by Laurie Roma
“Not another word from you, asshole. Don’t even start on that again,” Tara snapped back. The bastard had watched her and Julian in the elevator? Jesus, she couldn’t think about that right now. “We have more important things to do than discuss my sex life.”
“Well, not really. I mean, I’m not having sex right now so if I have to live vicariously, might as well be with you,” Finn stated.
“It’s through you, not with you,” Mikayla pointed out.
“Can it, you two. What the hell is this, Tara? You know this isn’t going to end well,” Rock argued, his voice harsh with anger.
Julian bristled. “This isn’t going to end at all. Tara and I are getting married.”
Damn it, why does he have to keep saying that?
Tara wanted to lean down and bang her head on the table as Rock leaned back in his chair and snorted in derision. “Really? How is that gonna work? You gonna move here, T-rex? Live in this place?” Rock asked.
“We’ll make it work,” Julian answered with conviction.
Rock turned to address Tara. “How exactly do you think you can continue working for IAD if you live here?”
Shit, she hadn’t thought of that. Unease filled the pit of her stomach and made her slightly queasy. She couldn’t quit what she did, not for Julian, not for anyone.
Julian’s hand slammed down on the table with a crack of sound. “Don’t you dare make it seem like she has to choose! I would never ask Tara to give up what she does. It’s who she is and I would never try to change her,” he snarled.
“You’re doing just that by asking her to stay here!”
“I’m not even here,” Tara muttered. “I’m somewhere else right now and this is just a bad dream that is making me want to kick everyone’s ass…”
“Sorry, sweetie,” Mikayla leaned in to speak to Tara as Rock and Julian continued to fling insults at each other. “They obviously don’t get that this is not up to them. It’s your choice to make.”
“I can’t quit, Lynx,” Tara whispered. “I can’t…”
“If you girls would all finish bickering,” Brett inserted drolly as he stared out at them from the screen on the wall, “as the cohead of the IAD Chicago branch, I can tell you that we will work something out with you, Tara. You don’t have to worry about losing your status as an agent.”
Relief coursed through Tara like a tidal wave. “Thanks, Bishop.”
“Since I am totally determined not to get into this conversation, let me add that I just called in and the information on Edward Levy has been verified,” Finn announced. On-screen, his face was turned away as he read data off of a computer. “I have LEOs waiting for someone to drive out to meet with them to tell them how to proceed.”
Rock got up from his seat. “I’ll go. Text me the directions.”
“Sending now.”
“I’ll go with you,” Lucian addressed Rock as he stood. “If we can find where Levy was staying, we might be able to find something that traces back to John Gorin. Plus, it gets me out of here before T-rex hits me again,” he added.
“Whatever,” Rock grumbled. He looked down at his phone and swore under his breath. “I was just over there this morning. Couldn’t the fucker have died earlier? Would have saved me driving time…” Rock’s voice faded as he and Lucian left the room.
Tara turned bleak eyes to Adrian. “How long is he going to be pissed at me?”
Adrian’s smile was warm and filled with affection. “He’s not mad at you, hon…he’s just worried.” His gaze flickered over Julian before settling back on Tara’s face. “Plus, it’s gonna be hard not having you in Chicago.”
Tara had to swallow back her emotions as she thought of that. Comfort seeped into her, warming her chilled soul as Julian slipped his hand into hers underneath the table. She glanced over and saw the fear he tried to hide from her. She may not quit being an agent, but that didn’t mean she would quit being with Julian either. As he said, somehow they would make it work. She squeezed his hand then turned as Brett spoke.
“Well, then, now that that is settled,” Brett continued. “Finn, have Tony try to trace the Phoenix through the message board. It’s a long shot, but we should still try.”
“He’s already on it, Top,” Finn confirmed. “He would have been on the call…but he’s not talking to anyone right now.”
“Not that shit again,” Brett groaned. “That boy better have his attitude adjusted by the time I get back. I’m not putting up with a week of his bullshit again.”
Mikayla tapped out a staccato rhythm on the tabletop as she studied the data. “You know, if Levy is dead and no one knows…”
“Ah,” Brett said as he leaned back in his chair, a smile appearing on his ruggedly handsome face. “You think?”
“Might…”
“I could…?”
She studied him, then nodded. “True.”
“What?” Finn exploded. “I fucking hate it when you guys do that! Can you please try and remember that there are others on this call that don’t speak Binks?”
“Binks?” Adrian asked, amused.
“You know, Binks…Bishop and Lynx together…Binks.”
“You are really a very strange man, Finn,” Mikayla said soberly.
Finn grinned. “I get that a lot.”
Tara looked over at Julian to explain. “Lynx and Bishop have their own freaky language that no one else gets. Somehow they understand one another, though. It’s like a code within a code.” Tara turned to the other woman. “Lynx, translation please?”
“I was just saying that if no one knows that Edward Levy is dead maybe someone else could…”
“Ah,” Tara said as she understood. “You want someone to pretend to be Edward Levy.”
Adrian nodded as he shared a look with Brett. “You could pull it off.”
“Yeah, I know. How many times have you assholes said that I look like a crazed biker? I could definitely pull off a paramilitary wacko who hides in the woods,” Brett said.
“True,” Mikayla agreed. “You’d have to stop shaving again to get that really crazed look, though.”
Brett grimaced. “I will after the wedding. Bella would kill me otherwise.”
“Good point.” Or more to the point was that Tara knew Jason MacBain would kill Brett if he upset Bella on the day of their wedding.
“Hey,” Finn groused. “I wanted to be the psycho this time. You got to be last time.”
Brett let out an exaggerated sigh. “Next time, brother.”
“Damn it, I could act crazy just as good as you can. I could even have a twitch in my eye…See?”
Julian and the agents watched as Finn cocked his head to the side and started rapidly blinking one eye. “Ah…” Julian began, “he seems…”
Used to Finn’s skewed sense of humor, Tara tried to hold back a laugh. “It takes a special type of person to do what we do.”
“And by special she means short-bus special,” Finn said, as he stopped his antics.
“In your case, yes, that’s true,” Brett said dryly.
“Ah, that hurts, boss.”
“Life is pain. We can discuss this more in Chicago then I’ll fly back with you when you return to Vegas after the wedding,” Brett said, then turned to look at where Julian was sitting. “I hope you have thick skin, because Rock isn’t the only one who worries about Tara. Shit, son, you sure you want to come to Chicago with her?”
“What is wrong with you people?” Tara groaned.
“I’m sure,” Julian said.
“Brett, you should really stop now before all of your female operatives mob you at the wedding…and not in a good way,” Mikayla warned. “Leave them alone.”
Brett’s grin was slightly scary. “Do you really think this is something that isn’t going to happen when you meet some dude, too? Come on, Lynx, I’m gonna enjoy putting your guy through the wringer. It’s my duty as your boss, but, baby, it’s pure pleasure as your friend.”
Mikayla could only sh
ake her head in exasperation. “With friends like you, who needs enemies?”
Chapter Fifteen
“I can’t believe you hit them.”
“Yeah, well. I can’t believe you and Rock pounded on each other like a couple of morons,” Tara muttered, now that they were alone in Julian’s suite.
Julian wiggled his jaw to relieve some of the lingering soreness there. He could agree with her, they had acted like morons and he had the split lip and bruises to prove it.
Damn the man, Rock had fists like sledgehammers.
Julian had held his own, but like his namesake, Rock’s fists had felt like rocks when they had struck. In the end Julian knew that Rock could have pounded him into bloody dust, but instead they’d declared a tentative truce. Even so, Rock had warned him that if he hurt Tara, no one would find his body, and Julian believed every word of his threat. The look in the other man’s eyes made Julian painfully aware that Rock Savage would like nothing better than to bury his body somewhere out in the desert.
Julian liked the camaraderie that existed between the agents. Even their boss, Brett Michaels, seemed pretty normal and easygoing, although Julian was sure the man was a mean son of a bitch when riled. As he observed the group, he understood that IAD didn’t seem to operate like the military, with a strict chain of command or rigid ideas of how to speak to one another. Instead the agents acted like a cohesive unit, pulling together to complete whatever task was in front of them, no matter how dangerous.
When the meeting ended, Julian and Tara left her room and went back to his suite to have dinner sent up. This time Julian picked the meal, knowing that if he left it to her, it would probably be pizza this time. Not knowing what was in store for him in Chicago, Julian liked to think of this as their chance to celebrate Christmas Eve without interruptions from the others. He ordered them a succulent surf-and-turf dinner of buttery lobster paired with thick fillets. It gave him pleasure to watch Tara eat the meal he provided her, not that he would ever tell her that was what he was thinking. She had trouble accepting anything from anyone.
Case in point was Lucian’s busted nose and Adrian’s sore nuts.
Speaking of which…
Julian put down his fork to pick up his glass of wine. “How long were you dating Rock?”
Tara paused as she chewed her food. When she finished she took a drink from her own wineglass. “I didn’t really date them. It was just a thing we considered but never really followed through with.”
Julian’s eyes widened. “Them?”
Uh-oh.
Tara backtracked in her head. She might not know much about relationships but she knew enough that men like Julian didn’t take kindly to his woman thinking about being with multiple partners, especially if it was at the same time. Oh well, he was just going to have to deal. She wasn’t ashamed of considering taking the twins as lovers…and their friendship was nonnegotiable.
“The twins are…different.”
“I’ll say,” Julian muttered.
Tara threw a roll at him that he caught easily and took a bite of, grinning back at her.
“I met the twins while I was on assignment for the CIA. It was one of my first missions out and the intel we got was complete crap. I ended up getting cut off from my team and I would have died if I hadn’t met up with Rock and Adrian. We were stuck together for three days and, well…there were sparks there. I considered being with them, but it just didn’t turn out that way. I knew I couldn’t be what they really needed and, well, after a while I started thinking of them as brothers instead of potential lovers.”
“Huh. You really considered being with both of them? At the same time? That’s…”
Tara would have snapped at him if she didn’t note that his voice only held curiosity and not derision. “The twins…Shit, how do I explain this? They feel what the other feels. Sort of like a form of telepathy or something. One of them can’t love someone without the other feeling the same.”
Julian was intrigued. His fascination outweighed the jealousy that tried to rear its ugly head. He knew that Rock and Adrian were part of Tara’s life and he would have to learn to accept them…as long as they accepted the fact she now belonged to him. It helped that they never followed through with a more intimate relationship. The twins were already very protective of Tara and she was like a sister to them. Julian couldn’t imagine how they’d be with a woman they claimed as their own.
“I’m too much like them to ever be with them long-term. Plus, with two of them I would probably kill one sooner or later so we decided we were better off as friends.”
“Their loss is my gain.”
“You bet your fine ass it is,” she said, making him laugh.
They finished their meal and Julian sat back in his chair. “I would like for you to stay with me tonight,” he said softly.
Tara took a deep breath. “Fine…but sometimes if I try to sleep with someone in the room, I get…hell, they call it night terrors. I might wake up and hurt you or something.”
“I’ve heard of that before. It’s one of the symptoms of PTSD, isn’t it? Devon had an issue with that for a while after he left the Marines and came to work with me.”
“Yeah, well, call it a side effect of my fucked-up life. I’m not going to lie, I’ve got more baggage than even Samsonite can handle, but if you’re still interested, then I’m game to try.”
Julian simply stood and held out his hand to her.
She stared at it before taking it, letting him pull her to her feet. They walked together to his bedroom in silence, their hands connecting them as a solid unit. Together they were changing each other’s lives. For the better? Maybe it was too soon to tell, but Tara knew that she had never felt this way about another man before. She liked how she felt when she was around him, and she liked how he made her feel. She was precious to him and he didn’t hesitate to let her know it.
As they made their way into the bedroom, Julian was filled with determination. Tonight he wanted to give her something different. Until now it had been all flash and fire between them, but he had such tenderness that he needed to share with her…and tonight, he would.
He stopped beside the bed and took her head in both of his hands. “From the first moment I saw you, I wanted you. It wasn’t comfortable for me and at first I didn’t like it. But then I got to know you, and knowing you has only made me want you more. I imagine fifty years from now that will still be true.”
“Julian…” she whispered his name, touched beyond belief. Tara sensed that this was something Julian needed…this quiet gentleness between the two of them.
To love and be loved.
He was right. Since they had gotten together, she had done her best to keep the lust burning bright so she wouldn’t have to deal with softer emotions. Now, it would only be cowardly for her to continue to do so and Tara was no coward.
Julian gently laid his lips on hers and stroked his hands down her arms to pull her in slowly. He reached down and slowly slid her shirt up her torso, pulling back just enough to take it off of her. He reached around her back and unclipped her bra, letting the straps slide down her arms as he exposed her breast.
“So pretty…” he murmured. “Look at these tight little berries just waiting to be sucked.” He gently rotated the metal bars in her nipples, making them harden to the point of delicious pain.
Julian leaned down to kiss her sweetly on the lips as he unzipped her jeans. He pushed them past her hips, let them slide down her legs.
“Step out, baby.”
Julian’s chest ached as he watched her step out of her jeans so she was naked before him.
God, she’s magnificent.
Tara pulled away from Julian and sat down, then slid backward until she was in the middle of the bed. Afraid to speak and break the magic of the moment, she sat quietly and waited, watching him as he began removing his own clothes. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw him in all his glory.
Standing there in the dim ligh
t, he was a golden god. The sight of Julian’s hard body was like an orgasm for her eyes. His muscular body rivaled some of the IAD agents’ that Tara was used to, but none of her friends had ever made her feel like she did now. The sight of Julian’s body made her want to trace every dip and curve of his muscles with her tongue. To know his body like she knew her own.
The sprinkle of golden hair on his chest made her want to reach out and pet him. The deep indents of his hipbones made her ache to touch and tease. His massive erection was jutting out, thick and hard, weeping pre-cum from the ruddy tip and she stared at it hungrily.
“None of that now.” Julian chuckled low. “You keep looking at me like that and we are going to end up like two crazed animals again. This time is going to be different.” He kneeled on the bed and slowly crawled into position between her parted thighs. His gaze traveled down and he let out a hum of appreciation as he got his first good look at the bare flesh of her pussy. Lightly pushing her thighs open more, he watched the folds of her pussy part for him, exposing the proof of her need for him seeping from that tight hole.
“All this time,” he said, he voice husky with need, “and I’ve never tasted this pretty little pussy. Would you like that, Tara? Would you like for me to taste you?”
“Yes,” Tara sighed. “Yes, Julian…taste me.”
Julian’s eyes shone with approval as he gently pushed her thighs wider. Tara propped herself up on her elbows so she could watch then let out a shocked cry as he wasted no time doing just that.
Julian’s tongue darted out to lick at the tight slit before him. Her unique flavor exploded on his tongue like the sweetest honey he had ever tasted. He felt drugged, high on the taste of her, and he wanted more. Julian licked and sucked at the juices coating her pussy, her soft moans and cries like ambrosia to his ears. He moved his attention up to her clit, flicking his tongue across the tiny nub, and let out a satisfied hum as her body jerked.
He shifted so he could use two fingers to penetrate her hot little hole as he continued to flick his tongue back and forth across her clit, holding her body in place with his other hand gripping her hip.