half-moon indentions in his shoulders.

"Remember what it's like to be you, to feel good without feeling guilty. Maybe I'll even get you to laugh again."

"So you're my therapy?"

He pulled his head back from kissing the crest of her breast. "Absolutely not. Another hideous American obsession. You don't need therapy, Annie, you need to relax for a few hours. Let your guard down and just…"

"Live in the moment?" Her smile was less forced now. She twisted suddenly, forcing him onto his back in a neat little maneuver. His eyes lit with appreciation even as she leaned over him. "What if I want more than a moment?"

Eyal's joy showed on his face. "Take whatever time you need. The free world will survive without us, for a little while."