Force (The Force Duet Book 1)

by M. Malone

  “Holy shit, are you kidding me right now?”

  Lucia flushed. “Given everything you’ve seen in the last year, you know you need to keep that to yourself right?”

  Lucia didn’t have to tell her twice. “I’m not an idiot. Usually the people coming after us have very big guns. So fine. He is part of a secret government hit squad. I mean talk about #squadgoals.”

  A laugh burst out of her best friend. “You’re ridiculous.”

  JJ grinned. “Take that Taylor Swift. My squad is hotter than your squad.”

  Their boss Adriana poked her head into the styling room. "There you are."

  JJ and Lucia both glanced up to look at her. Adriana had that kind of former-model's body that any stylist would be thrilled to dress. Long lean lines, with high cheekbones and a beautifully sculpted face. She was fifty and looked like she was thirty-five. JJ had no idea how she did that. She figured she must use some seriously expensive European creams.

  She grinned up at her. "What's up boss lady? Lucia is just finishing the styling, and I'll have the final makeup color palette for you, probably this afternoon."

  Lucia nodded. "JJ suggested using the orange belt. I like that one. Or maybe this one that's a little more salmon. JJ, that'll work for you right?"

  JJ nodded. “Yeah, that works too. I have a really pretty peach shimmer I can use that will still work."

  Adriana agreed. “Use Lucia as a test model. She has that gorgeous olive skin and we can see how it all works together. But that's not why I'm here, actually."

  "What do you need?" JJ asked.

  “This year we’re working with a new charity, Hope Springs. It's for domestic violence survivors. I'd love for you to be instrumental in this. I want you to sit down with the board and help map out the campaign. There are a lot of women who have just managed to leave their situations. A lot of them still bear scars and need some help to get back on their feet. But it's sort of impossible to even try to go back to work when you're covered in bruises and scars.

  “We wanted to do a benefit makeup campaign; raise funds, raise awareness, and then train makeup artists on how to help these women put on a brave face. A survivor's face. And every woman knows that you always feel a little better with makeup. The best part about this is we're pairing with some lower-cost makeup lines, so we want to do some simple looks that will work to get these women back in the workforce. Some of the work that you did with that homeless teenagers’ charity last year was amazing. Some quick, simple, and cheap solutions. I think you're just the person."

  As Adriana spoke, JJ's gut curled in on itself. All she could hear were Adriana's words clanging around her head. Abused women. Domestic violence. She couldn't do this. There was no way. She cleared her throat before she spoke. "I mean, sure, that sounds like a great cause, but is there any reason I need to sit with the board and help them? They can just repurpose what I used for the homeless teenagers. It would be a lot of the same work."

  Adriana raised a brow and Lucia slid her a glance. JJ wished she could explain to her best friend, but she just couldn't. This was not something she could talk about. And it was certainly not anything she could be involved with. It hit too close to home.

  Even though Adriana had her brow raised, she carried on. " You're the best makeup stylist I have. And doing pro bono charity work is really important to the organization. I'll tell them to expect a call from you this afternoon."

  Adriana left without another word. And she could do that because, well, she owned the joint. All she had to do was put down an edict, and she should expect for her word to become bond. The problem was this was the last thing on earth JJ wanted to do. She didn't want to go back to that time in her life. A time when she'd had to cover her physical and emotional bruises. She didn't want to think about the girl she'd been.

  You can do this. This is your job. This is your dream job. Make it happen. One way or another.

  When Adriana left, Lucia studied the two belts, the orange and salmon ones, holding them up to the mannequin. She didn't look over at her, but her tone said it all. "You okay, JJ?"

  JJ forced a smile into her voice. "Of course I am." I have to be.

  "You don't have to do that with me. But it's not like you to turn down a job Adriana gives you, especially since this is the kind of thing that you love to do. And secondly, why would you say no to something like this? It's a really great cause." Lucia turned to face her. "What's up?"

  "I told you. Nothing. And it is a great cause. You're right. And of course I am going to do it. It just seems like I’d be repeating work I’ve already done, ya know?" The lie sounded clunky to her ears. She had to get out of there before Lucia saw through the lie for the excuse it was. That was the problem when you worked with your childhood best friend. She could see through anything.

  JJ wished she could tell her. She really did. But there were some things better left in the past. And the things she'd been through were some of them. "See you later, okay?" she muttered as she escaped the styling room before Lucia could respond.

  Now she'd just have to figure out how the hell she was going to get out of this project.

  chapter 2

  Jonas had considered taking Noah up on his offer of a fight. Seriously considered it. But there was something about hitting a guy who was truly, deeply happy that sucked all the fun out of it.

  He’d started imagining what would happen when they got back to the office, and Noah’s wife saw their black eyes and bruised knuckles. They’d have to explain what had happened and then Lucia would fuss over the both of them, caught between her outrage that they were fighting like schoolboys and her compassion for their abused client.

  In the end, he’d decided the release of steam wouldn’t even be worth it. He chuckled darkly. Damn, they’d all gotten soft as of late. Being around a woman who loved him, albeit one that loved him like a sister, made a man soft.

  He decided to take a walk instead.

  Noah had offered to keep him company, but that would have just led them back to the aforementioned fight scenario. So he’d taken off alone, making sure to get as far away from Mira’s building as possible. He’d been so charged with righteous fury that by the time he looked up again, he’d walked all the way back to the East Village. With a calmer head, he doubled back to get his car. By the time he made it back to the office, it was almost midnight.

  He parked in his marked space in the underground garage at Blake Security and sat there in the dark for a minute before getting out, trying to get his head back on straight before he went upstairs and had to see anyone. It shouldn’t have hit him so hard, seeing Mira with that asshole. He’d been a cop for a long time and had worked in security ever since his time with the force. It shouldn’t surprise him at all that people often made bad decisions under pressure. But in this case, it had been like a boot to the face.

  Because you thought you’d saved this one.

  He shook off the dark thought as he got out of his car. It was quiet and still on the parking level but he scanned the perimeter of the garage anyway. Always vigilant. Never let your guard down. He stayed on high alert as he crossed to the elevator bank and leaned forward so the retinal scanner could verify his identity. As he rode the elevator up to the top floor, he could only hope that no one was still awake. He just needed to grab his laptop.

  Noah had decided that having a certain number of their team living on site was for the best, but Jonas was putting off the communal living deal for a while—at least formally. He liked his space, but the truth was he crashed at the penthouse more often than not.

  Surprisingly it wasn’t all bad. There was always someone around to shoot the breeze with and his workload seemed lighter since he wasn’t spending valuable time in the morning and afternoon commuting. He probably should just give in and move in already.

  But it was also exhausting having trained security agents watching your every move and analyzing everything you said. He couldn’t just lounge in his pajamas when he felt
like shit without having to answer a bunch of questions. They were a nosy bunch, his crew.

  He loved them anyway.

  The elevator doors slid open and Jonas stepped into the entryway. It was dark and quiet, the only sound coming from the direction of Matthias’s room. That kid never slept no matter what time of day it was, but he also didn’t ask questions. So he was off the hook.

  Then he stepped into the living room and was confronted with a tight, toned ass in skintight leggings.

  All the parts of him that had been asleep fired to life. Jonas sucked in a deep breath as JJ shifted her position at the window, the globes of her ass bouncing slightly with the movement. His dick tried to follow her. It should have been a welcome diversion. Hell, at least he wasn’t depressed and feeling the sting of failure anymore. But this was JJ. The woman lived to torment him. So as spectacular as that ass was, it was the last thing he wanted to see in the middle of the night coming off a tough case.

  “Why are you still awake?”

  It came out harsher than he’d intended, but there was no need to apologize. JJ didn’t offend easily, probably because she thrived on insults and could throw out verbal daggers with the best of them. As he’d expected, she merely turned her head slightly to acknowledge his presence before turning back to the night sky, dismissing him.

  “Why can’t you mind your own business?” she asked in a deceptively sweet voice.

  Never mind that just a few moments ago, Jonas had wanted nothing more than to climb into bed without having to engage anyone. Now he stepped farther into the room, instinctively drawn to her. There was just something about Jessica Jones that he could not resist. It was sick in a way, but he got off on fighting with her. That smart mouth and those killer curves were the perfect combination to make his dick hard while simultaneously pissing him off.

  It was a heady combination.

  “What would be the fun in that?” Jonas asked, speaking truthfully.

  She turned from whatever it was that was holding her attention outside and eyed him with a sneer. “I would ask if you had a hot date but that’s doubtful. Jackasses really aren’t in this season.”

  Now that hurt. “Women love me.”

  She sniffed and slid him a sidelong glance. “Frankly, I don’t see the appeal. But then again there are people who like candy corn and Peeps. There’s really no accounting for taste … or lack thereof.”

  “Hey! Candy corn is awesome.” Jonas might have to rethink his taste in women if she was dogging on candy corn. How could you not enjoy something that was pure high-octane sugar? “You’re probably just too bitter to enjoy it.”

  Her eyes flashed and for a moment there was something behind the look that made him regret his choice of words. “Too bad for you, you’ll never have a taste.” Her words carried a hint of hurt with them and he wanted to bite off his tongue.

  They snarked at each other and played fast and loose with their words, but he would never actually want to hurt her. It bothered him that he even could. In his mind, JJ was as invincible as her comic book character namesake, and finding a chink in her armor was both disturbing and endearing.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that.”

  “Whatever. You’re probably right. I’ll leave the sweetness to you. I just happen to like my men a little bit … stronger with a hint of a bite. Same way I like my whiskey.”

  When he looked up she was watching him closely.

  “What?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “Nothing. You just look … never mind. I was enjoying some peace and quiet, but I think that ship has sailed. Good night.”

  He watched with a sinking feeling in his chest as she walked over to the couch and collected a blanket and a paperback book from the cushions. She did that frequently, curled up in a corner with a book and got lost in another world. It was one more thing about her that didn’t compute with the smart mouth and the fuck-off attitude. Jonas would never have pegged her for a bookworm—more like a party girl every night of the week.

  “Night,” he called out.

  She didn’t respond or look back. Which bothered him more than he could say.

  JJ could feel his eyes on her ass.

  She could actually feel it, like a physical touch. It was an ingrained response to be annoyed by Jonas, like swatting a fly or clearing your throat. But lately she’d had a harder time denying that having his eyes on her wasn’t exactly … horrible.

  Oh, fine. It was arousing as hell to know that he couldn’t stop looking at her ass. But that didn’t mean she wanted him to know that.

  She clutched her book tighter against her chest. It was such bullshit that he’d come in and ruined her night. It had been a perfectly fine day at work, crazy boss demands aside, but she’d been restless and dissatisfied all week. She’d been looking forward to a quiet night on the couch with a book and the stars. Then he’d come along and ruined it. What the hell was he doing coming in so late looking for a fight anyway?

  Before she could question the wisdom of it, JJ spun on her heel and marched back down the hallway to the living room. She skidded to a stop as Jonas came into view. No longer in the middle of the room, he stood at the window with his forehead pressed to the glass. There was a wealth of pain in his expression, like he’d jump straight out that window and to the pavement below if it were possible.

  JJ shifted uncomfortably, sure he wouldn’t want her to see him so unguarded. Despite how much they bickered and how crazy he made her, the sight of him so unmoored brought her no joy. Yes, Jonas was an asshole. But strangely enough, she thought of him as her asshole. And no one messed with her friends.

  “Do you ever have any regrets?” she asked.

  He didn’t move in any way, but there was a sudden tension in his shoulders that made her think he hadn’t known she was there. That, in and of itself, was telling. Jonas had senses like a cat. She’d never been able to sneak up on him before. And she’d tried.

  “Besides meeting you?”

  JJ shook her head. Maybe it had been foolish to try to relate to him on a serious note. She and Jonas just didn’t have that kind of relationship and there was no changing the rules now.

  “I just thought … Never mind. I’m going to bed. You can be a grumpy ass by yourself.”

  She turned to go, but before she could make it two steps, strong arms encircled her from behind. JJ sucked in a breath, caught off guard by how damn good it felt to be held like this. She turned her head slightly, freezing as her forehead brushed against his chin. He was tall and built, something she’d tried like hell not to notice before. But it was damn near impossible not to feel the rock-hard muscles behind her and around her. Or not to get lost in the warm masculine scent that drew her like a bumblebee to honey.

  God, he even smells like testosterone. But in a good, nuzzle-into-his-neck-while-he-fucks-you-senseless-against-a-wall kinda way.

  Her stomach clenched and there was an answering pull between her thighs. Damn it. She was not getting off on this.

  “Let me go.” She’d meant for it to come out bitchy as usual but there was a soft, plaintive note to her voice that made let me go sound suspiciously like never let me go.

  “Sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that. It’s been a shitty day.”

  He walked back to the window and JJ immediately missed the warmth against her skin. She followed at a distance, still clutching her book and her blanket.

  “You didn’t lose a client, did you?” Belatedly she realized it was a terrible thing to ask. If he had, would he really want to talk about it?

  But to her surprise, Jonas nodded. “Yeah. Not in the way you meant, but … yeah. I lost one that I tried damn hard to save.”

  “I’m so sorry,” JJ whispered, feeling for all the world like a complete waste of space. She’d been here snarking at him, and the whole time he was dealing with something serious.

  Yes, her life was a shitstorm at the moment, but that didn’t mean she was the only one with p
roblems. When she looked up, Jonas was watching her with shrewd eyes.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  JJ shrugged. “Nothing is wrong with me.”

  As he continued to watch her with eyes that saw way too much, JJ suddenly wished she could tell him everything.

  Why not tell Jonas? He works in security, after all. Maybe he can help.

  But the same silly part of her had once believed that a restraining order would actually protect you, as well. And she knew from experience that was absolute bullshit. So as much as she wished she could tell him everything, she couldn’t. Not that it wasn’t tempting. Jonas was an asshole, but he was also really good at his job. She’d seen him with clients before, on the rare occasions they had to bring someone to the office. The women in particular loved him. He had a quiet sort of protectiveness that made you feel safe, yet heard. JJ had no doubt that he’d listen to her spill the whole story without judgment and then immediately come up with a plan for how to handle everything.

  Maybe he’d even hold her again. It might be worth spilling her guts to feel those muscles wrapped around her again.

  But it wouldn’t be worth the humiliation. She’d worked so hard and come so far. Nothing from her past would ruin this for her. As hard as it was, JJ pasted on a smile and shook her head.

  “There’s nothing wrong with me. But it looks like there’s something wrong with you.” She pointed downward.

  His eyes followed her finger, and he cursed under his breath. She felt like a bitch for pointing it out. After all, she’d had a physical reaction to him too, but her blanket was covering up her goose bumps and hard nipples.

  “Anyway, I’m going to bed. Alone. But enjoy your hand tonight.”

  JJ turned and left him there alone with his hard-on. She tried to ignore the part of her that wanted to rush back there and give him a hand with it. Her past was coming back to haunt her, and she wouldn’t take anyone else down with her.

  Until she figured this whole thing out, it would be best if she kept her distance from everyone.