Bourne to Love Emma (RED-Stone Operatives Book 1) (8 page)

“My fiancé’s friend lives in your
building.  She lives with her daughter, but it’s just the two of them.  I need
you to check in on her and keep an eye on her for a few days while we figure
some things out.  They went out tonight to a club and her ex-husband jumped her
on her way to the bathroom and got really aggressive.  He got away before
anyone stopped him, so we don’t know where he is, but I don’t want her exposed
if he’s going to try that shit again.  Heather wanted her to stay with us
tonight, but she just wanted to go home.”

“Damn.  I’ll do it, not a problem.  I
imagine she’s pretty upset.  Did she go to the police?  File a report?”

“Not yet.  I’m going to try to sit
down with her tomorrow and get her to do that.  Heather said she was in shock
and didn’t want to talk about any of it.  He hasn’t been in the picture since
their divorce, so this is out of left field and we need to find out why.”

I stood up and pulled my keys out of
my pocket.  “I’ll leave now.  What’s her name and apartment number?  Do you
want me to make contact tonight or just increase security on her until
morning?”

John sighed and pressed the heels of
his hands against his eyes.  It had been a long night even before this
happened.  “Increase security tonight and make contact in the morning so she
knows there’s someone who can help in the building with her.  She doesn’t need
to know how many guys we’ve got over there – just that she can trust you
because I vouch for you.  Her name is Emma Parsons.  She’s in apartment –“

“6C.  Fuck!”  I interrupted him and
launched myself out of the observation room.  I completely ignored John yelling
at me as I ran out of the building.

~Jason~

I don’t even remember the drive
home.  The rage running through me that anyone would put their hands on her to
hurt her blinded me.  When I parked my car, I took the stairs instead of
waiting for the elevator.  My hands were shaking with the adrenaline and fear
coursing through my veins. 

Three knocks on her door and no
answer.  I yanked my phone from my hip pocket and text her.

Em, I
heard about what happened tonight.  I’m at your door.  I need you to open it.

I waited.  I knocked again – loud
enough to wake up others on the hall this early in the morning.  I text again.

                       
Em.  I need to see that you’re
okay. 

There was movement on the other side
of the door.  She flipped the locks and opened the door.  My brain registered
her bare feet and pajama pants peeking out from her robe.  And then all I could
see were the bruises already forming on her jawline, cheek and neck.

“FUCK, Emma!  What the fuck
happened?!”

Emma peeked down the hall before
pulling me inside – I guess so I wouldn’t wake up the neighbors.  She locked
the door behind me and then just stood beside it.

“Why didn’t you call me?  What did
that fucker do??  I will fucking kill him!”

“How do you know what happened?  And
why are you over here yelling at me?  It’s after two in the morning, Jason!”

“I don’t care how fucking late it is,
Emma.  Someone hurt you and you didn’t tell me!  I heard it from my damn boss
when he asked me to keep an eye on a friend of his fiancé’s and then I found
out it was you!”

“Wait.  A friend of his….  You work
for John?” 

“Yes.  But I don’t want to talk about
John.  I want you to tell me what the hell happened tonight.”

I grab her hand with mine and pull
her to the couch and sit down, pulling her into my lap.  She started to pull
away, so I just wrapped my arms around her and held her tight.  She trembled in
my arms but finally leaned into my chest and rested her head against my
shoulder.  I pressed my lips to her temple.

“Talk to me Emma.  Let me help. 
Trust me.”

~Emma~

He was so big and warm.  I
felt…safe.  And cared for.  One of his big hands rubbed up my back and stroked
back down.  I took a deep breath and let it all go.  I relaxed completely
against him.  I do trust him.

“Heather got a phone call.  I went to
the bathroom.  When I turned into the hall, he just… was there.  He shoved me
against the wall and pinned me there.  I realized it was Dan – but he’d been
drinking.  I haven’t seen him in a year.  I didn’t even really realize what was
happening until he… until he kissed me.”

I felt his legs tense under me and he
stopped stroking my back for a second.  I glanced up just a little and saw the
muscle ticking in his cheek and saw his throat move as he swallowed hard.

“He kissed me and I couldn’t turn my
head.  I tried to push him away, but I couldn’t do it.  I couldn’t get away. 
The wall was behind me and he was against me and…his hand….  When I tried to
call for help, he grabbed my throat and I couldn’t breathe.  He…he grabbed my
panties and his hand was touching me….  And then a guy – Ian – saw us.  He
grabbed Dan and pulled him away.”  I finally started to cry.

“Shhhhh.  It’s okay, Em.  I’ve got
you.”  His words were soft and he held me tight while I let it all out.  The
fear, the anger, the anxiety...I gave myself permission to lean on him and let
him help me.  After a few minutes, I’m finished crying for the most part.  I
reach up to wipe my face and then rest my hand on his chest over his heart. 

“Emma.  Did he…did he…”  I realize
what he’s asking and see how absolutely horrified he is that we have to discuss
that possibility.  He is the epitome of rage.  Yet, I feel completely safe and
his hands have been nothing but extraordinarily gentle with me.

“No.  He tried to…touch me.  With his
hand.  But Ian stopped him.”

He shuddered
in relief and pulled me tighter against him. “Em.  You need to talk to the
police.  Press charges.  He

needs to know he can’t pull this shit again.”

I sigh.  John wanted the same thing.

“He was drunk.  He’s never been like
that before.  He….  I’ve already dealt with all the attorneys he works with
before and it’s just not worth it.  I’m okay.  He had too much to drink and
went a little nuts, but he didn’t really hurt me.” 

Jason pulled me away from him enough
to see my face and his face is … scary.  “He didn’t hurt you?  Have you seen
your face, Emma?  Did you look in a mirror?  I can count his fucking fingers on
your neck!  How can you even –“  I put my fingers on his lips to stop the
words.  When he stopped, I slid my hand to his cheek and stroked his skin with
my thumb.

“I don’t want him in my life.  I
don’t want to talk about him or think about him anymore. Not tonight, not
tomorrow.  Please.  Please can we not talk about him anymore right now?  I’m so
tired….”

He wanted to say more.  I could see
it in the way he was clenching his jaw and looking over my head at nothing.  He
took a deep breath and blew it out slowly.  Then he slid his arm under my knees
and stood up and carried me down the hall to my room. 

He set me on the edge of my bed and I
pulled my arms out of my robe and shifted so he could pull it out from under
me.  He held the covers back so I could slide in.  I curled into a ball and
watched him as he set my robe on the chair in the corner before turning back to
me. 

He walked back to the bed and looked
down at me before reaching out and brushing my hair off my forehead.  “Get some
rest, Em.  I’ll sleep on the couch tonight and we’ll figure things out in the
morning.”  He turned toward the door and I sat up.

“Jason.” 

He paused and looked at me.

“I…  Stay?  I … feel safe with you. 
Stay with me?”  My heart raced in my chest as I stammered out my request.  I
held my breath waiting.

His face went perfectly blank for a
moment before he reached over and switched off the light.  I could see his
outline as he walked to my side of the bed.  I scooted back to make room for
him.  He sat down on the side of the bed and I heard his boots drop to the
floor.  Then there was Velcro being unfastened and he started setting things on
the nightstand and emptying his pockets.  He paused for a moment before he
pulled his shirt over his head.  Then he turned and slid in bed beside me.

I pulled the blankets up over him and
wiggled until I was just a few inches from him.  I could feel the heat rolling
off his big body from there.  I listened to him breathe and felt myself relax into
the mattress.  I yawned. 

He made a noise between a sigh and a
groan just before he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his side.

Suddenly, I wasn’t as tired anymore. 
All the warm, smooth skin of his chest was under my hand and his shoulder was
under my cheek.  His arm was wrapped around me and his hand rested on my hip. 
I was surrounded by him.  And it was incredible.

“I’ve got you, Em.  Try to get some
rest.”  He smoothed his hand up to my waist and back to my hip.  The side of
his hand rested just at the edge of my pajama pants on the skin at the front of
my hip.  I turned my face into his shoulder and inhaled him.  He always smelled
good but usually I didn’t get to get this close and sniff.  He went completely
still under me.  I kissed his shoulder softly and whispered, “Thank you. 
Goodnight, Jason.”

He whispered back, “Goodnight, Em.”

~Jason~

A single, tiny, ultra-fine thread. 
That is all I was holding on by.  When she sniffed my skin and then kissed it,
I almost snapped.  Even knowing what she’d been through tonight, seeing her in
that tank top when I took her robe had brought my dick instantly to attention. 
Her nipples straining against the thin fabric were just begging for my mouth. 
I knew I wouldn’t sleep, but I held myself perfectly still and focused on
slowing my breathing to help Emma do the same.  She moved her hand over my chest
a couple of times – bringing my heart rate back up to jackhammer mode and
keeping my dick from being able to stand down.  But, eventually, she finally
fell asleep.

I let my mind wander over everything
I knew about what happened.  Unfortunately, it also wandered over everything
that COULD have happened.  What if he’d caught up with her somewhere else? 
What if he’d been able to actually get her alone?  What if that guy hadn’t
shown up when he did?  What if Heather wasn’t engaged to John and they had gone
outside to wait for a cab? 

I am going to find that piece of shit
and make sure he will never even think of talking to her ever again, much less
putting a finger on her body.  But that thought takes me back to Mia.  Emma
said she hadn’t seen Dan in a year – so does he not see his daughter?  I
thought back to the report I’d run on Emma a while back.  I couldn’t remember
seeing anything about a custodial arrangement between them. 

Her whimper stopped me cold and I
realized I was squeezing her hip while I was thinking about what could have
gone wrong.  I loosened my hand and stroked her soft skin with my fingertips
until I felt her relax fully into sleep again.  She needs her sleep.  I know
she will probably be up with nightmares through the night, too, which is why I
said I’d stay. 

I know a few things about nightmares
- memories that haunt you and won’t let go.  I have more than my share of
those.  It’s been a while since they’ve kept me from sleeping, but I never
forget the ones that seem to play on repeat over and over again as soon as
sleep claims me.  IEDs and limbs torn from bodies.  Dead eyes staring into
nothing.  Women crying over dead babies.  The smell of death and smoke and
fire.  The screams and crying.  It never leaves.

I’ve looked back on those nightmares
and consider them part of my penance.  It’s part of the cost I pay for doing
the job I did – and still do, to a point.  Part of the penalty of being the
bringer of death is that you have to relive it forever.  No one tells you that
when you train for that job.  No one warns you.

I focused on her breathing and her
warmth, the smell of her hair – some kind of citrusy coconut blend – and,
eventually, I fell asleep, too.

~Emma~

I woke up warm and toasty.  Early
morning light snuck past my closed eyelids.  Not time to get up yet.  I
snuggled further into the heat and slid my head a little on my pillow.  Not my
pillow.  Without opening my eyes, I slid my hand out a few inches to explore. 
Warm, smooth, firm skin, sprinkled with a little coarse hair….  I slid my hand
down a few inches and felt the hair lessen and the dips of delineated abs. 

My breathing stalled as everything
that happened last night came back.  The club, Dan, Heather bringing me home,
Jason coming over.  Jason.  Jason is IN MY BED.  Several beats of my heart
later, I push everything to the back of my mind and choose to focus on this
amazing man being in my bed. 

My hand drifts further south, over
the muscles one at a time toward his hip.  I felt the hand on my hip move just
a little and his grip on me tightened. My pinkie brought disappointment to the
rest of my body when it ran into the waistband of his pants.  As I started to
slide my hand from his hip toward his belly along the edge of his pants, he
jerked slightly and suddenly his hand pressed down on mine to keep it still.

“Emma,” he rasped, his voice low and
gravelly. 

I refused to open my eyes yet,
wanting to stay in this little world just a while longer.  I turned my face
into his shoulder and kissed him lightly as I tugged on my hand.  After a
second, he let it go.  I slid it back toward me, over the dips and valleys of
his abs and then up over all the muscles covering his ribs.  My fingertips
traced his pectoral muscle from his side around and up his sternum.  I followed
his collar bone until I reached where my head was using him as a pillow.

Touching him was turning me on and
his uneven breathing makes me think I’m not alone in that.  I shifted my legs
restlessly as the ache grew just thinking about it.  I finally opened my eyes. 

Then Jason rolled toward me, rolling
me to my back as he is half above and half beside me.  His thigh slid between
mine and I could feel his erection, hard and hot under his pants, pressed into
my thigh.  He wrapped both arms around me and buried his face in my neck.  He
hugged me tight for a moment, pressing his mouth to my neck.  I wiggled one arm
loose so I could slide my arms around his back and hold him to me.  We just
breathed together and held each other. 

After a minute, he pulled back enough
to see my face.  He smiled – more with his eyes than his mouth – just that
crinkle at the corners and a happy light in the silvery grey depths.  Then he
kissed me hard for a split second before he pulled away.  At my whimper, he stopped
and looked at me seriously.