“I wish I could tell you how that feels,” she said.
He blew on her nipple again. “Good?”
“Beyond.”
He took more of her breast into his mouth and sucked hard, picking up the pace. He lifted her leg and moved her foot behind his head, and somehow, perfect got better. He squeezed her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, then flicked it hard with his middle finger, and she came again. But he wasn’t satisfied.
Even as she relaxed, he kept moving in her, still so hard it was painful. He pulled out and turned her so that her back was to his chest, and they were both on their sides, then lifted her leg to rest on top of his and entered her from behind. He kissed her neck and shoulder, loving the tangy taste of salt on her skin. He found her clit again, and she said, “Oh my God. I can’t.”
“You will,” he assured her as he slowly circled the nub while he moved in and out in a steady, demanding rhythm. God, it took all he had to hold back. “Come on, baby.”
“Jake,” she moaned.
“I got you. Come for me one more time.”
He pinched her sensitive nipple, pressed two fingers against her clit, and he felt her spasms begin. A few more strokes, and he was right there with her. He came so deep inside her, he felt like he became a part of her because it took so long for him to finish. But when he did, he felt completely satisfied and relaxed.
They lay there for a long time, neither moving, both rocked by what had just happened. He held her tight and pressed his lips to her shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“I didn’t know it was possible to come so many times,” she said.
Jake smiled. “When I can feel my legs again, I’ll carry you to the shower.”
“I don’t think my legs are going to work until sometime tomorrow.”
“I have a bathtub,” he tempted. “With jets.”
“Well, hell,” she said.
“What?”
She turned her head, and he kissed her. “I think you might be the perfect man.”
8
Jake woke suddenly, not sure why, then heard his cell ringing. He picked it up and answered. “Stanton.”
“Something’s up,” Hank said.
Not wanting to disturb Soleil, he slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom. “Talk to me.”
“There was some activity in the lagoon behind your place last night—multiple subjects traveling to and from a specific location. I’m sending you the coordinates. Maybe you’ll know what’s there.”
“Why didn’t you call me sooner? I’m putting you on speaker so I can pull it up.”
“Because I wanted to observe and keep you alive. When you get the new cell I’m sending, ditch the SIM card on the one you’re using now.”
“Right.” He logged into the Brotherhood Protection secure server and accessed his email. When he got the message opened, he scanned the satellite photos. “Too dark. Can’t tell anything about the area,” Jake said.
“Sending daylight sat photos now.”
When Jake saw the pictures, he still couldn’t make much of it. Could be his property or the property bordering the refuge, or maybe further south. “It just looks like shoreline. No houses there, nothing.”
Jake could hear Hank typing. “Maybe there’s something unusual about the terrain in that area?” Hank suggested.
“I’ll have a look tomorrow.”
“Risky,” Hank said.
“I’ll just be a local out paddling. There will be other people on the lagoon kayaking and paddleboarding.”
“Tell us when you’re going out so we can keep a closer eye.”
“Of course.”
“Everything else okay?”
“Sure. Why?” Jake asked.
“She’s a beautiful woman.”
“I noticed,” Jake said, laughing.
“Keep your head,” Hank said. “And I’m not talking about your cock.”
“Is that what you did with your wife when you were her bodyguard?” Jake countered.
“You know the protocol,” he said, then added, “and the risks.”
Ignoring that, he said. “I’ll let you know before I go out tomorrow.”
“Roger that.”
Jake disconnected the call and walked into the bedroom. Pre-dawn lit the room in shades of gray. Soleil wasn’t in bed.
He went to the kitchen, but she wasn’t there either. “Soleil?” he called out. No response.
Fucking hell. He ran back to the bedroom, pulled on jeans without taking the time to zip them, and shoved his feet into shoes. Gun in hand, he ran to the door. The alarm had been disarmed. Shit. Outside he called out again, “Soleil?”
Nothing. Damn it. He ran down the driveway, punched in the code, and opened the gate, then sprinted across the road to the beach. When he crested the dune, he saw her and relief flooded him. He bent, hands on knees, trying to catch his breath so his heart rate would steady itself. Then his relief turned to anger.
He walked out onto the beach. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Soleil was balanced on one leg doing some complicated yoga maneuver, but wobbled and went sideways when she heard his question.
“Dude,” she complained. “Yoga is a peaceful practice, and you’re destroying my Zen with the shouting. Why do you have a gun in your hand?”
He moved to holster the pistol, but he hadn’t put his belt on, and the holster wasn’t there. Holding the gun at his side, he zipped his pants and said, “You don’t go anywhere without me, remember?”
“I thought the beach would be all right, especially since it’s so early.”
With perps crawling in and around his property, he about lost his mind when he heard her reasoning. He stepped onto her yoga mat. She wore a sports bra and bicycle shorts, rolled down at the waist. Her flowers tattooed on her arm looked almost 3-D in the eerie morning light. “How did you get out of the house?”
“I watched A.J. show you how to use the alarm yesterday, and then last night, you did the gate code a few times when we left and came home,” she said.
Shit. He was really off his game if he had missed that. “Did the phone wake you?”
She nodded and put a hand on his chest. “Since I knew you were up, I decided to come out early. I left a note on the counter beside the coffee maker.”
He cradled her elbow, some of his frustration leaving him. “The only thing I saw was an empty bed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Wait for me next time.”
“Okay.” She guided his head down to hers and kissed him. “Good morning,” she said.
Jake took a quick look around the area. They were alone; his internal radar was calm. But last night, when there had been activity in the lagoon, he’d missed it because he’d been making love to Soleil.
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go back to the house. You can do yoga in the sunroom.” He guided her off the yoga mat, then picked it up, and they walked to the house together.
“Something’s happened,” she said. “I can see it on your face.”
After only a few days, she could read him. Jake shook his head. He was losing it. Inside the house, he set his gun on an end table, locked the door and reset the alarm. “Go finish your yoga. I’ll cook breakfast. What do you want?”
She put her hand on his forearm to stop him from walking away. “First, tell me what’s happened, and then we can talk about breakfast like we’re two normal people who just spent the night together.”
He brought her hand to his lips. “Nothing to worry about.”
“That’s not an answer,” she said firmly. “Did Hank call this morning?”
“Yes.”
“It must have been important for him to call so early.”
He squeezed her hand. “There was some activity in the lagoon last night. Hank’s not sure if it was suspicious, but we’re checking it out.”
“What kind of activity?”
“Looked like divers.” He carr
ied her mat into the sunroom and spread it out. Soleil followed. “What do you want to eat?” he asked again.
“What are you doing?” she said.
He wasn’t sure what she meant. “Coffee first, then breakfast.”
“I’m not talking about food. What are you doing to figure out what went on in the lagoon last night? I know you have a plan.”
“Leave that to me.”
Crossing her arms, she said, “Here we go again. I’m not staying inside again all day, especially not while you go out there and put yourself in harm’s way.”
He rubbed her upper arms in what he hoped was a soothing motion. “Try not to worry.”
She stepped back out of his reach. “Don’t placate me,” she said firmly. “This may feel like just another job to you, but that’s not how I see it.” Before he could form a response, she continued. “What if you get hurt?”
“That won’t happen.”
“How do you know?”
He smiled. “I have a pretty good track record. Twenty plus years in the military, hundreds of missions, and I returned from each one.” Nothing had changed. He could still do the work.
“Uninjured?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I’m standing here, right? Relatively scar-free.”
“I haven’t had enough time to get to know your body,” she said, scanning his chest and arms, then traced a scar on his forehead near his hairline. “That had to be at least ten stitches.”
She was spot on. “I got that when I was twelve. Slipped on the pool deck.”
“This is a good look on you, by the way.” She trailed a finger down the center of his chest, over his belly button, and lower, to the open waistband of his jeans.
He put his hands on her hips and moved her closer. “You look good, too.”
She put her arms around his waist and pressed a kiss to his chest. “You know, I snorkeled in the lagoon,” she said.
Jake’s heart stopped. “Today?”
“No. Earlier this week—before you got here.”
Still, given what Jake knew now, she could have been hurt. Was that why they’d tossed her camper and van? To warn her off?
“I took some digital shots I needed of the manatees,” she continued, “and the lagoon floor to show the lack of seagrass they need to feed on to survive.” She kissed him again, and turned her head, pressing her cheek to his chest. “I was going to ask if we could go out today. I want some shots with film.”
“I can take you to Manatee Cove tonight on Merritt Island. The bioluminescence should still be visible after dark. The sunset is beautiful from a kayak.”
She looked up at him. “Tonight?”
He nodded.
“Because you’re going to do something dangerous on the lagoon behind your property today?”
“I won’t do anything dangerous,” he said, trying to reassure her.
“Good, then you won’t mind me coming along.” She turned and walked over to her mat. “And as for breakfast, I could eat the steel-cut oats with fruit.”
“You’re not coming with me,” he said firmly, not distracted by her talk of oatmeal.
“I’m supposed to stay with you 24/7. Just following your rules,” she said, giving him an innocent look. “What if those guys come back, and I’m here alone?”
“You’re killing me,” he said. He put his hands on his hips and looked up at the ceiling, praying for patience.
“You should do yoga with me, and then we’ll make breakfast together. It’ll be good for your flexibility and might even help you relax,” she offered. “We can start with some stretches.”
Jake laughed. Being this close to Soleil when she was showing so much skin and turning herself into a pretzel was a lot of things. Relaxing wasn’t one of them.
* * *
The day had been relatively quiet. Soleil had spent the morning editing photos again since she’d lost the work she’d done on her laptop. She also drafted the article that would accompany them. Jake had gotten a delivery early from Brotherhood Protectors: a new cell phone. He’d been working on his laptop for hours. Unused to confinement, she closed her borrowed laptop and moved around the house, restless.
“You ready to get out of here?” Jake said, surprising her.
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t believe I’m actually saying it, but I need to get out on the lagoon, and you made a good point earlier about being here alone.” He stood. “Think you can act like a local out for a kayak ride on a beautiful day?”
“Yes,” she said smiling. “I’ll get my suit.”
“That reminds me, I have something for you,” he said, following her into the bedroom.
“You do?”
He held out a shopping bag.
Soleil came closer, took the bag, and looked inside. She removed a brown, one-piece suit with a high, scoop neck and back. Her face contorted into a picture of distaste. “When did you have time to get me a granny suit?” she said.
“You can have anything delivered,” he said absently. “I thought it might be better . . .”
His words trailed off, so she said, “Better for what?”
“Going out in public?” he suggested.
“Funny.” She shook her head and tossed the suit on the bed. “I won’t be wearing that before I’m fifty, and even then, probably not.”
Jake’s face fell. “Fifty isn’t that far away for me.”
“And you don’t wear grandpa trunks, so . . .”
He dropped his jeans, and Soleil sat on the bed to watch. He had an amazing body—better than most men half his age. “I’ve been meaning to ask, is there a story behind your tattoo?” she said. He had a black, tribal-style band around his left bicep.
He stripped off his briefs, and she completely forgot about the tattoo.
“I got it done in Hawaii a few years ago.”
“You waited a long time to get a tattoo.”
He put on dark green swim shorts, similar to the ones he’d worn the day before, but these had zippered pockets at the sides. “I never wanted one,” he said.
She stood and took her t-shirt off. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”
“Maybe.”
She could practically see the shadows moving in his eyes. “We’ve got nothing but time.” She dug in one of her suitcases until she found a red bikini.
“I’d had a pretty rough year—several actually. When I got leave, instead of coming home, I went to Hawaii for some time alone and R&R. It was so peaceful, I got the tattoo to remember the peace I felt on that trip because . . .”
After she’d put the bottoms on, she switched out her sports bra for the bikini top and tied it behind her neck. “Because?”
“I forgot what I was saying.”
“Your tattoo.” She turned, adding, “Can you help me with the tie?” She smiled because his trunks could barely contain his erection.
“Because moving on to the next mission had gotten harder and harder.” He tied the bikini and kissed her shoulder.
She rested her hands on his forearms. “So, it doesn’t get easier.”
“You never really forget what you see, but I could always compartmentalize it and keep going. But that gets more difficult over time.”
“I can’t get the image of Rosa out of my mind.”
“The first one you lose is the hardest,” he said. He turned her to face him, “But you deal with it, so you can keep going.”
“How?”
“By focusing on all the ones you saved.”
She took a shaky breath and let the images of the other girls who’d worked with Rosa come to the forefront. But the knowledge that they were still there, not free, kept her troubled.
“How do you know the ones left behind will be okay?”
“You don’t,” he said. “But as long as they’re alive, there’s hope, right?”
She grinned. “We were talking about you, but it feels like it turned into a counseling session for me.”
&
nbsp; He kissed her cheek. “My work is done, but yours isn’t.”
“That’s not true, Jake. You have so much more to give. Look at what you’re doing for me.”
He shook his head. “I’m retired. My services are strictly reserved for the people I care about.”
She let herself imagine what it would be like if she was one of those people, not that she needed to be taken care of, but it was nice to know someone had her back. “People you care for and the occasional photographer who gets broken into on your property.”
He brushed the side of her face with his fingers. “You’re not just some photographer to me, Soleil.”
His kiss was so tender, her throat tightened against the emotion she felt. How could this have happened so soon?
He broke the kiss and looked at her. “So that’s what you’re wearing?”
Soleil looked down at herself. “It covers more than the one I wore yesterday.”
“You wore that one on purpose, didn’t you?”
“A woman never reveals her secrets. It removes all the mystery,” she said and kissed his chin. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this. You came home to reclaim the peace you found in Hawaii, to work on your house, and hang out with Caroline.”
He tugged on her braid. “I volunteered for the gig,” he reminded her. “Gotta keep Pulitzer Prize nominated photographers safe, after all.”
She raised a brow. “How’d you find that out?”
“They don’t keep that sort of thing secret. I can do an internet search, you know.”
Soleil took a deep breath and exhaled. “I didn’t expect the nomination, but it’s brought a larger audience to the stories I shoot.”
“That’s a good thing, then,” he said.
“That’s what I thought,” she walked back over to him. “But if things like this keep happening, it’ll hinder my ability to do the work.”
“You can hire security. Hank’s firm is the best. Brotherhood Protectors is staffed with only former special operations veterans.”
“Like you?”
“Yes, but as I’ve said, I’m retired and staying put.”
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