“She can talk some,” Jenessa insisted, obviously trying to keep up a positive outlook. “A sketch artist is working with her. She’s cognizant and can point out shapes to him. Your dad thinks it’s going to work. If one of the other men on the board was in her house that day, we’ll find out soon.”
“Not soon enough.” Kole took in some deep breaths, forcefully pushing the negativity away. “It doesn’t matter, not right now. We have plans tonight, and I don’t want to think about work anymore until tomorrow.”
“Plans?” Her brow wrinkled with confusion, looking so cute that Kole couldn’t stop from stooping down to kiss the wrinkles away.
“Dress warm,” he said. “Can you be ready in a half hour?”
“You’re being mysterious. Where are we going?”
He winked, feeling the stress of the last week melting away as he thought about how much she would like the surprise. “We’ve been working nonstop since we came back from Camp David. It’s past time we had another date.”
A grin spread over her face. “A date? How fancy do I need to get? Social climber or...?”
He shook his head. “Just you, Nessa. All I want is you. We’ll be bundled up. No one’s going to know who we are. I have a few calls to make, so hurry and get ready.”
Without further question, Jenessa zoomed up the stairs, turning on the landing to go into his room, which they now shared. He really needed to get rid of this house. He and Jenessa could only use certain parts of it without memories of his ex intruding. He didn’t want that causing an eventual problem between them. They needed a space that was theirs, not Clarissa’s.
Deciding that was something to worry about later, Kole sent a text to the limo company he’d emailed earlier in the day, then ducked into the downstairs bathroom to shave and put on cologne. He primped at his hair, then went back into the kitchen to clean out to coffee pot while waiting for his date.
The sound of a throat clearing behind him drew his attention several minutes later. He turned, smiling at the most beautiful vision he’d ever seen.
Jenessa had compromised between her FBI self and her social climber persona, applying only a light touch of makeup and leaving her hair loose to curl around her shoulders. She wore a deep blue sweater that hugged her curves, and the jeans she wore were tight enough to make Kole wish they could stay home and do what they normally did at night.
“You look great,” he said.
The buzz of someone at the front gate kept them from any further conversation.
“There’s our ride,” he said, leading her to the front foyer and holding her coat. “I hope tonight’s magical enough for you.”
She laughed and slipped her arms inside the sleeves. “I’m sure it will be since I’m with you.”
After putting on his own coat, Kole set the alarm system and then led the way outside, locking the door behind him. He offered Jenessa his arm. “Let’s go.”
Her smile was well worth his effort. He couldn’t wait to see how much larger it grew when they reached their destination.
Jenessa ate the picnic dinner Kole had waiting for them in the limo. She was a bit anxious about eating food neither of them had prepared, considering what happened to Victor, but Kole ate the food and drank the beer without fear.
She liked that he had surprised her with an outing. It was true they’d been ultra-focused on work lately. Considering none of the information they’d hacked from the other board members’ computers helped, it had been a frustrating week. Either no one else was involved in the plot, meaning they’d lost their chance to stop S.A.T.O. once again, or none of the others were as stupid as Victor and didn’t keep proof on their computers.
Kole waggled a finger. “You’re thinking about work. Stop it!”
She giggled. “We’ve spent so much time together that you can read my thoughts? Scary for you!”
He laughed, popping the last bite of sandwich in his mouth before touching her forehead between her eyes. “You get a crease right here whenever something’s bothering you. Good thing you aren’t under investigation. That tell would give you away if you tried to lie to me.”
“I’ll work on that,” she said.
He stretched his lanky legs out along the aisle of the limo. “Figured out where we’re going yet?”
Since they were headed toward the White House and he’d told her to dress warm, Jenessa thought she had an idea. However, if she guessed and was wrong, she didn’t want Kole to be disappointed that she hoped they were doing something other than what he planned.
“Why don’t you just tell me?” she asked.
“Come on,” he said. “What did we talk about that very first night.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “The night you were being such an asshole.”
He grinned, knowing now she was only teasing him about that and no longer held it against him. “Yep, that’s the night.”
Had he honestly paid attention to her that night, enough to know what the perfect date would be? She had asked him if they could visit the National Holiday Tree, and he’d said they wouldn’t have time for dates. They were certainly headed in the right direction for that to be the destination.
She ate another bite of sandwich, washing it down with beer. “We talked about my love of Christmas decorations that night.”
He nodded. “We did.”
“You didn’t seem pleased by it, though.”
“Maybe not at the time.”
She couldn’t stop the grin that split her face. He really had remembered and wanted to make up for that first night. “Are you taking me to the National Holiday Tree?”
“The one and only.” He put an arm around her shoulders. “Nothing’s too good for my girl.”
She laughed at his antics, her earlier frustrations about the case totally lifting. Life with Kole was unexpectedly wonderful. As soon as the case ended, she needed to plan a date and be as good to him as he was to her. Maybe she’d let him win a game of bowling and then give him a foot massage.
“I love seeing that smile,” he said.
The car pulled to a stop near the entrance to the park. As Kole helped her from the limo, she clutched his hand. “I love that you’re the man who puts it there.”
Watching Jenessa exclaim in excitement over each of the special ornamented trees along the Pathway of Peace made Kole’s night. She was so happy about the little things. He never knew a woman could be like her. While it was true he’d shelled out money for the limo ride over, Jenessa would have been happy taking a smelly cab to enjoy the free light display. It was refreshing to know he didn’t have to spend a fortune to make her truly happy.
“Oh, look!” She tugged on his arm, pulling him through the crowd of people to the tree decorated for Washington State. “I need to take a picture of this for Carlie and Shelley. They’ll love it.” She had her cell phone out, flashing away.
A family group stopped near them, and the mother gave Kole a friendly smile. “Want me to take a picture of the two of you together?”
It was a risk handing his phone to a stranger, but it would also be their first official picture as a couple. He nodded. “That’d be great.”
She accepted his phone, and Kole stepped behind Jenessa, wrapping his arms around her waist.
“Make sure you get the ornaments,” Jenessa said, seeming to miss the real significance of the photo. This was their first time in public as a real couple and not pretend.
The woman snapped a few shots, as her restless husband and kids milled around her. “Want one with the National tree behind you?”
Kole hated to keep her family waiting, but nodded anyway. “If you don’t mind.”
The woman glanced over her shoulder to where Kole looked and shrugged. “Ignore my impatient family. They can wait for me to snap a few more pictures. The romance wears off after kids come along, so enjoy this while you can. It’s special.”
They shifted positions to put the tree behind them and the woman snapped more photos. She passed h
is phone back. “You make a lovely couple. Have fun!”
Despite her claims of the romance being gone, her husband smiled when she turned to the family, holding out his hand to take hers. The pair fit together perfectly, as though they would always stand the test of time. The father ruffled the hair of one of the kids with his free hand and the group wandered away.
Next to him, Jenessa let out a contented sigh.
“What is it?” he asked.
She turned in his embrace and kissed him lightly. “It’s that family. I want something like that.”
He nodded. “I do too.”
She giggled, wriggling from his embrace and grabbing his hand to pull him forward. “Of course, I knew that. You already talked about our future children.”
At the nearby stage, a musical group started singing traditional Christmas hymns. Kole had never been a person to much enjoy the holiday season, but Jenessa made everything better.
They stopped walking when her happy squeal alerted him to another ornament she liked. Time for more pictures to send her friends, but he’d stay here taking pictures all night if that was what she wanted.
Once they were back in the limo, traffic was backed up for what Jenessa guessed would last hours. Everyone seemed to be trying to leave the park at the same time, and apparently, something else had gone on downtown. Jenessa and Kole were stuck for the time being.
Not that Jenessa minded. The black-tinted windows kept passersby from being able to see inside, and Kole had closed the portal between them and the driver. They were secluded in their own private corner of the busy town.
“I love that you did this for me,” she said, still feeling warm and tingling inside from Kole’s thoughtfulness. “I’ve always wanted to go check that out, but didn’t want to go alone. Tonight couldn’t have been more perfect.”
He grinned. “Do I get good boyfriend points?”
“A ton of them,” she confirmed. “But I want good girlfriend points too.”
“You don’t need them.” He tilted her head toward him, taking her mouth with his own. “You’re already everything I want.”
Things just got better and better, but Kole couldn’t be the only one giving in this relationship. She wanted to prove to him that she was just as committed as he was. The last two weeks had really made that clear to her. She wanted this to work.
Although Kole always acted confident, she could only imagine twinges of worry had to eat away at him. How could they not after what his ex did? It was up to her to show him she wanted to make things special for him as well.
“No one can see inside here, right?” she asked, looking at the headlights surrounding them.
“Not at all,” he confirmed. “Why? Are you scared about being stuck out in the open? We’re probably safe from—”
She cut him off with a kiss, not wanting him to bring work back up. Not now. The evening away had been just what she needed. She didn’t want to think about their responsibilities. “It’s not that,” she replied when she let him up for air. “But there’s something I’ve always wanted to do if I ever rode in a limo with a man I truly cared about.”
“Really?” His eyebrows raised. “Do share. What?”
She ran her hand across his T-shirt, glad they had already shed their coats when their realized how long they’d be stuck in the car. She explored his firm abs beneath the fabric before moving on to her true desire, cupping his rapidly stiffening cock in her hand.
“Nessa? What are you—”
“This.” She squeezed him once more before moving from the bench seat and kneeling on the floor between his legs. She licked her lips and rubbed her breasts against his pants, lifting his shirt and kissing his abs.
She made quick work of unbuttoning his jeans, then sliding the zipper gently down. It didn’t take much effort to get him to spring to life, popping up through the flap in the front of his briefs to greet her with his steely rod.
“Oh, man.” He groaned, twisting her hair in his fingers. “Just thinking about you touching me makes me so damn hard.”
“You don’t have to just think about it.” She licked her palm and then ran it up and down the length of him, loving the way his fingers curled more tightly in her hair. He definitely wanted what she was about to do.
Working her tongue around the head of his cock, she kept her hands stroking as she lapped at him greedily.
“Oh, yes, yes, yes.” His breathing had quickened and he was more than ready for her.
Maybe she should take more time, pay him back for how slowly he went at the cabin, but Jenessa was feeling wildly daring and altogether too ready herself. She sucked him into her mouth, taking him as far down her throat as she could manage.
Kole gripped either side of her head, forcing her head up and down in the rhythm he preferred. His taking command made her even hotter. Her insides clenched and pulsated. She might have an orgasm just sucking him off!
“Oh,” he gasped again, “oh, oh, oh. Just like that. Oh, fuck! You’re so fucking hot!”
Jenessa continued her rhythm, fumbling one-handed for her purse to find the condom she’d slipped inside it for emergencies. She backed off him just as he made the low, guttural noises that meant he was about to explode. “Hang on, lover,” she ordered.
She sheathed him in the condom, frantic to kick her boots off and get out of her pants and panties. As soon as she did so, she hopped on his lap, kissing him deeply.
Kole’s hands went between them, stroking her into a ball of quivering happiness, waiting to explode. “Come on, baby,” he said. “You know what to do.”
Guiding him to her opening, she lowered herself onto his massive girth, crying out as the first shudder of a climax hit her before they even moved. She clung to his shoulders, forcing herself up and down.
His happy noises started again, telling her he was close, but that was okay. She was already there.
Kissing him deeply, Jenessa tried to smother her shouts of joy into his mouth. Wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her, making her legs turn to jelly and her heart pound so fast it felt like it was about to explode.
Kole gripped her hips, keeping her pelvis moving with his until he breathed his own victory against her lips.
Kole breathed heavily into Jenessa’s hair, calming his racing pulse. She was so damn perfect. He couldn’t imagine a prim little socialite ever sucking his cock in the back of a limo, nor making love to him like that when they might be caught. He loved Jenessa’s daring side.
She sighed and shifted against him. “Guess I’d better put my clothes back on.”
He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. “Traffic hasn’t even moved yet. Maybe we should go for round two.”
Shaking her head, she slid off his lap to the seat next to him, snagging her clothes off the floor. “Will you hand me a napkin from the picnic basket?”
Reaching in and getting all the napkins he could find, Kole helped clean the evidence of their love making from both their bodies and the limo seat, dropping the whole mess back into the basket and closing the lid. They both righted their clothing and snuggled back together on the seat bench.
“We should look at our pictures,” Kole said, snagging his coat and pulling the cell phone from the pocket.
They cuddled together and flipped through the shots the woman had taken of them next to the trees. Kole couldn’t remember ever looking that happy in a picture before. Having Jenessa by his side made life better.
“We’re so cute,” Jenessa said. “We should print these out and start making a scrapbook.”
He chuckled. “Really? I thought you’d be all about posting it on-line and doing things with the computer.”
She shrugged. “No reason we can’t do both.”
The roaring of a loud engine right next to the limo drowned out any further conversation. It sounded like a motorcycle sat next to them revving their throttle. Why wouldn’t a motorcycle just drive away? They weren’t locked in by this horrible traffic jam.
A tapping sounded against the window on Kole’s side of the car, the side where the motorcycle engine still puttered.
Kole narrowed his eyes, having no intention of rolling down the window to see what the person wanted. “Get on the floor, Nessa, now!”
The sudden explosion of rapid gunfire deafened Kole. Glass shattered around them. Kole yanked Jenessa off the seat, forcing her to the floor of the limo and diving on top of her.
Bullet after bullet flew over them, and stinging pain ran against Kole’s back. His heart pounded with fear and it felt like the attack lasted forever, but it couldn’t have been longer than a few seconds.
The motorcycle engine roared away, fading into the night as screams started happening all around them.
“Are you okay?” he demanded of Jenessa, sitting up cautiously and looking out the broken window for any further attacker.
“I’m okay,” she said, though her voice quaked with fear. “Are you?”
The feeling of hot fire against his back likely meant a bullet had grazed him, but it wasn’t a major wound and he didn’t want her to worry. “I’m fine, love. As long as you’re safe, I’m okay.”
People from the surrounding cars swarmed them, faces peering into the broken windows.
“Are you hurt?”
“Is anyone still alive?”
Questions pelted down on them, and Kole held up a hand to stop them. “We’re okay. Did anyone see the person who did this?”
“It was a motorcycle,” a woman supplied. “The person was all in black, and I couldn’t see his face through his dark helmet mask. Once the gun came out, I ducked.”
Similar sentiments were echoed by the other people.
Kole inspected Jenessa closely while the witnesses shared their perspectives, making sure she was truly okay. Some of the broken glass had cut her cheek when he tossed her to the ground, but other than that she was uninjured.
Love & Compromise (Agents in Love Book 3) Page 20