by S. E. Rose
“Sorry…I got distracted by the market and then had to go to the bathroom.” I realize I’m speaking way too fast and he looks at me waiting for the truth. “I think someone was following me, Jack,” I finally whisper.
He doesn’t answer me. Instead, he takes my hand and walks so fast toward the car that I am nearly jogging alongside him. He opens the door and shoves me in and takes off toward the cottage. His eyes search the crowds as we make our way out of the town.
When we are about a mile outside of town he pulls over into a dirt drive and parks the car. He looks at me. “You scared me. I didn’t know where you were.”
“I…I’m sorry,” I stammer as I can feel the adrenaline leaving my body and my bottom lip begins to quiver, although I’m not sure why.
I can see the struggle in his eyes, he wants to be angry with me, but eventually, it subsides. “Come here,” he says and I unbuckle my seatbelt and slide into his lap as he pushes back his seat. “It’s alright,” he murmurs into my hair kissing it again and again. I’m not sure if he’s comforting me or him. After a minute or so, he stills. “What did he look like?”
“Tall, dark hair and dark eyes,” I say, trying to place him with the photos we saw in London.
“That would be Ben,” he sighs. “He’s Leo’s henchman.”
“Oh, right,” I say, remembering the photos I saw in London and realizing he looks different in person.
“I don’t think I can hide you any longer,” he breathes against my ear.
I take his hand in mine and look into those beautiful green eyes. “I know. And it’s OK. I’ll be fine.”
I crawl back into my seat and Jack takes us to the cottage. I start working on the last chapter of my book as he prepares dinner. It seems so normal and yet nothing is normal at this moment.
He lights a fire in the fireplace after dinner and pours us both a glass of red wine. He grabs a blanket and places it over me as he sits and I curl up against him. We sit watching the fire crackle, unspoken words weaving between us. I don’t know what to say and I’m not sure what will happen next. The reality of our current situation has begun to sink in and I shiver as I think of it.
Jack wraps an arm around me tightly and takes my glass with his other hand, placing it down on the side table. He lifts my chin and gazes into my eyes.
“It’s not too late, you know. You can leave. Right now, you can leave all this behind and go home.” He searches my eyes. “I want to protect you, but if you are here, then…,” he trails off as he looks at me.
“I know.” I gulp. “But I’m not leaving you. Besides, I’m ready. I’ve been trained, well sort of, and I can do this.” I touch his face with my hands, tracing his jawline with my thumbs. He doesn’t know the countless hours my dad spent teaching me self-defense and the number of times he had me practicing firing a handgun at the range. The knife thing is new, but I feel confident.
“I don’t deserve you,” he states. “And, Laura, several hours of training hardly prepares you for this. I spent weeks training after living in this world for years and I still feel unprepared.” I look away for a moment. I know he’s sort of right, but I don’t want to admit that right now. And he doesn’t need to know about my past “education” from my dad.
“By the way,” I say, changing the subject as I remember my discussion with Mal from earlier. “Tomorrow night is Rose’s birthday party.”
“I know,” he whispers. My look clearly forces him to divulge more information. “Even when Oliver and I weren’t talking…well, Mal asked me to come to Rose’s birthday and ever since it’s the one day we all come together for her. No fighting, just loving her. She always says it’s her absolute favorite day of the year. I didn’t realize Mal had spoken to you about it.”
I am suddenly a bit uncomfortable. I feel as though I have stepped into a very intimate and private part of his family life that perhaps I don’t belong in at this moment. “Jack, maybe I shouldn’t come tomorrow.”
“Nonsense! You’ll come. It’s fine.” He smiles. “Rose knows about you too and she’s dying to meet you.”
“What?!” I exclaim. I’m honestly a bit shocked by this information.
“Well, I guess Mal has mentioned you, and Oliver, and of course, I have too.”
“Wait, you speak with Rose regularly?” I look at him perplexed.
“Yes.” He stops for a moment, thinking through his words. “We have sort of a secret relationship. Once in a while, I drive out to her school and take her for ice cream and we catch up, and of course, I see her occasionally when she’s here. But Oliver and Mal, they don’t know I visit her. I went up there after I had heard from Mal that she was having a hard time of it, she was only ten. So I drove up and took her out and now three years later, well, it’s our thing.” He shrugs.
“That’s sweet,” I say softly, still shocked.
“Promise, you’ll come,” he pleads.
“I promise, as long as everyone is OK with that.” I add the caveat. I’m curious if Oliver is alright with it.
“Sure, we all want you there.”
“OK.”
“So the book’s done, eh?” He looks at me, taking his turn at changing the subject.
“Yep, just going to do some editing over the next day or two and then I’ll ship this draft off for my editor to look at. There’ll be a whole lot more editing after that. And of course little things like writing the dedication and such.”
“The dedication?”
“Yeah, you know. I thank people or say how this book was inspired by someone,” I reply.
He smirks. “Like, ‘To Jack,’” he uses a voice that is meant to mock me or perhaps just to mimic me, “you are the most amazing man ever.” I burst into laughter and cut him off by placing a hand over his lips.
“Yes, Jack, just like that.” I roll my eyes and he smiles.
I lean back down against his chest and watch the fire. I’m not sure when I fall asleep, but I vaguely remember Jack carrying me into bed. And then I’m drifting in and out of dreams in a restless sleep. I almost oversleep my morning ritual.
Chapter 25
Laura’s Playlist: “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons
Jack stops at the rock and leans against it doing some push-ups. I roll my eyes at him.
“How come you mostly jog now?” I ask. I remember he walked much more when I first arrived.
“Well, someone is taking up more of my time and I need my daily workout.” He smirks.
I lean down so that our noses are touching. “I can give you a workout, Mr. Ross.” I pull back and smile innocently before closing my eyes to resume my meditation. However, before I know what’s happening, Jack is on top of me and I’m lying on the rock looking up at his face and those green eyes. I giggle and try to bat him away.
“What? Going back on your statement are you?” he questions me while sitting on my belly holding my hands above my head.
“Of course not, but I’m not into the nature thing,” I say sweetly. “I already fell off the rock once, let’s not push our luck.” And he immediately sits up and jumps down, holding out his hands for me to jump into his arms.
“Well, then you’d best come down from there,” he says as I leap into his waiting arms and laugh when he stumbles back from the force of my impact. He slaps me on my ass and I follow him back to the house. As I round the bend and start the homestretch toward the cottage, I nearly run smack into Jack as he comes to a screeching halt in front of me.
“Jack, what the…” My eyes follow his gaze and I stop mid-sentence, my breath hitches and for a moment we are frozen. Sitting on the patio is Leo, Simon, and a man I had never seen before this moment, but I recognize him immediately from photos…Alexei. Well, that’s an interesting trifecta, I think to myself. My mouth goes dry and Jack takes my hand. We walk slowly up to the patio. The next two hundred yards may as well be two miles for Jack slows down to a mere crawling pace.
“Good morning, Jack,” says the man I presume to be A
lexei with a smile that sends shivers down my spine. Then he turns to me. “Good morning, Laura. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”
I know I’m gaping at him and I close my mouth quickly trying to regain my composure. I reach my hand across the table, my proper upbringing coming out in me. He grasps my hand and brings it to his lips, planting a soft kiss on it. I want to shudder and I can feel Jack grip my other hand more tightly.
“I’m so sorry. You have me at a disadvantage. I’m afraid we haven’t met before,” I say, trying to feign innocence.
“My apologies,” he says. As he speaks more I can tell he has a Russian accent and my heart skips a beat as I realize that this indeed is… “My name is Alexei. I am an old friend of Jack’s. I see you are just as beautiful as I have been told.” I am suddenly very aware that I have chosen to wear a rather fitted pair of yoga pants and shirt that clings to all my curves. I know I must be blushing and I want nothing more than to put on a sweatshirt.
“A pleasure to meet you,” I say, trying to sound as normal as possible. “May I offer you a tea?”
He turns back to me, smiling that cold smile. “No, thank you, Laura. If you don’t mind, I just need to chat about business with Jack for a moment. I’m sure you have work to do. You are an author, no?”
I’m in shock as he clearly knows quite a bit about me and I only know what Agent Banks has shared with me. I manage to nod and I scurry into the house after being released by Jack. As I close the door, I can see Jack glance in my direction, but I don’t know what to make of the expression on his face: fear, loathing, anger?
I half-run toward my bedroom and then as I am about to sit down at my desk, I see that I have left my bedroom window open just slightly. I can hear them. Think, damn it, think, Laura. What would Agent Laura Stevenson do? I grab my phone and open the voice notes and hit record. I place it by the open window. I don’t know if it will pick up anything, but it’s worth a shot. I lean against the wall next to the desk so they cannot see me and I try hard to hear the conversation.
“…the package will arrive tomorrow,” says Alexei. “Every Tuesday and Thursday you will need to get the package from the location that Leo has informed you about and then pick up the money at the other location. Leo will be up here for a few weeks setting up some other business we have to attend to and then you’ll be reporting to Simon or Ben. Simon is going to be up in Aberdeen running something for me, so he can assist you with any issues. For now, I will keep the other individuals anonymous unless we have an issue. Do you understand?”
I don’t hear Jack say anything. I figure he must have nodded because then Alexei speaks again.
“Your girlfriend is very beautiful, Jack. I hope you keep her safe. I wouldn’t want you distracted.”
Simon then says something that I can’t hear and then I hear chairs scratching against the patio. I walk toward the entrance of the room. I can see them enter the living room and I continue toward the door.
Alexei sees me and grasps my hand again bringing it back to his cold lips. I want to jerk it away, but I do what I can to pull back without seeming suspicious. “A pleasure, my dear, I hope to see more of you.”
I am disgusted as his eyes rove up and down my body. Shit, I should have grabbed a sweatshirt. Jack places his hand at the small of my back, although that does little to comfort me.
“Nice to meet you,” I manage to murmur as he turns to Jack.
“Remember our deal,” he says, and with that he leaves, Leo and Simon following. I glance out the door and see Ben open a car door for Alexei. Jack shuts my door and I slide down the wall. I am trembling even more so than after the market episode the other day. Jack sinks down in front of me grasping my face in his hands and pulling my head up so he can look into my eyes.
“Are you OK?” he asks.
“Yes,” I answer. I take a breath and my trembling slows. “I’m fine. I just…that was unexpected.”
“Yes, I didn’t even know if he would come up here, let alone here at your cottage. I’m sorry, but you handled it…well, much better than I thought you would,” he acknowledges.
“So, it starts tomorrow.”
He nods and then grabs my hands and leads me outside toward the path. When we are about twenty yards from the house and the wind is whipping past us he stops. “I don’t know if they bugged your cottage while we were out, but from here out, we need to be careful about what we say in the cottage or at my house or in our cars, OK?”
I nod. “Oh, my phone…I recorded the conversation.”
“Where’s your phone?”
Oh crap, I run back to my room and press stop on the voice notes. I run back outside and press play and Jack and I listen to bits and pieces of the conversation. Jack looks at it cautiously, checking it for tampering, I assume.
“My phone was with me,” I explain. He nods. I text the number Agent Banks said to text and write a coded message. And then I attach the voice note. We head back inside.
“Do you want to stay here tonight or come to my house?” Jack asks.
Hagrid is rubbing against my foot and I pick him up and place him in my lap pulling him against me. His purring and soft fur is reassuring and calming amid this chaos. “Can I bring Hagrid?” I give him a pleading look. “I don’t want to leave him alone. What if they come back and hurt him?”
“Sure, love, whatever you like,” he says and offers me a small smile as he strokes Hagrid’s head.
I place Hagrid in Jack’s arms and stand. “Just let me grab some things.”
I grab a small disposal litter box I’d bought but hadn’t used yet, and a few scoops of cat food. And then I throw some things including a party dress into my overnight bag and barely remember to grab Rose’s birthday gift. “OK, let’s go over to your house.” I pick up Hagrid from Jack’s lap and place him in his carrier, he’s not overjoyed, but he complies. “Just for the night, little buddy,” I whisper to him as I close the lid.
We spend the afternoon working in Jack’s garden. Jack makes us some soup and we sit at his kitchen counter eating it. Hagrid is seemingly happy to have a new place to explore as he jumps on the counter. Jack gives me a look.
“Sorry,” I say with a shrug before scolding Hagrid and pushing him down. I turn back to Jack. “Do you have gift bags or wrapping paper by chance?”
He looks at me like I’ve gone off the deep end. “No, why?”
“Oh nothing, I bought Rose a little gift, but I forgot to get wrapping paper.” He stands and goes to the pantry opening the door and rifling around until he comes out with a brown paper lunch bag.
“Will this do?” he asks. I almost let out a laugh and stop myself when I realize he’s trying to be accommodating.
“Do you have glue?” I ask. He nods and opens a drawer and tosses it to me. He eyes me suspiciously. I walk past him and into the garden, picking flowers here and there and then I walk past him again back into the kitchen. I begin to pluck petals off the flowers and glue them one by one onto the bag. He watches me, I think more curious and intrigued than anything. When I’m done, I hold up the bag and examine my handiwork. “Not bad…,” I say to myself.
I walk over to my bag by the door and pull out a small box and set it inside the bag with a small note card.
“Well, now you’re just showing off,” he says.
I follow him upstairs and I hang my dress in the bathroom, hoping the shower steam will help air out the few wrinkles in it from being wedged into my bag. I turn on the hot water and slowly start to remove my clothes. As I pull my shirt up, I feel his hands on mine and he takes over. As my shirt is pulled over my head, I find his eyes staring darkly at mine. He pulls my sports bra off and then tugs my panties down, letting me pull my feet one at a time from them. When I’m naked, he stops and takes my hands in his. He keeps me at a distance and gazes up and down my body.
“This is mine,” he growls possessively. “Only mine.” And he pulls me to him with such force that our bodies smack as we crash together. His m
outh claims me and tells me in other ways that it is meant only for him and no one else. I am starting to understand the impact on him from Alexei’s visit.
He pushes his shorts and underwear down while keeping his lips on mine. His shirt is, well, honestly I don’t know nor do I care. I press myself into him. I want to feel him and only him. I want to forget about everything else and just feel him everywhere. Our passion is intense and our hands and mouths claim each inch of the other’s body. He backs me into the shower and the hot water falls over us. He runs his hand between my legs and moans as his fingers slip into me, finding me drenched with need for him. He slides two and then three fingers in and out of me while running his thumb in circles over my clitoris. I can feel an orgasm building and just as I am almost there he lifts me. He slams me into the wall and enters me deeply as my legs grasp his waist. I cry out as I come. He groans at the increased moisture and his erection glides easily in and out of me. He impales me again and again and I grip his shoulders as I start to build toward another climax. His one hand presses me to the cold tile and his other finds my nipple and pinches it between his thumb and index finger and I am lost in a sea of sensory overload.
I scream his name and feel my muscles clench tightly around him, pulsing as I squeeze my eyes shut. Somewhere beyond my immediate wall of desire and need, I hear him screaming my name as he empties himself inside of me, my convulsing muscles milking every last drop from him.
We stay there bringing ourselves back down and eventually he slides out of me and lets me back down. I keep my arm on him, steadying myself as I try to regain my muscle control in my legs.
“Better?” he murmurs against my ear. I nod and smile up at him.
“Can we stay in here forever?” I ask as my lips graze his.
He sighs and his eyes penetrate mine. “God, I wish we could.”
I let out a deep breath. “Remember a few weeks ago when things were a lot less complicated? I’d like to replay that first week of making love to you, over and over. Promise me that it will be like that again, someday.”
