by KaLyn Cooper
As he entered baggage claim, Grace’s auburn hair was a beacon, but his inner sense had already found her. He didn’t care who was looking as he scooped her up in his arms and kissed her long and deep. The taste of her on his tongue calmed the inner beast within, reassuring him they were together once again and she was safe. With her at his side, he felt whole for the first time in days.
Grace leaned back with the biggest smile he’d ever seen on her beautiful face. “I’m glad you’re here, but I hate the reason why.” She wiggled down until her feet touched the ground. “I actually hate the reason I’m here, too.”
He slung his arm around her and pointed her toward the carousel that had just turned on. “How’s your dad?”
Her entire demeanor changed. “He had a rough night. They can’t keep his fever down.” She sucked in a ragged breath. “I don’t think he even knows I’m here. They’re keeping him pretty heavily drugged until they can get the infection under control.”
Griffin’s gaze swept the area. In a far corner, next to one of the hidden doors with limited access, he saw the air marshal now in a light blue windbreaker. The slight imprint on his shoulders indicated the man was wearing a holster, assuredly filled with a gun. That revelation made Griffin feel a little better. He followed the agents gaze to where four men now conversed in Arabic.
He pulled Grace into a side and kissed her temple. His lips buried in her hair he asked, “Are you carrying?”
She nuzzled into his neck just below his ear. “Of course. I tagged the two older Afghanis the minute I walked in. Their dialectic is a little strange, some of their words even sound Iraqi, but their conversation right now is pretty standard. Although the oldest one keeps calling the new arrivals son. He’s never called them by name.”
“The way men from that area change their names, he might not know what to call him even if he were a blood relative,” Griffin pointed out.
She playfully slapped him as though he had said something sexual, then leaned up and kissed his cheek. “The oldest one just said they’re going to the farm. I’m going to take your picture.”
Grace stepped back and whipped out her cell phone. “I need to send this to my girlfriends so they can see that you’re really here…and just how cute you are.”
“I’m a lot of things, but cute is not one of them,” he protested while she clicked off several pictures.
“Yes, you are. See.” She stood in front of him so he could easily see over her shoulder while blocking the view from anyone nearby. She showed him the pictures that clearly featured the four men behind him.
In a low voice, he noted, “They don’t look anything like farmers to me.” Especially since the older two were dressed in the traditional Middle Eastern thaub.
Louder, she announced, “My girlfriends are just going to love these pictures.” Her thumbs quickly had the pictures sent to not only Katlin, but also Homeland’s Operations Center and USSOCOM. “I’ll bet we hear back from them before we get home.”
Grace was right. They had made it ten miles when her phone rang. Seeing it was General Lyon, she put it on Bluetooth so they can both hear.
“Good afternoon, sir. This is a secure line. I have Griffin Mitchell in the car with me so you are on speaker. We’re about twenty minutes outside of Ames.” Grace practically sat at attention behind the wheel. “How can I help you?”
“You have some interesting neighbors,” her ultimate boss noted. “I’ve already put Homeland on notice of the situation. I’m seriously considering sending in one of my Delta team’s out of Texas, but I’m afraid their presence may just escalate the situation. Griffin, I don’t think I need to tell you to keep a close eye on our lady.”
“No, sir. I don’t intend on letting her out of my sight,” he assured the man who he occasionally allowed to give him orders.
“By the way, your boss is a hard ass. In case he didn’t explain it to you, you’re working a protection detail for SOCOM.” That came as surprising news, but extremely welcome, nonetheless. Instead of taking personal vacation days, he was being paid extremely well to do a job that he would’ve done for free.
“Thank you, sir.” Griffin needed to know more about what he was facing. “What can you tell us about those men?”
“We’ve had our eyes on the older two for over year.” The creak of the general’s chair screeched through the speakers. “They bought about five hundred acres in the middle of bum fuck nowhere Iowa and are supposedly farming although they don’t seem to raise any traditional crop and sell absolutely nothing. But they do pay their taxes on time. Their neighbors complain on a regular basis about a loudspeaker that bellows chanting five times a day, which just tells us they are practicing Muslims. Our satellite photos show an interesting obstacle course, buildings that look more like barracks and the chow hall than barns, a damn nice shooting range that would rival the best we have on any military base and an intricate, heat sensitive security system that surrounds the entire property.”
Griffin whistled. “They seem pretty well bankrolled.”
“Our forensic accountants agree, but chasing the money trail always ends in the Middle East,” the general noted.
“What about my other team members?” The concern in Grace’s voice was evident.
“We have someone on each one of them,” he reassured them both.
“Are you sure the women are being targeted?”
A deep sigh came over the line. “Unfortunately, yes. There are pictures of all five women in and around their black plane right after the Khalid Junyard assassination attempts. They’ve also increased the amount on the contract to one hundred thousand dollars for each woman, dead or alive. There’s also a great deal of chatter about weak Western men who have women do their jobs for them and how these women are an abomination to the term female. There is a call to put these women in their place.”
The general chuckled. “My favorite was an accusation that the U.S. military had created this so-called female team by changing the sex of five of our best men. The guy referred to several newspaper articles about sex changes taking place in the military. Like the women in our military can’t kick ass just as hard as the men.”
“Thank you, sir. I’m glad you think that way.” Grace kept her focus on the straight highway in front of her, checking her mirrors on a regular basis.
“Grace, never doubt that I value the assets your team brings to this war.” The general’s chair creaked again. “Stay in touch. SOCOM out.”
Once they were sure the general had disconnected, Griffin asked, “Are you okay?”
“No,” she snapped back. “Just my being here has put my entire family in danger. It’s one thing for me to put myself in dangerous situations, but I’ve brought this to my family’s doorstep. Part of me just wants to turn this car around and head back to D.C., but my family needs me…and I need to be here, for me.” She drew in a long slow deep breath. “I was so afraid that my father had already passed away when I first heard the messages.” Her voice broke midsentence. She swallowed hard. “I haven’t even been able to talk to him, they’ve kept him so drugged. And Mom…she looks like a ghost. She hardly eats, isn’t sleeping well, if at all, and refuses to leave his side for more than just a few hours.”
This was all new territory for Griffin. His grandparents were still alive, on both sides, and his great-grandparents were gone before he was born. His family had never experienced long-term health problems or death in his lifetime, so he wasn’t sure what she needed from him. When Gramps had his heart attack, he hadn’t needed surgery, just a change in diet and orders to play more golf.
While serving as a SEAL, when a man was hurt, he was immediately shipped out to Germany and they never saw the guy again. Visiting somebody in a hospital was something Griffin had never done.
“I’m here to help.” Griffin had tried to infuse as much meaning into those four short words as he could. “What can I do?”
She glanced over at him with a grin that shot straight
to his cock. “Help me forget everything for an hour when we get to my brother’s house.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, I can do that.” He paused for a second. “Just an hour? That’s not anywhere near enough time.”
“The boys will be home from school, and I’m pretty sure Jeb is going to want to get into his room to change into play clothes.” She giggled. “He’d be scarred for life if he charged in while both of us were buck naked.”
“He would be?” Griffin admitted, “So would I.”
Grace’s burst of laughter felt so good and laughing with her, at himself was even better. He stared at this woman who had started to mean more to him than anyone ever had before. The thought should’ve scared the shit out of him, but didn’t. She was special.
Griffin didn’t know what he’d expected, but the cute gray house with its wide front porch with rockers and a swing at one end was a pleasant surprise. What flabbergasted him was the gorgeous landscaping. Evergreens and flowers, trees and flowers, shrubs and flowers, separated by a thick, deep green lawn looked like a quaint painting rather than a living backdrop to someone’s home. He stepped out of the car and stared.
He knew the hard work, on hands and knees, which it took to make even one bed look nice. “Whoever their gardener is he does a fantastic job.” He went around the trunk to grab the bags. “I think I told you that I used to spend a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. When I got to pestering her, Grams would send me out to work with the gardener. They have several acres including a formal garden, a kitchen garden, and an herb garden, so there was always plenty of work to do outside. I can personally attest to the fact that your brother’s gardener is the best I’ve ever seen.”
“Be sure to mention that to Denise.” Grace didn’t bother to knock, just opened the door.
Griffin looked over his shoulder for an alarm control panel. There was none. Great. Keeping Grace safe was going to be a nightmare. He followed her down a hallway, taking note of the bathroom, first door on the left. Directly across was a small boy’s room with one of those bunk sets that had a single bed on top and a double on the bottom.
Grace disappeared into the next room on the right. “Just set everything over there in the corner. Although Jere has several hunting rifles, they’re locked up in the basement gun safe.” She glanced at the hard cases that contained her sniper rifle and several handguns, his personal M4 and favorite submachine gun along with three of his pistols. “The boys have grown up around guns, but I’m not sure my brother and his wife would understand the arsenal you just brought in.”
“Not a problem. How about we put our suitcases on top,” he suggested. “I’ll be carrying several of these when we leave the house, and I’ll be sure the rest are locked up.”
He raised his head and looked around the typical boy’s bedroom, although his had never looked like this. His mother had insisted on clean dresser tops, clothes neatly folded and put away in drawers. His hamper didn’t sit conveniently near the door but in the back of his walk-in closet.
This room looked lived in and Griffin loved it. Race cars left on top of the dresser next to baseball cards. Small participation trophies, from every sport, stood proudly in front of the mirror. There were even a few medals on brightly colored ribbons that hung from the sides. A few coins were left near one and next to a stack of game tokens. The walls were plastered with posters of famous hockey players, baseball players, soccer players, football players, and an anime cartoon character.
He lifted his gaze and laughed out loud at the nearly life-size Batman suspended from the ceiling over the bed. Griffin walked over to Grace and put his arms on her shoulders. “So you’ve been sleeping with Batman?”
“Well, he was hanging around.” She glanced up to the large balloon before returning her gaze to him. “He’s not very well endowed.” She grabbed his erection through his slacks. “Even Batman comes up short compared to this.”
“How much time do we have?” Griffin asked as he kissed his way down her neck and caressed her breast through her shirt.
“Dang, only about forty minutes.” She started to unbuckle his belt. “We’re going to have to make this quick.”
He stepped away from her and shucked up all his clothes in less than thirty seconds. “Your turn.”
She placed her hands on his bare chest and ran her short fingernails around his flat nipples. “I like it when you undress me.”
He bent down and kissed her, grabbing the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up, but she wouldn’t let go of him or the kiss. He wrapped his hand around to her back and with the flick of his fingers unhooked her bra. Then he broke the kiss and lifted bra and shirt over her head. While her arms were still in the air, her breasts firm and pointing directly toward him, he bent his head to take one into his mouth.
She fought to untangle her arms and hands and finally succeeded tossing her clothes to the side. His mouth on one breast, his hand on the other, she shoved off her slacks, panties and all.
She escaped his touch and crawled inside the bed…between Batman sheets. When she pulled up the comforter, he saw it too was Batman.
“You’re fucking kidding me right?” Griffin glanced around the room at all things Batman. He seemed surrounded by the comic character.
“Griffin,” Grace’s voice forced his attention to her. She threw back the covers and lay there naked before him. Gorgeous auburn hair splayed across the pillow framing her sweet face. His gaze traveled down her body and held on the neatly trimmed reddish hair at the apex of her thighs. She drew up her knees then let them fall to the side, completely exposing herself to him. “I want you, deep inside me, now.”
Totally ignoring his surroundings he crawled in bed next to her. “Christ, I’ve missed you.” He kissed her, hoping she knew how much she meant to him. This playful, daring side of her was such a turn on.
When he dropped his hand between her legs, testing her readiness, she lifted her hips off the bed and whimpered. He slid two fingers inside her and she rocked into them, her soft firm walls clenching tight.
He rolled over between her legs and easily found her entrance. Sliding in felt like coming home. He loved watching her face as she concentrated on reaching her orgasm as he pumped in and out of her. Her stare seemed to go beyond him.
Griffin stopped buried deep inside her. “You’re looking at Batman, aren’t you?” he accused.
Guilt washed over her face. She glanced away from him. “Batman was always a fantasy of mine. He always swooped in and protected women, beat up the bad guys, and still maintained his suave and debonair Bruce Wayne façade by day. What woman could resist that?”
Still inside her, Griffin rolled over putting her on top. “Batman isn’t making love with you, Parker Griffin Mitchell the Fifth is. Eyes on me,” he insisted. He reached up taking a breast in each hand. “I like it this way. I get to play with these.” He rolled her nipples then pinched them lightly, rewarded with an internal squeeze. To get her moving, he reached between them and rubbed his thumb over her clit.
She rocked into his hand, he pushed up. Soon she was riding him, every muscle in her body tightening. He looked up at her, and Batman moved.
“Whoa,” he yelled and sat up.
“Oh, that’s a nice switch,” Grace said and braced her hands on his shoulders, riding him a little bit faster.
Batman was definitely moving. Were they disturbing the air that much? He felt a breeze on his face and realized the heat had kicked on.
“Time for the shower,” Griffin said as he stood up. “Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart.”
“But I didn’t…did you...?” she protested.
“Nope. And I’m not going to in that room.” He walked a few feet down the hall and into the bathroom where he placed her on the solid granite counter and pumped into her until they both cried out there release.
Showering together afterward, they did it again.
Grace stepped out of the shower first. “The towels we’re supposed to use are
sitting here on the counter. I’ll run back into the room and grab your clothes. Give me a minute to get dressed.”
“No problem, sweetheart.” Griffin stuck his head back under the water, but when it started to cool he decided to get out. He saw the stack of pretty blue towels, one of the larger ones missing, so he grabbed the other and dried off. He wrapped it around his waist and grabbed the hand towel.
Stepping out in the hall while drying his hair, he called, “Sweetheart, did you—”
“No one has ever called me sweetheart before,” a deep male voice answered, laughter woven through each word.
Adrenaline shot straight to Griffin’s heart. Had someone broken into the house and already killed Grace? And here he was nearly naked, his guns thirty feet away. With the towel in his hand he could blind the attacker, spin behind him and break his neck, or wrap the towel around the weapon and snap it away.
“You must be Griffin.” This time the voice sounded friendly. He lowered the small towel to see the redheaded man in front of him wasn’t carrying a weapon. “I’m Gracie’s older brother, Jeremiah.”
“Gracie?” Griffin repeated the name with a smile. “I’m pretty sure if I called her that she’d kick my ass.”
When he smiled there was no doubt of their kinship. “She’s always been Gracie to us.”
The woman in question appeared from the bedroom brushing out wet hair. Jere looked from one to the other.
“Not one word or I’m going to tell Mom where you hide the beer and wine,” she threatened.
Jere smiled and glanced back and forth between them before he reached out and touched her wet hair. “I think I have a bigger secret to tell Mom.”
