The Double Identity Of The Billionaire's Secretary

Aurora's POV I slipped into the oozing bar, heat and music wrapping around me like a pulse, and the men gawked at me with raw lust in their eyes. If I hadn’t been on a mission, I would have gouged their eyes out for staring so shamelessly, but I wasn’t there for them. My target waited in the VIP room, and I needed to complete my mission; it was the only way I could claw my way out of the abyss I’d fallen into, the dangerous organization that had turned an orphan into one of the deadliest assassins alive. “But why do I need to meet him in a bar instead of sneaking into his house?” I whispered under my breath. Tonight’s mission was nothing like the others. It was strictly a gun-free operation, and I had to seduce the man to get him. I doubted the plan would work, but nothing was ever impossible for me. This operation’s success was the only way I could leave; this was my ticket out. I didn’t waste a second as I glided toward the elevator that led to the private room until a pair of bodyguards blocked me. “You can’t go in there with a mask; you have to identify yourself,” one of them said, but that was never going to happen. No one could see my face. That was my rule, the one I clung to whenever I went on a mission maybe because I still needed an identity to fall back on after I scrubbed all this blood off my soul. “Really? But everyone who’s ever seen my face is six feet under,” I murmured, and before they could react, I knocked them out cold with a single, fluid swing. “Are you in?” my boss’s stoic voice crackled through the tiny earpiece. I adjusted it before answering. “I’m in,” I said, and a faint sigh came through the line. “Don’t mess this up, Aurora. You know this is your ticket to freedom,” he reminded me. “Okay.” I disconnected. That wasn’t part of the plan, but I was done following orders. “And if I don’t succeed, I’ll leave anyway,” I muttered, scanning my card for access. The lock clicked, and I stepped inside. A man sat alone on the couch, and I knew instantly he was my target but when my eyes landed on his face, a jolt of shock ran through me. How could a man be that beautiful? His eyes green as a forbidden forest, snared me. I wanted to turn and run, but I was already in too deep. The mission wasn’t over. “Are you the one?” he asked, his deep baritone rolling over me like velvet, a sly smile tugging at his lips. I nodded, my body suddenly molten. I’d been told he had a fetish for watching strippers, so I’d expected a stinking bastard. Now I wasn’t so sure. Words, Aurora. Get it together. I nudged myself back to focus, stunned by my own silence. “Ye…s,” I managed. I glanced at the pole and felt dread curl in my stomach. I didn’t know the first thing about pole dancing, but I moved toward it anyway. My little performance was a disaster, it was awkward, clumsy, every motion a betrayal of my training. “Did you not practice well enough?” he asked, and heat flamed across my cheeks. “I… I’m a little under the weather,” I lied. He tilted his head, winking, and I looked away, aware of the seductive dress clinging to every inch of my body. I should have drawn my weapon by now. Instead, his gaze burned over me, a flicker of hunger flashing in those green eyes before vanishing like smoke. “If you’re not good with that, can you give me a lap dance instead?” he murmured, and I exhaled in relief. “A lap dance? I wasn’t told that… I mean, sure. Yes.” My voice trembled. I almost revealed too much. I wasn’t a party type; I didn’t even know how to give a lap dance. How the hell was I supposed to do this? “A lap dance is when you sit on someone’s lap and rock them,” he explained, his voice a slow tease. “Of course I know what it is. I’m a professional,” I shot back, refusing to let him see the truth, that I’d spent my life with guns, not bodies. I slid closer, every step a challenge, and after a tense beat I lowered myself onto his lap, stiff and unmoving. “I said lap dance, not just sit on me,” he taunted, his breath warm against my neck. ‘Just die, Aurora. This is not worth it,’ I screamed inside my head, then froze as his low laughter rumbled against me. “I don’t think I’ve been entertained like this even in a circus. You’ve got a knack for this, Miss…” he let the words drag. “Aur… Alisha,” I lied smoothly. If he knew my real name, I’d have to kill him. “That’s not possible,” he murmured, and my pulse spiked. “So you’re not good at pole dancing, and you don’t give the best lap dance. What are you good at, Alisha?” he asked, his teeth grazing my earlobe with a wicked softness that sent a shiver down my spine. “I… I’m good with guns..no, I mean toy guns. I love playing with the kids in my neighborhood,” I blurted. He chuckled, his hands sliding over my bare back, the heat of his palms sending sparks across my skin. “So what do you think? Should we take this somewhere else?” he whispered, his voice dark silk. My heart skipped. “Where?” I asked, turning to meet his gaze. His eyes trapped me, a spell I couldn’t break. “To a place where I can make your whole body go numb,” he murmured, his lips ghosting a breath against my ear, a smirk cutting through the haze. It sounded dangerous. Deliciously dangerous.