by Jillian Neal
“That was so freaking hot!” her voice raised several octaves. “I’m keeping them forever as a memento.” Their laughter continued.
“I was thinking maybe you’d keep me forever,” he stopped laughing abruptly and watched her reaction.
She lifted her head, raised her eyebrows, nodded, and kissed his cheek. “That sounds even better,” she whispered before tucking back into his embrace. “But I’m still keeping the panties.”
“As long as it doesn’t go in a box dedicated to lingerie torn off by previous boyfriends.”
She giggled again and shook her head. “No, that would go back to how amazing sex is with you, and why I think you’re perfect for me. No one has ever torn my G-string off for me.”
“Any time baby,” he assured her with a great deal of confidence.
“Aww, and that was a pair I got in the lingerie of the month club.” She cracked up again.
As Dan joined in her hysterical laughter, he was overwhelmed by the fact that he could not only have mind-blowing sex with the woman in his lap, but that she was beautiful, funny, sweet, and extremely intelligent. She was everything he’d ever wanted but always refused to believe existed.
“Shall I take you to bed, Miss Styler?”
“Yes, I am suddenly very tired.”
Dan stood, with an extremely satisfied smirk on his face. He kept her tucked up in his arms as he headed to the stairs. They could retrieve the clothes, strewn all over the living room, in the morning.
Terrors of the Night
~Logan Haydenshire~
Wednesday morning, Logan awoke, gasping for breath and covered in sweat. He threw back the sheets and blankets, trying hard not to scream. It was six-fifteen. He swallowed down the bile that had risen violently in his throat as he reached for his cell phone.
Please answer, please answer, my God just answer the damn phone, pulsed through his mind with every harrowing ring.
“Hey,” she sang excitedly. “What are you doing up already?” Allowing breath to fill his lungs once again, Logan willed his voice to engage.
“I was just worried about you. I wanted to make sure you got to work okay.”
“Logan, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he lied. “Nothing’s wrong; like I said, just wanted to check on you. I think I’m going to go in early today.” He decided that moment that he was leaving for work.
“Oh, well, uh, yeah, I mean I got here at five. I’ve done a few rounds. We have a salpingo-oophorectomy I’m observing in a little while. Do you want to come have lunch with me?” Her explanation rang with concern.
“Yes. Don’t go to lunch without me. I’ll be there. Just text me when you’re ready to eat.”
“Are you sure you’re all right?”
He couldn’t hide anything from her. She knew him too well.
“Yeah, yeah, uh, I just needed to hear your voice.”
“Aww,” Adeline sounded delighted. “Well, I need to go break Mrs. Alton’s water, but I love you.”
“I love you too, baby, more than you know.”
“I’ll text you after surgery and you can come pick me up.”
“I’ll be there; don’t leave without me.”
“I would never do that.”
“Right, I know.” He tried to remember to breathe. “I love you,” he said again.
“I love you, too. Bye.” She signed off and hung up the phone.
How could I have been so stupid? Logan lambasted himself. He quickly moved out of bed, took a shower, and pulled on his clothes in mere minutes.
“Hey, you want some coffee?” Rainer held up the pot and reached for another mug from the cabinet.
“No!” Logan’s infuriated bellow stunned Rainer and Emily. “I’m going to work.”
“Don’t you want something to eat?” Emily asked concernedly.
“I’m not hungry,” Logan grabbed his jacket and keys. Rainer and Emily stared after him, with their mouths hanging open in shock. He didn’t care. He slammed the door on the way out of the house. He needed to talk to Vindico.
Sun Rise, Son Set
~Dan Vindico~
Fionna was curled up on her stomach, with her arms under her pillow. Dan gazed at her lovingly as sunlight poured into the room. He moved over her, careful to keep his weight on the mattress, as he wrapped his arms around her and brushed her hair off of her face. He kissed her cheek and felt it pull into a sweet smile. His morning stubble rubbed against her velvety skin.
“I’m still sleeping,” she teased and refused to open her eyes.
“But there’s this extremely gorgeous woman in my bed, and she’s naked.” A broad grin formed on his chiseled features as he watched in awe as her energy swirled in ecstatic waves of happiness.
“Really?” she giggled.
“Mmm hmm, and,” he began dotting kisses from her temple down her cheek and then onto her shoulder, “I really, really want her.”
Fionna’s eyes flashed excitedly as she rolled, but managed to keep her body positioned under his. She gave him an extremely intrigued smile.
“Don’t you have to go to work, Officer Vindico?” She waggled her eyebrows as she traced her hand down his abdomen and then up his length. He shook from the attention he craved. She looked very pleased with what she found.
“I’ll go to work later, honey. I have something here I really want to take care of.”
She gave him a coquettish grin. He brushed his thumb over her lips just before he leaned down and began kissing her slowly. He added to the intensity with each pass, moaning into her mouth, as her heart picked up pace.
~Logan Haydenshire~
“Lo, what the hell is wrong with you?” Rainer demanded as he rushed into the office.
“Why is Vindico not here?” was Logan’s furious reply.
Rainer scoffed, “I don’t know. It’s barely seven-thirty in the morning. He has a beautiful woman in his bed. Your dad ordered him to stop working so much. It’s the day before Christmas Eve, and half of Iodex took today off. Pick one.”
Rolling his eyes, Logan continued to pace outside Vindico’s office door.
“Would you please tell me what this is all about?” Seeming to have re-evaluated, Rainer’s tone took on a kinder note.
“I just can’t believe I never thought of this, that he never thought of this,” Logan gestured to Vindico’s door in stunned disbelief.
“Thought of what?”
Shaking his head, Logan glanced around. No one was in the office yet, and Rainer was right; most of the department had taken the day off to start their holiday celebrations. Terror surged through him. He stalked towards Rainer and grasped his shirt. “She’s an Australian princess!”
Rainer scowled as he jerked away from Logan.
“Okay?”
“And her mother’s drug-dealing pimp works for Wretchkinsides, the guy I am currently on a task force trying to take down!” Logan willed Rainer to understand.
Governor Haydenshire came through the doors from the Governors’ wing, into Iodex. “Son, what’s going on?”
“I thought you and Mom were entertaining the Caliph’s son,” Logan sneered hatefully.
“Logan, I’m not certain what’s wrong with you, son, and I’m well aware that you’re twenty-one years old and a married man, but I’m going to give you approximately two seconds to change your tone of voice,” Governor Haydenshire demanded furiously.
“Sorry.” Logan allowed only Rainer to see his eye-roll, just as they’d done since they were old enough to roll their eyes.
“Your sister called me and told me you stormed out without eating. I was rightfully concerned, as I can’t seem to remember you ever turning down food.”
“Vindico is late,” Logan threw his arm back to the office door. Tattling, that was low even for the situation. He scolded himself.
“It’s not eight yet, and as I am the one who told him to cut back on his hours, I don’t really think it would be fair for me to reprimand him for doing what I
instructed him to do.” The Governor glanced at Rainer in hopes of decoding Logan’s mood.
“Did you and Adeline have a fight?”
“No, Dad, we’re fine.”
“Do you know what’s wrong?” Governor Haydenshire demanded of Rainer.
Rainer gave Logan a sympathetic look. “I think so, sir.”
Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
~Dan Vindico~
“But I don’t want you to go,” Fionna fussed adorably. Dan felt his energy move over them in pacifying waves from just being in her proximity. He pulled her closer and let the shower water cascade over their bodies.
Dan picked up Fionna’s preferred soap, from her grandparents’ farm in Kauai, and lathered his hands. With smooth, solid caresses from his powerful hands, he tenderly washed her silky skin. “I don’t want to go, baby, and believe me, you have no idea the kind of power you must hold for me to be saying that.”
She grinned against him as he slid his hands down her sides and then gently washed away all that he’d just done to her in the bed.
Her energy rolled in satiated contentment. “Chloe’s picking me up late this afternoon. I’m not going to the bakery today. I’m going to finish getting everything unpacked. Several of the Angels are working at the Children’s Home this afternoon.” A sweet sigh hummed against him as he let his hands glide over her luscious curves.
“I’m taking the bike, so I’ll leave you the keys to the Ferrari, if you need to go anywhere.”
“Dan, shouldn’t you pay for the car first before you loan it out to me? And the harness seatbelt things kind of freak me out.”
“Well, I was going to take a check to Sam at lunch and, since I have no intention of racing it, I’m going to have it customized. The seatbelts will be traded for something you’re used to.”
“I’ve never driven anything like a Ferrari. I want you to teach me.” Her energy, though still serene, took on a nervous edge.
“Okay,” Dan agreed, “but I’ll still take my bike and, that way, if you need to leave, you can. I don’t want you stranded here.” He felt her smile against his chest. “Ready to get out, baby doll?”
“If we get out, then you’ll leave,” she stuck her lip out in an adorable pout.
He chuckled and turned off the water. Reaching and grabbing a towel, he heated it with his hand and wrapped her up in its warmth.
“I’ll try to come home early.” The phrase that had just exited his lips sounded extremely odd in his own voice. “I’ll pick up some dinner.”
“If I get back from the Children’s Home in time, I’ll make dinner.”
“You don’t have to cook for me, baby; we’ll do whatever you want.” Dan watched her dispense with the towel and shrug into a short, satin, floral robe that only barely covered her backside. He unabashedly admired the curves that peeked out from the hem.
A hot cup of coffee with cream earned him a delighted smile and a kiss on the jaw. She began scrambling eggs and served him some, cooked perfectly, as she added toast to his plate.
“Thank you. You don’t have to make me breakfast, baby. I usually just grab a protein bar from the cafeteria at work.”
“But I like making you breakfast. I like eating breakfast with you, and I know that you’re used to all of your meals being free at the Senate, so I can buy the food with my ginormous paychecks. I like to cook.” She giggled over her own joke.
Dan leaned and brushed a kiss across her cheek as he tousled her hair. “You spend your ginormous paychecks on stuff that you want. You spend my mediocre paychecks on food. I’ll leave you my check card.”
Perturbed, she rolled her eyes. “You know, if we sold my house, you could use the money to pay for part of the Ferrari. I mean, after I pay off the mortgage.”
“Fi, honey, it could get very complicated if the press got wind that you were selling your house. Please believe me when I tell you that I am not destitute because I invested in the Angels. We are fine. Just give me a little time and then we can really start our lives together.” He tested her. Hope once again overwhelmed him. Damn it! he scolded himself. Hope was the most lethal of all emotions. She nodded and gave him that grin that set his entire world ablaze.
“And you are not buying me a car.”
“We’ll see,” was her reply. Dan stood and rinsed his plate before grabbing his briefcase and badge and pulling on his holster.
Fionna began smashing up an avocado and adding honey and egg yolks in a strange concoction.
As Dan certainly hadn’t had any food in the house before she’d moved in, he assumed that most of the ingredients had come from her home.
“Don’t ask,” she began giggling again.
He kissed the top of her head and headed towards the door. “Not asking.”
“I love you.” In a sudden move, she flitted to him and wrapped her arms around his chest. He hugged her tightly.
“Careful, baby.” He turned his side and the pistol away from her. “And, me too.”
The Ace of Hearts
~Logan~
“Where is he?” Logan demanded furiously as he began pacing again.
“Logan, he’s a few minutes late. Geez, give the guy a break,” Rainer insisted as Governor Haydenshire nodded his adamant agreement.
Vindico stalked in, carrying the mail from his post office box. “Governor Haydenshire, I thought you were taking the day off, sir.” His deeply satisfied smile only provoked Logan’s mood. “’Bout damn time!”
“Logan,” Governor Haydenshire warned.
Vindico spun and glared furiously at Logan. “You have a problem, Haydenshire?”
“Could we talk in your office for a few minutes, Daniel, so that Logan can apologize for his extremely disrespectful tone to his boss?” Governor Haydenshire menaced. Logan felt the indignation tighten in his throat.
Vindico threw open the door and gestured the men inside, still staring Logan down. He tossed the mail and the keys onto his desk, and leaned against it. Distracted momentarily from his anger, Logan wondered again how he could cross his arms like that, with all of that massive muscle in the way. He could feel the heat in Vindico’s temper reverberate in the energy between them, and the weight of his discomfiture seated him.
“Look, I’m sorry. I just freaked out, but when I explain this to you, you’ll know why.”
“Well, I, for one, would love to hear it,” Governor Haydenshire quipped.
Vindico huffed, “I’m waiting, Haydenshire, so spit it out.”
Logan swallowed harshly. “It’s Adeline. Just think about it. Her father, the freaking Prince of the Australian Realm, is going to march into the courtroom in two weeks and announce that she’s his daughter and get her mom put away or whatever. As soon as he does that, Wretchkinsides will know where she comes from, and what kind of money and power she has at her fingertips. They’ll be all over her. And the fact that I’m on the task force will only make them more brutal about it.” Impending doom sank heavily in his gut as he stated the reality of the situation.
Shocked understanding etched Vindico’s chiseled features.
Governor Haydenshire looked visibly disturbed. “I never thought about that.”
“Me, either,” Vindico agreed, though he seemed to take the news like a failure on his part.
“But you’ll keep her safe, right?” Logan was well aware that he sounded like a frightened child.
“Logan, I told you and Rainer both that I wouldn’t let anyone live what I’ve lived. I’ll tell you the same thing I told him.” Vindico pointed to Rainer. “Bring her to the office with you when she’s not at work. They’re not going to take her from a hospital full of people,” Vindico finally stated the first thing all morning that gave Logan some hope. “Make certain she doesn’t leave work without you. If that means you’re sitting out there to pick her up, when she gets off at two in the morning, then do it and don’t complain.”
Logan nodded his understanding.
Vindico began pacing behind his desk. �
��Believe me; no one is more committed to ending Wretchkinsides and the Interfeci than I am. Fitzroy has a guy high up in the Interfeci. He’s finally been accepted into the inner circles. Bridgette is still spying for me at the Tantra. We have undercover officers embedded as well, so I am constantly aware of most of what’s going on. I will keep her safe.
“But you’re going to have to explain this to Adeline and to her father.” Vindico seemed to feel genuinely sorry for Logan. Telling Lucas would certainly be a delicate situation.
“I’ll explain it. I’m sorry I freaked out,” Logan admitted to everyone seated in the room.
To his shock, Vindico chuckled. “Guess I’ll give you that one, but don’t let it happen again.” Relief and confusion fought for dominance in Logan’s shield. He understood that if he continued his lack of respect, he would be reprimanded. He knew his father would not step in on his behalf if he felt Logan deserved the punishment, and Vindico’s reprimands were harsh.
He recalled shoveling dirt and gravel at Coriolis for hours in the suffocating heat, the last time he and Rainer had gotten into trouble. What he didn’t understand was what had softened Dan Vindico. The man before him was not the same guy he’d been working for.
“Rainer, Logan; would you step into the hallway; I’d like to speak to Daniel before I go,” Governor Haydenshire requested.
They stood to leave, but Vindico halted them. “Before you go, I will say that so far this year, Elite Iodex has taken out several heavy- hitters in the Interfeci. A couple of weeks ago, we confiscated over $480 million. Wretchkinsides is furious, and he’s getting desperate. Just remember that when men like Wretchkinsides get desperate, that is when they are the most dangerous.”
Rainer and Logan nodded their understanding as they moved towards the door.
“And Logan,” Vindico called, “you have two weeks before anyone will know anything, so try to enjoy your first Christmas together. At this point, Sawyer owes your dad, your best friend, and me quite a bit. I’ll make him understand the situation, and see if we can’t make her schedule and yours work.”