Rockwell Agency: Boxset

by Dee Bridgnorth

  “Should I have stayed with her?” Wes asked, after a long moment of shared silence.

  “No,” Jordan said, firmly. “Absolutely not. She could have gotten out with you if she had tried. You couldn’t stay and risk your life just because she panicked.”

  He knew that, in his head, but it was still hard. He felt like he had abandoned someone who was relying on him, and that was something Wes never would have done. “I couldn’t lift her. All I needed her to do was walk out with me. Just move her legs.”

  “She panicked,” Jordan said. “There was nothing you could have done, in your condition.”

  “I heard her thoughts as I was leaving,” he said, shuddering at the memory. “It was terrible.”

  Jordan’s lips pressed gently to his hair. “You couldn’t help her. We’ll go back—we’ll do what we can for her. They won’t necessarily kill her. The chances are high that they will, but you never know. She might be valuable to them for something. She may just be a prisoner for now.”

  Wes looked up at her and smiled slightly. “You know, I like that you never sugarcoat things. Even when you’re talking about death and imprisonment. There’s an odd sort of comfort to that. I’ll always know where I stand with you and what the situation really is. That’s nice.”

  Jordan lifted her hand and touched his cheek lightly in a gesture of silent acknowledgment. It was a soft touch, but then it was gone and her hand was back down in her lap.

  She shifted and reached behind her, pulling out the hard drive and the cell phone that she’d been carrying in her pockets as they moved deeper into the woods in a bid to escape the people chasing them. “I still have these, and we know where that office building is. That’s a better position than we were in before, but that whole thing could have gone a lot better. I put you in a lot of danger, letting you come in there with me.”

  “I wanted to be there,” he said. “I’m not going to deny that it was mildly terrifying, especially hearing that jumble of thoughts as those men tried to get in the door. And Sal—.” Wes shook his head in amazement. “I didn’t know people had thoughts like that. He had no moral filter at all—like none.”

  Jordan nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me. He’s coldblooded, there’s no doubt. Did you hear anything useful in there?”

  Wes had been so focused on leaving Alana behind that he had forgotten to sort through everything else that he had heard. He thought back now, replaying the whole scene in his mind, hardly able to believe that he had actually just experienced something so wild. Just the day before, he could never have imagined being shot and then getting caught in the middle of a gem theft ring where the leader was bent on killing anyone who was a threat to the operation.

  “Sal’s thoughts were mostly vindictive and horrible,” he said. “I don’t even want to repeat a lot of what he was thinking. When Alana warned you about the button he was about to push, I had been focused on his thoughts, but all he was thinking was the same thing over and over again—Wait, wait, wait—no, now, now, now. Over and over again.”

  Jordan nodded. “People’s thoughts don’t always give you all the answers you need. They’re thinking something that makes sense in the context of what they already know.”

  “The men who were breaking in—all they were thinking about was the task at hand. Nothing that was useful. At least, I didn’t hear anything useful,” Wes said, looking around them again. “I’ve been blindly following you. Where are we?”

  “In the woods,” Jordan said. “I don’t know, exactly. I just knew that there was forestation in this area, and that we had a better chance of evading the people chasing us here than on the streets. There are probably trails that cut through and around this area, that some people hike on. We’re in the part where people aren’t really supposed to go.”

  Wes reached up with his good hand and smoothed her short hair over her ear, tucking the soft strands behind it. His thumb skimmed over her jaw, tracing the delicate line. “You really are beautiful,” he said, almost without thinking. He was in pain and probably in shock, and he had spent the last half an hour overcome by guilt as they walked through the woods. But Jordan was sitting here with him now, and as he looked up at her, he found himself forgetting all of the rest of it because of how amazing she was.

  “Wes,” Jordan said, covering his hand with hers. It was a gentle and reluctant rebuke, and he didn’t listen to it. “You’re in shock.”

  “Maybe,” he said, skimming his thumb over her lips this time and feeling the way they parted beneath his touch. “But I don’t have to be in shock to see how beautiful you are. And how powerful you are. I know you don’t like it when I call you a superhero, but you are to me. You saved my ass last night, and you just did it again. There’s nothing you can’t handle.”

  Jordan closed her eyes briefly, but she didn’t lean away from his touch. “You’re giving me too much credit. I’m the reason you were even in danger today.”

  “No, you weren’t,” Wes said, stroking the back of his knuckles along her cheek and just feeling her skin as she let him continue to touch her. “I wanted to be involved. You couldn’t have kept me away.”

  She opened her eyes and gave him a skeptical look.

  He laughed. “Okay, you could have kept me away if you’d tried to.”

  “Of course, I could have,” she said. “You’ve only got one arm, and I’m still stronger than you when you have both.”

  Wes smiled, all of his worries, and shock, and guilt fading into the background as he focused on this moment with Jordan in the woods. He slid his hand around to her hair, his fingers threading through the short strands that shaped the back of her cute pixie cut. “Jordan …,” he murmured, lifting his eyes to hers.

  There was something in her gaze—a certain hesitance, perhaps. But when he drew her forward, his head tilting up so that his lips could meet hers, she didn’t pull back from him. His lips brushed against hers softly at first, and a groan escaped him. One soft, small, innocent touch had set off such a strong feeling in him that it was all he could do not to yank her into him and take more.

  But he didn’t want to do that. He wanted to savor her. He wanted to indulge her, and seduce her, and explore her, and from the way she leaned into him and lifted her hands up to tangle in his hair, she wanted the same thing.

  He took her mouth with his, parting his lips over hers so that his tongue could tease between her lips. She shivered against him, and his good arm wrapped tighter around her, holding her closer so that he could deepen the kiss and taste the heat that was emanating from her.

  Her lips were so soft and supple, and as the kiss drew out, she became more and more eager. He was kissing her with everything that he had, his hand gripping the back of her neck to keep her close as she kissed him again and again and again. Their tongues tangled and their breath mingled as Wes lost himself completely in the sheer pleasure of the moment, holding her to him with a vise-like grip.

  He thought that if she let him, he might just kiss her forever.

  Chapter 24

  Jordan

  Maybe this kiss had been inevitable. Jordan certainly didn’t seem to be able to stop it or herself from delving deeper and deeper into Wes, until they were so tangled together that she didn’t know where she ended and he began. She had wanted to feel his lips on hers for so long, and now that she was in the moment, it was even better than she could have imagined. Even with only one good arm, he held her so close and felt so strong wrapped around her. His hair tangled around her fingers, and the scruff on his jawline, from not shaving that morning, rubbed against her soft skin.

  She could get lost in this kiss and never have a need to find her way out of it.

  Which was exactly why she had to.

  Jordan slowed the kiss, beginning to withdraw from it. But Wes felt what she was doing, and he pulled her closer, persuading her with his lips to stay. She lingered for a moment too long, and before she knew it, she was sinking back into him, pulling him closer and pre
ssing her body against his. One of his hands slid down her side and cupped her hip, his grip strong and sure as it continued down to her thigh.

  When his thumb skimmed her inner thigh, Jordan gasped and pulled away from the kiss, sliding off his lap completely and sitting on the forest floor, letting her head fall into her hands for a moment as she caught her breath. “Wes, we can’t.”

  His hand touched her back gently, and when she turned to him there was still heat in his eyes. “Jordan,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t pretend like there’s not something here.”

  “I won’t,” she said, but she didn’t lean into his touch. “We have chemistry. There’s no doubt. I’m very attracted to you, and on multiple levels. But that’s not what matters.”

  “Then what matters?”

  She suddenly wished for her necklace with the dried pig's foot, but when she lifted her hand to her throat, searching for it, she realized she was without protection. Wes noticed the movement, and his gaze shuttered.

  “I’m not searching for your thoughts.”

  “I know,” Jordan said, “but without the necklace, you might hear them without trying.”

  “And what would I hear?”

  Jordan looked away from him, staring out at the trees in an effort to keep him out of her head. “Nothing that you should. It would be an invasion.”

  “Then tell me what you’re thinking in your own words,” he said, “or at least look at me. You can’t kiss me like you just kissed me and not look at me.”

  Turning again, Jordan did look at him. The heat that he had stirred low in her belly returned, and she could still feel the sensation of his lips on hers, kissing her so sensually and so passionately. There was a promise of more in every kiss, and she had to stop it now. There was so much that he didn’t know and could never know about her, and she was too invested in him to trust herself to keep things casual.

  “Why would it have to be casual?” Wes asked.

  Jordan stood up and walked away from him, turning her back. “Don’t do that. Don’t read my thoughts, Wes.”

  “I didn’t try to. It came into my head. I don’t know how to stop them.”

  “Well, try.”

  “Jordan,” Wes said, struggling to his feet as well. “Why are you so afraid of me?”

  Was she afraid of him? Jordan was afraid of very little in life. But, yes, she was afraid of losing her independence by making the mistake of falling for someone. Even someone as wonderful as Wes appeared to be would hinder her freedom and her autonomy. He would expect things from her that she wasn’t willing to give—he would expect her to modify her behavior, to edit her thoughts, to provide him with support and love and affection on demand. That’s what being part of a couple was, and she had always known she didn’t want that.

  His arm slipped around her from behind, drawing her back against his chest. Bending down low, he put his lips by her ear. “You’re afraid of falling for me. You don’t have to be.”

  Jordan pulled away from him, spinning sharply on one foot, so that she was facing him. “I said don’t do that, Wes, and it wasn’t a suggestion.”

  “I told you,” he said. “I can’t control it. What am I supposed to do about it?”

  “Block it,” Jordan said. “Do something to avoid completely invading my privacy.”

  “Why can’t you just be honest with me?” Wes asked, gesturing widely with his good arm. “Is it really that hard to tell me how you feel? Maybe you have secrets, just like Alana did. Maybe I’m only attracted to women who keep things from me. That must be it, because you’re acting like you have some horrible secret to hide. So maybe I should just steer clear of you after all.”

  Jordan flushed with anger when he compared her to Alana, her eyes narrowing. “Watch your step,” she said her voice tight with carefully controlled emotion. “I am nothing like your criminal ex-girlfriend. Nothing.”

  “You’re hiding something.”

  “Maybe I have a right to my secrets,” Jordan said, throwing her hands up. “Maybe this is why I’m afraid of falling for you, Wes. Because once you get emotionally involved with someone, you’re tied to them. You’re not allowed to have secrets. You’re not allowed privacy. You’re not allowed to do anything at all without making sure that the other person is all right with it. Well, I don’t have time for that in my life, okay? Yes—I have secrets. They’re mine, and they’re not yours, and you have no right to them, and if I kept kissing you and if things went further, and if we became involved, then I would lose my privacy, and I can’t do that. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

  Wes shook his head. “You’re just scared. You’re making excuses because you’re scared. I thought you were a superhero, Jordan. I thought there was nothing you couldn’t handle.”

  She was frustrated and emotional, and her judgment was impaired. Or maybe she really was just so afraid of what she was feeling for him that she would have done anything to sabotage their connection She didn’t know why she did what she did, but she stepped back and pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it aside.

  Wes stared at her in surprise, his eyes feasting on the skin that was now exposed to him. Her creamy, smooth breasts that strained against her bra and her slender, toned waist that dipped into the waistband of her shorts.

  Once she started, she didn’t look back. She unclasped her bra and let it fall to the ground, taking a step back when he took a step forward, drawn in by the pretty peach color of her nipples that were pebbled in the open air. Before he could get to her, she had stripped off her shorts, causing him to stop in his tracks, looking at her with confusion that was just a little bit hopeful. When she pulled down her panties and stepped out of those too, he started to speak.

  “No,” Jordan said, cutting him off before he could begin. “Stay there and be quiet.”

  Wes shut his mouth, but his eyes continued to feast on her as she walked several steps backward. She took a deep breath, and before she could question herself, she jumped up into the air, shifting into her royal blue dragon form in front of his eyes.

  Her wings spread out, sweeping through the air with just enough force to keep her hovering above the ground. Her long neck stretched forward, and she bent her head down, looking into his eyes with her large yellow ones. She opened her mouth and Wes, gaping at her now, stumbled backward until his back pressed against a tree.

  From her mouth, she let one flame float out, also hovering in the air, as she swept her wings to propel herself backward. She did a tight circle around the small clearing, her wings creating enough wind that the trees swayed with the force of it, and the leaves trembled on their branches. Usually flying was the most relaxing thing she could do, but this small turn that she did was anything but anxiety-relieving. She completed the turn, then landed on the forest floor with grace, her back to Wes.

  She shifted back into her human form, the wings and the royal blue scales disappearing as she returned to her five-foot-nothing statute and stood naked. Without turning toward Wes even still, she picked up her clothes, pulling her shorts on and her shirt afterward, not bothering to put her underthings back in place.

  When she turned towards Wes, she met his eyes silently, waiting for him to speak. But he only stared back at her, his mouth closed and his jaw tight. She tried to read his face, but she couldn’t tell if he was angry, or shocked, or afraid. Perhaps he was all three. Perhaps he was even disgusted. She had, after all, just turned into a fire-breathing beast in front of his eyes.

  But he had wanted to know the truth. He had wanted her secrets. Now he had them, and if he didn’t like them, then maybe he would see that she had been right all along.

  Chapter 25

  Wes

  If he hadn’t already accepted that there were things in the world that he’d had no conception of before meeting Jordan, then he might have panicked when her beautiful, naked body had disappeared, sliding into an equally majestic blue dragon that soared around the clearing. Instinctively, he still felt the urge
to run, even though he knew that the creature was Jordan. It was a fearsome creature to behold, even in all of its beauty.

  But he didn’t run. He stayed and watched the dragon fly, and he marveled at it even as he was confused by it.

  When the dragon landed, disappeared, and Jordan returned, all Wes could do was continue to stare at her. He wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come to him. What he had seen was incredible, and he had no words in his vocabulary for it. He had no reaction that seemed appropriate to represent what he was feeling and thinking as he stood there, looking at the woman who became more amazing and unbelievable with each passing day, if not each passing hour.

  “You should be careful what secrets you insist on knowing,” Jordan said, picking up the rest of her things with one swoop and starting to walk past him, back in the direction they had come. Her shoulder hit against his as she pushed past, and he reached out with his bad arm, grabbing her. It caused pain to radiate down his side, but he didn’t let go of her.

  “Don’t leave,” he said, turning her towards her. “You have to give a man a second to process it when you turn into a dragon and fly around in front of him. You also have to give him an extra second if you stripped naked first, and he didn’t notice you were a dragon at first because he was still thinking about that.”

  Jordan looked at him warily, as though not sure whether or not she should trust his attempt at a joke. She said nothing, but she also didn’t pull away from him, when she clearly could do so at any point.

  “I knew you were a superhero,” Wes said, looking down at her beautiful face and searching for some connection between her and the dragon that had just flown in front of him. “I just didn’t know how right I was.”

  “I shouldn’t have shown you.”

  “Why did you?”

  Jordan shook her head. “I don’t know. To scare you away. To make you realize that things aren’t that simple. I can’t just say …oh, I’m attracted to you and then act on it.”