Latvis Security Services

by Lexie Ray

  “You’re teasing me something wicked.”

  She snapped her head up to look at him. It was a remarkable resemblance to a deer stuck in headlights. This time, Jamie let his gaze drop to take in every inch of skin on offer. She tensed under his attention but didn’t make any attempt to cover herself.

  “I don’t suppose you feel like coming a little closer?” he said a little breathlessly.

  Gwen hesitated, a spike of fear flashing through her eyes before quickly disappearing. Apparently, she hadn’t been kidding when she told him that she didn’t to this often. For the first time, Jamie saw a legitimate threat that he might be asked to leave very soon. His mind searched for an excuse to stay just a little longer.

  “Do you have any board games?”

  She blinked, her brow furrowing as she seemed to roll the question over in her mind. “You want to play a board game?”

  “Why not?”

  “Right.” As carefully as she schooled her face not to show disappointment, she couldn’t keep disappointment from her voice. “Yeah. I’ve got checkers.”

  “Checkers will be great.”

  Gwen opened her perfectly organized cupboard and pulled the game off the shelf. As she did, Jamie drew his legs up to make room for her to set out the board.

  “So, what are the stakes?” he asked.

  “Stakes?”

  Growing a little bolder, he shrugged his shoulders. “Well, I’m always fond of playing by strip rules. You lose a piece, you lose a piece of clothing.”

  “This is checkers,” she said. “We’d both be naked pretty quick.”

  He dragged his eyes over her once more. “I have no problem with that.”

  “It would make the rest of the game boring.”

  “You haven’t seen me naked,” he said, only to have her roll her eyes. “I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.”

  When she huffed out a breath, he held up his hands in surrender. He hadn’t even remembered that he was holding onto the doll until she snatched it away.

  “Okay. How about winner gets a request?”

  “A request?”

  “A wish,” he said with humor.

  “And what is your wish?”

  “When I win–”

  “If,” she cut in. “And that’s a pretty big if.”

  “Really?” A flutter of delight slipped through Jamie at the thought that she was just as competitive as he was. “Okay, if I win – and if we’re being honest, that is pretty likely – I get a kiss.”

  Again, she rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

  “Really?”

  “You’re not going to win. What does it matter?”

  He crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. “Well, I guess I should ask you what you want. Just as a pretense, of course. To make you feel like you actually have a chance.”

  Gwen mirrored his movement, rising to the challenge like it was a personal affront.

  “Okay. When I win–”

  “If,” he corrected.

  “I always win,” she retorted.

  “I’m so attracted to you right now,” Jamie whispered, before waving for her to go on.

  “When I win, you have to go to the big guy tomorrow. To Dwayne, the one who mocks everyone.”

  “Yep, that’s Dwayne.” Jamie chuckled. “What do I have to tell him?”

  “Wish him a happy hangnail awareness day and talk to him for ten minutes about the dangers of inappropriate nail care.”

  “That would set me up for at least a month of solid ridicule. And not just from him. We’re talking the whole team. Don’t get me started on the pranks.”

  “Only if you lose,” she shrugged casually.

  “Okay. Fine. Let’s do this.”

  “Do you want to start now, or do you need to psych yourself up a bit more?”

  “Just put some chap stick on and get ready to pucker, Dahl.”

  “Bravado’s good, Hardy. It will get you through your humiliation.”

  Jamie’s fingers slowed as they began to set up the pieces. “How do you know my last name?”

  Her smile quickly vanished. “Cheyanne talks about you on occasion.”

  “Really?”

  She bit her lips. “Do you want me to tell you what she said?”

  “No,” he quickly said. “I’m sufficiently creeped out as is.”

  It was a slight lie, one that needed to be spoken to keep himself from being kicked out in the next few seconds, but it still bothered him that the time had come so quickly for it to pass. Of course, he wanted to know what Cheyanne told complete strangers about him. It was normal to be curious what an ex thought about you, especially when it ended so abruptly. But Gwen mattered more than indulging his curiosity. By the look that she gave him, she wasn’t too convinced in his disinterest, but she let it slide for now.

  “I go first,” he said.

  “Fat chance, water boy.”

  “I’m just sticking to the natural order. Navy always goes in first.”

  “No, you boys just give us a lift.”

  “Fine. We’ll flip a coin. Heads, I go first. Tails, you take your top off.” She cocked an eyebrow and he shrugged. “You can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  Jamie leaned to the side and pulled a loose coin out of his pocket. Gwen called it as he flipped it into the air. A few rotations, a swift catch, and he was the one starting of the game.

  “Get used to me winning, Dahl.” He winked as he pushed his first piece out into the board.

  Chapter Seven

  Gwen could justify the pride she felt when she made the final move that secured her victory. She would have a far harder time explaining her reaction as anything other than petty. With a loud cry of victory, pointing, and a few fist pumps that she would never admit to later, she gloated like a spoiled child. Jamie took it all, watching her with an expression that was equal parts annoyance and amusement.

  “Enjoy your conversation tomorrow,” Gwen said.

  “Double or nothing,” Jamie replied, already setting up the pieces.

  “No.”

  “Scared?”

  “Employed,” she shot back as she checked her watch. “I need to be up in four hours.”

  “Fine. Rematch tomorrow afternoon, then.”

  “You’re still going to be here?”

  “Yeah. Willow’s doing the ice sculpture party. Quick question. What kind of lunatic has flowers at an ice sculpture party?”

  “She sets up a more tropical room for guests to warm themselves up in.”

  “Right. Because parkas don’t exist,” he mumbled. “We should get some sleep.”

  Even as Gwen nodded she wasn’t prepared for Jamie to start pulling back the bed sheets. She watched him carefully as she put the game away, expecting him at some point to pull back and present her with the bed like he had accomplished something. Instead, he began to unbutton his shirt.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I don’t like to sleep in my shirt. It’s uncomfortable,” he said with a yawn.

  Her protest staggered to a stop when he slipped the material off his shoulders and tossed it onto the end of the bed. The exposed skin shone with a golden tan as it shifted over his rippling muscles. His pants were obviously tailored to fit his shape perfectly, and they clung low to his narrow hips. Light scars marred the perfection of his skin. Most of them were thin and sharp, likely the residue of a blade. Maybe a whip. But there was one circular scar that poked out from under his waistband, resting atop the beginnings of his shapely backside.

  “You were shot in the butt?”

  Jamie looked at her over his shoulder. “You’re checking out my butt?” He hooked his thumb around the waistband and pulled the fabric down slightly. “Did you need a better look?”

  “Forget I asked.”

  “I copped some friendly fire in a training op.”

  “That had to piss you off.”

  Jamie released a loud yawn as he sank down onto the sheets, pulling the blanket
s over his hips. “At the time, I was. After the docs talked to me though, I was more excited not to be a paraplegic.”

  “What happened to the guy that clipped you?”

  “Mitch. Good guy. Good solider. He sends me steaks at Christmas. Along with a letter each year that has a new ass joke.”

  Gwen still couldn’t find anything to say as she watched Jamie get comfortable in her bed. With the sheets covering his lower half, it was easy to envision him completely naked. Her mind went into overdrive at the thought. Maybe she should have jumped him while she still had some energy left. Right now, however, she could barely keep her eyes open. It was purely because of the display that he made that she even tried to stay awake. As if knowing her turmoil, he shifted back against the sheets and licked his lips.

  “Come to bed,” he practically purred, and her mind stuttered at the sound.

  He patted the bed next to him.

  “This is my room.”

  “There’s room for two,” he said.

  Gwen slowly shuffled around the foot of the bed, her eyes never leaving him. The attention didn’t embarrass him. Instead, it only made him bolder. He began to shift as she neared, and it took her a half a second to realize that he was taking off his pants. He tossed them unceremoniously to the side and cocked an eyebrow.

  “You don’t mind if I sleep in my boxers, do you?”

  Gwen shook her head, but couldn’t keep her heart from ramping up to a rabbit’s pace. Her body moved without any input from her mind. She sank into the bed next to him but kept as far to the edge as she could.

  “So, do you like to cuddle? I am equally happy being the big spoon or the little spoon. Your choice.”

  “I sleep on my stomach,” she mumbled.

  It didn’t wipe the grin from his face. “I make an excellent pillow.” He tapped his shoulder in invitation and pillowed his other arm under his head. “Come on. You have to get up early.”

  “And you do need your rest to endure the coming humiliation,” she teased.

  “That I do,” he said as his eyes drifted shut.

  It made it slightly easier to get comfortable when Gwen didn’t have to look him in the eye. He was gorgeous. Shaped from gold and bronze, a radiant figure that really had no place being in her bed. Her fingers longed to trace the dips and curves of his muscles. Forcing down the urge, but unable to suppress it altogether, she slowly placed her head on his outstretched arm. She kept her arms close to her body, tucked tight against her chest.

  Jamie sighed happily and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “This okay?”

  “Sure.”

  “Where do you stand on midnight gropings?”

  “It’s past midnight.”

  “I’m all in favor of it,” he continued, his voice still tantalizing even as he yawned. “So, you know, if the urge strikes you, feel free to run with it.”

  “Go to sleep.” She pressed her face against his skin to hide her smile.

  ***

  Mads opened his eyes and watched the morning light drift across the ceiling. Every so often, he would hold his breath and listen to the drifting sound of Willow’s presence. A sleepy sigh. A shift of movement. Gentle but sure signs that he wasn’t alone. The situation was so foreign to him that he couldn’t decide if he should savor or reject it.

  Her phone alarm released a sudden, sharp squeal into the room, jarring him out of his thoughts and breaking the stalemate of silence. The noise continued as Willow struggled to get up. By the heavy thud, Mads was pretty sure that she had struggled her way right off the narrow couch. He gave her enough time to stop swearing and to get to her feet before he sat up himself.

  “I know you saw that,” she grumbled. “But thanks for trying to maintain my dignity.”

  “I didn’t see a thing.”

  She fixed him with a narrowed glare that had no real heat behind it.

  “I did, however, hear the entire affair,” he smiled.

  Willow chuckled as she tossed all the items she had brought down with her back onto the sofa.

  “Shut up.”

  “You are such a conversationalist in the morning,” he said as he pulled his feet onto the floor.

  The icy feel of the timber against his feet made him regret the decision. For a moment, he toyed with the idea of simply crawling back under the sheets. Then it occurred to him that there was no earthly reason that he needed to get up. It was nothing more than a habit. One that served no meaningful purpose anymore. He rolled back onto the bed and pulled the blankets up over his head to fight off the now-oppressive light.

  “Mads?”

  He tightened the blankets around himself and curled up. “Forgive me if I do not see you out.”

  “You’re not getting up?”

  “Not at this point in time.”

  He could hear her walk closer, her footsteps soft but measured. Cautious.

  “Don’t you always get up before dawn?”

  “Not generally that early.”

  “My point is that you’re not one for sleeping in.”

  Mads squeezed his eyes shut and balled his hands in the sheets. “Perhaps it is time that I endeavor to change that.”

  “When will you be getting up?”

  “I do not know. Later, I suppose.”

  The mattress dipped as Willow sat down by his hip. Her warmth seeped through the layers separating them and blossomed against his lower back. It was comforting, and it thawed the frozen ice within his gut.

  “Mads, you can talk to me.”

  “I am aware.”

  Her hand curled around his shoulder, squeezing just enough that he could feel it.

  “This seems like a cry for help,” Willow said.

  “Or an attempt to sleep,” he grumbled.

  “Mads.”

  “I am very tired, Willow.”

  “Right, well, I’ll bring you some breakfast later on, okay?”

  “As you please.”

  Safely burrowed into his cocoon, Mads listened as she moved across the room and headed toward the door. For a while, he could hear her shoes crunching against the gravel path. Before too long, he was left in silence.

  Chapter Eight

  Gwen had always been a light sleeper. It didn’t matter how long she forced herself to stay awake or how exhausted she made herself the day before; the slightest sound would always stir her awake. It was the main reason why she wanted to kill the bird that had decided to nest right outside her bedroom window.

  She kept her eyes closed for as long as she could bear to, but it didn’t stop her brain from slowly bringing awareness back into her mind. That was how it occurred to her that the steady warmth next to her side was actually a human being. A very well built, very warm, human being. A moment later, her brain reminded her that the person in question was, in fact, Jamie Hardy.

  Her eyes shot open as her body became rigid. Jamie was still in her bed. A part of her had believed that she had hallucinated the whole thing. Another part had believed he would be gone before the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon. But here he still was, snuggled within her sheets and looking completely blissed out in his sleep.

  The morning light turned buttery as it poured through the off-white curtains. It drifted over Jamie’s exposed chest, playing with the tawny tones of his skin until he seemed to glow from the inside. It was enough to make the unfolding energy of her mind stagger to a stop.

  Moving slowly to keep from waking him up, Gwen pushed herself high enough to get a proper view of him. With the heater on high, Jamie had been left to kick off his sheets during the night. The material now tangled around his knees and left the rest of his perfectly sculpted body in her view. He slept with no concern, sprawled out on his back without the slightest trace of paranoia that years of active service could sometimes provide.

  Gwen let her eyes trail over his solid chest and shapely arms. The taper of his chest led to the sharp bones of his hips. His boxers were pristine white and rumpled in a way that someh
ow both exposed and hid him at once. The ripples of his muscular stomach slipped under the fabric, and her eyes followed each dip and mound. For a while, the enthralling sight was enough to keep the grand sum of her attention. But then a stray single thought crackled through her mind.

  I bet he has a beautiful cock.

  It bloomed in her mind before she could stop it, giving birth to a thousand other trivial notions. They pulsed under her skin, cropping up before she could swallow them down. How long was he? How thick? Her fingers twitched and curled as if wrapping around the member hidden under the thin material. All her attempts to push the thoughts aside only spared room for more to come to the forefront. Her tongue flattened as she imagined the weight of him, the taste, the way her lips would stretch around his girth.

  She swallowed thickly but couldn’t work the notions back out of her mind. A sudden urge to touch pulsed though her like fire. She was allowed to. He had said as much. The thought made her stomach hollow out and fill all at once. Her mouth watered, and her fingers began to tremble. As hard as she tried to fight it, she couldn’t keep her eyes from trailing down to his crotch.

  The white material was almost sheer as it stretched over his growing erection. She watched it with fascination as he continued to swell and grow. Before her eyes, it began to press against the fabric, the slit at the front of the boxers opening slightly under the pressure, widening to expose a flash of tender flesh.

  The glimpse sealed Gwen’s fate. She couldn’t keep the impulse at bay any longer. With her heartbeat thundering against her ribs, she gently reached out and hooked her fingers around the waistband.

  Jamie rolled his hips and released a long sigh. She paused, her lungs frozen as her eyes snapped up to his face. With a soft sigh, he pressed his face against his right arm and settled back into a deep sleep. While every ounce of Gwen’s common sense told her to stop this, she couldn’t summon enough of her will to fight against her mounting desire. She was allowed to, but the idea of him knowing she had was too mortifying to comprehend.

  Any man with Jamie’s looks would have women throwing themselves at him. The human body would be a land he had explored long ago. Gwen had never had that much exposure. It wasn’t as if she had never seen a man naked before. There was little room for privacy when out in the field. But this was different. This was exposure for the sake of it. To entice and appreciate, rather than as a consequence of function.