Protected

by April Zyon

  “Quit worrying, Vivian. We’ll get to the hotel, get my stuff and James’s, and then head to your place to get a bag. We’ll be back in plenty of time for the last ferry. I was only teasing you, sweetheart.”

  “And you’re sure that he’ll keep her safe? Whoever broke in might still be on the island. Are you sure he can handle three men? I mean, he’s just one person. You should have stayed, and I could have come back to get our things.” Vivian was worried sick about Sophia and, grudgingly, James, as well. “And James won’t have a woman to warm him for the next couple of hours. Are you sure he’ll be able to handle this?”

  “It’s fine,” Jason said in a soothing tone. “He can turn all that unused sexual energy into keeping your sister safe. If things get too hot, he’ll get her out of there and hide. He won’t let any harm come to her, sweetheart. I promise you. They will be absolutely fine. We should find him a two-four of Jack, though. Pacify him when we do return with some liquor he loves.”

  “What’s a two-four?” Vivian wasn’t a drinker and had no clue what liquor came bottled as. “And yes, we should do something to make sure he knows how much we appreciate him keeping Fia safe. The look on his face, though.” She giggled. “The poor man had his mouth hanging open when we left. I think he might need more than just a little booze to appease him.”

  “It’s a reference to a bottle size,” he explained. “And he did seem a little upset and surprised. We’ll stop at a bakery, too. He loves his sweets.”

  “Sounds good. Oh, hopefully Fia will make him her special Baked Alaska. It’s really a mish-mash of flavors. Beyond yummy for those that have a sweet tooth.”

  “You should call and suggest it.” Jason pulled his phone from a pocket and handed it over. “His number’s in my directory. No password.”

  She took the cell and pulled up James. “Hey, can I talk to Fia, please?” she asked when he answered with a curse. “And that’s my baby sister there with you. She’s not the devil incarnate.” She shook her head at Jason. “He called her a demon-spawn. I think that your friend is twisted.”

  Jason chuckled and shrugged. “I’d never claim he wasn’t. He’s just pissy because we left him there. Is he giving the phone to your sister, at least?”

  They were almost to the hotel, she realized, recognizing some of the area. “Yes, he’s grumbling, but I hear him talking to her.” Vivian snorted. “Sophia Lynn Duffy, I cannot believe that you just said that to the poor man. Give him a break. He didn’t want to stay behind. You kind of sucked him into it,” Viv told her with another snicker.

  “Now, why don’t you make James something nice and sweet to eat tonight? You have to go to the store, anyway, so how about your special Baked Alaska?” She listened to her sister and rolled her eyes. “You’re too funny. Just do it. He’s a friend of Jason’s.” She listened to the question from her sister about who Jason was and promised she would explain everything later.

  She listened again before nodding. “Yep, okay. Sounds good. Love you, too, and see you in a couple of hours.” She ended the call and looked at Jason. “Those two are like oil and water.”

  “Expect a very detailed report when we get back there. He’ll have it all logged—every second of every minute, every single word and comment she’s made. Should be interesting,” he told her with a chuckle. He took the phone from her when she passed it back over and tucked it away as he pulled into a parking spot right out front of the hotel.

  They headed inside and straight to the elevator. “I’m not sure if they’ll survive a couple hours together. It sounded like such a good plan when it came out of your sister’s mouth. Along with the look on James’s face, which sealed it for me. Now I’m rethinking this whole thing just a little,” Jason admitted.

  “I think we should definitely hurry. I don’t think Fia knew what she was doing. I think she just assumed that you would stay with me.” She shrugged. “Sophia just speaks before she thinks sometimes.” A character trait they both shared, actually. “I might have to hurt him if he hurts her feelings.”

  Jason hugged her close but remained silent. “So,” she said once they were in the elevator, desperate to take her mind off of the mess they were in, “who were you, you know, before?” She couldn’t wrap her mind around these men, around what was happening, but she wanted to try.

  “I thought you knew who I was.” He put a hand on her back when they reached his floor and guided her down the hallway. “Your history books have some of my life right, but not all. Damn idiots never could tell the truth when they managed to win. The boat that collapsed on top of me, killing me, was the Argo. My ship.”

  Viv stopped abruptly. “Oh God.” She knew who he was now. “Holy balls,” she muttered. “Jason of the Argonauts, right?” She frowned. “The things that you’ve seen and done in your life … I have to be the most boring person in the world to you.” The farthest she had ever gone from home was to Portland, Oregon. She was boring with a capital B.

  “You’re hardly boring, Vivian.” He got her moving again and into his room. Backing her to the door, he leaned in to press a kiss to her lips. “You are mine, my soul mate, my reason to keep going forward each and every day. You are the light in the darkness, the good against which evil has no defense. You are everything. I may have seen and done a lot, but not a single moment meant anything until you came into my life. I can breathe for the first time. Everything seems clearer, better, and it’s all because of you.”

  She put her hands on his chest and let them move up to wrap around his neck. “We should still make the very last ferry tonight if we … finish what we started last night.” She needed to have this time with him. “Make love with me?”

  “Oh, thank the gods,” he groaned out on a breath. She was in his arms in the next moment, being carried through the suite for the bedroom. She recognized the same path as the night before. “I won’t stop this time, Vivian. I don’t care if the whole building burns down around us. I need to have this bond with you.”

  Vivian wrapped her arms and legs tightly around him. She leaned in and kissed him again, desperate for him. When they parted, she was gasping. “Don’t let me go, ever. I need everything. Show me,” she begged.

  “Only long enough for us both to get naked. Quickly,” he said. He kissed her again, harder, deeper, then let her loose suddenly. When she was able to focus again, he was already stripped of his jacket, shirt, and boots and was working on his jeans.

  She began to peel out of her clothes, tossing them haphazardly around her. She didn’t care where they landed, so long as she was skin to skin with Jason as soon as humanly possible. When they both stood naked, she approached him, her hand moving to his chest once more. She stared into the clear eyes of the man she loved as she said, “I look forward to every day of the rest of forever with you.”

  He smiled at her, leaning in to cup her bottom. Lifting, he eased them down onto the bed, one of his hands stroking up her side with a brief brush to her breast before he buried it into her hair. His lips were on her again in the next moment as he let his weight press against her, pushing her deeper into the bedding around them.

  Viv wrapped a leg around Jason’s thigh, lifting her chest so that she could feel the brush of his pecs against her tight nipples. “God, that feels so good,” she muttered, shuddering at the connection. “I love how that feels, how hard you are all over.”

  “You are so soft,” he whispered against her cheek. “So soft and warm all over. You’re wet, aren’t you?” he asked, his lips curving against her skin. His other hand stroked over her leg, urging her to open to him.

  “Yes.” She moaned. “I’m so wet for you.” She had never reacted like this with anyone before. When his fingers dipped into her hidden depths, she arched her neck and cried out. “Oh God,” she whimpered. “There.” Her grip tightened on his arms when he slid the digits in and out.

  “Damn, you’re so hot,” he groaned. His mouth slid over her neck, followed by a light bite of his teeth. “And tight. So
damn tight. You’re going to fit me like a glove. Perfect in every way.” He withdrew his fingers before adding another and pressing back in, stretching her more.

  She writhed under him, her head thrashing from side to side. “I was made for you.” She lifted her leg and felt him slip deeper. “Oh God.” She bit her lower lip and urged him on. “Please.”

  “I need to be inside of you. Later, we’ll go slower, I swear it to you,” he said in a tight, strained voice. He pulled his hand from her body and gripped her leg, positioning it high over his hip. Then Jason shifted his weight until she could feel his cock at her opening.

  Vivian held him tightly. “Just don’t stop. No matter what, please, don’t stop.” Her body accepted his, and she loved the way he filled her.

  “Gods, no, I’m never going to stop.” He squeezed her thigh gently, massaging the muscle. He pressed in deeper, pulled out a little, then pushed in more. “Just like a fucking hot, wet, amazing glove,” he groaned.

  She squeezed him tighter, tugged him closer, and sobbed his name aloud when he filled her completely. She felt odd, like nothing she had ever experienced before. It was almost as if there were ties binding them as their bodies joined for the first time. “Again,” she begged when he pulled out and slid into her hard and fast.

  Shifting his weight, Jason caught her hands and pulled them up over her head, lacing their fingers together. With a firm hold on her, he began to thrust, slowly at first, but his hips moved faster with each push. He was staring into her eyes as he took her, never letting her look away from his penetrating gaze, not that she even thought about it.

  Vivian was captivated by this man. Every plunge of his body into hers had her moaning. Every move of his hard body against her softer one had her sobbing out in need. This was how making love should feel. She relished every touch, every bracing moment, for what it was. It was coming home. Her soul recognized his. Her heart melted and was re-formed with bits of him deeply imbedded inside of it. She never allowed her gaze to waver, just bit her lip and squeezed his large hands as they moved together in perfect rhythm.

  He thrust harder, deeper, rattling the bed as he clutched her fingers, then released them a little as he withdrew. “You are mine,” he ground out. “For all time, mine.” Not letting her gaze go, he leaned his head closer to bite her lip and tug.

  Vivian gasped. Her legs tightened around his hips and squeezed. “And you are mine, Jason. For—” Another groan broke her speech. “For all time.” She felt something intense waiting in the shadows for them, felt the bonds binding them together, and it only made her want more. “Please.” She didn’t know what they needed, but saw in his eyes that he did.

  “Uh-uh, not yet. Not until I say you can,” he breathed out, a wicked smile curving his lips. “Focus on the sensations.” Letting go of one of her hands, he pressed his free one to the bed, levering up a little.

  “Oh hell,” was all that Vivian could say as he changed the angle of his penetration and demanded she wait for his command. She didn’t know why, but that turned her on even more. The way that he’d ordered she wait had her whole being struggling to do just as he pleased. She focused on him, focused on the feel of him entering and leaving her body, and ignored everything else. Only he was important in that moment. Nothing and no one else.

  “Touch your clit, stroke it, but do not come,” he commanded. His voice was deeper, harsher, his gaze sharper. “Push yourself to the edge and hold there. Gods, you are gorgeous,” he growled out. He squeezed her hand as he rolled his hips, pushing in deeper.

  She moved her free hand down their bodies to her clit. She arched back. “Jason, God.” She panted and bucked against him. She wanted to stroke his cock, wanted to put her fingers on each side of the thick shaft and squeeze so he could feel just how good this was for her, but she didn’t. He had told her what to do, and God help her, she was powerless to do any less.

  “Good girl.” He gave a feral grin. “Slide your fingers down, rub at your folds, but don’t touch my cock.” He thrust in again and pulled out slowly, in hard, out slow, over and over again. His gaze flicked away, then back up to meet her eyes again.

  The heel of her hand pushed against her clit while her fingers slid over the folds of her pussy. She could feel him as he filled her full and beyond and needed more. She didn’t stop watching him, her eyes on his, her need growing with each glance that he gave her. Each heated look.

  He let her other hand go, his large palm pressing to the bedding as he sped up. He thrust in and out fast as he growled. Sweat dripped down his temples, along his throat, and over his chest. “Come for me. Come now!”

  Vivian rubbed a slick finger over her clit. She saw stars with the explosion that happened inside of her. She came in a rush, a seemingly never-ending tidal wave of pleasure that rolled through her and had her screaming a second time, then a third, with the intensity and perfection of the moment.

  He was right there with her. Jason let out a bellow, her name she was almost sure, as his seed spilled into her with hot splashes. Seconds later, he collapsed over top of her, his weight holding her down on the bed, his arms sliding around her body to hold her close.

  Vivian wrapped her arms around him as they each fought for air. She was gasping, but the thought of letting him go to allow her body more room to breathe was not even an option. She had to hold on to him because he was all that was keeping her from floating away in pure bliss. She lay with him holding her tightly for a long time.

  Finally, she whispered, “I’m never letting you go.” She loved him. It was far too soon. Realistically, she knew that, but this was her heart, and realism was an illusion.

  With a flex of muscle and a couple muttered curses, he rolled them to their sides. He didn’t let her go. In fact, he held her tighter as he brushed kisses to her cheek. “We’re bound for all time, Vivian. Nothing can take away what we have.”

  She moved so that she was as close to him as she could get, smiling when his arms tightened on her even more. “I love you, Jason,” she confessed. “But for now, let’s nap for just an hour or so, and then we’ll go and save your friend from my sister.”

  “Agreed.” He laughed and kissed her cheek again. “I love you, too,” he whispered against her skin. For a moment, his arms loosened, but only to drag a blanket up over them both before wrapping her in a tight hug. “Sleep,” he said softly.

  She yawned and nodded. “Okay,” was all that Vivian could force out before she dropped off into slumber. He had exhausted her in the best of ways. She was happy, warm, and very well loved.

  Chapter Five

  When Vivian came out of the bathroom, Jason was standing at the windows of the hotel room, frowning. He must have heard her, or caught her reflection, because he turned almost immediately. “I think James is screwed,” he told her. “There’s a storm coming in, and the ferries are shut down until at least the morning. You may want to call your sister and warn her we’re not coming out tonight.”

  Vivian moved to his side and slid her hand into his as if they had been doing it for years. “He’s going to be seriously pissed, you realize that, right? I don’t think he likes Sophia very much at all.”

  “I think he’d like her just fine if she fell into his usual category of women. She doesn’t, so she’s got him baffled, off balance, and scrambling.” He let out a chuckle as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “I think it’s fucking about damn time a woman threw him off his game. It’s even more amusing that it’s your sister.” He kissed her when she tipped her face up to him. “My phone’s on the desk by the bedroom door.”

  “I’ll call in a moment.” Right now, she was in Jason’s arms, and in her mind, that was the best place to be. “I love it when you hold me,” she admitted with a grin. “I could get used to being wrapped up against your body like this.” She rubbed her cheek to his chest and looked up. “How about you send James a text instead and we go downstairs to the dining room for dinner before packing your things, and then you come h
ome with me?”

  “I like how you think,” he said with a huge grin. Pressing another kiss to her lips, he growled. “I love your mouth,” he murmured. With a groan, he let her go and went to get his phone. Walking back, he stopped mid-stride and started to snicker. Soon, it turned into an all-out laugh, and he held his gut as his body shook from the force.

  “Oh God, what?” Vivian reached for the cell and cocked her head to the side. “Are those text messages and missed calls?”

  He was nodding as he sucked in a couple of deep breaths. “Oh gods,” he said, wiping a hand over his face. “Yeah. All from James. The first one is innocent enough, but it gets worse from there. Looks like after the fourth text, he tried to call and then went back to texting, then a couple more calls, then a hell of a lot more texting.” He shook his head and handed her the phone.

  12:30 PM QuickDraw—When r u 2 getting back? S is making something. Banned from kitchen.

  12:42 PM QuickDraw—Uh, r u there?

  12:43 PM QuickDraw—Okay, right, spell shit out James. I can hear you. What’s going on?

  12:53 PM QuickDraw—Not kidding, she’s up to something. Seriously, where you at?

  There was a call in at that point from the same number.

  1:26 PM QuickDraw—Are you two doing the nasty? You leave me here with the flower child and you’re off getting nookie! That is so many ways of wrong. Answer your damn phone. Not even kidding.

  Two more calls.

  1:55 PM QuickDraw—Not amused. This is fucking crazy. She keeps staring at me, and smiling, and I can smell something really good in the kitchen, but she threatened me if I go in there. I’m hungry, damn it! She makes me go shopping, on a bike with a fucking basket of all things, and now she won’t let me eat anything I paid for? This is wrong. So wrong.

  2:45 PM QuickDraw—Now I’m fucking pissed. WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?