by Aliyah Burke
“Dusti!” a loud, angry male voice said over the radio. “What is going on in there?”
She walked back up to her seat and sat. “Nothing’s going on, sir. Just getting warm in here and these seats are in the sun. We’ve been in the back drinking water to stay hydrated.”
As she spoke, more sweat ran down the back of her neck and followed her spine. She—well, they—had removed their helmets in an effort to lower core temperatures. Hell, personally, she was all for stripping out of the flight suits and staying cooler in the tank top and shorts she wore beneath the one-piece suit. Not an option. She needed to pee, and still she forced herself to continue with drinking. She took herself out of the sun and sat back on the cot.
It grew exponentially hotter and, with a mutter of discontent, she rose and walked back to the seat she piloted from. She could see black clouds rolling in.
“Storm’s coming,” Keel uttered, taking his seat as well.
“Yes. Least it should cool down.”
Her eyes drifted closed, grateful the sun had been concealed behind the tumultuous clouds. She couldn’t let go of the information Keel had imparted to her and continued to run through it in her head while they waited.
“Come on out, Alpha Two.” Their CO’s voice broke the companionable silence.
Instantly alert, she did the necessary sequence to lower their steps. The outside air cooled them as it blew around, creating little dust cyclones off the runways. They each climbed down and found almost every one of the ground crew watching. Expressionless, she skimmed the crowd, then she tucked her helmet under her arm and headed for her mechanic.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am, I—”
“I don’t think it was you, Sedin. But I need you to do something.”
Relief spilled over the concern. “Anything, ma’am.” His reply came without pause.
“Pull the AI for me. Run a calibration and note what you see. And, Sedin, I want you to do this. Top priority.” She held his gaze.
Sedin nodded, his café-au-lait face taking on a serious expression. “Aye, Commander. Right away.”
“Good man. Call me with the results as soon as you have them. Thank you, Sedin.”
As she pushed into the building, she rubbed her eyes. They adjusted to the darker interior and she strode towards her locker room.
“Amos.”
She froze even as she stifled a groan. All she wanted was a bathroom, shower, and food. Swiping her tongue along her lips, she spun towards the man who’d called her name. Dr Thompson.
“Yes, sir?”
“A word.”
Jaydee walked to the door he stood in. She entered and felt the light touch from his hand at the base of her spine. When she turned to close the door, per the doc’s order, she hesitated at the sight of Gio in the hall leaning against the wall. His gaze was harsh and angry as he glared. She sighed and shut the door, blocking out the temptation of Giovanni Cassano.
Chapter Eight
Gio stewed. He raged. He fumed.
Working out hadn’t helped curb the excess energy he had. No, it had only magnified it. He rolled his shoulders and went back to attacking the heavy bag before him.
Who the fuck does that damn Dr Thompson think he is to put his hands on Jaydee? She’s mine!
Arrogant? Possibly… Probably.
Determined? Yes.
Possessive? Most definitely.
Would he change? Hell no.
What existed between him and Jaydee may have once been based on a sexual attraction but it had changed, morphing into something more.
He liked being in her presence. She was wicked smart—scarily so. Took her job even more seriously than he did, which was hard to comprehend on so many levels. Hell, he was damn near fanatical. Yet, Jaydee was harder on herself than he’d even been on himself.
She made him want to protect her, for, despite how amazing a pilot she was, how brilliant she was, she—at times—seemed lost and insecure. He wanted the right to keep those fears at bay.
She was a brilliant and sexy woman on one hand and, on the other, innocent and unsure.
He couldn’t get her expression from his mind when he had told her that, no, he hadn’t run to the store for juice, he’d squeezed it fresh. It was as if he’d handed her the moon. A look he longed to keep on her face. Another look he liked on her as well…he gave a wry grin.
The moment his attention returned to Dr Thompson a scowl replaced the smirk from seconds before. He had no reason to be around Jaydee, in his opinion. The thought that this was a man she’d worked closely with at her other job aggravated him to no end.
His phone rang, snapping him to the here and now. “Commander Cassano.”
“You do know your girl is out with that guy, right?” Lizard said by way of a greeting.
He ground his jaw and wiped a towel down his sweaty face. “Where?”
“Garrett’s Place.”
A flood of words not fit for polite company passed his lips. He stomped to the door, not even making an effort to quell his jealous rage.
“Be smart about this, Casanova.”
He growled. “No.”
“Damn it, man. Think about your career.”
“Shouldn’t have told me. Goodbye, Lizard.” He hung up on him and slammed from his workout room.
His phone rang twice more while he got cleaned up and he ignored both calls. Shoving into his jacket, he left the house and slid behind the wheel of his car. He tried to calm down but nothing worked. All he could envision was that professor-geek-doctor man placing his hands on Jaydee. Peeling off her clothing and…
His fingers clenched tight around the wheel and he forced them to loosen. Revving the engine, he drove to Garrett’s Place. He found a parking spot, locked his car, and headed for the front door.
Garrett’s was a mid-scale restaurant. They had a bar on one side and a sit-down eatery on the other. He strode straight for the bar. After glaring a man out of the seat he wanted, he sat and stared into the sit-down part.
Jaydee and her ‘date’ were seated at a table off to the side. A cosy one, for two people who probably wanted something intimate. The man wore the same as he had at the base but Jaydee had changed. In the light, he could see the pale blue of her outfit and a red haze settled back over his eyes again.
As they ate, he drank. His gaze remained fixated upon the couple. When they had finished—again no dessert for Jaydee—he settled his tab and escaped out first. A veritable feat, considering how tipsy he’d become.
He leaned against the wall and waited. Sure enough, they soon walked out, talking quietly between themselves. He almost managed to not say a word. Almost. Then that man put his hand on Jaydee’s lower back in a highly familiar way.
“Hey!” he shouted and pushed away from the wall.
Jaydee and her date paused and faced him. He recognised the surprise on her face. When he watched the man reach across her body and touch her hip, the rest of his control snapped.
“Don’t you fuckin’ touch her!” he hollered in warning.
The doctor narrowed his gaze, one hand lifted, and Gio reacted. There was no thinking it through, he just struck out. A sickening grin lifted his lips as the crunch of a busted nose could be felt. He countered a return punch but got hit under the eye regardless. The sting from the ring cutting into his skin made his eyes water.
“Gio!” Jaydee cried. “Stop this!” She immediately inserted herself between them. He halted his next strike—he’d never hurt her.
The world shifted and spun around him. He was slow to react when two others jumped in and restrained him. He struggled but was too damn drunk to fend them off with any favourable outcome for him. Eyes locked on Jaydee, he tried to get to her. She glared at him in the parking lot light, before she turned her back on him to tend to the man with the bloody nose.
He wanted to get to her side. Tell her that she meant more to him than any woman he’d ever met before. He couldn’t get the words out. He tried, but no one seeme
d to be listening.
Time blurred and, when he blinked away another round of the spins, he was in the back of a squad car. What the fuck? He shifted and winced at the feel of the flex cuffs tight against his wrists. His right eye stung like hell and his head still swam. Nausea rode him hard and he swallowed to keep it down. After the car stopped, he found himself being led into the station by a burly officer with a scowl on his face.
He didn’t put up any resistance when they booked him and put him in holding. Scowling at the numerous men in with him, he stumbled to the back and secured himself a seat in the darkest corner.
Christ, what did I do to get put here? He recalled… “Ahh, shit.” A crystalline recollection of his fist connecting with Dr Thompson’s nose flashed. He dropped his head into his hands with a groan. I am so screwed.
How was he going to explain to Captain Fentress that he’d got drunk and punched a man who was a visitor to their test facility? And as to why he did it? Well, that was easy. The man had touched Jaydee in an overly familiar manner. Yes, the same Jaydee who was actually Lieutenant Commander Amos whom he worked with, and yes, he was well aware of the impropriety of having any personal relationship with her.
Yep, should go over real well. Maybe they’d keep him locked up in here for a while. Just until his CO calmed down a bit.
“Hey, man!”
He lifted his head slowly. A trio of men stood there and he cocked a brow. “What?” he snapped. Apparently, he wasn’t sober enough to remain quiet and stay out of trouble, not even in jail.
“You’re in our seat.”
He leaned back against the wall and stretched his legs out before him. “All three of you in this one seat? Must be so cosy. Fuck off! I’m sitting here.” He didn’t rise, not even when they growled and stepped closer.
“Who do you think you are?” the middle man demanded.
“The one sitting here who wishes you’d shut up.”
“We’re gonna bust you up,” the skinny man growled.
This time he got to his feet, the alcohol still powerful enough to goad him into another confrontation. “Really? You wanna do this? Let’s.” He stepped flush to the man in the middle who looked like the leader and grabbed his shirt. “You go around challenging people, jackass, you’d better be prepared to fight. Well, I am.”
“Knock it off!” a deep voice barked.
Gio released him with a growl and a shove. He watched them slink away. Then he focused on where the other voice had come from. He was still spoiling for a fight. A cop stood there and beside him…Jaydee.
She no longer wore the blue dress that had moulded to her like a lover. Now she wore white hip-hugger jeans, a blue T-shirt, and blue shoes. Sobriety slammed into him and he moved towards her as if on a thread. She tossed him a quick glance but it was enough to share the rage she felt for him.
“He’s the one,” she said in an inflectionless tone.
“I’ll be the one,” a guy hollered from the other side of her and he bit back his possessive growl.
Jaydee never even cracked a smile. As he was released from the cell, she ran another disapproving gaze over him. He gave her a sheepish grin that had no effect on the ice surrounding her.
Without a word, she walked off, leaving him to follow. Shortly after, they were treading down the precinct’s steps. At her bike, he reached out and touched her arm. Her stare slashed to him and froze him it was so cold. Arctic would be a better word.
“Jaydee—”
“Shut up, Gio.”
He tightened his grip on her and tried again.
“No,” she interrupted. “You zip it and get on the bike or I call you a taxi.”
He released her and swung a leg over her bike. The muscles in her jaw flexed a few times before she climbed on in front of him. His gut clenched as her evocative scent filled him and, true to form, his body responded.
When she frowned at him over her shoulder, he got the message and gratefully wrapped his arms around her waist. His cock got even harder than when he’d first seen her there at the jail. The rumble of the engine prompted him to slide even closer. They wore no helmets and he sniffed her hair while struggling against the urge to nuzzle it along with the back of her neck.
She rolled them towards the exit only to pause. “Where do you live?”
“My car’s at Garrett’s.”
“I figured that, considering you got arrested. You’re still too drunk to drive. What’s your address?”
He murmured it in her ear, revelling in the way her breath seemed to catch. She didn’t ask him anything else, nor did she say another word as she drove to his house.
Jaydee handled the bike like a pro and he had no problem with the fact that he rode on the back. She was in his arms again, that was all that mattered to him. They slowed before she turned into his driveway. He climbed off and moved to the front.
“Come inside,” he said over the engine.
He honestly expected an argument but she didn’t give one. She glanced pointedly at his garage and she backed her bike in once he’d opened it. A light illuminated the way as he led her to the kitchen. With the press of a button, he lowered the garage door then gestured her inside his house.
She stood in the middle of his nickel-blue kitchen, hands shoved in her back pockets. When he looked at her face he realised she was no less angry.
“Thank you,” he said.
“How dare you!” she seethed. “How fucking dare you! What were you doing?” She paced in his kitchen and raked her hands through her windblown hair. “What were you thinking?”
He hadn’t been. After receiving Lizard’s call, all rational thought had vanished like water in a desert. All he’d been able to see and focus on was that man—if he could be called that—touching her.
A fresh wave of raw jealousy overtook him. He stalked her until the clean countertop stopped her retreat. Her amazing eyes met his and were filled with anger and challenge. He crossed his arms so he wouldn’t break down and touch her.
“Who is he?”
She narrowed her gaze. “None of your business.”
“You’re wrong, Jaydee. Now tell me who the fuck that professor-doctor dick is to you.”
“Fuck off, Giovanni Cassano. You don’t own me and you have no say over who I spend time with. I can’t believe you punched him.”
“He was lucky I only hit him once for putting his hands on you. Isn’t he a bit old for you or is that what you—”
Crack!
The stinging pain from her palm made him blink rapidly. Lightning flashed in her eyes and he realised just how furious she was.
“You’re drunk and I shouldn’t have even wasted my time getting your ass out of jail.”
“And yet you did.” Realisation set in and began to soothe his out-of-control anger. He stepped closer, eyes boring into hers. “You left him after I punched him and came to me. Me, Jaydee.”
His voice deepened as he ran a knuckle down the side of her face. Her skin was so soft, he had no idea how she managed to keep it that way. She didn’t smell like any scented lotions, no, not his Jaydee. She smelt fresh and clean. And tasted like mint.
She trailed her tongue over her full lips and his cock thrust against his zipper. Jaydee exhaled noisily and shook her head. He watched in absolute silence as she struggled to regain her composure. She was rattled, he knew that. Jaydee didn’t curse like that.
“Do anything like that again and I’ll leave your ass in jail. And encourage him to press charges.”
He grinned as he brushed against her. One thigh settled between her slightly spread legs. “You convinced him to let it go.” A pause. “And you left him to come to me.” He positioned his hands on either side of her. “I happen to find that very telling.”
“I don’t care how you see it,” she snapped. “Why?”
Her refusal to accept—much less acknowledge—what existed between them tipped him right back to the pissed-off side of the scale.
“Why?” She nodd
ed. “Because he dared…” he raked his gaze over her in a proprietary way, “touch you.”
Lightning returned this time, accompanied by thunderous clouds that swirled with ominous conditions. Her nose flared and he knew she was losing the battle of control.
“You. Do. Not. Own. Me.” She bit each word out and they were coated in ice. “What I do is my business.”
“Not when it comes to another male touching you, Jaydee. Now tell me who he is.”
She squeezed her hands into fists before relaxing them.
“Dr Thompson. Surely, you remember. He was introduced this morning.”
He ground his jaw. “Who is he to you?” he demanded, his face directly in front of hers. Her gaze shifted and he knew she was about to lie. “Don’t lie to me, sweets.”
“Get out of my way,” she said, her voice cold and professional.
He pressed closer, ensuring to rub his hard length against her. Her eyes shifted again, this time going molten. In that second, his anger slid away. All that mattered was that she was here, with him and no one else.
Lowering one hand, he cupped and manoeuvred her leg so it rested along his hips. Content being back between her legs, he flexed his hips, rubbing against her core. Her soft whimper shot fire through his veins.
“Jaydee,” he whispered.
Her desire overflowed from her alluring eyes but she shook her head.
“No.” The word sounded tortured.
He licked his lips and backed off. Disappointed as he was, he’d never forced a woman. He palmed her leg and slowly pushed it down so her feet were both on the ground. Then he stepped back and tried to ignore the steel rod in his pants.
“Come on,” she said, slipping by him and heading further into his home.
Hell yeah! His eagerness faded when she led him to the bathroom.
“Sit.”
He sat on the edge of the counter. “Wanna shower together?”
Her growl only made him smile. The next second it got wiped from his face as she slammed the bottle of peroxide down beside him.
“Clean it yourself,” she snarled before vanishing from view.
He rose too fast and stumbled. By the time he had righted himself he heard her Ninja as it left his driveway. Once he made his way to the connecting door between the garage and the kitchen, he stared out of the raised garage door.