by JM LOWE
"You just what? You deserve to be happy, I say we sort the situation and then you my friend ask that girl on a date, before I leave and before someone else beats you too it." Jacks finished his beer and dropped it into the bin.
"If you leave."
"Meaning?" Jacks raised his eyebrow?
"Meaning, how long have we known each other? Why do you think it was you who I asked to come watch over Hannah for me?" Jacks felt his mouth suddenly go dry "You my friend have been crushing on my sister since I met you, shit you couldn't take your fucking eyes off her tonight and yeah, that was part the job, I understand that, but that was also part you just looking at Hannah."
Jacks stared at him, "I, erm..."
"You my friend are as screwed as I am, and now you know why I asked you to come; I knew you would protect her with your life, selfish of me yeah I know, but fuck... at this point I would do anything." Harry crossed his arms and waited.
"Not to steal your line, but... that obvious uh?" Jacks needed another drink. "Look, I’m strictly here for the job Harry, you need to know that. I’m not about to try it on with your sister man"
"Hannah is very much her own person Jacks, and in case you hadn't noticed she is more than capable of making her own decisions, she reminds me frequently that she's not a kid and anymore of this shit and we are gonna need to order pizza and Buds that the girls insist on drinking every time they need to bitch fest, they think I don’t know this shit, but I do."
"What I wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall during one of those sessions, but seriously man, I can't, she's your sister." Jacks shook his head. Was he really that obvious?
"Can't what? Hannah is a grown woman or didn't you listen to a word I just said? Christ man, stop making it sound like I’m pimping my own sister out to the highest bidder; She makes her own decisions, except the ones she doesn’t and I scare the mother fuckers off which I have and I do; Not that she needs to know that" Harry looked at his watch and yawned “we need to continue this conversation in the morning, she will kick my ass if I keep you down here, she will be waiting to lock up”
Jacks walked up the stairs and into the apartment, the sight that greeted him made his stomach hit the floor and his dick stir into life.
Hannah was asleep on the large brown leather couch, she had showered, the smell of citrus in the air, and was wearing black shorts and a matching vest, with a towelling robe that had been tied in a bow causing it to come loose and fall partially open as she turned in her sleep.
She was facing the room, strands of her wet her on her face, the towel that had been wrapped around her head now half draped over the arm of the couch, but still under her head. Her arms wrapped around her body her breasts pushed up, they weren’t big, but they weren’t small either, he had never been a tit man, but he would give anything to take a look in the flesh, to run his thumbs over her rose bud nipples, fuck, his dick was almost painful it was so hard.
Seeing she had no blanket to cover her, he decided taking her to bed was his only option, taking her to bed ... poor choice of words. Fuck Fuck Fuck.
Jacks scooped her into his arms, she stared but didn’t wake, instead, she nuzzled into his neck, her breath tickling, sending more blood to his dick, could you die from a hard on?
He needed to get away from her as soon as he could, the walk to her room no more than ten strides, but it felt like miles, shit, he had negotiated mine fields with less nerves than this. He opened her bedroom door, putting her gently onto the bed, and covered her before he leaned over, kissed her head and left the room. What the shit was that all about?
The long day was catching up with him, he needed to try and get some sleep, so he grabbed a bottle of water and headed to his room. Harry had told him that Hannah was a late sleeper so he knew he would be able to go for his run hopefully before she was awake.
Jacks unpacked the few clothes he had brought with him, then stashed the rucksack and holdall towards the back of the built-in wardrobe. It contained his hand guns and ammo, a couple of tracking devices and a laptop.
He took out the Glock, from the back of his jeans, checked it was still fully loaded and placed it on the bedside table, then removed his watch and the small knife he has strapped to his lower leg before undressing and slipping under the duvet.
Sleep came easier than he expected it to considering he had slept on the flight over, she was not going to be happy tomorrow when she found out Harry had gone into the city, what was it he had to tell her again? Something to do with life insurance from her dad, and as he closed his eye, his last thought was of Hannah asleep and how she had nuzzled into him as he had carried her and put her in bed.
CHAPTER FIVE
Hannah opened her eyes slowly, the sun was creeping through a crack in the bedroom blinds, which meant it was still early, shit, she must have been really tired last night, she couldn’t even remember going to bed, five more minutes and then she should get up, she needed a drink, her mouth feeling like a barren wasteland and she knew she would soon have a headache coming on if she didn’t have at least one large glass of water before she could start her day.
Checking her phone, it was a little after 10:00am, yeah, that was early for her, she'd had seven hours’ sleep, probably not enough, but it would have to do.
Swinging her legs out of bed and stretching, she heard a noise coming from her kitchen, she frowned, Harry, He was probably raiding her fridge again.
Hannah walked into the kitchen, yawning as she went, then came to a stop.
Jacks, how could she forget? He was stood in front of the stove dressed in grey sweat pants and a running vest, the tops of both arms and shoulders inked with colourful tattoos, she wasn’t close enough to make out exactly what they were, but she was sure she had seen something similar on the top of Harry’s arm, the thought of what he might look like naked was running through her head, shit, get yourself under control she thought to herself, he was cracking eggs into a frying pan and she was mentally undressing him, poor man didn't stand a chance. And then smell of coffee, coffee and Bacon, she was starving, thoughts of anything but food pushed to the back of her mind...
"Morning" she spoke softly, and smiled as he turned towards her, well this wasn’t awkward at all "Sleep well? You know, with it being a strange bed an all?" She asked as she brushed passed him to get a mug from the cabinet, sparks penetrating her skin.
"Not bad at all thanks" He gave her a quick look up and down and raised an eyebrow "I thought I would cook breakfast, my way of saying thanks for the use of the spare room."
"Yeah, thanks, smells good. But first I need water and coffee in that order, my head is killing me" Hannah took two Aspirin from the first aid box that was located under the sink, Jacks forcing himself to look anywhere but in her direction as she bent down.
"I didn’t see you drinking last night, you ok?" he asked as he watched her take the tablets and down the full glass of water.
"Yeah, I always get a headache if I don’t drink, I work in a bar and don't drink enough ... I'm sure there is a twisted logic in there somewhere. Bacon is burning." Hannah pointed to the frying pan, Jacks who had been watching her as she drank the water now turned and started to serve the food.
Jacks laugh as he watched Hannah trying to sit on the high stool, graceful completely out of the window, she pulled a face as she sat, before tucking into the breakfast,
"Oh god, this is heaven" she was hungrier than she had realised and cleared her plate.
She still wore the shorts and vest top and he was having a hard time knowing where to look that didn’t make him feel like some weird creep.
"Nice place" Jacks needed something to keep his mind of the woman sat beside him.
"Thanks, close to work." she laughed and he rolled his eyes "So Mr Jackson Hunter, now that you have spent the night in my spare room, I think it’s time you came clean. What are you two up to? Why are you really here?" She watched, waited and there it was, the same uncomfortable twitch she was sure she spotted la
st night when she called bullshit between him and Harry.
"Are you always so pessimistic? Why do we have to have to be up to something?" She was good.
"Harry came home and kind of shut the Army part of his life away, never talked about it much, always pulled the 'I could tell you but then I would have to kill you' crap. And he never mentioned any of you by name, so forgive me if I'm curious or cautious, whatever, but my spider senses are tingling here and not in a good way."
Damn, Harry was right, she didn't miss a thing, he was sure they would be able to pull this charade off, but now not so much.
"Will be honest with you, Army life isn't something any of us like to talk about much, war isn't pretty, isn't easy and sometimes keeping what we see inside is the only way some of us can cope. That and the bond we form with the men and women we fight alongside. Harry is one of those, the only time I think I ever saw emotion on his face was when he received letters and photos from you and your Dad." Why did he feel the need to share this with her? Why was it so easy to share this with her? Whether he had crushed on her from afar for years or not, the truth was, he had met her less than twenty four hours ago, and so far, she was nothing like he imagined. Ok so she looked like he remembered from the pictures, but she was not what he expected. What had he expected? A Sunday school teacher? She was a beer drinking little fire cracker, his new favourite thing and he was as entertained sat watching her drink coffee as he had been when she was up on that bar in those delicious shorts.
"You’re right about that, he would come home, do the rounds with the guy's, entertain a few of the ladies then go again, never talked about anything he had seen or had to do and we never asked, figured he would share if he wanted to, he slowly turned from this scrawny awkward geek to the man mountain we know and love, and trust me the ladies love to try and be the one to tame Harrison Taylor, they have no idea." She laughed, if only the 'ladies' knew.
"I'm the same, been a few months since I put my tags away and I think you might actually be the first person I have talked about it with. My mum used to try and get me to 'open up'" his fingers gestured to exaggerate the open up. “But if I’m honest, it wasn’t something I felt the need to talk about, it’s not good to relive what we have seen.”
"I remember your mum, I was in a bit of a state the day of the funeral and she took me away from everyone and helped me calm down, it meant a lot, but I never got to thank her, she had left by the time I went to look for her." Hannah made a mental note to ring Mrs Hunter, a call three years too late, but still a call she would make.
"That sounds like her. She has a way with people, my brother Chris is the same, I'm more hit first ask later, but I’m working on it." His thoughts drifting back to the particularly brutal fist fight he had got into when he was younger, it was that which had prompted him to finally seek direction in his life and join the Army.
Jacks had been what his father called 'An arrogant spoilt brat' and he needed a good dose of reality.
His parents had worked hard to provide a good life for their sons, he came from privilege and as a teen had taken his world for granted, he had been arrogant, his dad was right, fast cars, girls, money and the inevitable path from drink to drugs and then the brutal beating of a local boy had finally forced his parents to threaten to cut him off if he didn't change his life.
It had been the wakeup call he needed.
"Harry called, he said to let you know he’s had to go to the insurance office, he will be back later." He took a swig of his coffee and watched her, studying her reaction, waiting for her to question him.
"On a Saturday? Did he say what time he would be back?" She asked as she jumped down from the stool, the little bounce of her breasts catching Jacks eye "I can’t believe he's just run off when he knows you’re only here for a few days, and this is not helping your case, just so you know." She put their plates in the sink and turned the water on before turning back towards Jacks who was finishing his coffee.
"Told you last night sweetheart, nothing underhanded I swear, come on, you wash and I'll dry."
The conversation was light and easy thank god, and he was grateful that she seemed comfortable around him, it would make the next few days easier.
Harry had told her how much he trusted Jacks and that was good enough for Hannah, she was surprised that even if Harry hadn't given her reassurance, she found herself completely at ease when she was talking to Jacks, it didn't make sense, here he was almost a complete stranger and she was willing to bare her soul to him, since when did she open up to anyone? Never, that’s when, Emma was probably the only person apart from her brother who knew the real Hannah and yet Jacks had almost managed to break down her wall in record time.
She told him about working the bar, about her dad, about her friendship with Em and how she had wanted to buy and run a second-hand book store, it would have a small coffee shop inside where her customers could buy a book, then sink into big soft couches and chairs as they enjoyed a coffee while they read.
He told her about growing up in England, how he was falling in with a bad crowd so had decided to move over to the states, staying with family friends before taking advantage of his American citizenship and joined up.
He'd met Harry on his first day, Harry already having served almost two years, had taken Jacks under his wing and had on occasion broken up the odd fight between the newbie and anyone who thought the English kid would be an easy target, they were wrong.
Jacks and Harry had found themselves quite the double act and had quickly become friends.
"Harry hasn't found a good woman to settle down with yet?" He asked "I would have thought he would have the 2.4 children, white picket fence life by now. Unless he's holding out for someone special." The ironic tone wasn't missed by Hannah and she rolled her eyes.
"You noticed then? Honestly, my two favourite people in the whole world and they would be sooo good together, she is totally the reason he is still single and she hasn't had a steady boyfriend for years, they drive me mad sometimes. Both in denial, both madly in love with each other." Hannah threw her hands up in a frustration gesture.
"Yeah, I notice, so you think Harry is in love? That serious? Can't say I saw him as a hearts and flowers kind of a guy." Jacks was enjoying the conversation, enjoying the view and found himself laughing at her accurate description of Harry as more guns and grenades than hearts and flowers.
"So ..." Jacks started as they finished in the kitchen "Do I get another show tonight?" He smiled as he saw her blush.
"I can't believe we still do that, it was meant to be a onetime thing, fucking Emma dared me, damn me and my weakness for having to fulfil a dare. Well the place erupted and the rest as they say is history."
"A dare, I better remember that, maybe use it to my advantage." This could get interesting.
Hannah gagged on her coffee, spilling the hot liquid down her front "Shit, shit fuck ..." the burn turning her skin red "Sorry" she ran from the room, pulling the top over her head as she reached her bedroom.
Jacks stood, he couldn’t take his eyes off her as she ran from the room, if he was honest, he liked the effect he was having on her.
Hannah had pulled her top off to get the cloth away from her skin to stop the burn, but all Jacks could think about in that moment was her naked back, fuck man, what was wrong with him? He gave himself a mental ass kicking "Han, you ok?" he found himself outside of her bedroom door.
"Yeah, I'm good, won’t be a minute" she shouted back "Just gonna take a quick shower " she opened the door and he stepped back, not realising he had been holding onto the door frame.
She had on her robe and made her way passed him, walking towards the bathroom, stopping just before she reached the door, "What are you meant to do now Harry is in the city for the day?" she asked turning to face him.
"My instruction's where to bug you for the day" she looked up as she took in his words, he smiled at her reaction, her stomach did a 360 at his smile, Christ, this was like tit for ta
t.
"I don't do anything on a Saturday, I veg out and watch movies until it’s time to go to work, Emma comes in early on Saturdays and gets things ready, it’s gonna be a bit boring for you hanging out with me all day ..." she suddenly became aware of her breathing, she couldn't spend the day with him in the apartment, not on their own, shit ... she needed to find something for him to do, somewhere for him to go , fucking Harry ... but Harry didn’t know the reaction she was having to one Mr Jackson Hunter .
"Then I guess it's movie's, I'm actually still tired from the flight over so doing nothing for a few hours suits me." He noticed her skin pale, this job was definitely going to be harder than he thought and not for the reasons it should be.
"Well this sucks just so you know." Jacks didn’t wait for the 'hello'
"How hard can babysitting my little sister be?" Harry voice was low.
"Ok, so I admit, it’s not the worst job in the world, she is certainly better looking than your ugly mug, but you need to get this sorted man." Jacks checked his bedroom window, the view of the car park meant her room would have a view of the back of the building, the large yard backed onto a thick line of trees, perfect for anyone wanting to watch the building without being seen, he should know, he had scoped it out this morning while on his run.
He has used the opportunity to make a mental note of the layout, too many places to hide for his liking. Far too easy to watch her and not be seen, and he didn't like it; he didn’t like it at all.
"My ugly mug ay? shit, you Brits, the only country where its normal to insult your friends as a term of endearment, always an education."
"What's happening? Where are you?" Jacks eyes focused on movement to his left, his free hand automatically reaching for the Glock that was tucked discreetly against his spine.
"I’m currently sat in a coffee shop enjoying pancakes. I had a meeting with my guy, it seems Carlos Sanchez is more than just a little obsessed with my sister and that makes me more than a little obsessed with Carlos Sanchez."