“That was….” Wren had no words for the emotions coursing through his body. “I’ve never felt something so strong before… the connection.”
“You’re right. It was…. No words to describe it.”
Wren was glad that Jaeger thought the same thing. He’d be sorely disappointed if it were one-sided.
“Thank you.” Wren didn’t know what else to say, but being in Jaeger’s arms brought him peace and gave him the fortitude to go on and complete his mission. And maybe see if they could start something permanent. The odds were against them. Testifying in court and witness protection were among many things he didn’t want to think about or dwell on. He only wanted to bask in the afterglow of orgasmic heaven.
“Come on, handsome, let’s get washed up. There’ll be plenty of time to talk about what happened.” Wren’s heart dropped to his feet at Jaeger’s statement. He wondered if Jaeger realized what he’d called him.
“Wipe that frown from your face. I can see the wheels turning. No regrets. None.” Wren smiled. Jaeger’s consideration made him feel lighter. And he had called him handsome. Maybe things were on the upswing.
Wren quickly washed, got back into his clothes, and finalized the packing that had been interrupted by the yummy goodness that was Marshal Jaeger Tripp. Ready to take on the world, Wren strode from the bedroom and took one final look around to make sure nothing left behind would give any indication he’d been there.
From his seated position on the couch, he watched Jaeger complete his routine of getting them ready to vacate the premises.
When Jaeger had securely locked the cabin and set the alarms, Wren took one final look at the place he’d called home for the past two weeks, protected by the US government. The next chapter, or at the very least, the next page, was about to begin. More than ever he needed Jaeger’s protection.
“Are we going north? Farther into the Adirondacks?” Wren secured his seatbelt as Jaeger turned onto the road.
“I think we go a little farther north and stay in a motel and see what happens. We really need to play this by ear right now. I’m going to contact my boss and see if I can shake something loose.”
Jaeger’s words convinced Wren that Jaeger didn’t trust his boss. That couldn’t be good. Wren watched Jaeger drive. He was sexy as fuck. Wren remained vigilant. The farther north they drove, the more desolate the surroundings became. And two hours later, Wren saw the sign for the Canadian-New York border. They found a motel in Champlain and settled in.
Wren’s stomach grumbled. It was close to lunch, and he hadn’t eaten since he had breakfast. The motel was small, most likely used by people passing through the border on vacation.
A desk and a queen-size bed dominated the bedroom. Although the room was sparse and small, it was clean and well-kept. Wren sat cross-legged on the bed and watched Jaeger at the desk as his fingers flew across the keyboard.
“What are you doing?” Wren’s fingers itched to get at a keyboard. To him, getting lost in a computer was his addiction. He didn’t need drugs or alcohol to get a high—just a screen. “Can I help?”
“Actually yeah, you can.”
Wren hopped off the bed and squatted on the floor next to the desk chair.
“Is that the cabin?”
“Yeppers. I tweaked a few things, and now we have a direct feed into the space. We can keep an eye on it and see who shows up. I’m about to make a call and set the ball in motion, if my suspicions are correct. Your job is to watch this screen and report any activity. Got it?”
Wren took the laptop from the desk, went back to the bed, and made himself comfortable. And stared.
“I’m going to make my call and then head out and get some food for us. You just watch the screen and shout if anything happens. I won’t be long.”
Wren took it very seriously, so he held the phone in one hand and the computer on his lap.
JAEGER CLOSED the door to their room, looked around, and then headed to the vehicle. Unbeknownst to Wren, Jaeger planned to trek across the Canadian border, ditch the SUV, and retrieve a new one. He’d contacted a friend, someone he’d known from his nefarious days, and scheduled a vehicle swap. A fake passport in hand, he drove the few miles to the border and crossed. The borders were sufficiently lax that no suspicion would arise. The entire trip took less than thirty minutes. Then he reentered, drove to the local diner, and ordered their food.
Now or never, Jaeger climbed into the front seat to make his phone call while he waited for their order.
“Agent Denver Chase,” the gruff voice answered.
“Sir, it’s Tripp.”
“Tripp? Problems? Is everything okay with the package? Why you are calling instead of using the scrambled lines?”
“I think we’ve been compromised, and I may have to make a change of scenery. I’m calling from the local diner in High Peaks. Until I tweak the computer, I prefer to not use it. I can keep you apprised of the situation, but I believe I’ll be relocating within the next twelve hours.”
“Do what you think is best and keep me posted. It’s imperative that the package be delivered on time and to the exact location.”
“Yes, sir. I understand.”
“Do you need assistance? I can dispatch another agent to your location to assist you.”
Jaeger had no desire to have another agent show up and possibly compromise the situation any further. He’d take his chances on his own and protect Wren with his life if need be.
“No. I’m good. Too many fish in the pond just muddies the waters.”
Jaeger disconnected the call and replaced the card so there was no way to trace it. Once he’d planted the seed, it was a sit-and-wait game. He hoped he was wrong, but the tingling in the back of his neck was relentless. He relied on his instincts and impressive skills to accomplish any task. But the minute he caressed Wren’s smooth skin, the task became very different. Personal. No longer was he the agent charged to protect a key witness. He was a man who wanted to hold the witness safe in his arms and connect with him on another level. And the connection was scary and uncanny. His blood simmered, and the pulse point in his wrist fluttered. A burning started again in his scar—the sword-shaped scar that set him apart.
Jaeger strode back into the diner and collected the take-out orders. Then he drove back to the motel. He took the last spot in the string of rooms, parked, and entered their temporary dwelling.
“Any changes?” Jaeger asked as Wren lay against the pillows, laptop propped on his knees.
“Nothing. I haven’t moved from this spot.”
Wren’s eager-to-please attitude brought a smile to Jaeger’s face and a light feeling to his chest. There was a certain touch of naiveté in him that appealed to Jaeger’s sense of dominance.
“You can move from that spot, you know.” Jaeger chuckled and placed the bags on the small table.
“Come over here and eat. Bring the laptop, and we’ll watch and eat. We won’t be here for long before we have to hit the road again.”
THE GENTLEMAN picked up a cell phone and hit the send button. Three rings later a man with an accent picked up the other line.
“Sí? Hello?”
“I have news for you.”
“You heard from your friend about our mutual acquaintance?” The man knew he’d want answers and results.
“I’ve heard. And they’ll be vacating in the near future. So if you want to make your move, you need to do it sooner rather than later. I’m sending you the exact coordinates and the code. Tell your men to enter quietly as my man knows his shit and will spot them a mile away. And another thing….”
“Yes. You have something more to say to me?”
“After this is over, I’m done.”
“What do you mean, done? After this is over, we are only beginning.”
“No. I won’t do your dirty work anymore. It was a mistake to begin with and one I’ll have to live with for the rest of my life. I’m cutting ties.”
All the man heard was a
grunt, and the line went dead. He sent the required information and smashed the phone. He hated being the one to lead that scum to Marshal Tripp and O’Riley, but it had to be done. His friend would feel betrayed, but the end results were more important.
JAEGER AND Wren sat silently and watched the screen for hours. And then Jaeger saw it. A blip. On the periphery of the screen. A pulse point detected by the infrared camera he’d placed on the edge of the standard cameras. Always needing to be in charge and control an assignment, Jaeger placed his own cameras on one of his treks through the woods. His own little eye on things.
Jaeger watched Wren’s eyes get wide at the realization that their former cabin had been breached.
“Is that someone?”
Jaeger nodded, placed the laptop directly in front of him, and let his fingers fly. He pinged two bodies and watched them. From the size of the silhouettes, they appeared to be male and they had guns drawn. Then they split up and each man went in a different direction—one to the front of the cabin and the other to the back. Jaeger followed them. The cameras were high and small enough that they wouldn’t be noticed unless a person knew where they were.
Stunned, Jaeger and Wren watched the first man, previously identified as Luis Calderon, step onto the front porch, open the alarm panel, and press in the code to deactivate it.
“What the fuck?” Jaeger ignored Wren for a minute. He panned to the back camera and zoomed in on the other intruder.
“So I guess that answers the burning question. You were right. Someone on the inside is helping my family. And fuck, they really do want me dead.”
The anguish in Wren’s voice was palpable. Jaeger didn’t know if Wren could bear the slap in the face that his family was not only deep into nefarious dealings, but that they could eliminate him as though he were a piece of garbage because he wanted to do the right thing. Wren needed to hold it together for less than two weeks, and Jaeger would get him to the finish line and into witness protection with a new identity.
When did Jaeger start thinking of him as more than just a witness and someone he actually wanted to protect? That visceral feeling was not something Jaeger was used to. But the minute he’d physically touched Wren, a spark of electricity coursed through his system and spiraled him into another world. An intimate connection was forming between the two of them, and Jaeger’s desire to bed Wren overrode his original impulse to annihilate him.
But the men who pursued them would pay dearly.
“What do we do now?”
Jaeger reached for Wren’s hand and ran the pad of his thumb along his smooth palm.
“We’ve obviously been set up, and my suspicions have been confirmed. Someone on the inside is working with your family, and they tracked us to the cabin and think we’re still there. Well, aren’t they in for a nice shock?”
“What did you do, Jaeger? Tell me, please?”
“I may or may not have left them a little surprise. Nothing too lethal, because I want them to be able to report back, but enough to get their attention. Let them know I’m onto them, so to speak.”
Jaeger continued to cradle Wren’s hand in his as the screen on the laptop was illuminated, drawing his attention. One of the men must have entered the front room, stepped onto the large area rug, and triggered the sensor beneath it—Boom!
It wasn’t a large explosion—not enough to kill—but certainly large enough to injure and definitely enough to capture their attention. Now to see where the trail led next. He had no intention of staying for more than one night in the motel. With less than two weeks left, Jaeger planned to slowly and aimlessly make their way to New York City and the federal building. Alive and well.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
WHEN THE blast illuminated the screen, Wren jumped and squeezed Jaeger’s hand. The volume was turned up slightly, and he heard the faint explosion. The man who entered via the front door was catapulted onto the porch and appeared dazed, but alive. The explosion was not meant to kill anyone, just give them a warning. Jaeger knew his shit.
“So now they know that you’re onto them. Right?” Wren still held Jaeger’s hand, and the motion of his thumb along Wren’s palm delivered a feeling of security. He pulled Jaeger’s hand to his mouth and kissed the palm. Closing his eyes, he ran his face along the hand. Jaeger never moved.
“Are we safe now?” Wren looked at Jaeger and continued to talk and ask questions while making love to Jaeger’s hand. The motions were so innocent but so erotic. He skimmed his lips along the pads of Jaeger’s callused fingers, took the thumb into his mouth, and sucked.
He stared into Jaeger’s coffee-colored eyes and released his thumb. “You’ll protect me.” A statement. Not a question. Wren waited for acknowledgment.
“I will protect you.”
The words went straight to Wren’s dick. He slowly rose from the chair and tugged Jaeger up to his full height. “Kiss me, please.” Wren was not beyond begging. “I just want to feel, if only for now. I know things aren’t good and we’ll probably have to leave here soon, but just for a little while….” Jaeger cut him off with the press of his lips.
As Jaeger slid his strong hands down Wren’s back and over his ass, Wren lifted and wrapped his legs around Jaeger’s waist. Jaeger carried him across the room and to the bed.
Wren ravished Jaeger’s mouth like a drowning man, and their lips never parted, even as Jaeger undressed him and then himself. The press of Jaeger’s weight as he pinned Wren to the mattress cocooned him in heated bliss. Their cocks were lubricated by precum, and Wren tried to get as much friction as possible.
“Slow down, baby. We’ll get there,” Jaeger whispered against Wren’s kiss-swollen lips.
“I need you, please. Now.” Wren rocked his hips up, pulled Jaeger to him, and peppered his face with kisses. “Make me yours.”
Wren immediately felt the chill when Jaeger rolled off him and quickly marched to his bag to retrieve supplies, so Wren assumed. He hoped. If not, his body would combust from blue balls and overstimulation. Maybe that wasn’t the time to think about being fucked, but Jaeger’s presence called to Wren on a level he didn’t understand. He’d had lovers in the past—including Javi, who he thought at one time might have been the one—but he had never had the feelings he experienced with Jaeger. It was a siren call that Wren couldn’t resist.
The bed dipped, and the lube and condom landed next to the pillow. Slowly Jaeger made his way up Wren’s body until he straddled his hips. Wren admired Jaeger’s physique—fully naked and on display, except for the leather band on his wrist. The strap and his five o’clock shadow gave him bad-boy appeal. He was everything Wren looked for in a partner, in spades. He had miles of muscles, a sprinkling of hair on his pecs, and a thick long dick.
Wren ached to run the flat of his tongue along the vein on the underside of Jaeger’s impressive cock, but his need to be fucked was greater. He reached for the lube and squirted a bit on his fingers. Then he slid a leg out from under Jaeger and lifted it to Jaeger’s shoulder. He reached behind himself and fingered his hole, inserting a finger in and out. He bore into Jaeger’s eyes as he prepped himself for Jaeger to fuck him.
“Would you like to help?” Wren watched Jaeger’s pupils dilate and darken his eyes. His breath was ragged through his slightly open mouth.
Jaeger nodded and added his finger to Wren’s channel. Between the two of them, Wren was sufficiently stretched and awaiting Jaeger’s dick. Every time Jaeger skimmed the pad of his fingers over Wren’s balls, Wren wanted to shout and force Jaeger to fuck him. But Jaeger was not to be rushed, and Wren was at his mercy.
“You feel so good inside. Tight and warm.”
Wren moaned and bore down on the invading digits. He removed his own finger and grabbed Jaeger’s bicep. Not able to wait another second, he impaled himself on the long, rough-tipped digits and rode the fingers that brushed his prostate and rubbed his walls. He tossed his head back and thrashed on the pillow, but he didn’t want to come until Jaeger was fully seated
inside him.
“Jaeger. Now. Please,” he begged.
Finally he heard the rip of the wrapper and felt the press of Jaeger’s cockhead at his entrance. Jaeger lifted Wren’s other leg, held both legs in the crooks of his arms, and leaned forward as Jaeger pressed farther and farther into Wren’s body. Wren shook with anticipation, need, and desire. His nerves were electrified and on fire as the heat emanating from Jaeger’s cock filled his passageway. His asshole stretched more than he thought possible, and the burn morphed to pleasure the longer Jaeger remained inside him. Wren’s breathing was ragged, and he fought a battle he was sure he’d lose.
Taking a deep breath, Wren brought himself back under control. “Move, please,” he begged.
Slowly Jaeger moved in and out until the tip of his dick strained Wren’s opening. The glide of Jaeger’s thick cock brought him to new heights and pleasures as Jaeger pounded, creating friction in his channel and on his cock. Wren’s precum dripped onto his stomach and pooled on his belly button. Wren reached up and pulled Jaeger to him, latched onto his lips and kissed him until they needed to separate for breath.
“Close. So close,” he whispered.
Jaeger grunted above him with each thrust of his hips. “You come first,” Jaeger demanded.
“Touch me. I need just a bit more. I’m right there.” Wren needed a tiny touch to his dick from Jaeger’s callused fingers, and he knew he’d explode. What Jaeger did, though, was most unexpected. He wrapped his hand around Wren’s stiff cock and pressed his pinky into the slit, stimulating the tiny nerves beneath the surface. Wren’s balls tightened and drew up, and the tingling that started in the base of his spine ran full force through his system as he erupted. Jizz shot from his cockhead and joined his shouts of passion.
Wren poured all his seed onto his stomach and chest, and warmth filled his channel as Jaeger filled the condom. Together they shuddered and caressed each other through their high.
Jaeger Page 8