Rescued Heart (Titan World)

by Tarina Deaton

  Jordan rolled to the side and kissed the space between her breasts. “We’ll find out after we eat.”

  “Huh?”

  He winked and got up to throw away the condom and get the food. She was going to need her strength for round two.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  She eyed her parents’ modest, two-story colonial house nestled in an older suburb of Newport News, as Jordan turned into the drive-way. trying to shift through the feelings raging through her.

  Jordan eased to a stop, shoved it in to park, and shut off the engine. He leaned close and rubbed his nose behind her ear. “You okay?”

  Turning her head, she gave him a tight smile. “I’m nervous .” And scared, but she didn’t admit that to him.

  “About what?” His voice was soft and deep, smoothing over the edges of her emotions.

  She took a deep breath. How to articulate it everything she was feeling? “Mom’s going to cry. And then I’m going to cry.”

  “Okay.” His brow narrowed in that way guys do when they have no idea what a woman is saying.

  “And as soon as we walk in that house, we’re over.”

  Jordan reared back from her. “What?”

  She winced at his shout in the tight confines of the car. “Not like that,” she rushed on. “But when we get out of this car, it’s not just us anymore. The bubble we’ve been in is going to pop.” She dropped her gaze to her clenched fingers. “I want to stay in the bubble.”

  God, she sounded desperate. And needy. She hated being that clingy, needy girl who couldn’t stand on her own two feet, but all he’d done for the last two weeks was take care of her. She wanted him to know she needed him, not what he could do for her.

  “Emme.” He threaded his fingers into her hair and she nuzzled his hand cupping the side of her face. “Babe, look at me.”

  The backs of her eyes stung when she lifted her gaze.

  “Is that why you didn’t want them to meet us at the airport?” The pad of his thumb brushed back and forth on her cheek.

  “Partly. Mostly I didn’t want a huge scene in the middle of baggage claim.”

  He dropped his forehead to hers. “It’ll be okay. Our bubble won’t pop. We’ll have to make it a little bigger.” He kissed her forehead, then the corner of her eye. “You ready to go in?”

  Taking a bracing breath, she nodded.

  “Come on. The sooner your mom starts crying, the sooner she’ll stop.”

  Emme smiled and released her seat belt. Opening the door, the pressure in her ears finally equalized.

  Pop.

  He pulled their suitcases out of the trunk of the rental car and slammed the lid closed. Throwing the straps of his black duffle bag over his shoulder, he took Emme’s hand and grabbed the handle of her larger, rolling suitcase.

  He wasn’t sure if she believed his reassurances. He needed her to because he needed to believe them too. She was right in some regards — everything would be different from this point forward. There was no escaping that, but they would make it work.

  The front door opened and an older version of Emme ran out and down the steps, catapulting herself at Emme. She was crying. Her shoulders shook with the force of her sobs and Emme had her head buried in her mom’s neck.

  Her dad came down the steps more slowly, but that may have been to give himself a few seconds to gather his composure.

  Jordan held out his hand. “General.”

  The older man pulled him into a bear hug and pounded his back. “Thanks for bringing my girl home.” His voice caught at the end and he cleared his throat. He released Jordan and clapped him on the shoulder.

  “Quit fussing Lori and let me in.” General France grasped his wife’s shoulders and pulled her back a step and to the side. He took her place and wrapped Emme in his arms, picking her up off the ground.

  “Hi, Daddy,” Emme whispered.

  “Never again, Emmeline.”

  “Yes, Daddy.”

  “Okay.” He set her down and held her by the shoulders. “Well.” He cleared his throat again. “Let’s go inside and quit giving the neighbors a show.” He took the handle of her suitcase and led the way up the steps and over the threshold.

  Her mom went ahead of her, giving Jordan the chance to trail his fingers across her lower back. He bit back a grin when she shivered.

  “Behave,” she hissed over her shoulder.

  Letting his hand trail down, he patted her on the ass.

  She whipped around and glared at him. If she thought he was going to spend the next day and a half not touching her, she’d left her good sense back in Rome. Winking, he gave her a small push to get her moving.

  “I’ll get you two settled in your rooms.” Emme’s mom led the way up the stairs leading off the small foyer.

  He took Emme’s suitcase from her father and trailed after them.

  “Do you need a nap? Or a shower? Doug and Gilly are coming for dinner. I told them around five. I’m making chicken and dumplings. I know I usually only make it when it’s cold outside, but it’s your favorite.”

  She turned left at the top of the stairs. “Jordan, I have you down at this end.” She pointed to the door on the right at the end of the hall. “Emme, you’re in the room next to me and Dad.”

  Screw that B.S. Emme wasn’t going to sleep anywhere other than next to him.

  “Mom.” Emme took her hands. “Calm down. We’re fine. A nap will be good and dinner sounds wonderful.”

  Her mom sniffled and nodded, then pulled Emme into her arms again. Jordan went into his assigned bedroom and closed the door to give them some privacy. Mrs. France had been talking a mile a minute on the climb up the stairs. Probably a mix of nervousness and excitement with a whole lot of relief thrown in for good measure. Not that he could blame her — it wasn’t every day your daughter was snatched from the clutches of death and whisked off to a secret location.

  Dropping his bag at the foot of the full bed, he flopped down in the center. The whole thing was surreal. He didn’t know if he felt more like Alice lost in Wonderland or the caterpillar trying to figure out who the hell the weird chick was.

  Someone tapped twice on his door and he sat up. “Come in.”

  Emme squeezed through the door and closed it softly behind her. She walked directly to him, straddled his lap, wrapped her arms around him, and buried her face in his neck.

  He draped his arms around her waist “You wanna talk about it?”

  “My mom is very emotional.” Her voice was muffled against his skin.

  “Stands to reason.”

  “I know. I needed someone calm.”

  The ache in his chest warred with the pride he felt in her trust. Was that all she needed him for? A guarantee that he’d have her back, no matter what, no matter who. She’d as much implied their time together was almost over. She’d said that wasn’t what she’d meant, but the sadness in her eyes had made him question her assurances.

  Time would tell. Time with him gone and her settling back into her life. But right now, he wanted to keep pretending it was still the two of them in their bubble. “You wanna take a nap in here?”

  She nodded against his neck.

  Grasping the back of her neck, he pulled her head up and brushed her thick hair away from her face. “Stand up, babe.” She stood and he scooted back in the bed. Crawling up next to him, she burrowed into him again, tucking her head under his chin, and throwing her leg over his hips.

  He cocooned her in his arms. “That’s going to have to wait ‘till tonight. I’m not going down to dinner smelling like sex.”

  She tried to punch him in side, but didn’t have the leverage to pull back enough. “Ass.”

  Smiling against her temple, he said, “I’m not kidding. You’re going to have to sneak in here after your parents go to sleep.”

  “I was already planning on it.”

  “You dirty girl,” he teased.

  “Go to sleep, perv.”

  He rubbed his chin against t
he top of her head, smiling. He’d show her perv later.

  His eyes snapped open with the soft slide of the door as it opened. Raising his head, he caught Mrs. France backing out of the door, a small smiled on her face.

  Busted.

  Oh, well. Her parents would find out he and Emme were together eventually. She snored softly in his arms. He ran his hand up and down her back. “Emme. Time to wake up.”

  “Mmm.” She rubbed her face in his neck and moved closer.

  He traced her cheek with his thumb. “Rise and shine, sleeping beauty.”

  She put her hand over his and moved it down to her chest, manipulating his hand to plump and rub her breast.

  Blood shot straight to his cock. Fuck. They didn’t have time.

  “Babe, your mom came in to check on us. We should probably get up.”

  In one motion, her eyes flew open and she rolled away from him, off the bed. She stood with her hands braced on the edge of the mattress. “What?”

  Propping himself up on an elbow, he grinned. “She poked her head in and checked on us.”

  She pushed her hair away from her face. “What did you do? Did she say anything?”

  He chuckled. “She didn’t say anything. I woke you up.”

  “Oh my god. My mom caught me in bed with a guy.” She covered her face with her hands. “This is so embarrassing.”

  “Why? You were married. I’m pretty sure she knows you’re not a virgin. Besides, we’re fully clothed.”

  She dropped her hands to her hips. “Jordan!”

  “What? I don’t think she was upset.” He sat up and swung his legs off the bed. “She didn’t barge in and demand I quit defiling her only daughter.” Walking around the bed, he pulled her into a loose hug.

  “Fine, but don’t blame me if my dad shoots you when we get downstairs.”

  Laughing, he kissed the side of her neck. “I think we’ll be good. I’m going to hit the head first.”

  “Okay.”

  She moved to pull away. “Not yet. I haven’t tasted you in hours.” Cupping the back of her head, he took her mouth. She opened under him with a small moan, her tongue surging forward to tangle with his. She raised up on her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her body closer.

  The weight of her breasts pushed against his chest and his erection strained against the zipper of his pants. Groaning, he ended the kiss, resting his forehead against hers. “I definitely need a few extra minutes before I go downstairs.”

  “Please don’t walk downstairs with a hard-on.”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  Her head jerked up. “Oh my god! Don’t do that either!”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “There are other ways to get rid of a hard-on besides jacking off.”

  “Huh.”

  “What’s huh?”

  “I’ve never thought about it before. Girls don’t have to worry about those things.”

  “Yeah, guess not.” He swatted her on the butt. “Come on. Let’s go face the firing squad.”

  “Keep joking. It’s all fun and games until I have to dig a bullet out of your ass.”

  He shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, leading her to the door. “Go on. I’ll be down in a minute.” Giving her a small push toward the stairs, he entered the hall bath and closed the door. Several minutes later, he bound down the stairs and followed the sound of voices to the kitchen.

  Doug pushed away from the counter with a hand outstretched. “Jordan. Welcome back.” Jordan wasn’t surprised when Doug pulled him into a bro hug and pounded on his back. “Thanks. I—” He stepped back. “Thanks.”

  Jordan slapped him on the shoulder and scanned the room for Emme. She stood with her father in the adjoining breakfast nook. Her head rested against his chest with her arms wrapped around his waist. They’d always been close. An image of a little girl with Emme’s curls running to him flashed in his mind. That’s what he wanted. The piece of him he never realized was missing.

  “You want a beer?” Doug asked.

  He tore his gaze away from father and daughter. “Yeah.”

  “They’re in the garage.”

  He turned, but Jordan stopped him. “I’ll grab it. Where’s the garage?”

  Doug pointed to the door on the other side of Emme and her father. “Through that door. Fridge’s is on the left.”

  He edged around Emme as her dad moved back. “I’m grabbing a beer. Do either of you want one?”

  Emme shook her head. “I’ll come with you,” General France said. He followed Jordan through the door into the two-car garage.

  Jordan opened the fridge and pulled two Sam Adams lagers from the door. He held one out. “General.”

  Taking the proffered beer he said, “You’re sleeping with my daughter. I think you can call me Emmard.”

  Jordan froze. Even though he detected no censure, he didn’t know how to take the general’s words. “Sir, I want you to know that I care for Emme.”

  “Jordan, you can be very sure if I didn’t believe that, you wouldn’t be here right now.” He twisted off the bottle top and threw it in the trash next to the fridge. “I read Titan’s after action report. I know you volunteered to stay with her, even though they had someone else lined up.” He took a swig of his beer. “I also know how close she came to being killed.”

  “She’s safe, Sir.”

  He took another pull of his beer and nodded. “When do you join back up with your unit?”

  “I leave here in the morning. There’s a flight leaving out of Fort Bragg in two days.”

  “Thank you, for going to get her. I know it probably seems ridiculous…you weren’t really needed, to be honest. But it was a comfort to Lori knowing someone who knew Emme would be there when she was rescued.” He looked at Jordan and gave him a level stare. “Someone she would be comfortable with after everything we imagined happened to her.”

  “I understand, sir.”

  He pushed away from the bench. “Come one. Let’s go back in before Lori comes looking for us.”

  Jordan followed Emmard back into the house. Emme caught his eye and raised her eyebrows, silently asking if everything was okay. He nodded his head and sent her a quick smile. Relief softened her face. Had she really been afraid her dad would shoot him? He took a drink of his beer to hide his smile.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  “That’s not how it happened.” Doug walked into the dining room after clearing the last of the dishes away.

  “Yes, it is!” Emme followed with a glass of wine for her mom. “That’s exactly how it happened and I was the one that got grounded for two weeks.”

  “No, it’s not.”

  “Mom!”

  “Don’t drag me into this, sweetie. This is between you and your brother.” Her mom shook her head and sipped her wine.

  Jordan dropped his arm over the back of her chair. “Admit it, Emme Lou Who, you were the one who broke the window.”

  Emme gasped. “Don’t you start, Jingle Balls! You were just as much to blame!” She tried to scoot her chair away from him while sitting, annoyed that he and her brother were still trying to pin the broken front window on her after all these years, but he grabbed the bottom and wouldn’t let her move.

  “What’s with the nicknames?” Gilly asked.

  Doug kissed her temple. “Emme’s full name is Emmaline Louise. I don’t remember when we started calling her Emme Lou, but it morphed at some point to Emme Lou Who. I think one year around Christmas after we watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas?” He looked at Emme for confirmation.

  She stuck her tongue out at him, causing Gilly to grin.

  “What about Jingle Balls?” Gilly asked. “Is that from the same thing?”

  “I don’t remember,” Doug said. “How did that start?”

  Emme smirked when Jordan groaned and edged away from her. “Do you remember that really annoying kids’ song, John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt?”

  “Kind o
f,” Gilly said.

  Emme propped her arms on the table. “Well, Jordan’s middle name is Jacob.” She tilted her head to the side. “Didn’t you spend an entire year trying to convince everyone to call you J.J.?”

  She looked back at Gilly. “Anyway, I got annoyed when he called me Emme Lou Who one time and changed the song to Jordan Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt.” She glared at Jordan. “And yes, it was around Christmas because that’s when I started calling you Jordan Jacob Jingle Balls. I don’t remember why I shortened it to Jingle Balls, though.”

  Jordan sighed and leaned his head back in the chair. “Because you went around singing jingle balls instead of jingle bells the entire Christmas break.”

  She laughed. “That’s right, now I remember.” Her body leaned toward Jordan, wanting to share the physical connection of their happiness, but she jerked away at the last minute. His thumb brushed across the top of her shoulder. The look in his eye soft and it made her want to curl into him even more. This was their last night together and they had to pretend they weren’t together. Even if her parents knew, she wasn’t comfortable enough with the idea of them knowing to lean against him the way she wanted.

  “Are you named after your dad?” he asked.

  “Kind of,” her mom said.

  “She was supposed to be named Emerald,” her dad grumbled.

  Jordan’s eyes rose almost to his hairline and he pressed his lips together. She could tell he wanted to say something, but was holding back.

  Gilly had no such problem. “Wow! How’d you manage to dodge that bullet?”

  “Emmard was gone when I went into labor,” Lori explained.

  “Snuck it on the damn birth certificate. I called her my little Emerald for nearly six months before anyone told me the truth.” Her dad had the look of a man suffering the greatest indignity of his life.

  “I like Emmaline,” Gilly said.

  Emme winked at her. “Thanks.”

  “Didn’t matter after a while anyway since Doug couldn’t say Emmaline and everyone shortened it,” her dad said.

  Gilly scrunched up her face and pressed a hand against the slight swell of her belly.