Secret Vows (Hideaway (Kimani)) (25 page)

Picking up his fork, Chase twirled a portion of vegetable lo mein around the tines. “No, thanks. I’ve never had a problem letting a woman know I’m interested in her.”

Jason swallowed a mouthful of curry chicken. “Are you interested in her?”

Chase nodded. “Yeah,” he said offhandedly. “But not for anything long-term.”

Greer went still, her expression frozen as she glared at Chase. “Maybe I shouldn’t be listening to this conversation. Is this how you view all women? By long- or short-term?”

Jason rested his hand on Greer’s. “Baby, please.”

She flung off his hand. “Don’t try and placate me, Jason. I asked Chase, not you.”

“I said let it go, Greer.”

She stared at Jason as if he were a stranger. He hadn’t raised his voice but the effect was the same. “Okay. I’ll let it go.”

“Greer has a right to ask,” Chase said, hoping to diffuse an argument between his friends. “I’m too transient to commit to a woman, so I will never delude her into believing there’s going to be more between us when there’s not. That way there are no hard feelings or misconceptions on either side.”

Greer refused to back down. “You tell a woman up-front that she’s short-term?”

Chase nodded. “I do.”

“And they don’t have a problem with it?” she asked incredulously.

“No, Greer. The ones who are looking for marriage walk away. Those looking for fun or just a good time tell me they enjoy their short-term tenure.”

Shaking her head, Greer pointed her fork at Chase. “I’ll never understand men as long as I live. If I told Jason I wanted to use him short-term, I’m certain he would call me all sorts of despicable names. Wouldn’t you, darling?”

“Nope. I’d renegotiate, asking for an extension, then another extension and as many as I can get until we’re long-term.”

Chase chuckled. “Spoken like a true businessman.”

MC Oakie was setting up his equipment for karaoke when Greer heard loud voices coming from the opposite end of the dining room. Pushing back her chair, she stood up. “Excuse me. I have to see what’s going on.” Jason and Chase were on their feet at the same time. “I can handle this.”

Stefi rushed over, high color in her normally pale face. “There are some guys giving the hostess a problem about paying. They claim they’re just here for karaoke but don’t plan to eat.”

“The rule is, if you come through the door, you the pay the price for the buffet whether you eat or drink,” she told Stefi as she wended her way among the tables. There was a group of four men and two women milling around the podium. “Is there a problem?” she asked.

A short stocky man with a colorful tattoo of an eagle on the side of his neck stepped forward. “Yes, there’s a problem. This bitch—”

“Slow your roll, mister. Either you address my employees with respect or I’m going to ask you to leave.”

The man took two steps, bringing him inches from where Greer stood, hands resting at her waist. He poked her chest. “I’m not going anywhere, bitch!”

She gave him a short jab to the throat seconds before Jason elbowed him to the temple. The loud mouth crumbled like an accordion. A deafening silence descended on Stella’s. She nodded to Chase. “Please call the sheriff.”

Her mentioning
sheriff
galvanized the others into action. Two men picked up their fallen comrade and half dragged, half carried him out of the restaurant as one of the women cried that Greer had killed her boyfriend.

Greer clapped her hands. “It’s over, good people. Karaoke Night is about to begin.”

Jason wound an arm around her waist. “I’ll hang out here just in case they come back.”

“I doubt if they will.”

He gave her a level stare. “I’ll still hang out here. You don’t have Bobby tonight, so I’ll fill in for him.”

Her eyes caressed his face, seeing signs of fatigue for the first time. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his face was thinner. The strain of not knowing whether his aunt was going to survive had taken its toll. The neurosurgeon had placed her in a drug-induced coma to reduce brain swelling. “Thanks, Batman.”

Jason nodded. “We make quite the dynamic duo.” She mouthed that she loved him, eliciting a tired smile from him. “Ditto,” he whispered.

“Careful killer. Your skills are showing,” Chase teased when she returned solo to the table as Jason checked out the parking lot to ensure that the disruptive pack had left.

She ducked her head. “Jason decked him. I just stopped him from talking.”

“You guys were awesome.”

“What I was trying to do is save Stella’s from becoming a dive where bar fights are the norm rather than the exception. My aunt and uncle worked too hard and sacrificed much too much for the law to shut us down. Bobby goes ballistic if we serve alcohol to anyone under twenty-three, and if anyone was found selling drugs...well I’d better not talk about that.”

“Or the other possible scenario,” Chase added, sotto voce.

Greer blinked slowly. She didn’t tell Chase what she’d witnessed that morning she had videotaped Danny and the garbage collector. He told her. She’d sat stunned by his revelation, wondering who Chase was. Which clandestine agency did he work for? And if he didn’t, then who was feeding him the information she’d passed along to her supervisor.

Once she had confronted Chase about why he’d come to her home, he did admit he knew Jason wouldn’t be there because he was in Florida. Greer invited him to stay for dinner if only to try and see if the self-proclaimed ghost would inadvertently reveal more about himself. Unfortunately he hadn’t. What had begun as an uncomfortable encounter for her for the first half hour segued into an easygoing experience where she found the enigmatic man brilliant as well as entertaining.

MC Oakie took to the stage as an Elvis impersonator. The rhinestone-studded white jumpsuit glittered like stars under the spotlights. He gyrated and swiveled his hips to raucous laughter. Thunderous applause followed his announcement that he would begin Karaoke Night by spotlighting one of the restaurant’s employees.

Stefi appeared genuinely shocked when her name was called. Amid chanting and hooting, Stefi made her way to the stage, conferring with the master of ceremonies as to her song choice.

Greer and everyone in Stella’s seemed to hold their collective breaths when Stefi sang Barbra Streisand’s “People.”

Greer could not believe such a powerful voice had come from the waitress’s diminutive body. It was more than apparent that the aspiring actress had years of musical theater as evidenced by her ability to effortlessly project her voice. Stefi ran off the stage smiling and blushing furiously to a standing ovation.

“Is she still short-term?” Greer teased Chase.

His eyes darkened before his lids lowered, shuttering his innermost thoughts. “She can
only
be short-term.”

“Jason says you usually spend Thanksgiving with your family. If you change your mind, then you’re welcome to join Jason, Bobby and me.”

“He’s right, but this year they’re joining my sister and her family who are vacationing in San Juan, Puerto Rico.”

“Does this mean Jason and I can count on you joining us?”

Chase offered her a sheepish grin. “Yes.”

Greer had convinced Bobby to close Stella’s after lunch Thanksgiving Eve and not reopen again until the following Tuesday. The five days would serve as a minivacation for all of the employees.

Her uncle finally reemerged from his self-exile, walking over to the bar to talk with Pepper as Jason locked the door behind the last customer, and she began tallying the day’s receipts, a task Bobby usually performed. Greer forced herself not to watch Danny as he cleaned up the dining room, depositing half-eaten food in reinforced garbage bags. It galled her that she knew of his illegal activities and had been ordered not to arrest him because the ATF sought to cast a wider net, sweeping up more than one or two gun traffickers. They wanted the mastermind behind the operation.

She wasn’t certain how much longer she would remain with the agency because, every day she woke in the bed she shared with her husband, Greer wanted to live a normal life for the first time since she had celebrated her twenty-sixth birthday. She was tired of lying to Jason, tired of monitoring everything she said in his presence for fear of compromising her position as a special agent for the ATF.

“What did you think of Stefi’s performance?” she asked Jason as he sat next to her, watching as she bundled bills by denomination.

“She has an incredible voice but...”

Greer met his eyes. “But what?”

“It’s obvious she’s been trained for the stage. She just wouldn’t be a good fit for...” His words trailed off again when his cell phone rang. Reaching into the breast pocket of his jacket, he glanced at the display. “Yes, Ana?” Jason listened intently, a slow smile softening the lines of fatigue around his mouth. “Thanks. Yes. It’s wonderful news. Congratulations to you, too.” His eyebrows lifted. “Yes, I’ll tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Greer asked when he ended the call.

“Ana said to tell you hello. And she called to let me know that Justin Glover’s album is now certified triple platinum.”

Greer half rose from her chair to kiss Jason, then remembered where they were. “That’s fantastic news. We’ll celebrate but only after you catch up on your sleep. I can’t have you passing out on me.”

“It depends on what you do to make me pass out.”

“Even superheroes need sleep.”

Jason ran a hand over his face as he attempted to smother a yawn. “I tried sleeping during the flight but I couldn’t relax.”

“We’re going home,” Greer said, pushing back her chair and coming to her feet. “Bobby can finish this.” Placing the receipts and money in a canvas bag, she walked to the bar. “Uncle Bobby, I started tallying the receipts, but you need to finish. Jason’s falling asleep on his feet, so I’m taking him home.”

Greer gasped audibly when she stared at Bobby. His eyes were swollen, red rimmed, and she knew he’d been crying. She didn’t want to acknowledge the man who’d become her second father—and who’d fearlessly face down any man or beast—had spent the day in his apartment weeping for a woman who loved him as unselfishly as he loved her.

“And I’d like you to come home with me, too.”

Pepper ran a towel over the bar. “That’s all right, Greer. Bobby’s agreed to hang out at my place tonight.”

She kissed Bobby. “I’ll leave the receipts in the safe. I’ll finish them in the morning.”

Bobby held her in a punishing bear hug. “Take care of your man, honey bunny. He loves you a lot. And don’t worry about coming in early tomorrow. Stay home and spend some time with your husband,” he whispered.

Greer couldn’t ignore the flutters in the pit of her stomach. “Thank you.” She raced up the staircase to Bobby’s apartment, leaving the receipts in the safe and retrieving her tote. She returned to find Jason asleep in the chair. Anchoring an arm under his shoulder, she managed to get him to his feet and out to the parking lot. He woke when she forced him into the Range Rover’s passenger seat.

“I’ll drive.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Surely you jest. You can barely keep your eyes open, and you want to drive. Not tonight, darling.”

Chapter 21

J
ason woke and it wasn’t until he saw the skylights that he realized he was home, home with Greer. He recalled her undressing him, assisting him when he brushed his teeth and had joined him in the shower. After that he hadn’t remembered anything. He wanted to linger in bed but nature compelled him to get up and use the bathroom.

He reentered the bedroom, grinning from ear to ear when he saw Greer in bed, holding a mug of coffee. She wore one of his T-shits instead of a nightgown. Jason wasn’t certain whether it was only their separation that made him look at her differently. The girlish aura was missing, and in its place was a confident woman.

Greer patted the mattress. “Come join me.”

Jason slipped into bed next to her, she handing him the mug. “Thank you.”

Greer kissed his shoulder. She picked up her mug from the bedside table, touching it with Jason’s.
“Bienvenido a casa.”

“Oh, so my baby is learning Spanish.”

She rested her head on his muscled shoulder. “Your baby will
not
go through what Nicholas’s mother has gone through with her mother-in-law all these years. Our children will be bi- or even trilingual.”

Looping his free arm around Greer’s shoulders, Jason dropped a kiss on her hair framing her delicate face. He felt a gentle peace, a different fulfillment he hadn’t been able to derive from music. His
abuela
was right. When he met the woman with whom he would spend his life, he would know it immediately. Marguerite-Joséfina had known it when she had seen Samuel Cole, and Jason hadn’t known or was unaware of it because of his jealous mistress until he had walked into Stella’s. Jason had refused to put a woman first in his life because he felt it would interfere with his creativity when it’d become the opposite. Sitting in the solarium outside his aunt’s private hospital suite, he had found himself scribbling notes like a madman. Not only had he heard music in his head but also lyrics. He wrote for an acoustic piano, guitar and organ. Once he had completed the third song, Jason knew he was chronicling Greer’s journey from the dark and into the light through music. The songs were for any woman who’d found herself controlled by forces not her own.

He knew she would never record the songs because it would be akin to reopening a wound that had healed over. Instead of sleeping during the return flight to Portland, Jason had spent the time ruminating which artist signed to Serenity’s label would be best suited to bring his music and lyrics to life. He thought of Justin, but it would solidify him as a country artist, something Jason wasn’t certain Justin wanted to be.

Ana’s telephone call about Justin’s inaugural album selling more than three million copies had become a personal triumph for Justin, and he expected the freshman singer to earn a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and Best Country Song, which reached number one on Billboard’s Top Country charts.

“You’re very quiet this morning.”

Greer’s voice broke into his musings. “I was thinking about the songs I’d written while waiting for my aunt to come out of her coma.”

“Will you play them for me?”

“I will once I’m finished.” He exhaled an audible breath. “When was the last time we slept in late?”

Greer rubbed her toes over his leg. “I can’t remember. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve invited Chase to celebrate Thanksgiving with us.”

“He always goes to Hawaii for Thanksgiving.”

“Not this year. He came by to see you when you were in Florida. I asked him to stay for dinner, and I got to see another side of your very mysterious friend.”

“Please don’t tell me my very mysterious friend waited for me to darken the door to try and hit on my wife,” Jason teased.

“Of course not. I hope you’re not jealous.”

Jason set his mug down on a glass coaster. “Put down your mug,” he ordered softly. “Of course I’m jealous,” he whispered in her ear when she set down her coffee. “I’m jealous of any man who looks at you. And I’ll kill any man who tries to hurt you.”

Greer placed her fingers over his mouth. “Please, let’s not talk about other people.”

“Who do you want to talk about?”

Greer stared up at Jason through her lashes. “You.”

Reaching over, he eased her to lie side by side with him, sandwiching her legs between his. “What about me?”

“You’re young, a musician, and yet you don’t have any piercings or ink.”

“I’d thought about getting my ears pierced but never got around to it.”

“What about a tattoo?” Greer asked.

Jason laughed, the sound rumbling in his chest. “I plan to tattoo my kids’ names on my inner thigh.”

“No one will be able to see them.”

“No one but you.” His right hand cradled her hip under the too large T-shirt. “I’ve missed you so much. I’ve missed hearing your voice, your laugh. I’ve missed tasting your mouth, inhaling your perfume. And I’ve missed making love to you.”

Greer felt her eyes fill with tears from his impassioned confession. “I can’t put into words how much I’ve missed you, but if you let me be on top, I can show you.”

Reversing their positions, Jason lay on his back. Folding his arms under his head, he stared at Greer as she pulled the T-shirt over her head. He couldn’t take his gaze away from her breasts, swaying slightly when she lifted her hips to remove her panties.

Greer straddled his thighs while bracing her hands on the headboard over his head. Jason pulled himself into a sitting position, his hands circling her waist. A rush of air was expelled from his lungs as she pressed her breasts to his chest. Lowering her head, she lightly touched her lips to Jason’s before devouring his mouth. Her tongue then moved slowly, tracing the outline of his full, sensuous lower lip. Her hands were as busy as her mouth, fingers biting into his scalp.

Jason couldn’t stop his deep moans of passion when Greer wouldn’t permit him to escape her marauding mouth. Using his superior strength, he lifted her, extricated her mouth and fastened his teeth on her nipple, applying pressure but not enough to cause injury. The gentle tugging elicited a keening from Greer that made the hair stand up on his body.

He maneuvered her slender body with one arm, lifting her high enough to guide his erection inside her and filling her with the fire which threatened to incinerate him. Greer tried pulling away but Jason held her fast.

“No, baby,” he pleaded.

Greer closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She wanted it to last, but feared she was going to climax too quickly. Her heated blood raced through her veins like molten lava. She’d fantasized about an even more intense ecstasy with Jason, and now that she was experiencing it she was frightened.

Her breath was coming faster and faster. “I can’t.”

Jason ignored her request to be on top when he reversed their position and did not slow his powerful thrusts in an attempt to absorb Greer into himself where they would cease to exist as separate entities. “I belong to you, darling,” he whispered in Spanish.
“Tome todo mí,”
he crooned over and over in singsong, clenching his teeth and praying he would not explode. He wanted her to take all of him so she could feel the love he was unable to put into words. She was so moist, so tight, that he doubted whether he could hold back ejaculating long enough for Greer to achieve her own fulfillment.

* * *

Greer slipped her arms under Jason’s shoulders as she buried her face against the column of his neck, her hot breath on his ear when he slid his hands under her hips, lifting her higher and higher. The wetness flowing from her mingled with the perspiration covering their bodies. Her sensitized nipples grazing Jason’s damp chest hair sent more shocks throughout her lower body. Her fingernails sank deep into the tight muscles of his shoulders, and she tried suppressing the uncontrollable screams slipping past her parted lips.

She welcomed Jason’s weight, arching her back to receive his frenzied thrusts. She was too caught up with the emotions her husband had summoned—from the part of her where sanity and insanity merged—to realize the primal forces that had taken over her mind and body; raw, savage screams exploded from the back of her throat just before an awesome climax, followed by two more, consumed her in the hottest fire of oblivion.

* * *

Jason’s growl of sexual triumph echoed in Greer’s ear as he quickened his movements and buried his sex deep within her soft, throbbing warmth. He lay heavily on her slight frame, eyes closed. It had only taken the last seconds of his waning passion to know he would risk giving his life to keep her safe. He loved her just that much.

* * *

A light rain pelted the skylight when Jason finally got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shave. His whiskers were beginning to itch. Greer was still asleep when he walked back into the bedroom to dress. He opened one of the doors to the walk-in closet, then realized he’d given that side of the closet to Greer. A slight frown creased his forehead when he noticed the butt of a handgun in the leather tote she always carried with her. Reaching down, he picked up the deadly looking automatic. Hunkering down, he searched through the bag and found three 10-round magazines and a pair of handcuffs. His breath congealed in his chest when he opened the small leather case to find the badge and picture ID.

His wife was an ATF special agent!

Jason didn’t want to believe the woman with whom he’d fallen in love, married and planned to become the mother of their children didn’t trust him enough to reveal who she was. She’d talked about her ex deceiving her, and she’d done the same with him. At least Larry Hill had had an excuse. He was mentally unstable. Now he understood why she couldn’t accept a recording contract. Why she wanted to keep their marriage secret.

The thoughts assaulted Jason like missiles, coming at him from all angles. He wanted to hate Greer, but he couldn’t. Not when he’d found himself in too deep. What he wanted and needed were answers.

He returned the automatic and the magazines to the tote, but not the case with her badge and ID. Jason couldn’t believe he was so calm as he went about getting dressed. It was as if he’d been shot up with a powerful sedative where he could only react like an automaton.

Dressed in a rugby shirt, jeans and running shoes, he sat down on the side of the bed and stared at the woman who managed to tug at his heart even when they were apart. There was so much about her he didn’t know. His gaze narrowed. What else was she hiding from him? How much of her past was the truth or just lies?

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he shook her gently. Greer moaned, her eyelids fluttering as she came awake. A smile softened her mouth. The smile faded when she stared at what Jason held in front of her face.

Sitting up quickly, she reached for the case but he pulled out of her grasp. “Where did you get that?”

Tossing it over his shoulder, it landing on the floor, Jason grasped her shoulders, pulling her up. “When were you going to tell me?”

Greer’s eyes were wild with rage. “You had no right to go through my things.”

“I have every right, Greer, to know that my wife is leading a double life.” Jason didn’t want to believe he sounded so calm when all he wanted to do was punch something to relieve the rage holding him captive; he’d been a fool, an unwilling victim of duplicity.

“I couldn’t tell you.”

“That’s B.S. and you know it.” The fragile thread on his self-control snapped. “My sisters and cousins are married to federal agents, and at least they know what they do, even if they’re not privy to what they’re working on. You talk about your ex deceiving you. Well you’ve done the same thing to me.”

Greer swallowed the bile in her throat. “It’s not what you think.”

“What am I to think, Greer? You claim you love me, but you don’t trust me. Why?”

Jason was asking questions she couldn’t answer. She hadn’t planned on falling in love or even marrying again. But she did love Jason, more than she could’ve ever imagined. “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?” he mimicked sarcastically.

Pulling the sheet up to her chest, Greer wound it around her body. Her nakedness wasn’t just about her body but also her emotions. Jason had stripped her bare, forcing her to look inside herself for reasons why she hadn’t told him what she did for a living when Chase knew.

She sat up straight, supporting her back against several pillows. “I didn’t tell you because I hadn’t planned to fall in love with you. But once I did, I knew there was no turning back. I had to play it out until the end.”

“When is it going to end?” Jason asked.

Greer stared over his shoulder, unable to meet his angry expression. “Hopefully soon.”

“I’m not going to ask you what you’re involved with—”

“I couldn’t tell you even if you did,” she interrupted. “The only thing I’m going to say is that this is my last assignment. Once my supervisor secures the warrants and the perpetrators are arrested, I’m handing in my resignation.”

“Have you identified the perps?”

Greer smiled for the first time since Jason had shoved her badge in her face. “Yes.”

Jason’s anger quieted as he tried to put his confused emotions into some semblance of order. He’d been living and sleeping with a woman who carried a firearm as if it were an accessory. “Does Bobby know?”

She nodded. “Yes. He’s known for years that I’m with the ATF. And my brother isn’t just a cop. He’s FBI.”

Jason gave her an incredulous stare. “Was your father
just a cop,
too?”

“No. He was DEA. And Mother was a forensic technician for the FBI.”

“What the...” He stopped before the curse slipped out. “How can your whole damn family be federal agents?”

“Don’t you dare talk about my family! It’s like the pot calling the kettle black. The Coles have their share of federal agents. At least we’ve never had a spy.”

Jason knew she was referring to Merrick Grayslake. “Don’t try and shift blame, Greer.”

“And don’t you try and act so damn sanctimonious, Jason. Celia told me she didn’t know Gavin was with the FBI until after they’d married and she was pregnant with their daughter. And you know how she found out? By seeing him at a televised press conference,” she said, answering her own question. “At least you won’t have to wait that long.”