Special Ops Affair

by Jennifer Morey

“How would you do that?”

  “I’m going to get your mind off everything. We need a break anyway.”

  He’d already begun to take her mind off everything but him. She watched him walk beside her, admiring his tall frame and impressive chest in a golf shirt that matched his eyes. He had on those holey jeans, too. What a combination.

  “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “We can’t do anything until the reporter goes away. So, let’s bore him with a trip to the National Mall.”

  Outside, she spotted the reporter. He and his cameraman were in a black sedan across the street, watching them.

  “Can’t we give him rat poison or something?”

  He grinned. “That’s my girl.” He flagged a cab down and got in after her.

  She stared out the window.

  “He doesn’t know enough, Odie,” Jag said, putting his arm behind her on the seat. She turned to look at him, getting cozy in his arms. “So we went to see Frasier’s wife. So we went to the colonel’s house. They’re close to the family. That’s not a headline. It won’t even make the evening news.”

  “He’ll write something up.”

  “In the local paper. And it would be a boring story. The most he has is a mention of you knowing Frasier.”

  “What if he doesn’t stop trying to follow us?”

  “He can try all he wants.”

  Odie relaxed, her shoulders loosening a little. He was right. They hadn’t paid attention before, but they would now.

  The cab let them out and they crossed the street on the way to the Lincoln Memorial. Odie saw the reporter get out of another cab. He’d let his cameraman go but he wore a camera around his neck now. She faced forward before he saw her notice him.

  Jag took her hand and she relaxed even more. Why not enjoy this while she could? It didn’t mean she had to fall madly in love with him.

  They walked among a throng of other people down a sidewalk. At the wide, steep stairs that led to the memorial, she stopped to look east across the reflecting pool at the Washington Monument in the distance. She’d been here many times before but each time revived her sense of purpose. She upheld what these monuments stood for, in a behind-the-scenes sort of way. She’d grown up learning the principles of freedom, and the cost of holding on to it. The Lincoln Memorial was her favorite, for all it meant to her. Humanity. Moral values. Unity. Freedom. Things that terrorists wanted to destroy.

  She climbed the stairs with Jag. Inside the towering structure, she turned in a circle, taking in the words on the walls and Lincoln’s giant stone figure.

  “You look like him,” she joked.

  “I don’t have a beard.” He looked at her as if he thought she was serious.

  She stopped herself from laughing. “No, I mean the stony part.”

  He moved toward her. “I prefer strong and silent.” He glanced suggestively up at Lincoln.

  Backing away, she laughed. He caught her in two strides.

  Sliding his arm around her waist, he brought her against him. She wondered where the reporter was. Close by, she guessed, since Jag was putting on a show.

  Or was he?

  The way he looked at her made her uncertain. The chemistry between them was bubbling hotter.

  Putting her hands on his chest, she slid them up and over his shoulders. She had to admit she was taking advantage of this.

  “Odie,” he warned in a deep voice. “Stop playing around.”

  “You started it.”

  “I’ll end it, too. And not the way you might think.”

  “Sounds more like a promise than a threat.”

  Tourists milled around the open space of the memorial. Cameras clicked. Voices clashed and laughter rang. Children yelled and cried. But it all went into the distant background when Jag put his hands around her waist, holding her snugly against him.

  “Now who’s playing around?”

  “I’m not playing,” he said, and sank his fingers into her hair. Odie tipped her head back and found herself staring into fiery green eyes.

  No, he wasn’t playing. And neither was she. Never before had she wanted a man to kiss her as much as she wanted Jag to right now. Not like this, with such quicksilver intensity. With Sage the attraction had taken more time to grow. At least she didn’t remember it coming on this fast.

  He angled his head a little as he brought his face closer. She could feel his breath. She closed her eyes when he came the rest of the way. The warm press of his mouth was different than on the day they’d had lunch at the Spicy Bowl. Urgency hovered on the brink of no control. If he deepened the kiss, they’d both be in trouble.

  She pulled back first, aware once again of the swarm of people. He moved his arms from around her waist and held out his hand to her.

  “Let’s go to one of the museums.”

  She’d combust before this day was over. But she gave him her hand and they left the Lincoln Memorial. Outside, there was no sign of the reporter. No doubt he’d seen Jag kiss her and believed it was the real deal.

  It was, and that gave Odie the wherewithal to endure the rest of the day with Jag without finding a cab and going back to their room so they could make love, instead of spending hours wandering through a museum.

  By the time the cab pulled to a stop in front of their hotel, Odie was steaming hot. The reporter was long gone and she’d stopped worrying about being seen. She was more worried about how much she wanted to be alone with Jag.

  He opened the cab door and extended his hand to her. Like all the other times, she gave hers to him. He helped her out of the car. She never let men do this for her, but somehow Jag doing it was appealing. She no longer thought of him as an operative. He was so different from her perception of one that it was impossible to keep him in the same league.

  They entered the hotel and made their way around the tropical atrium, passing the checkout counter and stopping at the elevators.

  When one opened, they joined two other women holding shopping bags and chattering quietly together. Jag’s hand slid down to her rear.

  Hot fire shot through her. Knowing they were on the way to the room only made it worse. There was no mistaking what he wanted. Maybe she shouldn’t have come clean with him. He’d still be keeping his distance. But now he seemed to trust her, and that left nothing in the way of him pursuing her.

  The elevator doors opened and the two women left. Odie backed up against the wall, forcing Jag to remove his hand from her. But she couldn’t take her eyes off him. It was only three in the afternoon, but if she went to the room with him they were going to have sex.

  “Maybe room service isn’t such a good idea,” she said.

  “It’s a great idea.” His eyes were all smoky with desire.

  The elevator doors opened. Odie hesitated before pushing off the wall. She wanted to pounce on him right there, wrap her legs around him and grind away.

  He swept his hand in invitation to go ahead of him. She stepped out into the hallway. Each step closer to the room made her more breathless.

  Was she ready for this?

  She didn’t have to marry him. She didn’t have to pledge anything permanent with him, either. So what if they had sex. It would relieve tension. It was good exercise. So many good things…

  She slid the card key into the door and opened it. Jag held it open as they entered. She heard it shut. The drapes were open and it was bright in the room. The bed was freshly made.

  Facing him, she saw that he stood just a few feet from her.

  “About today…” she started to say, but he tossed the rental keys on the desk and moved toward her. There was no mistaking his intent.

  A flush of warmth sent her heart racing. She dropped the card key. His arm wound around her and he pulled her against him. He kissed her. His mouth moved over hers and then his lips opened and he marauded.

  “Today drove me insane,” he murmured.

  “Me, too,” she rasped.

  Lifting his golf shirt, she ran her h
ands over his rippling skin. He lifted her shirt and pulled it over her head. Dropping it to the floor, he finished removing his own shirt and let it fall on top of hers. She just stood there and watched him. He unbuttoned his jeans but before he removed them, he reached around the back of her and unclasped her bra, kissing her as he did.

  She kissed him back while he pulled the straps of her bra down her arms until it fell at their feet. He stepped back and sat on the bed to take off his boots. Odie sat next to him and took hers off. Kicking the second one free, she put her hands on Jag as he rolled on top of her, laying her down on the bed. Her feet still hung over the edge. He kissed her and ran his hands over her breasts, rising up to look at her. He put his mouth over one nipple and Odie dug her head back against the mattress.

  “I can’t wait,” he breathed. “Today was pure hell.”

  She had to agree. She watched him slide his jeans down, taking his underwear with them and kicking them to the floor. His thick erection jutted toward her. She wanted him inside her.

  “Looks like heaven to me,” she said.

  “Lucky you.” He unbuttoned her jeans.

  “I’ll be the judge of that.”

  He chuckled. “Shut that smart mouth of yours.” He kissed her there while he pushed her jeans down.

  “Or what?”

  “Or…” Moving down to her throat, he kissed his way to the inner curve of her breast, making his way down to her stomach.

  She moaned.

  He pulled her jeans all the way off.

  Climbing onto the bed, he straddled her on his hands. She spread her legs, her feet still hanging over the edge of the bed, and he put his knees in the space between. Holding onto his biceps, she watched his eyes as he put the tip of his erection against her and pushed. She felt stretched and tight, but she was so ready for him that he slid all the way in without any trouble.

  “Heaven, for sure,” she whispered. And then moaned again. It felt so good.

  “Shh, or I’ll tell everyone your mouth doesn’t stop even during sex.”

  “Be careful, they might misunderstand you.”

  He chuckled seductively and slid his length almost all the way out of her and then pushed back in, bumping hips with her. He kept doing that, sliding in and out, excruciatingly slow. Odie had to close her eyes and groan.

  Jag moved his arm under her and pulled her farther up onto the mattress. Then he hooked one of her legs with his arm, pulling it high and wide. Prickles of sensation rippled through her, building to delicious heights. She met his fiery eyes as an orgasm catapulted her into space.

  Jag lay on her for a while and the significance of what had just happened descended on her. When she felt his body tense a little, she knew he was coming back down to earth, too.

  He rolled off her and lay on his back. But Odie wasn’t ready to face reality just yet. She rolled to his side and to her relief, he curved his arm around her. The energy between them was both something to celebrate and run scared from. They definitely were a pair in the sack, but where was this going?

  She wasn’t sure she’d be able to walk away from this, from Jag. And that was the frightening part. What scared her more was knowing Jag probably would agree. They both felt something powerful together. But even though Jag trusted her regarding this assignment, was he ready to trust her in love? And was she ready to take on love again? She was afraid the answer to both was no.

  Chapter 8

  Knocking jarred Jag from sleep. He lifted his head and looked beside him. Odie lay half on her side and half on her stomach, one leg bent and the other spread wide under the covers. Her hair partially hid her face, but he could see her full mouth and dark lashes outlining her perfectly shaped eyes.

  He checked the clock beside the bed. It was late. After eleven. The evening with Odie rushed over him. After room service in bed, she’d crawled onto his lap and they made love that way, with dishes clanking and food spilling onto the comforter. Then after dozing for a while, he’d rolled her onto her back and gone a third round.

  Another knock got him off the bed. Finding his jeans, he put them on.

  At the door, he looked through the peephole. It was Senator Raybourne. Jag glanced back at the bed. Odie hadn’t moved. But he figured this visit was too important to put off.

  “Odie,” he called.

  She stirred, rolling onto her back and then propping herself up onto her elbows, looking sleepy and sexy, and very shagged.

  “It’s Raybourne,” he said.

  Wrapping the sheet around her, Odie woke up in an instant and trotted off to the bathroom.

  Jag opened the door to a tense-looking Raybourne. But then Raybourne searched beyond Jag into the room with confusion.

  “I thought this was Odie’s room,” he said.

  “We’re sharing one.”

  The senator sent him a startled look but quickly overcame the reaction.

  “Come in. Odie will be out in a second.”

  Raybourne entered the room.

  That’s when Jag noticed he carried a file folder. “Something come up?” He already knew something had, or the senator wouldn’t be here.

  “Yes.” He glanced toward the bathroom door when it opened and Odie emerged.

  She adjusted the V of the white terry-cloth bathrobe so it covered more of her chest and then tightened the tie around her waist, seeming uncomfortable over the senator finding her in a room with Jag.

  Up until now, he’d let down his guard with her. Nothing had come between them in bed, but maybe it should have. Maybe he shouldn’t have let it go this far.

  They’d had sex. Okay, so it was amazing. Fantastic. The best he could remember ever having…

  That didn’t mean she was the one for him. She had to feel the same and he had to be careful not to end up the one heartbroken when she couldn’t give him what he needed. He didn’t want to compete with a dead man. Just the uncertainty he felt with her should be enough to turn him away. He’d loved one duplicitous woman. He refused to be fooled again.

  “Luis,” Odie said in greeting.

  “I’m sorry, Odie. I would have waited, but…”

  “No. It’s all right. What happened?”

  When he extended the file to her, she took it. “What’s this?”

  “I received it today,” Luis began. “There’s a note inside from someone named Frasier Darby.”

  Odie opened the file. Jag moved to her side so he could see it, too. A handwritten letter was inside. Odie looked up at Luis.

  “Who gave this to you?”

  “Frasier’s wife. Someone who didn’t leave their name came to her apartment claiming he asked her to give it to me if anything happened to him.”

  Jag exchanged a look with Odie. Heather hadn’t mentioned that to them, but Raybourne had said he hadn’t received it until today.

  “Frasier wrote about his suspicion of Kate’s boyfriend,” Luis said, “even going so far as to say he thought Calan was involved with Kate because he knew she was investigating your father’s death.”

  Jag checked the date of the letter Odie had stopped reading to stare at Luis. Just last week. Had Frasier tried to go to Roth with this? Someone must have stopped him. Was that why he’d gone to the cabin? To hide? His wife had kicked him out, but why leave D.C. and go so far away?

  “Calan knew my father?” Odie asked.

  Luis hesitated. “Yes.” The word sounded difficult to get out.

  “How?”

  Again, he hesitated. “This is going to be painful for you to hear, Odie.”

  Jag looked down at her and watched her press her lips together and then take a deep breath through her nose. But she pulled her emotion back in check, closing the file folder and holding her head high.

  “Just tell us,” she said.

  Luis nodded. “Frasier began talking to Kate, who told him that Calan was working with someone named Dharr al-Majid. And that he was in Yemen when Sage’s team was ambushed.”

  Jag caught Odie’s subtle
flinch. He felt like flinching, too. The last thing he needed after last night was to find out her father was, in fact, in cahoots with Dharr. And now possibly Calan.

  “They were ambushed by rebels,” Odie said, her voice more hopeful than certain.

  “Yes. The team was supposed to have aided the Yemen government in a rebel uprising, but the rebels had already gathered and the team was outnumbered.”

  “That’s what my father told me. They had bad intel going in.”

  “Very bad intel. Your father knew the rebels were tied to well-known terrorists, but he didn’t know Dharr was leading them.”

  Jag’s mind reeled. “Are you saying that Calan told Dharr about the mission?”

  “Yes.” Luis looked regretfully at Odie.

  Her breath whooshed out of her. “No.”

  “I’m sorry, Odie,” Luis said.

  Although this supported her father’s innocence, it also meant Calan was behind the ambush that killed her husband.

  She sat on the end of the bed. “Why?”

  That was Odie. His brave Odie. Jag felt a surge of pride for her. This was hard on her but she was staying strong. He sat beside her anyway. At least she’d know he was there for her.

  Luis sighed. “Calan didn’t want his connection to Dharr exposed. Your father was close to figuring it out just before he was killed.”

  “But…”

  Jag knew what she was thinking. Her father had met with Dharr. Calan had motive to set him up, but how had he arranged the meeting? Maybe her father hadn’t known Dharr would be at the meeting place. And the email could have been easily sent from her father’s computer by an intruder…to an untraceable email address. One not even Odie had been able to crack.

  “According to Frasier, Calan was running arms for Dharr,” Luis continued.

  “All this time I…” Odie shook her head. “I never thought to consider that.”

  Odie hadn’t heard what Luis said. She hadn’t considered the possibility that Sage had been murdered. Who would?

  Was Calan running the arms through Hersch and the Albanian export company? Luis hadn’t said so it must not have been in the letter. If the letter was genuine. Call him a cynic but he always played on the pragmatic side. He needed his own validation.