Jade (The Kings of Guardian Book 9)

by Kris Michaels

  "To bad, sweetheart." Nic kissed her spine. His hands traveled down to palm her ass, kneading it with his hands.

  Fuck! She whimpered in frustration and disappointment.

  "Shhh… I got you." Nic lowered to his knees behind her and spread her folds giving him access to her sex. "Beautiful."

  Jade arched off the desk when his tongue licked over her clit. One of his hands pushed her back down as he feasted on her body. Her legs shook in concert with his tongue and lips. Jade arched her back, begging for more. Nic's fingers finally entered her, his talented mouth stoking the fire as he filled her with three fingers. She rode his hand and pushed back to feel more of his mouth, lost to anything but the pursuit of her own pleasure. Her orgasm built like a leaded weight, blooming low and heavy with undeniable want.

  "Nic, please." She grasped the edges of the desk in desperation. Her entire body shook with unfulfilled need. He moved away from her and kissed the inside of her thigh. Jade cried out in frustration.

  "Shh…I'm not going to leave you hanging, sweetheart." He rose from his knees. His fingers shifted; and she gasped.

  The sweet, intense pressure against her clit coupled with the motion and pressure of his fingers inside her sent her spiraling into a cyclone of sensations. Her orgasm ripped through her. Nic continued to work her body. She begged and pleaded for him to stop, for him to continue, for… something, anything… less… more. Her body struggled against his hand's demands. Her mind reached for the release he refused to let subside. Jade bucked against him and peered back at him. Her breath caught at the sight of him stroking his cock while also pleasuring her.

  His stare locked with hers and held her captive. "You need to come again, Jade. I want to feel the pulse of your release grip my fingers."

  Jade pushed back against him, and his index finger slid over her clit at just the right angle. "Fuck yes! Just like that!" Jade pushed back again, and they found a rhythm of sensation that drove her over the edge. Her body clamped down around his fingers, and she screamed soundlessly against the fracturing of her mind and body. She felt his cock jerk and then the warmth of his cum on her lower back.

  His staccato breath hit the back of her neck as he held himself off her and the desk. "Holy fuck." His words pulled a breathless chuckle from her.

  "Not really, but close enough for government work." Jade loved the laughter her quip pulled from him. A ghost tremor from the fabulous sex shook her body. "Pretty boy, I suggest you make a trip to the drug store before tomorrow morning."

  He slapped her ass, hard.

  "Hey, what was that for?"

  "First, quit calling me pretty and second, quit being bossy." He reached for a box of tissues that perched precariously on the corner of the desk.

  "First, it is a good thing you are pretty, Nic, because you are one high maintenance hook-up."

  "Wrong. I'm no longer a hook-up." He took his time to wipe up his release from her and pulled down her shirt.

  "Yeah, about that." Jade pulled her clothes back into position and fastened buttons and zippers keeping her fingers busy.

  "Second thoughts?" Nic was pulling himself together.

  "Actually, first coherent thoughts." Jade straightened her shoulder holster.

  "Retracting your agreement?" He helped her to step over a stack of papers that scattered in a four-foot blast area around his desk.

  "I'm not so sure I agreed to anything except being exclusive with you for the time being." Jade picked her handcuffs off the floor and reattached them to her belt. She regarded the mess of paper, pens, pencils and at least five hundred paperclips that had scattered under and around the desk. Her cell phone chimed and she read the display. "I need to go get your mom." Jade smiled at him and motioned toward the mess. "I'll leave you with all this." The sleeve of her blazer peeked around the corner of the office door. They must have drug it down the hall when Nic carried her from the family room. With a chuckle, she snagged it and began to put it on.

  "Thank you, I didn't have anything else to do while you were gone." Nic smiled and ran his fingers through his hair and drew a deep breath. "We are exclusive during this case?"

  Jade stopped with only one arm in her blazer and threw a glance back at him. Hadn't she already agreed to that? He leveled a blank stare at her. Great, now we're playing poker. No worries dude, I'll learn your tells. Jade chuckled ruefully. She didn't have time for this shit. She knew what she wanted, and she went after it. Usually. She was getting fucking whiplash being around this man, and while her body was still recovering from one aah-maz-ing, over-the-desk, non-fucking, she was beginning to regret the impulsiveness she succumbed to when she answered him earlier.

  Jade shook her head as she put on the blazer and pulled her hair out of the back of the jacket. "I'm going to get your mom." Jade grabbed her keys and pocketed her cell phone before she headed for the door. She had work to do.

  Jade nodded at the marshals posted outside Judge DeMarco's chambers. They would remain in position until she and the Judge departed the courthouse. She knocked on the Judge's door and waited.

  "Come in."

  At the muttered call, she slipped inside. "Ah, Jade. Is it time to leave already?" The judge removed her glasses and glanced at the grandfather clock on the far wall.

  "I can wait if you're not finished, Your Honor." Jade clasped her hands and relaxed her stance.

  "Well, no, everything else can wait, besides if we don't leave now, Carmine and Mario will beat us home."

  Jade damn near jumped out of her skin. "Excuse me?"

  "Carmine and Mario are coming over. We were supposed to go out to dinner tonight. Nicolas got us reservations at some nice place, but because of recent events that's definitely out."

  "Obviously." Jade drew a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. "Ma'am, you probably should have called me and let me know your sons were coming for dinner. I need to know things like this in order to make sure your security encompasses anyone that comes to visit you."

  "Oh, but they are my sons." Judge DeMarco said the words like that would magically erase any security concerns.

  "Ma'am, let's look at this from the Triad's point of view. If they wanted to hurt you, who would they go after?"

  The woman paled. "Sweet mother of God, have I put my boys in danger?"

  "I can arrange to have them monitored, but in the future, if you are bringing anyone into your residence or interacting with them outside the courthouse, I'll need to know in advance." Jade pulled out her cell phone and started on the S.O.S. message to the Guardian office in Manhattan. She prayed they could rearrange assets to take on monitoring the two attorneys until she could pull assets from elsewhere. She knew the New York Office was ass deep in cases. They could ill afford to dedicate PSOs to a security detail that in all honesty would probably be classed as a precaution. Jade punched out a text to Jared and the agent in charge of the NY office. She courtesy copied Nic. Somehow, she didn't think he knew his brothers were coming to the residence tonight. He would have told her if he had. They both were concerned for his mother's safety, and bringing the brothers in would make matters more difficult. No, Nic would have told her. Regardless, if he didn't see the text, he'd figure it out when the alarm system went bat-shit crazy. She scanned the judge quickly and spoke as she continued to put out the fire the judge had set. "At dinner tonight, I'll brief them on specific personal security precautions to take. They will need to limit their exposure."

  "Well, Mario won't have a problem with that, but Carmine may be a handful."

  Jade glanced up from her phone. "Explain that, please."

  "Well, you've known Nicolas for a while now, right?"

  Jade nodded. She knew the man intimately, but she wasn't about to let his mother know.

  "Nic is my middle child. He cares deeply about people receiving justice, and I'm so proud of the work he does at Guardian
. There is a depth to that boy. He tries to hide that he has a heart with all the women that he 'dates.'"

  She actually used air quotes on the word dates. Jade suppressed a smile. Dating? Fucking more like it, but hey, his mom could call it whatever she wanted.

  "That one is going to fall someday, and when he does it will be hard." Bettina DeMarco went to her closet and retrieved her purse and jacket. "Mario is my youngest. He's a charmer. The boy has never met a stranger, and you'd think he'd be the best in the courtroom out of the three, but no… he loves the paperwork. Contracts, that's his specialty. He's been dating the same woman for almost four years. If you ask me, they are too career oriented. She's a stockbroker, and he's building his law firm with Carmine. Those two, Mario and Bethany, they shouldn't be together. A mother knows these things. But Carmine? Well, he is my oldest. He took on the role of protector when my husband died." The woman made a cross over her chest when she mentioned her late husband. "Ask Carmine, and he'll tell you he has the answers to all the world's problems. Unfortunately, Carmine is an ass."

  Jade's eyes popped at that statement and the judge chuckled. "What? I love him unconditionally. Unfortunately, one of those conditions requires I love an ass. Nicolas and Carmine have never gotten along. Oil and water, those two. That fact breaks my heart, but Nicolas has his own path to follow in this world, and he has never fallen into line with Carmine's vision for him. I have prayed and prayed about the conflict between those two. I don't know what caused the rift between them, but it is there."

  Jade made a small noise indicating she heard the woman. Hell, she'd read the family background and Jewell had included all the personal skeletons they'd uncovered because Jade needed to know of any vulnerability that might affect the Judge. Carmine and Mario had skeletons. Carmine's were the type the Triad could leverage, and that was something Jade wouldn't allow. She'd shut the man down, quickly and quietly. He'd agree and work with her, or his momma would find out some interesting facts about her son's sexual preferences. Damn good thing his kink was between consenting adults. Unfortunately, it was also information the Triad would use if they found out.

  Jade escorted the judge out of her office and watched as she locked the door. She didn't know where to start with the dump truck of information about her sons that her primary had backed up and unloaded. She'd process it on the drive back to the residence. Maybe.

  Jade left the judge in the marshals' care and made her way to the vehicle. She inspected it thoroughly before she opened the back door. The marshals escorted the judge out of the building to the vehicle and bundled her into the backseat, shutting her inside the protective cocoon of the SUV.

  "See you tomorrow." Jade threw the comment out as she got into the driver's seat. The men both lifted a hand and headed back into the courthouse. Jade pulled away from the curb and merged into traffic.

  "So, exactly how long have you known my son?" Jade flicked her eyes to the rearview mirror and shrugged. "He works with my brother Jared and took my brother Jason's place when Jason left Guardian during a hiatus…so, a few years now." She kept an eye on her six and maneuvered through traffic in a random pattern to try to draw out any tails she may have acquired, but none presented themselves.

  "Have you dated him?"

  Jade hadn't expected that question. She searched the rearview mirror again. "Dated Nic? Nope." Jade popped the 'p' in the response.

  "Huh. The way he looks at you when you aren't looking at him, I thought maybe…"

  Jade shot a surprised glance to the back seat, but the judge wasn't looking at Jade. She was worrying her thumbnail and staring blindly out the side window. Jade shook the comment off. She couldn't be worried about Nic right now. She navigated the roads leading to the residence keeping an eye out for a tail which never appeared. Thank God. They pulled up to the residence and parked. Jade held up a hand when the judge reached for the door handle. The woman stopped immediately.

  "Sorry, I was lost in thought. It was a reflex."

  "It takes a while to get used to and remember all the security protocols. It will become second nature in short order." Jade pulled out her phone and checked the home's alarm system before she scrolled through the different camera views of the interior of the home. "Well, your sons are here." She held up the phone and showed the judge the picture of the three men sitting in the family room, all scrolling through their phones, none of them actively engaged in conversation.

  "Did you install cameras in every room?"

  "Yes, but only I have access to them, and I promise I will never violate your privacy. You agreed to monitoring when you brought us on board." Jade thought about the events in the office earlier today and reminded herself to scrub the server before Jewell's program backed up the digital files at midnight.

  "I did, but I was assuming my bedroom wouldn't be part of that monitoring." The censure in the woman's voice washed over Jade.

  Damn, the woman was good at the guilt thing-an art form that had to be a mom-issued talent. Maybe hormones changed a woman when they became a mother. She'd have to ask her mom the next time she talked to her.

  Jade shrugged and put away the phone. "I understand how you feel. I know the security is an inconvenience. The question to ask yourself is who would you rather had access to your bedroom-Triad or me?"

  Bettina cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. "Have you ever considered a career in litigation?" Jade met her eyes in the mirror, and they both laughed at the judge's comment.

  "You have the most uniquely beautiful laugh, Jade. I've never heard anyone laugh with such carefree and joyful abandonment. I could recognize your laugh out of a crowd of a hundred."

  "Well, I enjoy life, or I try to."

  "A great way to look at things. Maybe it will rub off on my boys. Grumpy things, the lot of them, especially when I ask them when they are going to get married. I don't understand them sometimes."

  "Ma'am, if you figure out the male species, would you let me know?"

  "I promise, but if you figure them out first, you have to promise to call me."

  "Deal." Jade's smile stayed on her face as she exited the vehicle ahead of her charge.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Nic heard the door open. His eyes found Carmine. His brother looked up from his phone and stood, launching into the tirade Nic had already heard.

  "Ma, what are you thinking? You need to recuse yourself from this case." The man's demand echoed down the hall.

  Nic turned in his seat to watch his mother flay his older brother. She was so damn good at it. Carmine was a dick with a capital D, but unfortunately, in this case, he was right. That fact stuck like a fishbone in Nic's throat. He rarely agreed with Carmine, but in this instance, they were on the same page. Hell, the same paragraph and sentence. His mom needed to step away from this case. Let some other judge deal with the bullshit because Bettina DeMarco had presided over more than her fair share of difficult cases.

  He could hear his mom's heels clicking on the hardwood floors as she walked down the hall toward the family room. "Carmine DeMarco could you let me get in the house before you start bellowing like a bull elk in full rut?"

  Nic suppressed a smile, his mom didn't put up with her eldest son's shit.

  "No, not this time. What the f…" The laser glare his mom shot toward Carmine had him back peddling quickly, and he managed not to drop the "F" bomb. "Seriously Ma, you need to recuse yourself. We are talking the Triad. They will kill you."

  "No, they won't. Nicolas has taken care of my security when I'm not at the courthouse. I'm comfortable with the precautions that are in effect. Now, hush your mouth, because I'm not hearing any arguments or accepting any motions on the subject." She dropped her purse in the chair and took off her coat.

  Nic saw the moment Carmine and Mario noticed Jade. She had trailed their mom into the room. Mario gave her a once over that left lit
tle doubt he liked what he saw. Carmine looked as if someone had slapped him. His face turned red, his eyes widened, and he raised his arm pointing at Jade. Oh fuck, this was going to be interesting.

  "Who is that?"

  Jade moved to the door and stepped to the left of the opening. She leaned back against the doorframe. Her vivid green eyes flashed around the room. She nodded briefly at Nic.

  "That's my security officer, Jade King. Ms. King is amazing." Bettina walked over to the bar and lifted a decanter of red wine motioning toward Mario in question.

  "She is a 'she', Ma. Do you really think someone like her could protect you?" He spun on Nic, his face painted with rage. "You're supposed to be making sure Ma is safe, and you let your company assign a fucking model as protection? What the hell were you thinking?"

  Carmine's outrage was nothing new, at least not to Nic. The man hated him and everything Guardian represented. Carmine was a defense attorney, and ever since Nicolas had joined the DCPD they'd been distant. Once Nicolas joined Guardian, it was as if he'd become the devil himself, at least in Carmine's eyes.

  Nic glared at his brother, stood and walked to the bar where his mom poured a glass of wine. Nic took the decanter and took over pouring the wine as he spoke. "I really don't think you want to get into this with me Carmine, and if you open your mouth again about the professionalism or capability of the people that Guardian employs, I may turn Ms. King loose on you. She could put you on the ground in less than five seconds. She's one of the best, if not the best, at Guardian and I would wager one of the best in the country. It's rather sexist of you to think otherwise isn't it?" Nic kept his back turned to his brother and flicked his glanced at Jade. The woman was doing an awesome job of imitating a statue.

  "Nico is right, Carmine. You owe Ms. King an apology. She's very good at her job."