Serial Love: Saints Protection & Investigation (11 page)

Their attention was diverted by the sound of two pick-up trucks driving out of Mountville followed by the SUV that had stopped next to the first one that Jack drove in.

Cam lowered the driver’s window, smiling, asked if they were all right.

She forced a smile on her face and said, “Yes, thank you for your assistance…again.” She saw the three men inside wave and then drive away after giving Jack a head jerk.

He turned back to look at her, this time taking a step upward so that now he was looking down at her. She refused to remove her finger from his chest, then found her hand clasped in his.

Holding her gaze while rubbing her fingers, he repeated much gentler, “You have a problem, you get inside the house, lock the door and call the police.”

Before she could argue back, the door opened and Gram walked out onto the porch. “It’s quieter now out here. Oh, hello Charlie. You here courtin’ again?”

“No,” Bethany answered at the same time that Jack said, “Yes.”

She whirled around, her eyes wide and hissed, “Don’t confuse her.” She tried to jerk her hand out of his but found his grip was as strong as it was gentle.

“Not planning on confusing her,” he replied, the crinkles next to his eyes deepening as the corners of his mouth turned up.

“Well, the stew’s ready, so ya’ll come on in,” Gram called, as she turned and went back inside.

“You’re not staying,” Bethany seethed.

“Of course I am. Wouldn’t want to upset Ann and besides, I’d love more of your company,” he said smoothly, a grin appearing taking his handsome looks straight to drop-dead-I-want-to-climb-on-top-of-you gorgeous.

“We’re still going to talk about this,” Bethany hissed again.

He nodded, smiling and said, “Count on it.” Stepping around Bethany, his hand still holding hers, he tugged her along after him. Once inside, he saw little had changed in the few weeks since he had first set foot in the lodge. He followed Ann to the stairs on the left side of the main room, his fingers now linked with Bethany’s.

At the top of the stairs, they rounded a corner and he could see the apartment that Bethany’s grandparents had lived in their entire married lives. A small, but comfortable den was on the right, the walls of exposed logs with a fireplace at the end. A hall split the area, leading to the bedrooms. The open floor plan included a dining table at the other end, leading into the kitchen. The scent of homemade soup and bread filled the room.

Bethany managed to disentangle herself, stalking into the kitchen. Lifting the lid on the crock-pot, she stirred the stew before checking to make sure the bread had not burned. Her mind was a jumble of thoughts as she heard Gram chatting with Jack as they placed the dishes on the table.

She stood at the sink, looking out of the window overlooking the back of the property…the side where Jack lived. The sinking sun cast a myriad of colors over the evening sky, but for once she was not enjoying the view.

She could not remove the events of the previous half hour out of her mind—the guests arguing, the fight, the rescue. Grasping the counter tightly to keep her legs from buckling, she suddenly felt a presence behind her.

Jack’s arms reached around the counter, planting his hands on her trembling ones. He stepped forward until his front was touching her back. He rested his chin on her head, wrapping her in his warmth.

She wanted to lean her head back into him but was afraid to move. Weeks ago, she told him all about herself when they sat on the porch. And he gave her nothing.
But now?

He felt her reticence and knew he needed to breach the gap he had caused. Keeping one arm on hers, he lifted his other and wrapped it around her middle pulling her into his hard body. Leaning his head to the side, he whispered, “Come on, doll. Give it to me.”

With his soft encouragement, she dropped her head back into his chest, taking a shuttering breath. “I…I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“It’s adrenaline. It hit you when you rushed out, but now your body has to deal with the overload. You’ll be fine. It’ll pass, I promise.” Wrapping his other arm over her chest, he enveloped her as the trembling subsided.

He felt her shudder, then a few minutes later felt her body begin to relax as he willed her to take from his strength.

She closed her eyes, her mind utterly aware of every nuance. The power in his arms as they embraced her. The hard muscles of his pecs and abs as they were pressed against her back. The softness of his beard, as it tickled her ear when he leaned in and whispered. He could stand behind her and she fit snuggly underneath his chin as though meant just for his body. It had only been a minute but her body craved his presence.

“You shouldn’t be kissing in the kitchen,” Gram admonished, walking into the room. Bethany jumped and Jack released her slowly, his chuckle rumbling over her.

The dinner was simple but filling and Jack ate heartedly while enjoying keeping up with Ann’s conversations. Bethany had warned him that she was spending more and more time in the past, thinking that she was a young woman.

“Gram, I’m going to clean up and then I’ll help you get ready for bed,” Bethany volunteered.

“I’ve got this,” Jack said, motioning for her to go on with Ann.

Offering him a small smile, she followed her grandmother down the hall. Jack quickly washed the dishes and wiped the counters. He moved into the den and wandered to the fireplace where the mantle was loaded with family pictures.

He could not help but grin at the sight of Bethany as a baby, a gap-tooth grinning child, a pretty teenager, and a gorgeous young woman in her cap and gown, standing with her parents and grandparents.

“She’s in bed,” Bethany whispered as she appeared in the room.

Jack turned and stared at the woman standing in front of him. Her long blonde hair, now out of its braid, lay waving down her back and spilling over her shoulders. The faded jeans, that became that way due to hard labor and not from some fancy clothing store that sold them already faded, cupped her ass perfectly. The baggy, baby-blue t-shirt that had also seen better days showcased her breasts. Her makeup-free face, porcelain complexion, and blue eyes completed the picture he had been unable to forget for weeks. For a second he faltered,
Do I take this chance?
Then he saw the fire in her eyes and knew exactly what he wanted.

Unable to hold back the grin, he stalked toward her grabbing her hand as he walked by, turning her so that she had to follow him. Across the room. Down the stairs. To the porch.

A
s Bethany allowed
herself to be led to the porch, she had missed that he had two long-neck beers in the other hand, one of which he gave to her after she plopped down in the chair. Her thoughts whirled once again, which seemed to be her normal state of mind when he was around. She had never been around an alpha before, always considering caveman behavior to be boorish. After all, she was a modern woman.
So why do I need to clench my legs together to quell the desire for him to take me? Or want him to kiss me until the thoughts stop flying at me?

Finding no answer to the questions in her mind, she stayed in the chair, crossed her legs…tightly…and then took a long drink from her beer. Looking up, she saw him smiling at her, as though he knew everything she was thinking.
Damn!

Jack settled into a chair after moving it to a slight angle. He wanted to enjoy the view—both the evening sky and the woman sitting near him. Finding his dick was already answering the call of the wild, he shifted in his seat, searching for a more comfortable position.

After a few minutes of quiet, the crickets and bullfrogs mixed with the distant sounds of families settling their children for the night, she asked the question that she had already discerned the answer to. “You have this place watched, don’t you?”

He looked over, seeing her calm face. No more anger, but the tension rolled off of her.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Isn’t that illegal?” she bit out.

He glanced at her, his eyebrow lifted and answered with nothing more than a cocky grin.

“I see.” She paused, recognizing that whatever world he functioned in, playing by the rules did not seem to matter. “You don’t consider those cameras to be an invasion of privacy?” her voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Nope.”

Her gaze darted to his as she was unable to hide the incredulous expression on her face. “Nope? Nope?” she asked, her wide eyes locked onto his.

He twisted in his chair to face her as he answered, “First time I saw you, I knew you were special. Anyone who’d come crashing into the midst of a group of men with weapons to save your grandmother was someone I wanted to know. Then, I’m not ashamed to admit, when your body was held against mine, I felt something and I’m not just talking about my dick wanting to know you as well.”

At this, her blue eyes grew even wider, but her only reaction was to take another drink of her beer.

“I came over here and saw how you and Ann lived. Saw how you work to keep something for your grandmother alive even though her mind can’t really process it now.” At this he saw those blue eyes that he had been staring into blink rapidly holding back the immediate reaction of tears, so he plunged on.

“I looked into this place when I bought my property three years ago, knew a widow owned it, but never knew you had come along to take over. But after meeting the two of you and acknowledging what I felt, I gave you the bracelet for her because I wanted to take something off of your plate, even if it was worry. And I also knew that two women living alone, running a business where a constant change of strangers practically camp right outside where you sleep, put you at a daily risk. So I had a few cameras installed just so we could keep an eye out. You may want to rail and protest, but doll, today proved that it was the right move.”

“You could have asked,” she bit out.

“Would you have accepted?” he bit back.

Pursing her lips in frustration, she said nothing.

“Thought so,” he chuckled. Then he sobered, looking at her directly. “We sat right here and talked on this porch, Bethany. I’m telling you straight up, I felt something. Wanted something. And I know you wanted it too.”

She opened her mouth to protest but shut it quickly.
He’s right. I did want it. But then he turned on a dime, walked away, and I didn’t see him for weeks.
“We didn’t talk, Jack. I did. I talked. I gave you who I was and you gave me nothing of yourself. I let you in, but you just walked away.”

“Yeah, I can see it in your eyes, doll. But I live a life that doesn’t offer white picket fences and decided right here on this porch that I needed to leave.” He leaned back in his chair, taking another drink from his beer.

Her eyes watched the muscles in his neck as he tipped his head back and drank. His beard was neatly trimmed and she fought the desire to reach over to touch it. Run her fingers through it as she ran her tongue along its edges. He set the bottle down and grinned, jerking her back to reality as she knew she had been caught ogling. Again.

“So you decided to invade my privacy?” she asked, warring between wanting to tell him to get off her property and desperately wanting to know why he was here, on her porch, explaining his life to her.

“Yep,” came his reply.

Once again, they fell into silence. By now the families were settled and with the fishermen gone, the grounds were very quiet. She remembered the events of the afternoon. The anger…and fear…she felt at the drunken brawl right at her feet.
What would have happened if Jack hadn’t shown up? Could I have stopped them? Would they have stopped? Would the fight have gotten more out of hand and someone gotten seriously hurt? Gram? Would the other guests have checked out in fear?

“None of that shit happened, babe, so you can get it out of your mind,” he said quietly.

Jerking her incredulous gaze back to him once more, she cried, “How do you know what I’m thinking all the time?”

Chuckling, he said, “Girl, your face gives you away. Your thoughts and feelings are written all over it.”

“Well, you must be an expert at reading faces because I don’t think I’m that easy to read,” she retorted.

He said nothing for a moment and she thought he was not going to reply until finally he quietly agreed, “I am.”

Not understanding, she waited, already knowing he would speak when he wanted.

“I grew up on a farm in southwest Virginia. Good parents. Worked hard, but knew the farming life wasn’t for me. Pop wanted me to go to college, but I wanted to join the military. So we compromised. Did two years, got my associates degree and then joined. Made it all the way to the Special Forces. Worked hard there and ended up on an elite squad. Best goddamn team a man could ever want to work with.”

He became quiet again, so she asked, “You want another beer?”

“Wouldn’t turn one down,” he answered. He watched as she rose from her chair and walked inside.
Haven’t told anyone these stories other than the men I work with.
The realization of what he was doing hit him, but never a man to back away from a challenge…he was ready.

She returned carrying another cold bottle, handing it to him. He dragged his fingers across hers before taking the beer, noting the spark between them and the pleasure of seeing that she noticed it also. As she settled back into her seat he took a drink before he began again.

“The squad’s leader, Tony Alvarez, left the Army and within a few months, some of the others did as well. They had served several tours and were ready for the civilian life. He started a security business in Richland and has three or four of my brothers-in-arms working with him.”

“You didn’t get out then?” she asked, wondering why he did not do the same.

He shook his head. “I was offered a chance to do another mission. A different kind of operation. Worked with a multi-agency group. It functioned well, better than I expected. No egos, just men with different backgrounds willing to pull resources together to get a job done.” He turned his head out toward the star-filled sky. “Thought working for Tony was the greatest thing I could have done, but gotta confess even that came in a close second to leading my own team.”