The last part Jason pitched in a softer tone. King responded with an almost inaudible whine.
“You’re lucky.” Confiding in the dog was easy and Jason tried not to be jealous of King but damned if he didn’t wish Arin wanted his company as much as she wanted King’s. “You aren’t going to be asked to work with another handler at the end of a tour. She’s not going to leave you because her tour is over. The two of you have a steady place at Search and Protect. It’s a good deal.”
King snuffled Jason’s pants leg and his forearm where he’d propped his elbow on his knee. Then the dog took Jason by surprise and rubbed his head against Jason’s pants.
“Got an itch?” Jason reached down, hesitant to move too fast and startle the dog into biting him. King was well-socialized, but he was still a highly trained working dog. Fast hand movements toward the dog’s face or neck could end badly if Jason made the dog feel the need to defend himself.
King watched him, studied the hand Jason extended, then ducked his head and pushed his muzzle up under Jason’s palm.
Permission to pet, granted.
Jason rubbed the top of King’s muzzle, then moved to scratch around the base of the dog’s ears. The fur on the dog’s face and skull was way softer than he’d anticipated. King issued a groan in response to the attention and leaned into Jason’s fingertips.
“Excuse me.” The feminine voice wasn’t the one he wanted to hear, so Jason spent an extra second or two scratching King before looking up.
It was the lady in the form-fitting white cocktail dress. She had the gorgeous burnished gold skin tone and black hair characteristic of the Polynesian islands. She’d been a smart woman, too, astute in conversation and every part of her appearance carefully put together to hold the attention of the men in the club. She’d also gotten clear of Jones as soon as she’d had the chance, and stayed out of the way while Jason had disabled her attacker.
Her coral lipstick was still bright despite having been smeared earlier by Jones’s hold on her. Even though she’d been through a harrowing encounter, her hair was back in the kind of loose ponytail that invited a man to tug slightly for all her hair to fall loose around her shoulders. He’d appreciated her skill in her profession earlier in the evening and he’d respected her immediate chill once he’d pretended to be looking to buy girls rather than bottles. Now, he was seriously impressed with the way she’d pulled herself together.
“Thank you for saving me.” She sounded sincere and the huskiness in her voice was more from the strain of the night and not contrived for seduction.
He shrugged. He wasn’t in the business of being a hero. Her thanks made him extremely uncomfortable.
She smiled, a real one, and held out a business card. “I hear there’s a research group on the island working with the police, trying to place victims of the trafficking ring once they’re free and assisting them in applying for visas or asylum to stay. If they need help finding work for those girls, busing tables or serving drinks, have them contact me. Nothing they don’t want to do. I’ll watch out for them.”
Before he could take the card, King leaned forward and took the card gingerly in his teeth.
The woman looked startled and Jason just shrugged. “He’ll get it where it needs to go.”
She glanced to where Raul stood with Taz at his side, directing the task force and right in the middle of everything. “I guess so.”
A moment later, she was gone. No good-bye. Well, Jason would make sure Raul or Arin got the business card to Mali. He looked at King and held out his hand. “Are you going to give it to me?”
King, card still carefully held in his front teeth, looked from Jason’s face to his hand and lifted a paw, placing it into Jason’s palm.
“Not what I meant.” Jason tried not to growl at the dog. He figured King was better at it and this was definitely a mind game. Unfortunately, Jason didn’t know the actual command to make King drop the card. Instead, he stared into King’s eyes, then looked pointedly at the card and held out his hand again. Pitching his voice deeper and putting more punch behind it, he gave a more brief command. “Give it.”
King hesitated. It wasn’t the right command. Then the dog slowly extended his neck and placed the business card in Jason’s hand. Win.
“He likes you.”
Both Jason and King jerked back to attention at the sound of Arin’s voice. She was dressed in muted solid colors, deeply dyed indigo jeans and a dark grey T-shirt with a medium grey jacket tied around her waist. The colors would’ve allowed her to fade into the shadows of the buildings, but the outfit was normal enough not to catch the eye as she walked down the street. Nothing about her said sniper or military to the normal onlooker. Even the duffel she wore as a backpack looked like any other duffel, but Jason was guessing the slightly longer length was to accommodate her rifle. She could blend into a crowd if she chose to, and most of the time she did. But now that he knew her, had the taste of her in his memory and the feel of her skin against his, she stood out against the background to him.
Arin was singular, captivating, and she was waiting for him to say something.
Jason cleared his throat. “That’s a good thing, right? Him liking me?”
Arin approached and gave King a caress on the side of his face. Where the dog seemed to like Jason’s attention, King melted into Arin’s hand. Jason didn’t blame him. “He’s not an overly friendly dog. It’s unusual for him to let other people pet him. I’d say he’s very discerning.”
She hadn’t quite answered the question but Jason was going to take her partial response as a yes. He handed her the business card and explained from where it’d come. She nodded, her expression unreadable, and pocketed the card.
“Has anyone looked at you yet?” She studied his face.
Jason shook his head slowly. “It hasn’t been long. There’s a raid going on, you know.”
“Uh huh. Feeling lightheaded?” she asked.
“Nope. The bleeding has mostly stopped.” He was being careful, though. He’d had a concussion within the same week, so any hit to the head warranted extra caution.
Arin sighed and shrugged out of the straps on her duffel bag, pulling it off her back and laying it carefully under the back bumper of the ambulance. Then she climbed up into the back with him and started rummaging in the supplies. “It could be a while, then. We left a few of our targets bleeding so they get priority. We want them to live to see prosecution. Swing around.”
Jason complied, shifting his position on the bench to face her as she sat opposite him. King sat on the outer edge of the ambulance, angled so he could watch both the outside activities and Arin with Jason.
“Let’s get you cleaned up some. If it’s stopped bleeding, maybe we can get away with just butterfly stitches.” She ripped open a few sterile wipes and gently touched his face.
He held as still as he could under her ministrations, but he was extremely distracted by her close proximity. He wanted to lean into her and breathe in her lavender and mint scent, relax against her as he began to come down off his adrenaline rush. “You’ve got some? I didn’t find them when I looked through the supplies in here.”
She held up a few narrow adhesive strips for him to see. “I keep them handy.”
“Ah. Yeah, I like the idea of those rather than actual stitches or sutures.” He grunted as she began applying disinfectant to his cut.
Chuckling, Arin paused to make eye contact with him. “What, you don’t like to use crazy glue and duct tape?”
“I’m not saying I’ve never used those but these come off easier.” Jason smiled. He enjoyed the concentration in her expression as she tended to his cut. This was one of the unspoken ways she cared for people important to her. He soaked up the moment because she might never get around to expressing how she felt about him otherwise. He also wondered if he could settle for this much.
He wanted more. But then again, it’d been him wanting more from the start. He’d wanted to find her, get to
know her. Then he’d wanted to spend more and more time at her side. What he wanted now—he wasn’t even sure how to make it work without one of them giving up their career, and that wasn’t fair to her. If he was going to take her as she was—and he definitely thought every aspect of her was amazing—then he couldn’t ask her to feed his need for validation in this relationship they were developing. He was done being selfish, at least where it came to her.
Instead, he took this moment and savored it. The two of them, surrounded by chaos, and he had her undivided attention. It was enough for now.
Chapter Twenty
Arin was wrung out by the time she, King, and Jason returned to her apartment. Their debrief had been mercifully short and Zu had sent them back to get as much rest as they could before their next operation: heading out to the container ship Pua had identified and intercepting the shipment of human captives. But she wasn’t drained by the wrap-up activities. Those were standard and usually gave her time to come down off the hyper-awareness she had during an active part of a mission. No, she was churning inside and Jason was the reason for it.
He waited for her to clear her apartment and give him permission to enter her living space. Even having stayed and gained very intimate familiarity with her, he hadn’t presumed. He was thoughtful and considerate, extremely helpful and exceedingly capable. In the short time she’d gotten to know him, he’d continued to go above and beyond her estimates of what his skill levels were, or what he might do.
Guilt nibbled at her. She’d done him a disservice in expecting the worst from him. But her restlessness was caused by more. She’d watched him from a distance and covered him in a way no one else could do better, but she’d still worried about him. When she’d seen him sitting in the back of the ambulance with no one but King at his side, her own anger had caught her by surprise. Why had no one cared for his wounds? He deserved better consideration.
“You should get some sleep.” Jason stood in the kitchen, pouring two glasses of water, one for him and one for her. Then he refreshed the water in King’s bowl.
She shook her head. “Still too keyed up to sleep yet.”
He met her gaze and his eyes were full of an intensity she didn’t quite understand but was drawn to nonetheless. Without consciously making the decision, she crossed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his. His lips burned against hers and before he could raise his hands to hold her, she pulled away, taking his hands in hers and tugging him back toward the front door. “King can stay here. It’s too close for me in here right now.”
Jason allowed her to lead him back to the door. He raised his eyebrows when she didn’t bother with shoes. Instead, she just grabbed her keys and led him out of her apartment, locking the door behind them. Then she padded on silent feet down the hallway to the elevator and punched in the code for the topmost floor.
It was late, very late, and there was no one at this level. She brought Jason past the common lounge and game room, through the gym to the pool area. It was enclosed by glass and looked out over the beach and hotels, offering a spectacular view. In the corner, where the view was at its best, was a generously sized hot tub.
“I like the way you think.” Jason immediately began to strip down to his underwear.
She’d removed most of her clothes, too, but waited until he looked up at her. Then she deliberately removed her bra in a slow tease. He stilled, watching, his eyes following her every movement as she dropped her bra on top of her pile of clothes, then moved to slide her panties down off her hips ever so slowly.
She stepped carefully into the steaming water of the hot tub. “Joining me?”
He ditched his boxer briefs and stepped to the edge of the tub, jabbing the button to turn on the jets before stepping in, too. Before he could get too far in or reach for her, she placed her palms on his chest and pushed him back to sit on the edge of the tub.
“I thought the point was to get into the hot water.” He sounded puzzled but his statement held a note of anticipation.
Good. She had plans for him. So far, he’d been a generous lover. She wasn’t much for words but if she made any kind of erotic request, she was betting he’d go out of his way to fulfill it and enjoy it as he did. This time, his needs were coming first and she’d have fun, too.
“Patience,” she told him. The water level in the hot tub came up above her waist, the bubbles from the jets tickling the undersides of her breasts. His gaze dropped and her nipples tightened under his regard.
It was her turn to coax his knees apart. He was fully erect and damn, she wanted him in her mouth. But she didn’t take him right away. The man had a mouth on him and he was good at using it to piss her off and give her pleasure. The least she could do was give him a little of his own back.
She ran her tongue along the length of him, looking up to lock eyes with him as she did. If anything, he grew harder and he swore a blue streak.
This time, she grinned at him. Then she returned her attention to his cock. Swirling her tongue around his tip, she caught the tiniest taste of salt before she opened wider and took him into her mouth. He cursed again and grabbed the edge of the hot tub on either side of them, like he was holding on for dear life.
Oh no, she didn’t want him to keep control. He’d been exercising the self-control of a saint dealing with her and she appreciated it. Now, she wanted him to lose it. Besides, she enjoyed the texture of his soft skin in contrast to the hardness of his erection. She continued to use her mouth on him, alternately working her tongue along his length and sucking.
“Arin.” He gasped her name in some impossible combination of a command and a plea.
She liked hearing him say her name because he’d listened and cared to say it correctly and not how others thought her name should sound.
Easing back, she flicked the tip of her tongue along the head of his penis. She wrapped one hand around his shaft and used her free hand to caress his balls. The delicate skin of his scrotum tightened at her touch and she used her fingertips to find the super soft spot just behind his balls, lightly brushing him until he lifted his hips off the ledge.
She took the head of his penis into her mouth and tightened her grip on his shaft.
He let out a strangled shout. He reached for her with one hand and gathered up her half-wet hair in his fist, not tight enough to hurt but just enough to prevent her from taking him deeper into her mouth. She refused to let him hold her back, pumping her hand and keeping her mouth on him in a slow, steady suck as she met his gaze again.
His eyes were burning with intensity and she could almost see her own reflection in them as he watched her in the water in front of him. He was devouring her with his gaze and their eye contact was enough to make her drown.
He’d loosened his hold on her hair, instead cradling the side of her head and she dropped her lids to half-mast for a moment to nuzzle his palm before she decided he was done holding on. She laved the length of him with her tongue, enjoying the taste of his skin and taking her time doing it before lowering her mouth over his tip and sucking on him again. Starting light, she sucked and licked and sucked again until he groaned. Yes, he’d lost hope of keeping control and he knew it. She wanted him to come apart for her the way she had for him. She wanted him to trust her enough to do it.
Because she’d opened herself completely to him.
The dawn woke Jason. He was surprised at how loose and limber he felt, until he remembered the very enjoyable time they’d spent in the hot tub upstairs before coming back down to bed. He grinned at the memory and dropped a kiss on Arin’s hair. Waking up next to her was almost as good a feeling.
He seriously considered going back to sleep because they both needed the rest, but then he heard a low whine from the closed door to the living room.
Arin stirred. “Mmm. King needs to go out.”
He pressed a kiss on the bridge of her nose. “Stay asleep. I’ll take him.”
“Yeah?” She struggled to open her eyes. He won
dered if she’d slept at all the previous nights or if she’d spent them reviewing data Kenny or Pua had sent to her.
“When we find out how the next shipment is coming in, we’ll need to act fast. Get the rest now so you don’t end up dead later.” He climbed out of bed and reached for his pants. “Look, I’ll go commando and be right back to get some more sleep, too.”
She snuggled into the pillows—all of them, including the ones he’d been using—and smiled. “Sleep is good.”
He pulled the covers up and tucked them around her. Seriously, when it came to blankets and pillows, she was incredibly cute. “Pillow thief.”
He stepped out of the bedroom and faced King. The GSD looked into the bedroom at his mistress, then back at Jason and tilted his head to the side.
Jason retrieved King’s leash. “Let’s come to an agreement. You and I are on good enough terms to get you to where you need to go and come back, right?”
King was trained to obey a specific set of commands and Jason didn’t know them. He was fairly sure any of the ones he remembered Arin using weren’t going to help him in this moment, so he was going to have to rely on King’s intelligence. Fortunately, King really had to go because the big dog followed Jason to the apartment’s entryway and allowed Jason to hook the leash to his collar.
They headed out and down to the ground level, took care of business, and came back with no issues. Okay, maybe Jason had been tempted to engage in an actual pissing contest because, really, he had the sense of humor of a kid and the dog could manage to take a long-ass piss in the morning. Only the possibility of someone human seeing them from the towering apartment complex stopped Jason from giving in to his inner twelve-year-old.
They re-entered her apartment and Jason unhooked King’s leash. The big dog immediately headed for the bedroom.
Fierce Justice Page 20
