by S. E. Rose
“Yes. He’s not cooperating though, so who knows?”
“Why would they use me as bait? I’m just an informant. I don’t understand. I thought they were supposed to protect us.”
“Brooks is in hot water over this and other things. Apparently, she was being investigated by internal affairs. Her unorthodox practices were actually against regulations. She should never have allowed you to be trained or involved at any level. She knew that and so did I. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the ability to stop her. Agent Banks has been appointed as acting head agent. He was also involved in overseeing the internal affairs investigation, which apparently allowed for your involvement under a special exception related to the investigation. He and I had quite the discussion about that. Nonetheless, he’ll do the right thing from here out. I trust him. Plus, I’m not letting you out of my sight again.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead.
“Now rest, Laura.”
I close my eyes even though my mind is swirling with so many more questions.
Chapter 33
Laura’s Playlist: “The Punk” by KT Tunstall
Jack drives cautiously the entire way home. I feel like a baby being brought home from the hospital. He refused to let me work and called my editor, my agent, my kids, my mom and even my brother. He’s gone into protective overdrive and it’s a bit stifling. I make myself at home in his bed and he busies himself with cooking me lunch.
“How’s my patient?” he asks as he sets a tray with soup on it in front of me. I contemplate how odd it is that this man who was raised by servants is now serving me.
“Fine. Really, Jack, you don’t need to do all of this. The doctor wouldn’t have released me if I wasn’t well.”
“I know. But he did say you needed to rest.”
“Rest does not mean that I need to be treated like an invalid.”
“Learn to love it,” he says and kisses my nose.
I roll my eyes. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He smiles and moves a loose strand of my hair away from my eye.
“So how long do I get to be locked away in your tower?”
“Well, Rapunzel, I was kind of hoping you might want to be locked away in my tower for a while.”
I toss myself back on the pillows and stare at him exasperated.
“Well, that isn’t doing much for my ego,” he winces.
“Jack,” I groan. “I love you. I’m grateful that you are here for me. But I’m capable of taking care of myself.”
“Clearly. You know Morse code.” He chuckles. “By the way, how do you know Morse code? That was actually impressive and quite genius on your part.”
I smile at him meekly. “My dad.”
He nods. “I have a sneaking suspicion your dad taught you many other things that I’m not aware of yet.”
“Perhaps.” I shrug as I take a bite of the soup.
Jack spends the rest of the day waiting on me. I finally talk him into letting me get out of bed. I take a shower and find him sleeping on the bed when I come back into the room. He has to be exhausted. I decide to let him sleep. I look around the room. Maybe he has some books in here. And then I remember his library. I make my way to it and begin looking. I decide on an old favorite, Moby Dick. Can’t go wrong with a classic. I reach for it, but it won’t come out of the shelf. When I tug harder something pops and I realize that this is not a book, but a way to open something. I feel like Nancy Drew as I look around waiting for a wall to open, but nothing happens. As I scan the room my eyes come back to the shelf in front of me and I see what looks like an open box. The box appears to be four or five books on top of one another, although it is hollow inside. I look inside and gasp. It is a gun, a handgun. Memories of the firing range and my dad trickle back to me as I run my finger over it. I look around as though I think someone might be watching me and then I remove it from the box. I check and see it has two bullets. Why does Jack have this? I decide it’s better not to ask. Handguns are banned in the U.K. I can’t imagine he would be legally able to have this. I place it carefully back in its box and push Moby Dick back in place which closes the box lid. I stand back and stare at the shelf. It looks so normal. I pull out a few more books, but no secret passages or boxes open and I take my pile of reading material back upstairs. That seems to be enough snooping for one day.
I break out my laptop and FaceTime Nick. He answers on the first ring.
“Mom?” I see him and his face is etched with worry.
“Hi, sweetheart,” I say, trying to sound reassuring.
“How are you? Are you OK?”
“I’m fine, really. I just got knocked in the head and fortunately this time it’s not as bad as my last fall.” I can see him breathe a sigh of relief and then Lily pops into the frame.
“Mom!” she squeals.
“Hey, baby. How are you?”
“How am I? How are you?”
“Good. I miss you two. How was the flight home? How’s Hagrid?” Nick leaves the frame and then comes back in a moment later holding Hagrid who lets out a giant, irritated meow and we all start laughing.
“Well, I guess that answers that,” I say, stifling my giggles. “You guys ready for school? I should be back before you start.”
“Mom, we are alright. I talked with my therapist about everything and we are working on some calming techniques and I’ll be fine,” Lily says, giving me her best brave girl face.
My eyes tear up because I feel so guilty. I should be there with them. “I’m so sorry,” is all I can manage to say.
“Mom, listen. We will be fine. Just get better and get home, OK?” Nick says.
“Aye, aye, Captain,” I say, saluting him and he laughs.
“Oh, Mom, I miss ya. Let’s talk tomorrow if you can, alright?”
“Sure thing. Love you guys, especially you, my little, fuzzy baby. And, Hagrid, you are in charge.” I smirk and the kids laugh as Hagrid meows his agreement. “Have a good night, guys.” They wave goodbye and we disconnect.
I look over at my sleeping beauty. Poor Jack is still out for the count. I have a feeling if I let him, he may sleep right through the night. I send some emails reassuring my editor and agent that I will have the edits done by the end of the week. Then I send some messages to my brother and mom. I settle into editing for a while and make some progress until I get interrupted by a FaceTime request from Jesse.
“Hey, stranger,” Jesse says as he waves to me. My brother is a royal pain in the butt that I haven’t thought about much this summer. Jesse started up some crazy app company and when it took off he decided to gallivant around the world. He seems to be calming down now and taking the business more seriously, but I think sudden wealth and fame have definitely affected him.
“Hey. Thanks for picking up the kids,” I say to him.
“Yeah, so first off, the kids filled me in on the drama and why the hell didn’t you tell me yourself? And second, who the hell is this Jack?” He looks perturbed and a bit hurt.
I sigh. “Listen, I’m sorry. I met Jack while I was over here and then one thing led to another. Then this craziness from his past popped up and now I’m involved in a bunch of James Bond 007 shit.”
“Shit, Laura. You should just write a book about your actual life. It is way more interesting than anything you could ever dream up.”
“Sure, I’ll get right on that. I’d actually like to finish this book first. So if you don’t mind, I need to get back to editing. I promise I’ll take you out to dinner as soon as I get back and you can grill me then. OK?”
“Fair enough. I have stuff to fill you in on too. So maybe we are even.” He pauses and grins. “Nope, there’s no fucking way we are even. My stuff doesn’t even stack up to yours.”
“Nice. Peace out, Girl Scout,” I say to him with a laugh and he flicks me off as I hit disconnect. I work for another hour and then when I feel I’ve made good progress, I shut down my laptop. I lean over and grab the actual copy of Moby Dick that I found in Jack’s l
ibrary and start reading.
Chapter 34
Laura’s Playlist: “Fake Empire” by The National
I don’t remember falling asleep. I wake to Jack wrapping his arms around me. I snuggle up against him and look at the clock. It’s midnight.
“Go back to sleep, love,” he says, kissing me as he reaches over and puts my book on the bedside table and turns off the light. I curl up against him and lay my head on his chest. He runs his hand gently over my back and I listen to his heart beating. I fall back into a deep sleep.
“Laura, did you miss me?”
I hear Alexei’s voice and I wake with a start. I’m in bed, but it’s so dark and I can’t see anything. I reach out and I feel him grab me from behind. I tense and struggle against him.
“No!” I cry. “Stop it. Let me go. I’m not going with you.”
I break free and start running and running. I am on the path and I see the cottage. If I can just make it to the cottage, then I’ll be safe. I turn to see if he’s followed me and I see Jack coming toward me.
“Oh, thank God!” I run to him and he opens his arms and then I see Alexei behind him. I squint in the darkness and see something glisten in the moonlight. He has a gun.
I jump around Jack putting myself between Alexei and him and then I hear the gun go off and I scream.
“Laura!
“Laura!” I hear Jack yelling my name and then I feel him. My eyes fly open and I look around wildly.
“Baby, it’s OK. It’s just a bad dream.” I take in my surroundings and realize I’m in bed with Jack and it’s early, the light of the sun is just starting to brighten the sky. I realize I’m shaking and tears are running down my face. Jack pulls me against him and holds me while he rocks me back and forth gently. “You’re OK. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Not anymore. Not now.” He kisses me and cups my face.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t protect you, Laura. I should have been there. I should have stopped him.”
I put my fingers over his lips to silence him. “Jack, it’s not your fault. OK? I’m a big girl. I can handle it.”
“Yes, but you shouldn’t have to ‘handle it.’ You’ve already suffered so much and now this.” He throws his hands up in the air. He pauses for a moment and searches my eyes. “You want to talk about your dream?”
I kiss him gently. “No. Why don’t you go for your jog or walk or whatever and I’ll make breakfast.”
“Nope.”
“What? You always go. It’s your routine,” I say.
“I’m not leaving you. Not as long as Alexei is out there.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. There are agents parked right outside. I’ll be fine, ye of little faith.” I roll my eyes and he grabs my head and crushes his mouth to it.
When he pulls back, his eyes look sincere. “I’m not leaving you, Laura.”
“Fine, then I’m coming with you,” I say, crossing my arms and giving him my best pouty face.
He chuckles and shakes his head, looking down at my mangled legs. “I think we should stay here. It’s safer.”
I groan and roll out of bed. “Fine, then I’m going to work out here.” He raises an eyebrow. I ignore it. My legs might be cut up, but I need physical activity. I throw on my workout clothes and go to his gym room. I decide on the treadmill and start running. I realize quickly that running is probably a bad idea until my toes heal. So I slow it down to a walk and put it on the uphill slant so it feels more like a workout. He’s next to me within about twenty seconds. I smirk and he shakes his head and goes to put on boxing gloves. I hear him punching the bag and I glance in the mirror to watch. He looks like a prize fighter and he’s sexy as hell. His abdominals flex as he rotates into his punches. I’m so distracted by him that I trip and go flying off the machine and onto the floor. Jack bounds across the room, ripping off his gloves.
“Are you OK?” He is looking over me frantically. I burst into laughter.
“Yes. I think I was a little distracted.”
“By what?”
“You.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
He smirks at me and helps me stand. “Enjoying the floor show, were you?”
“Perhaps,” I say, running a finger down his slightly sweaty chest and abs until I meet the top of his shorts.
“Maybe I can give you another show.”
“Perhaps,” I say as I walk out of the room and then sprint down the hall toward our bedroom. I can hear him following me and before I can reach the bed I’m picked up and tossed on the sheets.
He stifles my laughter with a kiss and a growl as he pulls my shirt and bra off and then rips down my shorts, stopping just long enough to pull my shoes and socks off before he starts trailing kisses up my legs. He’s tender and tries to avoid all my cuts and bruises. I can see him look at each one cautiously. His kisses find my core and he laps at my wetness over and over until I find my release. Just as I’m coming down, he plunges into me. We meet thrust for thrust until I can barely take it. I spread my legs wider and he goes deeper. I cry out his name. I’m barely aware of him coming until he stills inside of me. He gazes down into my eyes.
“Shower time, love,” he says and pulls me up off the bed.
We spend the day being lazy. We make breakfast together and eat it in bed while watching horribly cheesy movies. We cover the great Meg Ryan films of the early ’90s, and then move on to Love Actually and Nottinghill, two of my favorites. He orders us Chinese takeaway for a late lunch and we continue our movie marathon. I finally concede that we should change genres and he puts on Skyfall. We chuckle at the irony of that, but continue to watch the film.
I don’t remember falling asleep. I must have dozed off during the movie because I wake with a start. It’s early, maybe 4:00 a.m. and Jack’s phone is buzzing. He unravels himself from me and rolls over to answer it.
“Hello?” he asks rather than answers. “Yes…I…see…When?…Where?…Yes…No…Yes…Why?…For how long?…Fine…Yes.” He hangs up and rolls back over toward me.
“Who was it?” I ask, my eyes widening.
“That would be Agent Banks,” he says, wrapping his arms around me. “Alexei’s yacht was spotted off the coast of Norway about an hour ago. They boarded it and didn’t find him. They are checking ship logs and other documents now. They wanted to alert us and to make sure we stay here until we are given further instructions.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because they can’t confirm his whereabouts.”
“But they have his boat.”
“Yes. He may be on it. The agents are going through it thoroughly now. If there’s a secret compartment, then they’ll find him.” He hugs me tighter. “Let’s go back to sleep, love. He can’t hurt us here. We’re safe.”
“For now…,” I trail off. We lie in bed for quite a while, neither of us sleeping.
“I can’t sleep,” I finally announce and sit up in bed.
Jack pulls me back down. “Come on. Lie down.”
“Jack, I really can’t sleep. I’m wide awake,” I grumble and cross my arms with a pout on my face.
He chuckles. “Well, then, what shall we do…I mean…we are trapped in this house for a while.”
“Trapped?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.
“Well,” he starts, “something like that.”
I get out of bed. “I’m going to make breakfast.”
“At a quarter past four in the morning?”
“Yep.”
“OK, well…I guess, I’ll help,” he announces and he follows me down the stairs. “What are we making?”
“Don’t know…let’s see…,” I say as I glance through his pantry and fridge. “How about crepes and a frittata?”
“Sure, but what type of crepes?” he asks.
I hold up some chocolate hazelnut spread, and he laughs. “You have quite the sweet tooth.”
“I know.” I shrug and start to place ingredients on the counter. Jack helps and pretty soon w
e are busy cooking. We don’t speak, just work around each other in perfect harmony.
I smear chocolate hazelnut spread on the crepes and he crowds me as I work. I take a dollop of the chocolatey goodness and rub it on his nose. He takes a large glob of the spread and smears it on my cheek.
“Don’t tease the wild animal, dear,” I say to him as I take my finger and wipe away the chocolate hazelnut spread, slowly sucking it from my finger. He grins mischievously at me and grabs the spread. Pretty soon we are in a full-out food fight. He’s trying to pull me down to the floor to smear more chocolate hazelnut spread on me and I’m tossing powdered sugar at him. He sprays whipped cream on me. I slip and fall on my ass on the kitchen floor. We roll around, laughing. He pins me down and I struggle against him, but he has my hands on either side of my head. Suddenly his playful looks turn dark and his lips come crashing against mine. He trails off, licking and sucking the spread and sugar from my cheeks, chin, and neck. Then we are a frenzy of clothes flying in all directions. I grab the chocolate hazelnut spread and run a finger covered in the chocolatey goodness over his cock before taking him in my mouth. I suck and lick every drop of it off and he groans as he pushes himself farther into my mouth. He tastes amazing. I suck harder.
“Christ, Laura,” he hisses as I lick up the length of his shaft.
I take my dirty fingers and cup his balls covering them in the delicious goodness. I start licking it off and then take him again in my mouth as he moans my name. I know he is getting close so I suck harder.
“Laura, I’m going to come,” he whispers.
I take him deeper into my mouth to confirm that this is where I want him and he explodes. I can feel the heat of his ejaculation running down my throat. It’s salty and the chocolate hazelnut spread is sweet and I swallow it all.
He pulls me down onto him and we lie there for quite a while. I finally look up at him and he’s smiling.
“My turn…,” he says with a smirk. I’m tossed down on my back. Jack spreads the chocolatey spread over my breasts and then trails it down, all the way down. I shiver in expectation as his mouth follows the trail his fingers have left. I squirm under his expert touch. His tongue laps up every last drop of the spread bringing me to my climax.