Jewell (The Kings of Guardian Book 8)

by Kris Michaels

  Zane dropped her onto his bed. Her hair spread in a halo around her. Her breasts heaved, and her face flushed with desire. Jewell King personified his image of beauty. He lowered over her, supporting himself on his elbows. "Are you sure?" If he needed to stop, it would have to be now. As soon as he started undressing this woman, he'd be lost.

  Jewell reached for the hem of his shirt and started lifting it. "In order to run a proper test, you need to actually use all of the functions of the program."

  He lost sight of her smile for a moment when he helped her pull the shirt over his head.

  "Oh, Zane, it's beautiful." Her hand caressed the massive tattoo of a tiger that he'd gotten done after he'd made the transition to PSO duties. "Does it have a special meaning?" Her hand traced the snarling mouth as she asked.

  "It does, and I'll tell you, but not right now." He lifted her blouse from her waist.

  She wriggled to help him remove it. Her flawless ivory skin swelled in the cups of a leopard print bra.

  "Hello, kitty." Her laughter peeled into the room as he lowered with a growl. He licked the fine edge of lace that hovered over her breasts. Her hands weaved through his hair and tried to pull him closer. He traced the bra with his tongue, up to the strap and followed it to her shoulder. The snaps at the back of her bra were a moment's work. He sat up straddling her and sent the bra flying somewhere behind him.

  "So beautiful." Her face flushed as his eyes and fingertips discovered her flawless skin. He lowered and allowed his mouth to worship the woman he'd admired for months. When he found her rose colored nipple and sucked it into his mouth, her gasp acted like a lightning rod straight to his cock. He released her nipple and kissed over to the other while his fingertips stimulated the hard nub that he'd deserted. Jewell's back arched up. A muffled curse filled the air, and both of her hands held his head to her breast.

  He smiled against her skin but refused to be stopped. His lips followed his fingers lower to the top of her jeans. His fingers popped the button and lowered the zipper as his tongue followed the freshly exposed skin.

  "Zane." Her hands caressed his shoulders, back, and neck.

  He reached under her and grabbed the back of her jeans pulling them down her thighs and off. He smiled at the newly exposed thong that matched the bra she'd been wearing. It took less than five seconds to remove the small triangle of leopard print material held precariously by two tiny straps of black lace. He simply yanked the lace and ripped it off her body.

  He damn near died, or he did die, because somehow he found himself in heaven. He maneuvered lower, resting her legs over her shoulders. He kissed up the inside of one leg and then switched to the other. Her body trembled, and her hands tangled in his hair. God, he fucking loved it. He spread her open and blew on her hot skin. The mewling noises she'd been making ceased, and she stiffened.

  "I've got you, beautiful." Zane wrapped his arms around her legs and splayed his hands over her abdomen keeping her hips from pressing up. He'd dreamed of having her under him since the day months ago when she walked out of her bedroom wearing nothing but tiny boy shorts and an oversized t-shirt. That was the day his PSO duties became more than guarding a brat computer genius. Zane smiled to himself, lowered and did his best to drive her insane.

  "Fuck! Zane… Zane… you… I… " Jewell's body tightened, and Zane doubled his efforts. "Yes, God, yes!" Jewell screamed as she climaxed.

  Zane held her down, and his mouth rode her through her orgasm. Only when the trembling flesh under him relaxed, did he lift and lose his jeans and boxer briefs. His hard as rock dick slapped his stomach.

  "I need to grab a condom." At this point, he could stroke off and come just from the way she was looking at him, but he'd waited for too long to waste the chance to make love to her. He grabbed his cock and gave it a long slow pull.

  "I don't have anything you can catch, but yeah… we need to be responsible. I'm not on birth control." Jewell reached her hand out toward his cock and wrapped her fingers around the head.

  "Responsible? I can't even remember my name right now and if you keep doing that we won't need the condom."

  She trailed a finger under his dick sending a whole body shiver through him.

  "Evil woman."

  She laughed at his reprimand.

  Fuck, he loved that sound. Zane leaned over, found his wallet in his pants and retrieved a condom.

  "I'm not evil, just… needy, and I thought I just screamed your name?" Jewell teased as he lowered between her legs, and waited for her to move her legs to accommodate him.

  He settled over her and dipped his head pressing almost-there kisses against her lips and making her chase the contact. She bit his lip to keep him from escaping. He trapped her head between his hands and devoured her mouth as he entered her. The woman was everything he'd imagined and so much more. She wrapped her arms and legs around him. He withdrew and slowly pushed forward. The wonderful push-pull of her soft heat melted his capacity to think.

  "Harder. Please, Zane. I want… harder." Jewell's whispered plea was his command. He lifted away from her and snapped his hips forward. Her eyes popped open, and a soft cry came from her. "Yes, like that. Just like that."

  Zane committed the angle to memory and let go. His hips drove into her with a force that slammed the headboard into the wall. The pool of white-hot heat at the base of his spine demanded release. Zane knew she was close, too. Her head tossed from side to side, and her back arched. The legs she'd wrapped around him squeezed him closer. As if that could happen. Zane's vision whited out at the same time he heard her scream his name again. He wrapped her up and moved her closer as his body shuddered against the climax he'd waited almost a year to achieve.

  Zane's cognitive reasoning blinked back on long enough to lift his two hundred and fifty pounds off the one hundred and fifteen-pound woman under him. He kissed her shoulder and then the side of her neck.

  Her hand flailed around in the air and then landed on his bicep. "Fuck,that was what Jade was talking about."

  Zane lifted up further. Who? "What?"

  "That was fucking amazing." Jewell still panted, making the words sound more than a little breathless.

  Zane took care of the condom and moved closer to her side. He hauled her against him. She settled her head on his shoulder but immediately popped it back up. "Is this okay? I mean the snuggling?"

  Zane put his hand behind her head and brought her in for a kiss. He wanted to fucking gut the man that had treated her badly and made her feel she needed to ask. "If you tell anyone, I'll deny it, but I'm a ten on the snuggle scale."

  Her smile split her face, and her melodic laughter rained down around him. "I don't think anyone would believe a big guy like you was a snuggler." She settled down against him and sighed. "I like it, though."

  Zane kissed her hair and enjoyed her soft warmth against him. His phone beeped, and he glanced toward the floor and the area where he thought his jeans might be. The notification sounded again.

  "If you don't go get it, I will. I can't not check a text." Jewell moved against him in a feline-esque stretch. Her back arched under his hand. His cock flexed with interest.

  Zane sat up, dislodging her as he moved. She grabbed a pillow and snuggled into it. He found his pants and patted the front pocket to find nothing but his keys. There was a dark shape on the lighter hardwood. He reached for it, barely touching it with his fingertips.

  Jewell pounced on him, tickling him along his exposed ribs. Zane curled up and grabbed her, but gravity and their combined weight toppled them both to the ground. Jewell's surprised gasp and then carefree laughter made the hard landing worth it. Zane grabbed, spun, and then straddled her and started tickling her.

  She squealed, cursed, laughed, and screamed as his fingers found every ticklish spot on her body. He tortured her feet, knees, ribs and underarms intent on winning her sub
mission.

  "Stop! You win!" Her gasped words came between what he could only describe as a hybrid between a laugh and a cry.

  Zane rolled on the floor and managed a scoop maneuver that landed her on top of him. "What did I win?" His arms tightened against her keeping her on his chest.

  "I would say me, but you've already had me." Jewell rested her chin on her hands which were folded on his chest. Her hair fell down over his biceps and tickled the skin of his arms.

  "I have, but I can guarantee I want more. So much more." He pushed her hair out of her face so he could see those grey-green eyes.

  "That is something I'm not used to." She scrunched her nose at him and continued, "Not many of the men I've been involved with have wanted… ummm… seconds?" The confusion in her voice stabbed at his heart. She had no idea what a wonderful person she was and those men who'd used her and then tossed her aside? Zane wanted to track down each one….

  The phone chirped again. They both tilted their heads toward where it sat on the floor. Jewell reached for Zane's phone as it lit up again. The small smile that was on her face disappeared as she read the display.

  "What? What is it?" Zane grabbed the phone from her and opened it. There were two texts, from a blocked number.

  So easy to track. You don't stand a chance of winning. Guardian will fall. You will die.

  Jewell sat up straddling Zane. She suddenly felt exposed and cold. Her arms wrapped around her seconds before Zane sat up and wrapped her in his arms. He maneuvered them both up and back onto the bed. His warmth seeped into her, reanimating her frozen mind. Facts and probable casualties flashed through her thoughts. Did Vista somehow know Zane watched her?

  "How did he tie me to you and how did he get my telephone number?"

  Jewell shook her head. "I don't know." The variables of the situation tumbled through her mind. "Telephone numbers are easy to obtain. You'd be surprised how easy it is to penetrate the outdated and useless firewalls that surround most businesses." Jewell rubbed her arms as she thought. "He could have found emails or operation orders while he was inside the system stating you were assigned to C3. Cross matching your name with phone company records would take twenty minutes, max. But that doesn't make sense. Why would he send you that message? That threat would be aimed at me wouldn't it?"

  Zane's hand continued to stroke down her hair, the repetitive motion soothed the fear that welled up inside her.

  "Yeah, there is a disconnect somewhere. But, there is another possibility. He could have been at the Gaming Den tonight." The gravelly sound of Zane's voice rumbled against her ear that was pressed against his chest.

  "It is a possibility, but nobody knew we were going to be there. We didn't sign up in advance. We used our handles, not our names and we paid cash. There is nothing there to lead him to me."

  "Unless he knows what you look like and is watching you, not just your electronic trail." Zane rolled to his side moving her to share a pillow with her. "The asshole tonight, Sweeper, he threatened you, and he'd recently lost his job."

  Jewell shook her head. Zane was reaching for straws. "He was talking shit about the game and was a jerk. That doesn't mean he is an elite hacker that wants me dead. Besides, he was taken out in the first elimination round. If he were Vista, he would have been better at the game. We watched. There was no way that man was Vista. He didn't have the intelligence to anticipate his opponent's moves." Jewell summarily dismissed the idea, it really didn't have merit.

  "I'm not so sure. Can you find out the names of the competitors tonight?"

  "From their handles? I could if I was desperate. I'd have to hack into the game's servers and follow the players' names through the system to the accounting software. I know the company who puts this game out uses damn good security programs, so it would take a hot minute, but I could find out who is paying the bills for the handle."

  Zane's brow creased. "So it is possible that Vista was in attendance tonight and tracked me down through the method you just described."

  "Possible." Jewell acknowledged.

  "Then what is preventing him from getting your information?" Zane's brow furrowed.

  "I don't have credit cards. I pay all my online accounts with a debit gift card that I purchase, in cash, at the beginning of the month and never from the same place. I know what hackers can do, and I know how to prevent it from happening. I have no electronic footprint other than at the office, and that is the only façade that Vista can see."

  "Your cell phone?"

  Jewell chuckled at his comment. "I check out one of the phones from security if I need one, but I'm always at the office. My mom even calls me there, so I don't have a need for a cell." A sudden thought broke through. "Please tell me you've disabled the GPS on your phone?"

  Zane chuckled, "Guardian 101. I'm untraceable."

  Jewell smiled and shook her head, little did he know. "Not true. It is harder, but your signal can still be triangulated.

  Zane lifted and mimicked her position as he settled on his elbow. "So what you're telling me is this guy knows where I am right now?"

  Jewell nodded. "I would assume it, yes."

  "Alright. Then we are getting the fuck out of Dodge." Zane lifted out of bed.

  Jewell admired the muscles of his body as he moved. She felt herself blush as her eyes fell on his soft cock. He was impressive even when flaccid. She'd only seen a handful of men naked, but Zane was the best looking man she'd ever been with.

  He caught her looking at him and snapped his fingers popping her fantastical thoughts like a bubble. "Clothes, pack enough for a week. We are relocating." Zane held out his hand toward her.

  Jewell sat up and extended her hand. The warm, calloused grip assisted her to her feet and into his naked body. "Turn the phone off and take out the battery. I'll buy a pay-as-you-go. Your brothers will need the number so they can reach us when we aren't in the facility."

  "Do you think he's watching the office?" Jewell asked as she crossed the hall to her room.

  "Actually, I'm hoping he is." Zane padded out to the hall. "That phone is going to be passed around to agents when they leave, so he'll never know where it will end up. If he wants to play games, we are going to mess with his mind in ways he never imagined. Let's get packed and to the office. Guardian has numerous safe houses in the area where we can hole up. In the meantime, I want you to think of ways we can fuck with this guy. We are also going to get a court order for any surveillance The Gaming Den has of the tournament. We can do a facial recognition run on every damn one of them."

  Jewell stopped taking shirts out of her closet. Her staff was maxed out with Guardian's current operations. All that labor for what? A hacker that hadn't done anything except some cyber terrorism? No. She couldn't justify the man-hours. "I don't have the people to run hunches, and it could take forever."

  Zane stalked across her bedroom floor, stopping a fraction of an inch from her. "You are the most important operation going on at Guardian. I know your brothers would agree with me." He cupped the back of her neck with his big hand and brought her forward, closing the scant inch that separated them. His heat surrounded her like a calming balm. His lips swept across hers in a feather light touch. Jewell shivered at the sensation. His breath fanned across her lips as he whispered, "You are important to me, and I will stop at nothing to make sure this son of a bitch is caught before he tries to hurt you." He lowered for another kiss and Jewell allowed herself to melt into his strength.

  He moved away and pointed toward the closet. "Finish packing, we need to get into the facility. I have to brief your brothers on my idea."

  His broad muscled back caught her attention and held it until her eyes dropped to his gorgeous ass and legs. When he was out of sight, she shook her head. She didn't know exactly how to classify the feelings and sensations Zane roused in her. Yes, she'd been attracted to other men, sh
e was human after all. Had she done any more than talk smack with the women in her family? Sometimes. There was the guy she crushed on hard in college. Eugene Fotterheim. Looking back, Gene was a dick, but she'd have done anything for him, and she let him take her V-card. The memory was one of nightmares. He barely kissed her before he was on her. There was nothing remotely good about that experience. Jewell shook with a shudder of disgust. She moved to the dresser and removed clothing she'd need. Her mind flittered to other occasions where sex had followed a handful of dates. It was lackluster, at best, and the men had one goal. It wasn't a relationship. Not that she would complain, that wasn't her goal either. She huffed a self-deprecating chuckle. It would have been nice if she'd gotten off during the encounters. No, she went home afterward and used her magic vibrating rabbit to finish the evening. Lord, could she pick them.

  She heard Zane move into the living room. Maybe, just maybe, this time she'd stumbled upon a winner. Her heart fluttered just a bit at that thought. Yes, he was assigned as her security, but to her, he was so much more. She closed her eyes. If she was honest, he had been for a long time.

  Chapter Ten

  Zane waited on the long leather couch outside Jason King's office.

  "Are you sure I can't get you any coffee?" Jason's secretary Sonya asked from across the room.

  "Positive. I've already had two cups this morning."

  "Only two cups? How do you function?" The wicked grin that spread across her face brought an honest smile from him.

  "According to Jewell, I'm a health nut."

  Sonya propped her head on her palm and looked at him. "And are you? A health nut?"

  Zane shrugged. "I don't think so. I enjoy a greasy hamburger or plate of nachos like the next guy, but I don't eat them all the time, and I limit my caffeine intake. But, I guess that is her definition of a health nut."