Slowly, he penetrated her. She took the shaft inch by inch, in all of its thickness. It filled her up completely, and once he found himself at the hilt, her mouth parted in a gasp.
“Good girl,” he whispered into her ear, biting it.
He moved down to her throat, teasing with his teeth and lightly biting the tender skin up and down. Placing his hands on her hips, he stilled her involuntary movement, returning to her ear with his hot breath. She felt like she was going to explode just by his huge presence inside of her.
“Don’t you wish you could have this all the time?”
She blurted out a begging, moaning “yes.”
He thrust up into her harder. Then again and again. She pleaded yes a thousand times over, each cry more passionate than the next.
His thrusts grew harder and harder, hitting exactly the walnut-sized spot in her core that demanded her hot release. As it built, she came once, twice. As she approached the third time, he pulled out, spun her around again, and lifted her up. Her legs wrapped around him, straddling his hips. He pushed her down on his hard cock, which felt like it was going to explode then and there. She gasped as he entered her, driving to the top of her core.
She could tell he was approaching his climax as his face grew intense and his breathing grew sharp. He used his arms to rock her whole body up and down his shaft. Not only did it feel incredible, but she enjoyed the view of his flexed arms and chest working her.
At his last breath, he drew her down to his lips and gave her the most intense and passionate kiss she’d ever had before. He pulled out quickly, gasping and groaning. He pressed his forehead against hers and closed his eyes for a moment, still holding her body against the wall, straddled over him. She reached her arms around him and hugged him tight. After a moment he opened his eyes and connected with hers. He blinked a few times, and he looked more at peace than she had ever seen him.
He pulled her off the wall and helped her feet touch the ground again.
The sex, the passion, the connection—they all served to put her in a trance, but he quickly roused her from it.
“I’m sorry to do this, but it’s time to go.” Jake spoke low and firm, a tone of warning in his voice. And through the disappointment, the reality was obvious. Danger was closing in on them.
As Jake moved out to check the hall, it took Aisha only moments to whip on another set of clothes that Kate had brought for her—navy-blue tights and a cream zip-up sweater. It seemed that without knowing her exact size, Kate had selected stretchy items that could conform to a body similar to hers. She tied her damp, curling hair back in a loose low ponytail and quickly made her way down the carpeted staircase.
But she stopped at the edge of the last step, realizing what she had walked into: a full-blown war.
“We need to get the airlift and get her the hell out of here,” Charles snapped at Kate, who was walking in the front door.
“And when’s that going to be?” Jake challenged, moving forward.
“You don’t get to ask.” Kate pointed a finger at him. “You aren’t working on this anymore.”
“I’ll be off this contract when I say I am,” Jake retorted with all his authority.
Livid, Kate whipped her head to Charles. “Why the fuck is he even here?”
“What did you just fucking say?” Jake stepped forward, threatening to burn the house down.
Charles raised his hands, trying to calm the situation. “Come on, Kate, he’s the black ops guy. This is what we hired him for—his nimbly bimbly shit.”
Kate shook her head furiously. “The Learjet is on its way. And we are never contracting SEALs again!”
“Why wait here, then? Let’s get to the landing strip,” Jake pressed, staring down Charles for buy-in. “These assholes could be at our doorstep any minute. We have no idea how many, or what they are capable of.”
Aisha shot a look between the two, sinking further into the wall on the side of the staircase. Fear rose inside her. Jake was the best guy for the job, but he was right—they had no information. They were in the dark.
“Back off,” Kate said. “I’ll tell you what your job is.”
Jake laughed insubordinately. “You had a whole day to get resources, and this is all you’ve got?” Jake motioned to Charles and back to Kate. “I’m taking control of this shit show.”
“Fuck you, Wilder,” Charles snapped.
And then the silver-haired Frenchman stepped between Jake and Aisha. She froze. A terrible feeling came over her. She didn’t want to leave Jake again, but it wasn’t just that.
“Follow me,” Charles ordered her.
“No,” Jake said, stepping forward to place a barrier between anyone else and Aisha. “She’s not leaving my sight.”
His body language practically screamed that Aisha was his, and he wasn’t sharing. Aisha hid behind him, unable to breathe, but she was relieved he was willing to protect her.
Charles lifted an eyebrow, letting out a cold, calculated laugh. “Not that long ago I had to beg you to take the girl.”
Aisha stirred with the painful reminder of how it had all started, and how reluctant Jake had been since the beginning.
“I don’t trust anyone else with Aisha. No one.” Jake’s tone was final.
“That is not your choice,” Kate said lowly, trying to lay down the law.
Jake reacted with a steely stare. He was unbending. Unmovable. He wasn’t taking no for an answer. “I don’t give a shit,” Jake snapped, clapping his hands between each word. “I’ll take her to the jet.”
Jake and Charles stared each other down. Things had changed, and it was clear that Charles had lost his authority over Jake.
“Is this why you left the squadron?” Charles tested him.
“What the fuck does that mean?” He advanced on Charles, forcing Charles back into the wall in the front foyer.
Charles shook his head. “I heard you had problems with your commanding officer. Now I see it.”
Something in Jake snapped, and he lunged forward, grabbing Charles by the collar. “You have no idea what you are talking about.” Jake’s tone grew darker and more threatening. “I’m taking her. To the plane. To Washington. You can have custody again when you show me you’ve got your shit together.”
He stared down Charles until sweat dewed on the man’s forehead.
“There’s something fucking going on here,” Jake growled. “I can smell a leak. I can feel it. And when I find it, you better hope to god it isn’t you.”
Jake broke his gaze with Charles and looked at Aisha. “Let’s go.” He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the front door of the cottage. “You and Kate, cover,” he barked at Charles.
After a moment of silent tension, Aisha was amazed to see Charles nod sharply at Jake. “You want to go rogue, buddy?” he warned. “If something happens to her, this is all on you.”
Jake smirked and uttered one last profanity before taking Aisha’s hand and pulling her tight against his body. Holding her close, he opened the front door and scanned the lawn.
Aisha felt a weight off her shoulders. Her breath slowed slightly. Jake was with her. They were together. It wasn’t fleeting. It wasn’t going to end.
“I’ve got you,” he reminded her. “I’m here.”
He pulled her outside so fast that she hardly got her footing. She remembered the escape from the cabin and reminded herself it was war time. She had to keep up. Things were about to get ugly.
As they clambered out, she heard Kate calling to Charles inside the cottage. What if they took her from Jake again? Or hurt him? What if he got hurt protecting her? He’d already been shot. She couldn’t bear to think about what else could happen.
Her heartbeat was fast. She barely was containing herself. The only thing moving her forward was her need to be strong. For him. For herself. Sometimes it took someone you cared about holding you accountable.
“I’ve got you,” he said as he pulled her into the shadow of th
ick, green hedges. In the enclosed hollow, he spun her to him, placing his hands on opposite sides of her face.
“Aisha,” he whispered, his mouth close to hers.
She looked up at him, willing her tears back. She was shaking.
“Stay with me. Do exactly as I say. Keep low at all times.” He kissed her softly. “You are going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.”
“Okay,” she replied. “Okay.”
His lips on hers were everything she needed. He was her beacon of hope. Her lodestar. She held his hand tight, thanking god he had fallen into her life and wondering where she’d be without him.
15
Jake was suspicious of everything and everyone by that point. He needed to get back home to Virginia where shit made sense. Where he had resources. A big-ass kit with ninja shit.
And if it all went to hell, Jake had one more trick up his sleeve to ensure Aisha got down to Washington all right, something he was keeping even from Charles and Kate: the willingness to seriously fuck some shit up, SEAL style. Based on recent events, the SEALs were the best Special Forces unit for fucking up a guy’s day when needed.
Jake was keeping this escape plan on a need-to-know basis. And no one needed to know except himself. Maybe Aisha. She had proven herself to be his only teammate. The only one who had a modicum of sense. They were in it together. Fuck everyone else.
He pulled her out of the hedges and looked around, keeping his arm around her. He felt her body shake, her breathing struggle. He couldn’t fault her. It was an emotional time. On top of her existing problems, he’d added the weight of loving her and leaving her. They both knew what was likely to happen next. Jake hated to admit how hard it was going to be, especially since he had too many feelings of attachment as it was. He clutched her tighter, as if to glue her to his side forever.
Late winter, the sun set too early, and they found themselves awash in dusk. There were no street lamps on the ski hill, but the night would help their escape. He was tactically proficient in those conditions, as long as she obeyed his commands.
“I need you to follow every instruction. Every order.”
Aisha nodded to him with her big, terrified eyes. It broke his heart. No person should go through that. But he was glad that she was taking his tone seriously. It was good that she understood what was up. It would make things a lot easier.
Jake drew his pistol, keeping it hidden under the sleeve of his black hoodie. Scanning left and right, he took her from the copse of trees through the pines lining the street. Their movement was completely hidden. No one would have noticed they’d left the cottage, let alone the property. They passed several neighboring houses.
Near the end of the street, Jake motioned for her to crouch down as they snuck onto a paved driveway and behind the sloped cedar roof of an A-frame cottage. There sat his old Shelby—his first love. Jake helped Aisha into the rear passenger side.
He then popped the driver’s door open and climbed in. He had a talent for getting into cars silently—a useful skill in urban warfare.
“Put that hoodie on,” he instructed Aisha as she pawed at one of his signature black hooded sweatshirts piled in the back seat.
He’d bought ten, so he could have nine girlfriends before he had to commit.
Obediently, Aisha whipped it on, then slouched in the back seat with the hood up. “Are we being followed?” she asked quietly from the back.
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Did I ever tell you that I hate the CIA?”
“When did that happen?” she asked.
“Just now,” Jake said with finality. “I never thought I’d say this after all we went through in Iraq, but they are worse than Homeland Security, which is a fucking magical feat.”
He slowly pulled the car out of the driveway and into the street. He was steaming. Fuming. If only he had a competent ally from the CIA helping out.
“There’s only one guy I’ve ever liked from the CIA,” Jake grumbled to himself. He fingered in his wallet for the business card it held. He had one friend in the CIA. But it was moot. Jake didn’t even have a cell phone to call him.
As they drove down the street, Jake could hear Aisha breathing quickly and shallowly in the back seat. He desperately wished he was beside her to soothe her.
“It’s going to be okay,” he assured her again. “We are getting you out of here.”
She didn’t respond.
He turned the corner, and within a few streets he hit a parkway and then a small highway that led away from the mountain. Ahead, he could see a valley. That’s where the airport was. They would make it. Hell or high water.
It was only a twenty-minute drive to the airport—what could go wrong? The question stuck in his mind like a sick joke. Twenty minutes was a lifetime.
He pulled a black ski mask out of his pocket and put it on his face. Ninja gear.
Feeling unnerved by her silence, he asked, “You good back there?”
He lowered the mirror and saw her face. She was as white as a ghost, lying in the back seat. She looked paralyzed with fear, but she squeaked out an affirmative.
Like hell she was okay.
“What is on your face?” she asked.
He smiled under the mask. She had much to learn.
A black SUV came up behind them on the highway. It was speeding. But it slowed down as soon as it was behind them.
Great. Company. He wasn’t surprised.
Was it the same fucking black SUV? He hadn’t gotten the plate the last time he’d seen it. Jake knew the model was popular, especially in a ritzy ski town, but it was too fucking convenient.
He increased the car’s throttle and upped the speed. It was time to play a game. The black SUV followed, quickening its pace.
Jake knew better, so he took a hard right, skidding his tires, and hit the gas. Quickly, he took a series of right and left turns, winding higher and higher up the mountainside cottage community. Soon enough, he knew they’d shaken their tail.
“Still with me?” He called back.
“Oh god.” Aisha cried out from the back in a small voice.
Checking his rearview mirror, he was relieved to see nothing. No one.
Not wanting to test their luck, Jake pulled up a heavily treed drive to a deserted cottage.
“Where are we going?” Aisha asked.
“We need to lay up for a minute.”
He situated the car behind some thick pines and turned the engine off. Turning back to his VIP, he tried to determine how shaken she was.
Aisha’s teeth remained clenched, and her knuckles were white.
“I can’t do this,” she sputtered.
Jake let out a heavy breath, knowing what he had to do. He whipped open the car door and clambered into the back seat. Sitting beside her, her beautiful eyes blinked at him with hope and trepidation.
“Aisha,” he said, reaching up to her cheek.
Her eyes closed and she shook her head, unable to let him in. He could feel her closing up before him.
They were so close to getting out, so close to getting home—but surrounded. Jake had lost the ability to trust anyone or anything.
Aisha’s eyes opened, and she blinked at him with watery eyes.
She was the only one he could trust.
16
Aisha could feel herself losing it as Jake’s hand held her cheek in the back seat of the car. “We’re never going to get there,” she cried softly.
“We are.”
She shook her head, trying to close her eyes, but he wouldn’t allow it. Lifting her cheek up, he tilted her mouth up to his. Never before had she needed him to kiss her so much.
“You know I’m taking care of you,” Jake growled. “For now. And soon enough, you’ll be taking care of yourself.”
He was convincing, she’d give him that. But a part of her couldn’t believe it was ever going to be okay, especially without him.
“Tell me you know that,” he pressed.
“I can
’t…”
His thick, strong hand drew her face further toward his, and his eyes never broke contact as he drank her all in. He wanted her. He wanted it.
His mouth parted again, and his lips began to glisten.
“You are beyond beautiful,” he whispered. “You are beyond capable…”
The few words meant everything to her. He really, really believed in her.
“Remember everything I’ve taught you,” he added. “Remember you got this.”
Their eyes connected in silence before he finally closed the remaining space and took her mouth. He kissed her soft. He kissed her slow. And then he grew more demanding, teasing open her mouth. As his tongue connected with hers, hot and fast, he scooped her into his lap and held her head, her body, close to his.
“We don’t have time,” he urged between kissing her harder and harder.
“We’ve never had time.”
“That much is true.”
“I need you,” she promised him.
A frustrated growl came from his mouth, and he pushed her backward onto the back seat of the car. His hands quickly found their way to her sweater, tearing it away from her skin. Her fingers helped him remove her top and push down her pants. With her clothes dangling off her limbs, she lay before him, exposed. His eyes flickered with energy, though his demeanor remained stoic.
“You have no idea,” he said in low tones, trailing off as he looked her up and down, “how much I want to just run away with you.”
Her round breasts offered dark, rose-tipped nipples to him. Her tanned skin grew even more delicate toward her abdomen, even more untouched, and it was topped by a light puff of black hair crowning her mound.
“Fuck,” he said, lying down on top of her as she ripped off his sweater.
“Then let’s run away together.”
“Aisha, I’m not going to pretend we can.” Kissing her deeper, he drank in every ounce of her, demanding they be as connected as possible.
His hands ran up and down, feeling every inch of her body. Her thighs, her neck, her breasts. He cupped and squeezed and held. He worshipped. She could feel his rock-hard ridge pressing into her hot core through his pants.
Guarding Aisha Page 13