by Mary Wine
“Emotional static, nothing more.” Grace turned her back on him but Jacobs reached out and caught her shoulder.
“I can’t explain what I do not understand, Jacobs.” She kept her voice low to keep her words from drifting to the men nearby. “Once we leave Benton, it won’t matter.”
“You in some kind of hurry to return to base? That’s a first. You never request to return to base, Grace. Why now?”
She started walking to avoid the question.
Some emotion surfaced as she considered leaving Benton behind. Brice Campbell wouldn’t have the means to find her. Regret stabbed straight through her. Grace tried to toss it aside, but that left a yearning in her body that refused to be banished.
It had been two days and her breasts still tingled. His mouth had been so hot on her nipple. Thinking about it made her nipples bead. She had one of the most disciplined minds on the planet, but she couldn’t evict Brice from it.
Her ears picked up the clues that informed her the rest of the unit had fallen into pace with them. Grace didn’t really give them much notice. Half of the unit ignored her out of fear that she’d curse them or read their minds like some cheap science-fiction movie. The rest of the men were only interested in interaction if it involved sex. Jacobs was the only exception. Grace actually enjoyed conversing with the man from time to time.
But she had enjoyed kissing Brice Campbell.
She increased her pace, trying to force herself to focus on the physical demands of the hike.
An hour after the sunset, Jacobs called a halt to their day. Grace slipped from her feet gratefully. The rest of the men settled into pockets that betrayed just where close relationships had formed. Left to herself, Grace sorted among her pack looking for just what would serve as her dinner.
A set of long legs invaded her vision as Jacobs settled himself a bare foot from her body. He really was a giant. His size had no doubt played a part in his assignment to her unit. But he was also a brilliant pilot.
Grace wondered if the man was getting the itch to settle down. She didn’t think that he would ever leave the service. But if he did something like get married, he’d most likely transfer out of her unit.
It was selfish of her, but Grace didn’t want to deal with anyone but Jacobs. She must be getting old, because it had not bothered her so much in the past. Her last C.O. had been an ass. Stephen Fredricks always had a mean streak in him, but when he was promoted into command of the unit it turned into full corruption. It had been one of the longest years of Grace’s life. He ran her like a bloodhound, giving her no more concern than a prized bitch.
“So why do you want to return to base?”
Grace snapped her attention back to Jacobs. He was watching her with those eagle eyes of his. She simply shrugged. Getting involved in a conversation tonight seemed too exposing. There was a level of comfort that came from keeping herself private, and tonight even Jacobs’s company felt abrasive.
“Spit it out, Grace.”
“There is too much emotion here.”
“Maybe it’s time you experienced some intensity.” Grace straightened but bit back what she wanted to say.
“Say it,” Jacobs pressed.
“Why waste my time?” She locked stares with him. “Whatever Turvel decides I need will happen.”
Dropping her unopened dinner back into her pack, Grace frowned. Jacobs’s C.O. never spoke directly to her, but he sure didn’t have a problem dissecting her life.
“You can stop worrying. I’m not going to follow Susan’s example.”
Jacobs’s eyes turned solemn. He didn’t believe her. He reached forward and snagged her uneaten dinner from her pack and sent it flying into her chest. Grace caught the foil pouch in reflex and glared at him.
“Even if I were planning on putting a pistol in my mouth, I doubt sex would change my mind.”
“Everyone has needs, Grace.” Jacobs tore open a foil pouch MRE and scanned the contents. “Brice got your attention because he’s off-limits. That’s a lesson for Turvel. He thinks he controls you but he doesn’t. Not completely.”
Is it that simple?
Grace used the excuse of opening her dinner to hide her expression from Jacobs. But her interest in the contents died as she felt the unmistakable touch of another psychic. There were only a handful on the planet that could make their way into her mind. Her eyes narrowed as she identified him just a bare second before she thrust him out of her mind. Devon Ross might be able to get inside her mind, but he didn’t have the strength to stay there if she wanted him evicted.
“We have company.”
Jacobs issued a sharp whistle that brought the men of his unit to complete attention. Weapons appeared in every hand as they rolled into whatever cover was closest. His eyes lit onto her face with razor sharpness as he waited for her to clarify her statement.
“Devon Ross is here.” Very close. The man didn’t have as much reach as she did. He needed to be close to his target to link with it. Jacobs’s phone vibrated for attention almost on cue.
“Major Gennaro said he’d drop by for supper.” Jacobs flipped his field-communications phone open. “Nice of you to drop by, Major Gennaro.”
Jacobs kept his eyes trained on her as he snapped his phone shut. Grace recognized the look instantly. Jacobs took his duty to the extreme. Even if the company was expected, he’d always secure her position.
But that didn’t explain the odd topic of conversation. Having her lack of sexual experience discussed wasn’t sitting very well on her mind. They simply didn’t understand. The emotional tide that went with the physical intimacy was too…intense.
Just kissing Brice Campbell was still distracting her two days later. A small trace of emotion raced across her skin as she considered the Benton County sheriff. There was an image sitting inside her skull of the man pulling her top off and tasting her bare nipples. Her breasts tingled with sensation as the memory caught her attention again.
Devon Ross took another try at sinking into her head. Now that the man was closer, his abilities were much harder to fend off. Grace took to the challenge with a surge of anger. She wanted to be left alone.
Evicting Devon from her mind left her with Jacobs’s hooded eyes to deal with next. Pushing to her feet, Grace took her pack with her and inclined her head in the direction of the forest. She didn’t like to change in front of the unit. Jacobs normally allowed her privacy.
“Not going to stick around to greet Devon?”
Understanding dawned on her, irritating her almost beyond endurance. “Is Devon Ross Turvel’s idea of the right kind of man for me?”
Jacobs shrugged. “I believe that’s his thought process. You’re both psychics. Cut-from-the-same-cloth sort of thinking.”
The idea made her madder. It was instantaneous and pure response. Devon Ross’s face rose from her memory and she rejected any sort of interaction.
“We’re like siblings.”
Jacobs looked back at his supper. “That would put a damper on things.”
She inclined her head toward the forest again. He offered her a nod and she turned to escape.
Relief almost flooded her. The lack of human intrusion left her with lungs that suddenly could fill with cool night air. Lifting her head, she let the breeze slip down the open collar of her shirt.
She understood just how Susan had felt. It was like there was a hand wrapped around her throat, squeezing and tightening until ripping it away became absolutely necessary. Grace could feel the leash around her neck tighten as she forced her feet to stop.
Her current freedom was just an illusion. The second she stepped away too far Jacobs would be right on her heels.
But it was still an improvement. Surrounded by the night, annoying things like conversations could simply float away.
“It is a beautiful night. Isn’t it?”
Her pack hit the dirt as Grace turned to confront her company. She knew exactly who it was. She immediately identified Brice Campbell’s voice because her
body leapt in response to it.
“You have a death wish or something, Sheriff?”
“Surprising you might not be the wisest move but I admit I get a rush out of shattering your perfect control.” He closed the space between them.
“I don’t have any information about your case. So leave me alone.” Grace reached for her pack but let it slip to the ground again as she considered the fact that Brice Campbell was standing in front of her. That left her with returning to her unit as an option to avoid sharing his company.
“But maybe Jacobs can shed some light on things.” Grace tossed her head in the direction of her C.O.
“I didn’t come up here for my case,” he offered softly. “I came to see you.”
His words set off a response that Grace frantically tried to stop. Heat rose in her face, and she recognized the peculiar tremble her body seemed to reserve for Brice Campbell. His lips lifted into a grin as his hands unzipped his heavy jacket. Her eyes were drawn to his chest as he shrugged out of the garment.
Just the right kind of wrong?
If so, she needed to get a grip on her responses to him.
“You’re wasting your time.”
“Maybe. Then again, maybe my office got a report about an armed group of men making their way up this patch of forest land.” Setting his shoulders against a tree, Brice tipped his hat back and grinned at her. “I couldn’t resist the urge to tell Jacobs how a little gray-haired lady pegged one of his men.”
The picture of her C.O. getting that little tidbit filled her with amusement. The sound bubbled out of her mouth before Grace thought better of it. A grin flashed across the sheriff’s face in response.
“But I like the idea of coming to see you better.” His words were too soft. Grace snapped her head around but he’d already captured her wrist. A sharp jerk and she tumbled forward.
This time, Brice captured both her arms in a solid grip. He plucked her up off her feet as he fitted her body against his.
“We were interrupted,” he whispered against her ear.
“Don’t you have a girlfriend?” The question was out of her mouth before she realized how it sounded.
Like she cared about his availability.
“Nope.” He smoothed his hand up her back and tugged gently on her braid where it was pinned in place. “Want to chase me?”
Yes.
The word just formed in her thoughts. It was an idea, a feeling that just flooded her. She found herself listening to the sound of his heart. For some reason, her own was matching its tempo as her body melted closer to his. Her nerve endings were suddenly alive with tiny pulses of feeling. There wasn’t any question of controlling her body’s reaction, it simply happened.
“Is that a yes, Grace?”
He released her hands and moved his up her arms. There was a deep sensation of pleasure that confounded her with its intensity. Strength radiated through the touch and her back arched as she waited for him to touch every inch of her arms.
“It isn’t a no.”
Brice dropped his jacket across her shoulders.
“Hmm…you offer me hope.”
His lips hovered over hers as his breath teased the sensitive skin. He lowered her to the forest floor again, his jacket acting as a blanket to keep her from lying on the pine needles.
Grace shifted, not sure of her actions. Indecision filled her thoughts. He’d laid them down in a deep shadow formed by young saplings. Without light, her remaining senses became even more sensitive. His scent wrapped around her. It was pure aggression. But he wasn’t trapping her with his body tonight. Instead, he’d settled alongside her body with his head propped on his elbow. Grace kept her body absolutely still. She could feel the strength rising like heat from his skin. It was a clear declaration of power. She didn’t want him to restrain her again. Having the freedom to touch him suddenly became very important as she felt her blood rushing through her veins.
Brice captured one of her hands and tugged on each fingertip until her glove came free. Lowering his head, he gently bit the skin on her inner wrist. Her breath caught, making him grin.
“Your skin is as soft as silk. I want to touch every inch of it. Taste it.”
He wasn’t asking for permission. Instead, his voice was firm with demand as he ran a smooth hand over her arms and neck. Grace couldn’t escape from the sensation. He surrounded her. He began separating the buttons of her shirt. His fingers brushed her bare skin with each button he released.
“But I also want to feel you touching me.”
Grace pushed against his chest, but not for release. His erection was pulsing against her thigh, making her body pound with heat. He trailed his fingers in a lazy circle around the mound of her breast. “Stop playing with me.”
“I’m not going to make love to you here.” Brice caught a nipple with his lips and sucked it deeply into his mouth. He flicked it with his tongue before pulling away. “I won’t love you ’til you come to me. Unconditionally.”
His lips captured hers a second later. He thrust her denial right back into her mouth as he kissed her. It was a hard invasion that demanded a response. Grace found herself returning the kiss from sheer instinct. Deep inside her body, surrender seemed to be the only option.
He lifted her back into a high arch as he sucked on each of her nipples in turn. Heat snaked from each tip straight into her belly. The tender flesh between her thighs became overheated and heavy. Grace twisted her hands into his hair as she gasped with need. The intensity of it was frightening. Her body had never demanded something so very completely.
“Open your legs for me.”
Grace lifted her eyelids, but it was too dark to see him. The command was bluntly sexual. One her pride should have balked at. Instead, she shifted her legs slightly open, raising her breasts back up toward his mouth.
Dropping a single kiss onto each nipple, Brice trailed soft bites along her neck. “Wider.”
“No.” It was too exposing. She snapped her thighs together, but his hand landed over her sex before she’d completed the movement. Brice firmly squeezed the tender flesh, rubbing the fabric of her pants against the over-stimulated folds of her body.
Pleasure spiked into her under his hand. It was raw and searing. Her thighs fell open as she moaned.
“Good.” He moved his hand back toward her breast but halted over the button on her pants. There was the smallest pop as he opened her clothes, pushing the fabric away from her body. His hand traveled back to her sex. A low whimper escaped her lips as he gently stroked her damp folds.
“Do you like that?”
Her hips pressed up for more attention, but Brice halted all motion. “You told me not to touch you, Grace.” His fingers made a lazy circle before stopping again. “Have you changed your mind?”
He found the small nub in the center of her sex and stroked it with firm pressure. Her body jerked as pleasure spiked into her belly. She could smell her own scent as he rubbed her flesh. Her body was twisting into a tight knot of sensation under that finger. He stopped again and her eyes flew open. His jaw was clenched tight as he loomed over her. Waiting for her to say what he wanted.
“Yes.”
“Yes…what?”
His demand was too much. Grace strained toward his fingers but the pressure wasn’t enough. He knew the right way to touch her body. Need was pounding through her, demanding release. “Touch me, just touch me.”
His fingers stroked her, making her hips press frantically toward relief from the twisting demands of her body. Everything centered under his hand in a mind-numbing jolt of pleasure. A sharp cry escaped her lips as her body released its tension in a wave of pleasure that radiated throughout her entire being.
Brice gently stroked her bare breasts as she struggled with her climax. Her eyes sprang open a second before she brutally shoved away from his body. Letting her go, he watched her roll away and onto her feet. She fought with her clothing because her fingers refused to function.
“Grace.” His voice was solid steel. It froze her in her tracks. Tilting her head, Grace watched Brice emerge from the shadow they’d laid in.
“I’ll see you soon.”
Grace shook her head. She couldn’t see him again. It was devastating to her control. But her thoughts were in a tangled mess, so she spun on her heel and settled for distance from him.
She was gone a second later.
Brice watched the forest as he waited. Jacobs didn’t disappoint him. His shadow parted from the night as he closed the distance between them.
“I don’t want to make this personal, Campbell, but stay away from my operative.”
Considering Jacobs’s words, Brice found his eyes shifting over the obstacle the man presented.
“If you have a personal reason for that, say so.”
A low sound escaped from Jacobs before his face set into solid granite. ”Grace is my operative, Brice. We’ve been together a little too long for sex to get added to the equation now. Besides, she isn’t interested in me. You’ve got to let her go, buddy.”
No, Brice didn’t have to let her go. But he did need to get around Jacobs.
“Wake up, Jacobs. She’s already slammed the door in your face. That girl’s dug in so deep, you don’t have a prayer of shaking her out. She’s dying right in front of you. You think I don’t recognize the signs? I haven’t been out of the service that long.”
“So, just exactly what do you think you’ve got that will do the job?”
Brice let his mouth turn up in a grin. “I’ve got her attention. Your operative can’t seem to shut me out like she does you.”
“You’re asking me to admit I can’t reach her,” Jacobs argued. “She’s my responsibility.”
“You weren’t this stressed out when I saw you last year,” Brice observed.
“You’ve obviously been out long enough to forget to mention things that are classified.” Jacobs cussed and shot him a frustrated look. “We’ve lost two female psychics this last year to suicide. I argued in favor of letting her track your missing kid down because I thought it would shake her out of the dark hole she’s dug for herself.”