Mind of Danger (Body of Danger, #3)

by Bristol, Sidney

  Jo never expected anyone to care about her, because she’d never mattered to anyone. Not even her damn family. He understood why she’d enlisted to get away from her mother and sister.

  The things he wanted to say to Jo’s family would never cross his lips. That didn’t stop him from wanting to throttle them.

  Jo had a family that should care about her. There was no reason for her to be out in the world with no lifeline. But he wouldn’t say that.

  Instead, he smiled. “I’ll be careful and keep the coffee warm?”

  Her lips parted, and she stared up at him with an expression he couldn’t understand.

  Elias wanted nothing more than to be here for her. To help her. She didn’t know how much she meant to him, and that was okay. It was his secret. He’d come to terms with his new life. So long as she was still in his world, he’d be content.

  Jo reached out and fisted the front of his shirt. He was so surprised by the move he didn’t do anything. Which was why when she slung an arm around his shoulder he pitched forward. If it wasn’t for his hand braced against the wall, he would have staggered into her.

  The next moment he became acutely aware of warm skin pressed against his. And not just any skin. His lips. Nails scraped his scalp as she fisted his hair. He placed his free hand against her side, unsure if he was steadying himself or poised to move her. Closer? Push her away? What the hell was happening?

  His mind raced to catch up. He’d said something and Jo had launched herself at him.

  Her lips moved over his in a desperate kiss.

  Elias’ desire flared. He’d been attracted to her since the day they’d met. He’d held himself in check, remaining in his role as a friend. But this was her kissing him.

  The why didn’t matter.

  He gripped the door, using it as leverage to lean into her. She suckled his lower lip.

  Was this really happening?

  If he was asleep did he really want to wake up?

  Hell. No.

  Elias wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She tugged on his hair. He let her guide him to just the right angle, but this time it wasn’t just her kissing him. If this was a dream, he wanted to do it right.

  He lifted Jo off the ground. Her legs wrapped around him with no urging. His leg twinged, but only a little. He’d done all the strength training possible, but some things would never feel entirely right again. The momentary pain faded, replaced by the acute awareness of her hot, hungry mouth moving against his.

  Elias took two steps until he felt the plush carpet underfoot. He turned, pressing her back to the wall and using it as a brace.

  She reached out, wildly waving her arm until she caught the door and shoved it closed. Or mostly shut.

  He leaned his hips into her, using his body to support her weight and freeing up his hands.

  There were so many ways he wanted to touch her. For now, he cupped her cheek, relishing the simple act of kissing her.

  Jo groaned and shifted, but there was only so much she could do to move herself now that he had her.

  His knees shook, not from strain. From the intensity.

  And that alone told him what he needed to know.

  This moment was real. It wasn’t a dream or in his head.

  He leaned his head back, breaking the kiss and looking at her.

  Jo stared at him through her lashes. Her cheeks were pink and her lips parted.

  She was stunning. Beautiful. Courageous. And didn’t know when to stop. Ever. He wanted to wrap her up, protect her against everything yet he knew he couldn’t. Which made this moment that much more complicated.

  Whatever she was doing was high stress. It wasn’t uncommon for individuals in that situation to reach for physical comfort. That was a driving reason behind the lack of fraternization rules at Aegis Group. Why punish someone for a biological urge, so long as everyone involved was able to consent?

  “Jo?” he whispered.

  “What?”

  Elias opened his mouth to say something, but didn’t know where to start or where he was even going.

  She leaned forward and kissed his cheek tenderly.

  He closed his eyes, emotions he wasn’t prepared to deal with welling up inside of him.

  “What is it?” she whispered.

  “What are we doing?” he asked and hated himself for it.

  “Elias?” She trailed a single finger along his jaw. “I’m going to be real with you. There’s a fifty-fifty chance I die trying to pull this off. I can’t run away. I have to see this through. Knowing that makes me think about things I regret. Like, never acting on the urge to kiss you.”

  Every sentence hit him with new revelations.

  It was obvious she was in a high-risk situation, but death was an expected outcome? Who was asking her to do this? Why didn’t she have more help? And, this wasn’t the first time she’d thought of kissing him? It wasn’t new?

  Jo looked at him and he felt as though she were drawing him in with each word. Not that he was fighting this or her. “I trust you, maybe more than anyone, so I’m telling you now. Because maybe I should have a long time ago?”

  Elias didn’t know what to say. So he didn’t speak.

  Instead, he leaned in. She tipped her chin up. He pressed his lips against hers, soft at first, exploring her mouth. Jo curled her fingers into his hair, her nails scraping his scalp as her lips moved. There was a need, a hunger, in the way she kissed. As if this might be her last meal.

  She thought she was going to die.

  If she was right—and he prayed she wasn’t—this could be the last time they saw each other.

  Everything in him wanted that to be a lie.

  Jo moaned into the kiss and arched her back, pressing her breasts against him. He slid his hand down her side to palm her ass.

  Suddenly Jo turned her head.

  “Shit,” she yelped.

  “What?”

  “Put me down.”

  He quickly helped her regain her footing.

  Jo darted past him, around the corner and into the bathroom. That was when the sound of running water finally registered to his addled brain.

  He peered into the bathroom.

  Jo stood next to the soaker tub, stopper in hand, head tipped back and eyes closed.

  The tub was maybe an inch from spilling over the ledge. Possibly less.

  A pile of clothes sat on the tile. Clothes he recalled her wearing earlier.

  Shit.

  Jo glanced over her shoulder at him.

  He stopped breathing.

  She was beautiful. It wasn’t just her appearance; it was her inner strength. He’d never met anyone like her.

  “That was almost a disaster.” She chuckled.

  “Yeah,” he managed to croak out.

  One side of her mouth hitched up. “Where were we?”

  Jo turned, shrugging off the robe as she did so. The plush terrycloth fell to the floor leaving her in blue striped panties with lace along the hems—and nothing else.

  “Holy...” His ability to form words vanished.

  “Wow, if I knew you’d look at me like that I think I’d have done this sooner. A lot sooner.”

  “This? Jo?” He held up his hands for some reason. What it was, he didn’t know.

  She stopped a few feet away from him.

  “Something wrong?” she asked.

  “I don’t know...” His eyes drifted lower, to her breasts. Her nipples were a dusky brown shade. The way they’d tightened was fascinating.

  “Elias?” She took the final step, closing the distance between them and laid her hand on his chest. “I want you.”

  Those three words were powerful. They made his knees wobble. He felt them in the pit of his stomach. Questions and concerns whispered in the back of his mind, but her steady gaze silenced them.

  Who was he to question her?

  “Elias?”

  “Hm?”

  “Kiss me?”

  That
he could do.

  Elias bent, meeting her mouth with his.

  He wrapped his arm around her, palming her ass as he drew her closer to him. She went up on tip toe, pressing herself against him.

  God, this was really happening. This wasn’t a dream.

  He slid his hand down her back. How was it she could be both hard and soft?

  Her tongue teased his, deepening the kiss.

  Elias splayed his hands, one on either side of her ass. How many times had he wanted to do that? She had the best ass he’d ever seen. Firm. Round. Perfect fit in his hand.

  He wanted to protect her. Be the guy who watched her back. That burning desire radiated through him, despite knowing he couldn’t do that for her.

  A kiss? That he could do.

  Jo tugged at his wrist. He let her guide his hand to her bare breast. Her softness filled his hand perfectly while her nipple was a hard contrast.

  Elias broke the kiss to look at where her hand covered his over her breast. He glanced at her face and found her watching him. Her lips glistened, and she looked at him with eyes gone dark gray with lust.

  He acted on instinct. It was something about the way she looked at him that pushed him over the edge.

  In one move he picked her up and crossed to the bed. Once there, he gently tossed her onto the mattress. She fell back on her elbows, those dark eyes of hers still locked on his.

  Elias went to a knee beside the bed. She had one foot hanging off the mattress. He bent his head and kissed the top of her ankle, the side of her calf and then her shin. Her other foot moved restlessly over the comforter. He took that as encouragement and continued, touching and kissing his way up one leg then the other. He had no idea if this was the right thing to do, but seeing as he might only get the chance to worship her body once, he intended to do it properly.

  He pressed his lips to the top of her left thigh.

  “Elias,” Jo moaned.

  She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled.

  He gave in, letting her drag him up her body. She hooked one leg over his hip and pulled him down for a kiss.

  How many times had he wanted this? Right here?

  Jo whimpered and arched her back. He covered her breast with his hand and her body relaxed.

  She wanted him.

  It wasn’t a reality he’d been prepared for. He’d never thought she might want him the same way. How much time had been lost?

  He pushed that thought away.

  Right now was about her.

  He teased her nipples until she squirmed under him, panting against his lips. She was utterly beautiful with her hair spread out and her cheeks so very pink.

  Did he take it a step farther?

  Elias slid his hand to her hip. She shifted against him, arms locked tight around his shoulders. He ran his fingers along the hemline of her panties and she stilled. Not even breathing.

  He lifted his head to look down into her eyes as he slid his finger past the lace to brush over her mound. She bit her lower lip and suddenly he wanted to do that, too.

  “Elias,” she whispered after a moment.

  “Do you want me to?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  No hesitation whatsoever.

  He eased back, out of her grasp, staring at her panties. They were so feminine and unexpected. He liked knowing this secret.

  Elias hooked his fingers in the lacey band and drew the bit of blue striped fabric down her legs, revealing her neatly trimmed mound. He let the panties drop to the floor and took a moment to just look at her. She had her hands over her stomach, feet hanging off the side of the bed, hair everywhere.

  “You’re beautiful, know that?” He placed one hand on the bed, leaning over her.

  She reached for him, pulling him back for a kiss.

  He cupped her breast, and she sucked in a breath. He didn’t linger, instead he slid his hand own her waist to her hip and then her mound. Her legs moved restlessly. He drew his fingers down over her mound and she eased her legs apart for him.

  Fucking hell.

  Elias slid his fingers over her slick folds. Jo shivered and lifted her hips, inviting him deeper.

  She was this wet already? For him?

  The idea blew him away.

  She groaned. “Elias, I need you now.”

  He thrust his fingers inside of her. Her wet heat tightened around him, drawing him deeper.

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  “Eli?”

  He found her eyes as he stroked her inner walls, learning her most secret of places.

  She shuddered against him.

  Jo once more grabbed him by the hair.

  “Elias?” she said again with desperation.

  “Yes?” His voice was rougher than sandpaper.

  “I want to have sex with you now,” she said in clear, slow words.

  He swallowed the reflexive, are you sure?

  She looked at him like a woman who knew exactly what she wanted. He didn’t have to prerequisite himself with any warning. She knew his past and what he’d been through, that he wasn’t entirely whole, and she still wanted him.

  Maybe he wasn’t garbage after all?

  He lowered his face, kissing her as he stroked her pussy.

  Jo’s moans were so very sweet to his ears.

  She had to make it through whatever the hell she was doing, because he was not going to find her and then lose her. Not after tonight. He couldn’t allow that to happen. But that was tomorrow’s problem.

  Tonight he wanted to make her feel.

  Jo pushed at his shoulders. He sat up and she yanked at his shirt, pulling it up over his head. He threw the garment over the side of the bed and stood. She was already sat up and was undoing his belt buckle. Elias grabbed his holstered weapon and disentangled it from his belt, then set the gun on the nightstand—next to hers.

  In this they were, and would likely always be, the same.

  The moment his fingers let go of the holster Jo was on him again. She undid his pants, never once pausing to stare at his scars. Hell, she’d seen the gaping wounds. She’d seen him at his worst and she still wanted him. That knowledge made his hands shake as he stepped out of the last of his clothing.

  Jo rose up on her knees and cupped his face in a tender gesture. She kissed him with as much desire as before. He dug his hands into her hair, marveling at the silky feeling of the strands. Her hand wrapped around his cock and he groaned.

  It had been so long...

  He shuddered at the feel of her hand against his flesh.

  So damn good.

  Skin on skin.

  Wait.

  “Jo. Jo? Hold on a moment.” Those words nearly killed him. He grasped her by the shoulders and pushed her away enough to look at her.

  “What?” Her eyes were so dark, her hair a mess from his hands and her skin flushed a pretty pink.

  “Condoms. I don’t, I mean...” He didn’t have any.

  “I don’t need them,” she said without hesitation.

  “Shouldn’t we—”

  Her hand tightened around his cock. “Elias, I care about one thing right now. I have an IUD and I haven’t had sex with a human in almost two fucking years.”

  “Oh.” He blinked a few times trying to take all that in. It was hard when her hand wouldn’t stop stroking.

  “Is that a problem?”

  “I, uh, guess not? Fuck.” The last word came out more like a groan.

  Jo scooted back, and he followed, planting one knee then the other on the bed. She shoved his shoulder, surprising him enough it knocked him off balance. He sat down on the mattress. She moved in fast, straddling his thighs.

  Everything about this moment was surreal. She was looking at him like he was the prize, the thing she’d been wanting. And he felt the same way about her.

  She leaned over him with one hand on his shoulder. He eased back onto the plush pillows while his mind tried to take it all in, commit the sight of her to memory. The way her hair caught
the light. Her breasts were bigger than he’d expected. She had freckles down her sternum, pale barely there dots.

  He was still in that state of breathless aw when Jo went a step farther. Holding his cock in one hand, she sank down onto him.

  All at once Elias’s mind went blank, his entire being focused on the sensation of her soft skin against his. Her wet heat enveloped him, hugging him tightly.

  Jo slid her hands up and down his chest. She arched her back, a shift he wouldn’t have thought he’d notice, but he did.

  “Jo?” he managed to get out.

  She rose up slowly. He felt the tremble in her thighs. She was a strong, physically fit woman, which meant that tremble wasn’t from exertion. She was feeling this every bit as intensely as he was.

  Jo sank back down without warning.

  Elias gripped her hips as his vision went hazy.

  Fuck, she was amazing.

  “Eli?” She panted for breath.

  “Yeah?”

  Her cheeks were pink, her eyes bright with need. “Touch me.”

  He lifted his hands and cupped her breasts, exploring her tight nipples with his thumbs. She groaned and tossed her head back as she moved over him.

  She was a thing of beauty, embracing and demanding what she wanted.

  He planted his feet on the bed and using his good leg thrust up to meet her.

  Jo’s eyes went wide, and she moaned.

  He’d always wanted to be closer to her, but he never thought he’d get this close.

  “Again?” she asked in a breathy, needy voice.

  They moved in time.

  Jo leaned over him, her hair making a sort of curtain so the only thing that existed in their little world was each other. He stared into her eyes, committing every gasp and moan to memory.

  “God—Eli. Eli!” She threw her head back as her pussy tightened around him.

  He thrust up again, harder this time and felt the surge of pleasure rush through him. It seemed to roll up from his very soul. He tilted his head back and groaned through the wonderful, earth shattering pleasure of it.

  Jo’s body shuddered over him. She pitched forward, barely catching herself before flopping on top of him.

  Beautiful.

  He wanted to see that again.

  Jo’s shoulders slumped, and she blew out a breath, kindly aiming at the pillow instead of his face.