Fierce-Jade (Fierce Family Book 6)

by Natalie Ann

  25

  A Good Cause

  The next morning Brock and Jade went to the gym, worked out, then he showered and made omelets and toast for her. He tried not to be embarrassed over what he confessed to her the night before when he was tired and vulnerable, but then told himself she was right—he was a stronger person because of it.

  Once breakfast was cleaned up, he grabbed his phone and keys. “I’ll see you in a little bit,” he’d told her.

  “I’ll be there. I can’t believe it’s the first time I’m seeing your apartment and then the last. Are you ready to move out?”

  “More than ready,” he said. “I’ve lived in smaller and worse conditions. The place isn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not what I like going home to each night.”

  He was a civilian now and he was craving that space to move around and relax. His place was cramped and felt more like a cage to him than anything else ever had.

  What he felt at Jade’s was a comfort he hadn’t experienced anywhere before. Not even in a house growing up as a kid. And though he’d never want to move into Jade’s, he knew it was possible to find that on his own. He was hoping the house he was purchasing was it.

  “It won’t be much longer. I’ll be there in an hour or so,” she said. “I’m just going to get some boxes from Noah’s. He had some leftover from Paige and Sebastian moving in.”

  “I have a few, but I’ve bought more stuff so I’ll need extra boxes. I’ve got my apartment until the end of the month, so not everything needs to get out right away. Just the necessities.”

  “I can’t wait to see what you think are necessities.”

  “Not the same as you, I can assure you that.” He kissed her quickly on the cheek and walked out the door.

  Once he was in his apartment, he pulled out the boxes he had and tape and started to assemble them. He was a pro at this after moving as much as he had.

  When his phone went off, he reached over to get it off the table and saw it was Travis calling. Just the man he wanted to talk to. Needed to talk to.

  “Hey, Travis.”

  “Brock. It’s not a bad time, is it?”

  “Nope, just packing. You know the joy of it.”

  “Closing is this week, right?”

  “Monday. I don’t have a lot, thankfully. I’ll have to get a shitload more, that’s for sure. Mainly furniture, but nothing that is pressing.”

  “Jade might not think that,” he said, laughing. “Ella couldn’t believe how bare my house was and I didn’t think it was.”

  “I’ll find out soon. She’s on her way over to help me pack. The little there is.”

  “How are things going on that end?” Travis asked.

  “Good. Better than I expected. Question, did you think that you’d been set up with Ella, or did you have no idea?”

  “I really had no idea,” he said. “It’s sad to say that. But I’d been around the longest of those of us that married into the family and Ella and I had butted heads more than anything. I didn’t realize it for what it was. I just thought she couldn’t stand me.”

  Brock laughed having heard this story before. Travis always had a thing for Ella, but felt she detested him. He later found out Ella had a thing for him too and it was nerves that she’d been embarrassed to let anyone know about.

  “We know it all ended well,” he said.

  “It did. Do you think you were set up?” Travis asked, laughing.

  “I can tell by your tone you are starting to think it. Be honest with me.”

  “Would it matter if you were? It didn’t bother me when I found out. I guess it’s a nice thing to know I had the family’s stamp of approval. It’s not like anyone forced Ella’s hand to date me.”

  “I don’t think it matters much to me, but would it to Jade? I have a feeling Jolene and Gavin got the ball rolling and brought Garrett in on this. Jade might be right on with her brothers and cousins. It sounds it.”

  “I’m sure she is. I don’t put anything past Gavin’s brothers. And Garrett and Carolyn couldn’t have done this—if they did—without Jolene and Gavin’s help.”

  “I agree. They pushed me to move on this project.”

  “It’s for a good cause. You and I know that.”

  “It is,” he agreed.

  “But you’re worried if Jade finds out she’ll walk away from you?” Travis asked. “Is that what this is about?”

  “It sounds foolish, but it might have crossed my mind.”

  “If Jade is anything like Ella—which we know she is—those two are stubborn and prideful, but not stupid.”

  “Meaning her parents are going to get an earful, but she wouldn’t bite her nose to spite her face.”

  “Exactly.”

  “So the question is, do I let her in on this or not?”

  “No,” Travis said. “I don’t think there is any reason to. Has she brought it up to you yet?”

  “She did. She suspects it,” he said.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said I had no clue about it. Which is true. I just didn’t tell her that I suspected it too.”

  “Then don’t worry. You aren’t lying.” There was a pause and before Brock could say anything else, Travis asked, “Have you heard from Andy?”

  “Not since I’ve been here,” he said.

  “He’s wrong to blame you. No one would have known,” Travis said.

  “I know that. I think he knows it too. There is more resentment because he lost his arm and my leg was saved. He feels I got special treatment.”

  “You did,” Travis agreed. “But you had no control over it and your father got him moved fast too, but Andy’s situation was different. Half of his arm was blown off. Your leg was attached, just damaged. It was reparable, Andy’s wasn’t.”

  “He doesn’t want to see that,” Brock said of his second-in-command.

  “Everyone has to accept or deal in their own time. Is he getting any kind of help?”

  “Last I knew he wasn’t. He checked out of rehab and that was it. He blamed me for his career being over, for the loss of his arm. For so many things.”

  “He’s still in the Navy, right?” Travis asked. “Or did he leave?”

  “I believe he was discharged. I’ve checked in on a few others and I’ve heard he’s drinking and keeping to himself. Things are rough at home too. If Tammy leaves him, I’ll get blamed for that too.”

  “Tammy is strong. She understands and you know that.”

  Tammy’s brother was in the Navy too. That was how Andy and Tammy had met. He knew enough about Andy’s life because they’d been close at one point. Now there wasn’t much there between them.

  “I’m not sure if I should try to get in contact with her to find out if there is anything I can do.”

  “I’d let it be for now,” Travis said. “You’ve asked, you’ve talked to him. He’ll come around or he won’t. You can’t control it.”

  “I do. Does the guilt ever go away?” he asked.

  “Good question. You know I’m someone who carried it with me enough. On a different level, but I’ve come to terms with the fact everyone has to control their own destiny. And they have to live with those decisions, not you.”

  “I know. Thanks.”

  “Just don’t keep things locked up and you’ll get there,” Travis said.

  “I’m not. You know that. Those are words I’d said to you. I’d be the biggest hypocrite if I didn’t follow my own advice.”

  Travis laughed. “Damn straight. That’s why you were a commander. Why you could have gone much higher. Talk the talk. Walk the walk. That had always been you. It always will be.”

  He hung up and went back to setting up his boxes and heard a knock at the door. When he opened it, Jade was standing there in jeans and sneakers, a cotton shirt on. Something different than what she’d had on when he’d left her house.

  “Did you have to change to just pack?” he asked.

  “I put on older clothes.”r />
  “Those look pretty new to me.”

  She waved her hand. “They aren’t good clothes. Or clothes that I worry about getting dirty.”

  “Do you think I’m a slob?” he asked. “Come on in and don’t judge. It’s temporary.”

  “I’m not judging,” she said as she looked around. “Though it’s kind of depressing in here.”

  “I’ve been here about two months,” he said. “I didn’t do much other than sleep and eat here.”

  “I see that,” she said, looking at his bare walls. “At least it’s bright in here even though there aren’t that many windows.”

  There was one big window for the living room that opened into the kitchen. The walls were all white and bare of any decor. He had a couch and a chair with a TV on the wall and a small coffee table. No stools to sit and eat at the small counter either. He ate in the living room on the couch when he was home.

  “It’s not going to take long to pack,” she said.

  “I told you I didn’t have much.”

  “Oh, the shopping you are going to have to do for that new house,” she said, rubbing her hands together.

  “Figures you’d latch onto that.”

  “You’re going to let me help, right?”

  “If you must,” he said, tugging the hair in her ponytail.

  “Put me to work,” she said. “But first show me the rest of your place.”

  “Not much to see,” he said. “Bathroom down the hall, bedroom to the right.”

  She started to move in that direction, her head popping into the bathroom and then going into his room. “You’re a neat person, I’ll say that much,” she said. “But I didn’t expect any differently.”

  “It’s drilled into your head. I’ve let myself slack off being on my own, but not too much.”

  She shook her head and opened his closet. “Oh, Brock. This is criminal.”

  “What?” he asked and moved forward to look at his clothes hanging up.

  “I’m counting seven pairs of jeans and”—she paused, her hands moving over the shirts hanging there—“seven button-down shirts. Three cotton shirts. My heart is aching over this.”

  He grinned. “There are only seven days in the week. I do laundry once a week. I’ve got a pair of jeans at your house. That makes eight. And a pair on. Nine,” he said.

  “Three pairs of these aren’t worthy to wear anywhere other than packing your house,” she said.

  “I bought seven pairs when I started working. No comment on my suit.”

  “You mean the one lone shirt hanging that has a single tie draped over the collar inside the suit jacket. Where are your Navy clothes? Uniforms and formal wear? You’ve got them, right?”

  “At my parents’ house right now. I wasn’t sure where I was going and didn’t need to bring them along.”

  “I bet you look pretty sexy in your formal attire.”

  He started to laugh, then pulled her out of the doorway of his closet and in front of the mirror on his dresser. “Look at us,” he said. “Complete opposites.”

  “Is that what you see when you look at us?” she asked, almost seeming...hurt. “I see something else.”

  “What do you see?” he asked, needing to know the answer.

  “Two hot people that enjoy spending time together. That make each other happy. That turn each other on. Even if your wardrobe is pitiful.”

  “It works for me,” he said. “Just like you.”

  “Bonus points for saying that.”

  “What are you doing?” he asked when she lifted her shirt over her head.

  “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going to show you exactly what we have in common. Catch up.”

  He pulled his shirt over his head like her, then dropped his jeans and underwear faster than her. “You’re slow.”

  “I’ll show you fast,” she said, shoving him toward the bed when she was naked and crawling on top of him.

  “Get a condom out,” he said, looking at the bedside drawer.

  She reached over and opened it, then tossed it on the pillow. “We don’t need it just yet,” she said.

  “No?”

  “Nope. What I need to do is play with you first.”

  “Well then, I’m all yours,” he said and wondered if she’d take it the way he wanted her to. Probably not and it was better that way.

  She moved down his chest, kissing, licking, nipping him, and then biting little pieces of skin, her nails grazing and leaving chills all over his body.

  He was having a hard time sitting still with everything she was doing to him and he suspected that was part of her plan.

  He no longer worried about his body betraying him physically. Not after that first time with Jade. Since then, every time he saw her, he wanted to toss her on the bed and just slam into her for hours.

  And right now, she’d probably laugh at him if she thought he ever doubted it. Not with her hand around his cock, her tongue darting out and licking every bit of moisture off his tip.

  “Jesus,” he said.

  “He can’t help you right now. Focus on me.”

  She all but swallowed him, his eyes crossing and no thoughts were in his brain at all. She’d said fast and she wasn’t lying.

  Her head was bobbing up and down, her hands moving the same. If there was a sexier sight on the face of this earth than Jade Fierce giving him a blow job he’d never seen it.

  “Jade,” he said, knowing he was going to come any minute.

  “Shut up, Brock. I’m working here.”

  That put him in his place and that place was somewhere that told him he had no control of anything and was just fine with it.

  His balls started to tense, his cock stretching to his limit, and Jade was lapping him up like he was Sunday dinner that she hadn’t had in months.

  “Christ!” he said when everything let loose. There was nothing he could do but lie there and take it. Every little delicious moment of it.

  When she was done, he heard the wrapper on the condom open up and glanced down to see her stroking him. He didn’t need much at all and she was covering him.

  “In a hurry?” he said

  “Yep,” she said, lifting up and impaling herself on him. She started to ride him just as hard and fast as she’d been sucking him off.

  He wasn’t sure it was possible to get worked up again this fast, but Jade was proving everything he thought about himself wrong lately.

  His hands went for her breasts to squeeze, but she was moving so fast he couldn’t even hang on.

  Now that he was on the edge, the last thing he wanted to do was finish before she had a chance, so he reached between her legs and found her swollen nub and went to work on another part of her body.

  Her head was thrown back, her legs were quivering, and she slapped his hand away and started to move at a pace he couldn’t maintain. He just let his body go as she shouted out his name, then collapsed on his chest.

  26

  Deciding Factor

  “What the hell was that?” Brock asked a minute later.

  She was still on his chest, her legs on each side of his hips, his cock still inside of her, but probably not much longer. She was too exhausted to move though.

  “My second workout of the morning,” she said.

  “Yeah. You’re telling me,” he said.

  “You didn’t do much other than lie there,” she said, lifting her head up. She gave him a kiss on the lips and then climbed off of him, her legs buckling for the moment, forcing her to lie down.

  “That doesn’t mean my heart didn’t get just as much of a workout,” he said and swung his legs over the side of the bed and left the room.

  She was staring at his tight ass. She couldn’t help it. She wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t see the scars when she looked at him. All she saw was the man.

  The man that she was falling in love with and was terrified of telling him.

  How many times in her life had she thought she might be
falling for someone only to realize they weren’t the one?

  That she was looking for something, with anyone, to just get what she’d dreamed of?

  But with Brock it was different.

  She knew more about him than she had any other man she’d dated for much longer.

  Her family liked him.

  Her parents approved of him. She knew they did, because they wanted him around more.

  Having her family approval meant a lot to her, but that wasn’t going to be the deciding factor for her in anything.

  Did her father point out she and Brock were nothing alike in the beginning?

  He had. And he was right. She realized that looking at his place and seeing how little he had.

  But it also made her realize that maybe she had too much.

  No, she’d always known that, but she felt she balanced it out in life by donating what she did. By finding causes she believed in. By giving back.

  When Brock returned to the room and started to get dressed, she figured their playtime was over and sat up to reach for her clothes too.

  “Guess we need to get to work,” she said. “Not that it’s going to take us long to pack this place up.”

  “No,” he said. “Maybe a few hours.”

  “Why don’t you stay at my house for the next couple of days. It’s going to be hard to live around boxes. You just need to bring one box full of clothes,” she said with a grin.

  “I’m fine,” he said.

  “I know you’re fine. I just experienced how fine you are. But maybe I want you around to show you how thankful I am for your service...to the country.”

  He walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “The country, huh? Not to be your own personal sex slave?”

  “Oh, Brock. Do you think I’m someone who wants or needs a sex slave?”

  “I think you’re someone who can take care of yourself whenever you want.”

  Her face blushed. “Some women don’t talk about that.”

  “Ah, but you’ve got toys, don’t you?”

  “What kind of toys are you asking about?”

  “Ones that require batteries,” he said, lifting an eyebrow.