The Colonel's Man

by Mina Carter, J. William Mitchell

  “You know, naughty girls who don’t listen get punished.”

  Her eyes widened, whether in shock or outrage, he wasn’t sure. But the swift darkness that filled them took his breath away. Fuck. He’d said it as a joke, and maybe to push his luck a little. He hadn’t expected her to respond.

  “Jason…”

  There was only so much temptation a man could take. Hearing his name on her lips in that breathy voice was the final straw. He leaned in and claimed her lips.

  A groan escaped his throat. She tasted better than he’d dreamed and he couldn’t get his fill. Angling his head, he teased the seam of her lips, slowly and deliberately as if he had all the time in the world. Tempting her to play the game.

  She shifted, relaxing under him. He nipped her lower lip, taking advantage of her gasp to breach her defenses and slide into her mouth. Her whimper of need was lost in his mouth as he stroked his tongue around hers.

  His hold on her arms slipped, forearm twisting to cradle her neck as he deepened the kiss and explored the soft recess of her mouth with brutal thoroughness. He couldn’t believe he was doing this; kissing Colonel Rhade while she writhed under him on a gym mat. Lust, white hot and primitive, surged through him as she pressed against him with a passion that matched his own.

  His hand slid down and made a lazy, deliberate exploration of her body from her neck down to her back, his fingers conforming to her every curve and hollow that they encountered. Slipping to her side, he lightly grazed the side of her breast then reached the flare of her hips.

  *

  The slight moan of pain alerted him first before he felt something warm and wet. He pulled back and lifted himself up to see the dark purple blood on his fingers. Concern immediately took over and lust was relegated to the back seat. “Shit, we have to get you patched up again. You’re bleeding.”

  She dropped her head back against the floor. “Scott, you’re obsessed with blood. You got some kind of weird fetish I need to know about?”

  “Well I don’t know about you but I’m not in the habit of making out with really hot women if they’re hurt and bleeding on the floor.”

  He untangled their limbs and rolled away. Lifting the tank top, he took a closer look at the wound. It was still an angry purple color and one of her cuts had reopened. “Dammit, you’re a stubborn cow. Has anyone ever told you that?”

  “Ouch! Fuck you, Scott.” She arched her back as he tested the edges of the wound.

  “I’d love to gorgeous but maybe later when you’re not wincing in pain.” Jason said as he lowered her shirt, pretending to pout in disappointed at her comment. “Come on, if you don’t want to go all the way to the medbay and get your ass chewed out by the doc, at least let me patch you up.”

  She lay on the floor, her gaze assessing as she looked at him. Finally, she nodded. “Okay, but make it quick. Hurst’ll chew me out for sure this time if he catches us.”

  Jason shook his head as he stood up to get the medkit. It was a good thing that this time of day the gym was literally deserted or he’d have to deal with curious looks at the least and outright scuttlebutt at the most. As he returned to her he realized he didn’t like the idea of anyone else looking at her like he did, like a man looking at a woman, or talking crap about her.

  Great. And now he was being overprotective.

  She struggled to sit up, but his hand on her shoulder took care of that. With a warning look he pressed her back down to the mat and flipped open the medkit. She swore as he cleaned the wound. Concentrating on his task, he still didn’t miss the new presence in the room. A familiar presence. Already feeling disapproval in the air.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting.” Drew walked up to them, wearing desert tan boots, tactical trousers, a black shirt and a neutral expression on his face.

  “The new boss and I were just getting acquainted with grappling techniques.” Jason laid a fresh dressing over her wound and started packing up the medkit. “Aggravated her boo boo is all.”

  WHACK! Ouch!

  Jason rubbed the back of his head and turned to find Arita glowering at him. He had to admit that if he didn’t know she could kick his ass to next week, he’d think she was a little cute when mad.

  Drew flicked a glance between them, his face still blank. Jason sighed to himself. He knew that look. There were going to be questions later and Drew could be worse than a damn terrier when he wanted to know something. His gaze dropped to the data-pad in Drew’s hand.

  “You bringing me love letters now, buddy?” He smirked, trying to deflect the conversation onto a safer subject.

  “This is for the boss.” Drew handed the datapad over to Arita then turned to flip him off. “That one’s for you.”

  “Well I love you too buddy.” Jason chuckled as he inched closer to Arita who had started reading through the device with a focused expression. He tried to take a peek but Arita was quick to press her palm over his cheek and push him away. Good naturedly, he laughed as he rolled to his feet and dusted off his pants. “What’s that about?” Jason nodded towards Arita.

  “We’re being recalled boys.” Arita smiled as she got to her feet. “Data retrieval mission, undercover.”

  Dusting the ass of her pants off, she handed the pad back to Drew. “Okay, Scott, thanks for the patch up. Get that medkit packed and away. I’ll meet you guys in the shuttlebay in ten. Grab field kit only; we’ll send back for your personal gear after this mission.”

  She looked at them both, all traces of amusement gone from her expression now. The woman he’d held in his arms a moment ago was buried under the cool and calm facade of a special operations operative. “The drop-shuttle Templar. Ten minutes or I leave without you. Are we clear?”

  “We’ll be there with bells on boss.” Jason called after Arita’s retreating back as he picked up the medkit. He started for the lockers to prep when Drew caught his arm and stopped him midstride.

  “What do you think you’re doing man?” Drew’s expression was rife with censure.

  “I’m just being my usual charming self. We grappled, things got out of hand.”

  “I saw what happened and ‘out of hand’ is putting it lightly.” Drew folded his arms over his chest. “You’re being reckless mate. She’s not some bimbo you pick up at the bar to nail. She’s the boss.”

  Anger flared and Jason yanked his arm from Drew’s grip.

  “Yeah, thanks for the hint. I know she’s the boss and despite what you think, I know where the lines are drawn. I’m not gonna fuck up your career buddy, so thanks for the reminder but go shove it up somewhere else.”

  Drew’s words caught up with him as he reached the doorway.

  “We both know why you’re angry and we both know that you’re making a big mistake. Don’t fuck her up too, Jason.”

  Chapter Five

  “Okay, we’re going in as James Bridges, background in long haul logistics and his bodyguard, former marine, Kurt Greens. Those are your cover ID bios. Read them, love them. Know them inside out.”

  Arita handed pads to both men as they stepped into the sleek diplomatic drop-shuttle. Both wore tailored tuxedos and actually scrubbed up rather well. She tried to avoid noticing just how well Scott filled out the shoulders of his jacket, instead shooting them both a tight smile.

  “We’ll be going in for the annual Helinian systems fundraiser. We’re not interested in anyone at the do. Instead, we’ll be hitting up the organizer’s office. Serena Julian is a player we’ve been tracking for a while and recent intel indicates that she’s recently come into possession of a list of Section operatives in the Delian Sector.”

  She tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her hair, already irritated by the complex up-do and looked at them.

  “I don’t need to tell you what a total fuckup that would be.”

  The two were immersed with reading the dossiers and while Drew seemed more accepting of his ID, Jason’s face started to sour the more he read the file.

  “How come I get t
o be the bodyguard?” He tapped the datapad in frustration with his hand. “No one’s gonna believe I’m just the hired help in a tux this good.”

  Spirits save her from male egos. Arita sighed and resisted the urge to slap him upside the head.

  “That’s because Kurt and James are best buds. Plus, Serena has a thing for heavy-worlders, which means she is going to make a beeline for tall, blonde and handsome here…which leaves Kurt to wander off in search of a little action with his friend’s wife.”

  That seemed to have caught his interest as pretty soon the familiar cocky grin appeared on his face. He leaned back against his seat and gave her an assessing once-over as he straightened his bowtie with one hand for good measure.

  “Oh yeah?”

  She sighed as she sat down and clipped in. The safety harness was a little incongruous with the fitted cocktail dress she’d chosen but this wasn’t a pleasure trip. “Down boy. We’ll be breaking into the office. What are your safe-cracking skills like?”

  “Decent enough to go pop a standard commercial grade Harriman 2000 in ten seconds.”

  He reviewed the mission file again, flipping through the data-pad. “What do we know about the security? Any alarms that we can trip in there?”

  “Oh yeah, they’re fully tricked out in there. Motion sensors and cameras, the lot. We’re gonna have Ko’than working remote software for us.” She nodded towards the front of the drop-shuttle to their pilot. He waved back over his shoulder, skillfully piloting them out of the shuttle bay doors and gunning the engines.

  “Which means we get to put on a bit of a show for him to loop before we get down to business. All male security team. My guess is they watch for a while before coming to kick us out.”

  “Sounds like a great plan.” Jason smiled appreciatively as Drew shook his head in resignation behind him. “Seeing as we’d have an audience I feel the need to really give it my best and while I’m looking good and feeling even better, it’d be a great scene with a co-star like you.”

  She lifted an eyebrow. “Strictly professional, tiger. Get too frisky and I’ll snap bits off you, understand?”

  He had the gall to look offended.

  “Would I try and take advantage of you?” Drew was about to open his mouth but Jason quickly headed it off. “Don’t answer that.”

  As they settled in for the flight, she watched him surreptitiously from under lowered lashes. The goofball exterior evaporated as he made notations and read over details in the two data-pads he balanced on his lap, focused and looking rather determined. In unguarded moments like this, Arita caught a glimpse of the serious, no-games operator that had managed to get her out of harm’s way and had stayed by her side when she needed him.

  She read through her own pad again, even though she’d already committed the contents to memory, but she couldn’t stop her gaze straying back to Jason. He was stretched out in the seat opposite her, his pant clad legs sprawling into the space between the seats. Long legs, with strong thighs. Heat flushed her cheeks as she recalled what those legs had felt like wrapped around hers.

  He rolled his shoulders and looked up, catching her gaze with his. This time instead of the cocky grin, he smiled at her. Drew seemed to have picked a few chairs away to get busy with his research and the two of them were once again privately isolated at the back of the drop-shuttle.

  “Feeling better?”

  She flashed him a small smile, absurdly feeling self-conscious. He’d seen her out of it, and bleeding. That bothered her more than being mostly undressed in front of him.

  “Yes, thank you. I…appreciate you staying with me last night. No one’s ever done that before.”

  His eyes didn’t waver from hers. “You’re welcome. I was relieved that you came out of it just fine. I wasn’t happy that you didn’t tell me when you were hurt.”

  She shrugged as Drew levered himself out of his seat and made his way up to the cockpit, a frown on his face as he read something from the pad. She watched him go, pleased that the pair were working autonomously. “Didn’t think much of it to be honest. Michaels was hurt as well, and I’m a tough old thing to kill.”

  “Oh you’re a tough cookie alright but old?” His eyebrow went up at her statement as he gave her a quick once over. His eyes toured her body for a second time, slow and leisurely.

  She recrossed her legs, automatically smoothing her skirt over her thigh. “I’m older than you are.”

  He chuckled softly. “Well I won’t insult you by asking by just how much. But let me just say that whatever you’re doing, you should keep it up.”

  “Charmer, flattery will get you nowhere.” Color swarmed over her cheeks before she could do anything to stop it. It wasn’t the compliment but more the genuine look in his eyes and the warmth in his voice as he gave it. “I’m forty-seven.”

  Crap. Why had she just told him that? It wasn’t anything he couldn’t pick up from her service jacket now she’d had his access raised, but she didn’t usually feel the need to tell people, particularly sexy, slick tongued operatives like Scott. He was the sort she usually avoided like the plague, except when her heat phase - the lone legacy of her Fenarian heritage - reared its ugly head. Then, for four days straight, she needed a meaningless encounter with someone who wouldn’t ask questions. Someone just like Scott…

  Shock and disbelief never appeared on his face but the awe and appreciation did and his smile went wider. “Wow, really? You’re not pulling my leg, are you? I mean you look incredibly hot for forty seven.”

  She lifted a brow, the wayward strand of hair falling forward again. “Yeah, right. You’re just trying to get into my pants. I’m onto you, Scott.” She wagged her finger at him sternly, trying to ignore the smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

  Drew chose that moment to return to his seat, and Ko’than called out from the front. “Five minute warning guys.”

  Pulling herself together, Arita put her data pad down on the seat next to her and picked up the small clutch. “Game faces on boys and remember, we get caught and the Alliance have never heard of us. There is no backup. There is no cavalry. There is just us.”

  “Then we have everything we need.” Jason grinned as he turned to Drew. “Right buddy?”

  She watched the two exchange fist bumps in a manner that said they had been doing this as a ritual for years.

  “Rock and roll.” Drew smiled in agreement.

  * * *

  Being the bodyguard tonight actually meant Jason had better flexibility when it came to scoping out the scene. A bodyguard’s attention was supposed to be everywhere else except on the principal, and he took full advantage of that occupational expectation to the limit. Being a bodyguard also gave a good excuse to why he was packing heat if it ever came down to someone questioning him. A bodyguard without a weapon was pretty much just cannon fodder.

  However it also had its disadvantages and while he knew there were better choices for the top five in his head, the one main reason he didn’t enjoy his cover right now was that he didn’t get to have the beautiful woman on his arm tonight, acting like the dutiful wife.

  Forty-seven?

  God, he almost didn’t believe it but he noticed the fluster when she mentioned her age and something told him she was telling the truth. But no matter how old she was, age was just a number to him. It meant nothing as he watched in appreciation of just how beautiful she was.

  The black halter neck sheath fitted her to perfection as the fabric hugged every curve of her delicious body. The high side slit gave teasing glimpses of a long flawless leg and a silky thigh which he could imagine wrapped around his waist. As she turned he was treated to the alluring display of a creamy expanse of skin. He noted the delicate bumps of her spine that curved enticingly down her back and tempted him to trace that trail with his fingers…or his mouth all the way down… He groaned as he watched her laugh at a joke a pompous looking diplomat had said to her. Hell even her laugh was sexy and his cock stirred in his pants. Shit. Sh
e had undergone the cosmetic procedure once again to make her look more human but he kind of missed her ridges.

  He saw Drew’s hand slip to her lower back and he tried not to grit his teeth when he saw the loving looks exchanged between the two. A possessive streak had washed over him and as Drew gave her a quick kiss on the lips, he suddenly had the irrational urge to go over there and punch his partner in the face then turn Arita around and kiss her till she was breathless.

  As if on cue, she turned into Drew’s hold, the bigger man’s arm curled around her waist protectively, and shot him a sexy look over her shoulder. It was the sort of look that smoldered and promised all at the same time.

  His breath caught in his throat. His heart stuttered, then picked up the pace like a runaway drop-shuttle. In his pants, he was hot and hard in an instant, aching for her. He knew she was playing a role, but Jesus Christ he wanted her to look at him like that for real.

  Out of the corner of his eye he spotted their principal approaching but damned if he could look away from Arita. He clamped his jaw tight as she turned to Drew, her lips practically brushing his ear as she whispered something. That should be him, those soft words whispered in his ear… But no way would he let her slip out of his hold like Drew was doing, turning to the woman who approached with appreciation in her eyes and a smile on her lips.

  Serena Julian was quite the looker and the way the tight strapless dress she wore showed off her large albeit artificial charms, most men in the room wouldn’t be able to keep their eyes off her. Long flaming red hair, supermodel body and a sex kitten’s pout, most men would have agreed that she was the most attractive woman in the room. Not Jason. For him, Arita was more beautiful than she was. Serena Julian, with all the charms she had, did not capture his interest in the slightest.

  Arita sidled away from Drew and his new conversation partner, wandering over to the buffet table. She didn’t eat, instead she took a glass of champagne and sipped at it as she turned. Her gaze swept the room, as though idly. Like a woman pretending not to be looking for someone in case her husband looked over. Smiling, he leaned against a pillar and waited.