Chapter 6
6
CARMEN
S team clouded the bathroom mirror as Carmen's hands shook while struggling with the zipper of her evening gown. The silk clung to her skin, heavy with sweat and the metallic scent of gunfire that seemed to have seeped into the fabric. A dark smear on the midnight blue material caught her eye—blood from when Jude had shielded her during the firefight.
She closed her eyes, but the memories flashed vivid and violent behind her lids: the glint of the assassin's knife, the fluid grace of Jude's response, and the crack of gunfire against marble. Her fingers found the pendant at her throat, the panic button disguised as jewelry that she hadn't needed to use because Jude had seen the threat coming.
Jude. Even now, Carmen could hear her voice through the bathroom door as she coordinated with her team. The steady authority in her tone carried through the wood, grounding Carmen in the present moment. She'd faced death before in her career—car bombs in Venezuela, snipers in Sudan, firefights in Afghanistan—but something about tonight felt different. More personal, perhaps because of what she and Jude had shared, or because she'd watched the knife slice across Jude's cheek and felt her heart stop at the sight of blood.
The zipper finally relented, and the gown pooled at her feet like spilled ink. Carmen stepped out of it carefully, noting how her diplomatic composure had begun to crack around the edges. Her hands still trembled as she turned on the shower, steam rising in billowing clouds that reminded her of gun smoke in the ballroom.
"Carmen?" Jude's voice carried through the door, professional but edged with something more. "Security sweep complete. Do you need—" A pause, weighted with everything they weren't saying. "Do you need anything?"
The question peeled back layers of protocol and pretense, leaving raw honesty in its wake. Carmen pressed her palm against the door, imagining she could feel Jude's presence on the other side.
"I'm all right," she answered, proud of how steady her voice remained despite the tremors running through her body. But the words felt hollow, insufficient against the weight of what they'd survived.
The granite counter was cold under her palms as she steadied herself. In the mirror's remaining clear patch, she studied her reflection: silver threads in dark hair that had come loose from its elegant styling, smudged makeup from the firefight, and the mask of calm beginning to slip. She'd spent decades perfecting that mask, wearing it through peace treaties and war zones. But tonight had cracked something fundamental in her careful control.
When she closed her eyes again, she saw Jude moving through the chaos with lethal precision, felt the strength in her arms as she'd guided Carmen to safety, and remembered how her voice had carried both authority and fear when she'd checked if Carmen was ok in the car.
Steam continued filling the space as Carmen stepped under the shower's spray, letting hot water sluice away the night's adrenaline and fear. But it couldn't wash away the realization that had crystallized during the firefight: she'd stopped seeing Jude as just protection somewhere between Washington and that first kiss on the terrace. Now, the thought of losing her felt like losing gravity itself.
It had been forever since someone had snuck through her defenses like this.
Her last love was Sofia, who she had lost many years ago now to cancer, and honestly, she had never truly wanted anyone since.
Whether it was just the intensity of their situation, or something more true, Carmen couldn’t be sure. All she did know is she was drawn to Captain Jude Smith like iron filings to a magnet.
She heard movement in the suite beyond the bathroom. No doubt it was Jude's team updating security protocols. Radios crackled with status reports, the constant hum of protection that had become the backdrop of her life. But she focused on the sound of Jude's footsteps, recognizing their particular rhythm among the chaos. Even through walls and water, she could tell when Jude passed near the bathroom door, as if some part of her had become attuned to the other woman's presence.
The water ran cold before Carmen finally emerged, wrapping herself in a hotel robe that felt too soft against skin that still hummed with remembered danger. She studied her reflection again, watching composure settle back into place like armor being donned. But beneath it, something had shifted irrevocably.
She'd spent her career negotiating peace in war zones, finding compromise between opposing forces, and maintaining professional distance no matter the circumstances. Tonight had shattered that distance, leaving her raw and exposed in ways that had nothing to do with physical danger.
When she opened the bathroom door, steam billowing out behind her like a silver curtain, she found Jude waiting exactly as she'd expected. Their eyes met in the suite's dim light, and Carmen saw her own vulnerability reflected in Jude's gaze. The cut on her cheek had been cleaned but not bandaged, an angry red line that made Carmen's chest ache with the need to touch, to heal, to cross the space between them that protocol demanded they maintain.
Instead, she squared her shoulders and prepared to face the security debrief that would follow. But as steam dissipated around them like morning fog, Carmen came to a stark realization that terrified her more than any assassination attempt:
She'd fallen in love with her protector.
And that made her more vulnerable than any bullet ever could.
The hotel's secure conference room buzzed with controlled urgency as Carmen entered, her hair still damp from the shower. She'd changed into a charcoal pantsuit—armor of a different kind—but she felt exposed under the fluorescent lights that seemed to highlight every crack in her composure.
Sarah looked up from multiple screens displaying security footage, her expression carefully neutral. "Ma'am, you should rest. We can handle the debrief."
"I need to be here." Carmen kept her voice steady, noting how the team exchanged glances. They weren't used to protectees who insisted on participating in the security analysis. But she hadn't spent twenty-five years in conflict zones by letting others handle the details of her survival.
Jude stood at the command center, coordinating with remote teams through her headset. She'd stripped off her ruined gear but hadn't changed, she was in a tight black T shirt and black combat pants, dirt marring her tanned skin and her green eyes flashing with intensity. Carmen thought as her eyes glanced over Jude’s muscular forearms and strong shoulders that she had never seen anyone more attractive. She also caught the faint scent of gunpowder still clinging to the air around her. Their eyes met briefly across the room, and Carmen saw the argument forming before Jude spoke.
"The State Department is right," Jude said, muting her comms. "You should return to Washington until we?—"
"No." Carmen moved to the central display, studying footage from the summit. "Running now invalidates everything we've worked for. Show me what you've found."
A muscle ticked in Jude's jaw, but she nodded to Kate, who pulled up enhanced images of the assassination team. "Eight confirmed hostiles. All ex-military, probably American Special Operations Forces based on their movement patterns. The 'waiter' was former Delta Force."
"They chose him specifically," Carmen mused, leaning closer to the screen. "Someone knew about Jude's background and anticipated how she'd react to a fellow operative."
The room stilled at her observation. She caught Sarah's approving nod. They hadn't expected a diplomat to notice such details. But Carmen had learned to read between lines and shadows during decades of negotiations.
"The local police response was coordinated," Marcus added, bringing up radio transcripts. "Units were in position before the attack. Someone leaked our routes."
Carmen's fingers traced the glass surface of the display, following the pattern of police blockades that had nearly trapped them. "The same happened in Venezuela last year. Local authorities were compromised, and communication channels were monitored." She paused, remembering all the burning vehicles. "We lost two security teams that day."
Jude moved closer, and Carmen felt the heat of her presence like a physical touch. "You think it's connected?"
"Different players, same playbook." Carmen switched to footage of the corporate security contractors at the summit. "Watch their positioning when the attack begins. They're not surprised; they're ready."
The team studied the footage with new understanding as Carmen pointed out subtle details: the contractors' practiced non-reaction to gunfire, their coordinated movements to block indigenous representatives from leaving, and how they'd maintained line of sight to her position throughout the chaos.
"They're all using American equipment," Sarah noted, zooming in on weapon details. "High-end gear, restricted suppliers."
"The same suppliers that are arming Nuevo Amanecer." Carmen's voice carried decades of experience reading between the lines. "Corporate interests are funding both sides and using humanitarian aid as leverage while their contractors eliminate problems."
Exhaustion began seeping through her professional veneer as the adrenaline crash hit. She gripped the edge of the command console, hoping no one noticed how her hands shook. But of course, Jude noticed everything.
"That's enough for tonight." Jude's tone brooked no argument as she stepped closer, shielding Carmen from the team's view. "The rest can wait until morning."
Carmen wanted to protest, to maintain the image of unshakeable composure she'd spent a career perfecting. But fatigue made her armor feel heavy, and the memory of watching that knife slice across Jude's cheek kept replaying behind her eyes.
The team dispersed efficiently, leaving them alone in the conference room. Screens still flickered with surveillance footage, casting blue shadows across Jude's features and highlighting the fresh cut that Carmen's fingers ached to touch.
"You should have gone back to Washington," Jude said softly, close enough now that Carmen could see flecks of gold in her green eyes. "It's not safe here."
"When has that ever stopped me?" Carmen allowed herself to lean against the console, letting Jude see a glimpse of the exhaustion she'd been hiding. "Besides, I have you."
The words hung between them, weighted with everything they weren't saying. Jude's hand moved as if to touch her, then dropped back to her side. Even now, with no one watching, they maintained careful distance.
"You're impossible," Jude murmured, but warmth had crept into her voice. "At least let me escort you back to your room."
Carmen straightened, gathering the last threads of her composure. "Ever the professional, Captain."
But as they walked through empty corridors, their steps falling into natural synchronization, Carmen felt the space between them shrinking with each breath. By the time they reached her suite, the air felt charged with unspoken words and possibilities.
The door clicked shut behind them, and Carmen finally allowed her mask to crack completely. All the fear and want she'd been suppressing rose like a tide, drowning protocol and pretense in its wake.
When she turned to face Jude, she knew her eyes held everything she couldn't say. Everything she shouldn't want but did. Everything that made her both stronger and more vulnerable than she'd ever been.
And in Jude's answering gaze, she saw the same truth reflected back: that some risks were worth taking, even if they shattered every rule of protection and protocol along the way.
The suite felt too quiet after the security team's departure. Carmen watched Jude do one final sweep—a habit born from years of protection detail—while city lights painted shadows across her features. The cut on her cheek shone in the light, a thin line of red that made Carmen's chest ache.
"Come here," Carmen said softly, reaching for the first aid kit she kept in her luggage. Her diplomatic voice had deserted her, leaving something rawer in its wake. "Let me look at that."
Jude hesitated, her body caught between ingrained duty and obvious want. "I should finish the security protocols?—"
"They can wait." Carmen moved closer, brandishing antiseptic and butterfly bandages. "For once in your life, let someone else do the protecting."
The words hung between them, loaded with meaning that went beyond just first aid. Jude's resistance crumbled like a sandcastle against the tide. She let Carmen guide her to sit on the suite's plush sofa, where warm lamplight revealed the full extent of her exhaustion.
Carmen's hands were steady now as she cleaned the wound, each touch gentle but sure. Jude's breath hitched when Carmen's fingers traced the edge of the cut, and the sound made heat pool in Carmen's stomach.
"I've had worse," Jude murmured, but her eyes had darkened as they tracked Carmen's movements.
"I know." Carmen applied the butterfly bandages with careful precision. "I've read your service record, remember? But that doesn't make it easier to watch you bleed."
The admission slipped out before she could catch it. Jude went very still under her hands, and Carmen felt the shift in the air between them – like the moment before a storm breaks.
"When I saw him draw the knife," Carmen continued, unable to stop now that the words had started flowing, "I thought—" Her voice caught. "I can't lose you. Not now. Not when?—"
Jude's hand came up to cup her face, calloused fingers impossibly gentle against her skin. "Carmen."
Her name on Jude's lips was everything she wanted and needed to hear. They were close enough now that Carmen could feel the heat radiating between them.
"I told you it was just sex," Carmen whispered, remembering their agreement after that first night. "But I lied."
The confession shattered the last remnants of professional distance between them. Jude's other hand slid into her hair, tugging gently until Carmen gasped.
"I know," Jude breathed against her lips. "I lied too."
The kiss felt inevitable, like gravity, like falling. Carmen pressed closer, letting Jude feel all the fear and want she'd been suppressing. Jude's mouth opened under hers, tasting of coffee and adrenaline and possibility. Her tongue pushed into Jude’s mouth, tangling with her own, pressing, tasting and exploring.
They broke apart only when the need for air became critical. Carmen rested her forehead against Jude's, both of them breathing hard.
"Stay," Carmen whispered against Jude's lips. It wasn't a question this time, but a declaration. A claiming.
Jude's answer came in the form of another kiss, deeper and full of promise. Together, they moved toward the bedroom, leaving pretense and protocol behind with the first aid kit and Carmen's last attempts at maintaining professional distance. Carmen shrugged off her jacket and laid it on the chair, followed by calmly shedding the rest of her clothes including her underwear and placing them with her jacket.
Jude followed suit until they were both naked. Jude’s muscular form, striking and so attractive to her.
When they got to the bed, Carmen gently pushed Jude down on the pillowy-soft mattress, and she felt that Jude had let her. She crawled in to lie down beside Jude, staring at her silhouette in the darkness, and she grabbed Jude’s hand and laced their fingers together.
Not even a minute later, and Jude had slipped her fingers out of the embrace, trailing softly up Carmen’s arm, starting at the tips of her fingers, over her wrist, up her arm, every scar on display for Jude.
Then Jude trailed back down. Carmen closed her eyes, relishing the moment and wanting to burn every second in her memory forever. She wanted to remember not just Jude’s careful caress, but what it felt like lying here next to her. Feeling the way her heat emanated from her body. Feeling the weight of her presence next to her.
Jude continued making her trail along Carmen’s arm, then let her fingers linger on Carmen’s before she moved a half inch to Carmen’s thigh and began tracing small circles on the edge of her thigh that grew larger by the second.
Carmen reached over and rubbed her hand down Jude’s side, going over her ribs—she could feel where old fractures had healed—then back down and over her taut stomach.
She noticed the way her skin was pale where her sporty underwear had been and tan everywhere else. She noticed Jude’s dark pubic hair, thick curls that just begged Carmen to run her fingers through them.
They turned to face each other, and Carmen stared into Jude’s eyes that had depths she craved to explore. She cupped Jude’s face, letting her hand rest on Jude’s jaw line and leaned in til their lips pressed against each other, and she could feel Jude’s sigh wash over her face as the woman’s body relaxed next to her.
Being naked with Jude felt natural and real. As though both of their defenses had been left at the door.
The kiss started soft, sweet, then Jude deepened it, their tongues dancing together. Carmen hungrily grabbed at Jude’s hips, pulling their bodies even more impossibly close together.
It wasn’t close enough. Carmen wanted—no, needed—to be even closer to Jude. She let her hand drop from Jude’s hip down her leg then back up, pausing just as she almost reached the top.
Carmen broke their contact. “Is this…?”
Jude nodded, and Carmen could see Jude craved it just as much as she did.
Defenseless against her growing desire, Carmen inched her fingers closer and closer to her goal. She slid over Jude’s desperately wet pussy that seemed to open like a flower for her, between her folds, and kept going until she reached Jude’s clit, where she circled it, pressing down lightly with her finger.
Jude gasped from the sudden sensation of pleasure but relaxed back into the bed, and Carmen leaned up on her elbow to keep going, her gaze never wavering from Jude’s eyes.
Carmen felt Jude spread her legs just a fraction of an inch, her knee now jutting out at an angle, and Carmen took that subtle permission to reposition herself between Jude’s velvety soft, smooth legs, never missing a beat with her continued clit circles.
She switched from her middle finger to her thumb as she leaned down, still maintaining eye contact, and she saw a glint in Jude’s eyes. She was now so close to Jude she could smell the scent of her desire, and it spurred her on even more as she leaned down and ran her tongue through Jude’s pussy from the bottom to the top. She moved her hand to the bed to give her extra leverage as she swirled her tongue around Jude’s clit, putting the slightest bit of pressure at first then pressing down more firmly.
Carmen could hear Jude’s fingers twist in the bed sheets as she continued to lavish on her clit, and she smirked slightly as she inserted one finger, then two, into her slick pussy. Jude lost all control and moaned deeply as Carmen tilted her fingers, looking for that special spot, and Jude moved her hands from twisting bed sheets to finding their way in Carmen’s hair between her legs, pulling and tugging at the root.
It only encouraged Carmen to continue, though, and she slipped in a third finger in easily, pumping to a steady rhythm as she kept flicking her tongue against Jude’s clit. She could feel the woman’s body coil tighter and knew her release was imminent, and she removed her fingers in order to lap up Jude’s juices that now flowed down between her legs, getting all over Carmen’s face.
When Jude’s orgasm came, it rocked her body hard, and Carmen pinned down Jude’s arm to keep her from wriggling away as she brought her higher and higher to climax.
Carmen buried her face deeper as she licked and licked. She felt like she could lose herself between Jude’s legs and in the sweet taste of her forever.
It was only when Jude’s body slackened back on the bed that Carmen crawled out from between Jude’s legs and laid down next to her. She raised her fingers to her mouth, savoring Jude’s taste, and she grinned. “You taste incredible.”
Jude looked spent, mentally and physically, her beautiful muscular body in complete relaxation for the first time since Carmen had met her.
Moonlight spilled through the suite's windows, illuminating silver paths across rumpled sheets. Carmen traced the scar on Jude's shoulder, an old wound from Yemen that felt like a chapter in a story she was slowly learning to read. The night wrapped around them like a blanket, making secrets easier to share.
"Tell me about this one," Carmen murmured, her fingers following the raised line of tissue.
"Extraction gone wrong." Jude's voice carried the weight of memory. "We lost two team members that day. I should have seen the ambush coming."
Carmen pressed her lips to the scar, feeling Jude's breath catch. "You always shoulder the blame for things beyond your control."
"Says the woman who negotiates peace treaties in active war zones." Jude's hand found Carmen's hip, thumb tracing circles on bare skin. "When was the last time you let someone else take the risks?"
The question hung in the darkness between them. Carmen shifted closer, drawn to Jude's warmth. "You know why I can't leave now. The treaty?—"
"Could get you killed." Jude's arms tightened around her. "Today proved that."
"Or it could save thousands of lives." Carmen propped herself up on one elbow, studying Jude's features in the dim light. The fresh cut on her cheek made her stomach clench. "The indigenous communities need this protection. Maria Elena's people have lost everything: their homes, their water rights, their children's future. If we back down now..."
"I know." Jude brushed a strand of hair from Carmen's face. "But there are other ways to fight. Ways that don't involve putting you in the crosshairs."
Carmen caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. "Like what? Filing strongly worded complaints while more villages burn? Watching corporate interests destroy communities while we debate policy in Washington?" She shook her head. "I've spent too many years playing it safe, choosing caution over direct action. And what has it gained us?"
"It's kept you alive," Jude countered softly. "Which matters to more people than you realize. Especially now."
The admission hung between them, weighted with everything they'd discovered in each other's arms. Outside, Bogotá's lights twinkled like earthbound stars, while inside, two women who'd built careers on careful distance found themselves stripped bare in more ways than one.
"I haven't slept beside anyone since Sofia died," Carmen admitted softly. The confession felt weightless in the dark. “She was my last love. My last serious relationship. After losing her to cancer, it seemed easier to pour everything into the work."
"Tell me about her?" Jude's question carried genuine care rather than jealousy.
"She was a war correspondent. Fearless, brilliant, always chasing the next story that needed telling." Carmen smiled at the memory. "We met in Sudan during some peace negotiations. She said my diplomatic double-speak drove her crazy, but she loved how I could stare down warlords without flinching."
"Sounds familiar." Jude's lips brushed her temple. "Though I prefer how you handle corporate sharks in thousand-dollar suits."
Carmen laughed softly, but it faded as darker thoughts intruded. "The night before she died, Sofia made me promise not to close myself off. To keep fighting for what mattered, but to leave room for joy." Her voice caught. "I thought I was keeping half that promise by focusing on the work. Then you walked into that first security briefing..."
"And complicated everything?"
"And woke something I thought I'd buried with her." Carmen traced the line of Jude's jaw, memorizing its shape. "You saw past the diplomatic armor, read between my carefully chosen words. You made me want things I'd convinced myself I could live without."
"Like what?" Jude's whisper carried equal parts hope and fear.
"Like this." Carmen pressed closer, letting Jude feel her heart race. "Like someone who understands duty but chooses me anyway. Like falling asleep knowing you'll be here when I wake up." She paused, vulnerability creeping into her voice. "Like having something to lose again."
Jude rolled them gently, covering Carmen's body with her own. The weight felt like anchoring, like coming home. "I crossed every line I swore I never would," she admitted. "In Yemen, in Caracas, I learned that attachment gets people killed. That caring makes you vulnerable." Her voice roughened. "But watching that knife come at you today, I realized I'd rather be vulnerable with you than safe without you."
Carmen pulled her down for a kiss that tasted of promises and shared fears. When they broke apart, she saw her own emotions reflected in Jude's eyes. "The corporate contractors will try again," she said quietly. "They're used to eliminating problems, and I've become their biggest obstacle."
"Let them try." Jude's voice held steel beneath the tenderness. "I've spent my career protecting people out of duty. This is different. This is—" She stopped, emotion making her voice rough.
"I know." Carmen touched the fresh cut on her cheek. "That's what terrifies me. Not the danger, but how much I need you to survive it."
When Jude kissed her, Carmen felt herself opening to it, suddenly filled with need and desire as Jude’s kiss moved from tender to probing. Jude sensed her silent invitation and rolled on top of her, the weight of her body deliciously pressing Carmen down into the bed.
Jude’s kisses moved down her body, sucking her nipples one by one and Carmen felt the sharp caress of her teeth as her nipples hardened and her back arched in response.
Jude moved lower and Carmen felt her legs part willingly, open and wide, begging for Jude to give to her and Jude seamlessly moved to kneel between her legs, dipping her head till her mouth met Carmen’s soaking pussy.
She looked up for a second. “You are so wet, Carmen.” Her voice was gravelly and her eyes dark with desire.
“You make me like this,” she said, not losing eye contact.
Jude’s handsome face dipped again, the flat of her tongue drawing long lines up from her anus to her clitoris as her hands lifted Carmen’s thighs until they were resting over Jude’s strong shoulders.
Carmen felt absolutely open and exposed as her pussy enjoyed the warm caress of Jude’s tongue, lapping long slow hungry strokes again and again.
She leant her head back and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation.
She felt Jude’s mouth moved to making out with her pussy as though it was her mouth, deep kisses, and sucks as she drew Carmen’s labia one at a time deep into her mouth and sucked on it.
She felt Jude’s fingers pulling her labia apart as Jude’s tongue pushed deep into her as deep as it would go.
She felt Jude’s tongue teasing her anus, circling it, pressing against it as she found it.
She heard her own moans coming deeper and louder as she lost herself in sensation. The beautiful beautiful sensation of Jude’s hot wet tongue in her most sensitive places.
Jude’s tongue moved back to long slow strokes and Carmen felt her orgasm build deep within her before it crashed, hot and wet through every fibre of her being.
Years of holding back were releasing in every moment alone with Jude.
She was lost in a kaleidoscope of color as she heard Jude swallowing and licking what must have been more squirting from her. She felt the comfort and tenderness in Jude’s licks now as they moved from her pussy to kisses on her thighs as she gently removed them one at a time from her shoulders.
Jude lay between her legs and rested her head on Carmen’s pelvis and Carmen reached down to stroke her face. She felt Jude stroking her thigh.
There was a quiet post orgasm peace between them and Carmen felt sleep overcoming her.
She drifted off into blackness with her lover’s head still resting between her legs.