Hot SEALs: SEALed Fate (Kindle Worlds) (Deep Six Security #0) (8 page)

CHAPTER TWELVE

How damned much longer was this going to last  Jax wondered a week and a half later, as he listened to his sister and Fallon in the kitchen debating points as they studied for her FBI exam, which was next week.  Twisting the allen wrench forcefully, Jax also wondered how many times could he clean his damned weapons just to keep himself occupied? 

They were spotless, beyond that—these weapons were so damned clean they’d even pass Grant’s inspection with a magnifying glass and a white glove. 

He remembered that surprise inspection well when he’d first made the teams.  That time it hadn’t turned out so good for him, and the whole damned team had to do sand drills, which hadn’t endeared him to his teammates at all.   After that, Jax had used his own magnifying glass and white glove, before Grant had a chance to.

But Jax was not only bored stiff, he was just about as stiff as he’d ever been in his life. 

The waiting was killing him.  The not knowing what the FBI was doing was killing him.  He’d talked to the agent in charge five times and got nothing from him.  But what was killing him most was Fallon and her flirting.  Jax stayed in a perpetual state of agitation, stone-hard agitation, around the woman. 

And she was evidently enjoying it, because last night she’d upped her game with the little finger crook she gave him to invite him to join her in her bedroom.  It took everything Jax had to turn his back, to go into his own bedroom and take matters into hand himself, which helped then to a degree, but now he was right back where he’d been. 

This morning, her torture device was a pair of the shortest and tightest shorts he’d ever seen.  His guess was they were his sister’s because they would fit his less curvy, more petite younger sister perfectly.  But on the thirty-plus-year-old, much taller and curvier federal judge, they were more underwear than shorts.  The bottom of her ass cheeks hung out past the frayed hem, and Fallon took every opportunity to give him a good view of that too.

Fallon laughed at something Anna said, and Jax had enough of their chatter.  It was almost as if those two didn’t know he existed, or realize that he was trying to focus on something himself.  The fact that he was mostly trying to keep himself from going in the kitchen and dragging Fallon Sharpe to the bedroom to fuck her brains out was beside the point.

Jax jerked the remote up from the coffee table, turned on the television and flipped until he found national news then kicked up the volume.  Finally, their voices faded and Jax relaxed against the back of the sofa to pick up the soft cleaning cloth and rod to clean the barrel of his rifle.  He sat the rifle on the floor between his knees, and pushed the cloth in and out with the rod, which further reminded him of the sex he wasn’t having with Fallon Sharpe.  In and out he went time and again, while listening to the anchor on the television drone on about the latest on the war in Iraq, spinning the fault for the latest fuckup there on the politician in the hot seat at the moment.  That was the last thing Jax wanted to hear, so he sat the rod aside to pick up the remote.  His thumb was on the button when a breaking news banner flashed across the screen, and he waited to see what it was. 

“We have breaking news from Washington about the trial of accused East Coast mobster Peter Crifaso.  With the whereabouts of Washington Federal Judge Fallon Sharpe being unknown at this time, the pending federal case against Peter Crifaso for money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud has been remanded to her father, Federal Judge James Sharpe’s courtroom, for a trial scheduled to begin June 30
th
.  As reported several weeks ago, Judge Fallon Sharpe received death threats which may be related to her decision against mob boss William Crifaso, who she sentenced to serve ten years in federal prison.  The FBI is investigating the threats, but no details have been released.”

“I’ll bet Peter is breathing easier today,” the second anchor, a man who looked more like a used car salesman than a newscaster, added with a short laugh.  “From his decision record, it’s common knowledge that James Sharpe is a lot easier on mobsters than his daughter.”

The female anchor’s eyebrows lifted as she glanced at him and forced a smile.  “In other news,” she said, swinging her eyes back to the camera.   Jax turned off the television, then propped his rifle on the arm of the sofa. 

“
Fallon
, I need to talk to you, babycakes!” Jax yelled, and the chatter in the kitchen stopped.  His tongue curled at the back of his throat when he realized he’d used the pet name.  Fallon stormed out of the kitchen, red hair swinging over her shoulders and amber eyes blazing.  She stopped at the arm of the sofa to glare at him with her hands on her hips. 

“Only people I sleep with get to call me that name.  And if I recall,
you
have chosen to recuse yourself from that list!”

Well he was adding his name right back to that list
tonight
.  Jax had just reached his breaking point at trying to do the right thing.  She was safe here in Florida, the bad guys had no idea where she was.  He didn’t need his damned concentration and he was fucking tired of cleaning his
gun
—and his weapons.

“Your father has evidently decided that you’ve recused yourself from the Peter Crifaso case too,” he said, soaking in just how beautiful Fallon Sharpe was when she was angry, with her face flushed pink, her eyes dark bourbon pools he could get drunk on fast. 

Almost as gorgeous as she was when she came.  A shiver snaked down his spine and zipped to the end of his painfully hard cock.  Even as far as she was from him, when her head rocked back on her shoulders, he could almost smell that flowery bath gel they’d stopped to buy her on the way to the house.  His mouth watered and he knew his workout shorts must look like a pup tent, but he didn’t give a damn.  That problem would be solved tonight.

Anna strolled out of the kitchen to stand beside Fallon.  The teasing grin at the corner of her mouth told Jax she’d heard what Fallon said.  He didn’t give a damn about that either.  At twenty-five, his sister was an adult now and if he knew women, they had discussed him.  He was almost sure of it when Anna nudged Fallon with her elbow.  His sister looked like she thought she had ringside seats for the big show, and her words confirmed it. 

“You tell him, sister.  Men think they can get you worked up and then drop you like a rock for no reason.”  Anna’s clear blue eyes bored holes in him.  “Make him explain himself.”

Men can get you worked up and drop you like a rock?
 

Anna sounded like she knew exactly what that meant from firsthand experience—like she and Fallon had been commiserating or something.  His sister was young and somewhat naïve having grown up without a father and it sounded to Jax like someone had taken advantage of her.  He wanted to find the man who hurt his sister, the man who’d taken advantage of her, and have a word—or fucking hurt him, if Jax didn’t like his explanation.

“Who the hell dropped you?” he demanded, anger scorching a trail up his body as he vaulted to his feet.

“None of your business,” Anna replied with a wave of her hand.  “Let’s just say one of your SEAL buddies is a player.  We’re not discussing me though.  Focus, Jaxson—tell the lady why you’re dropping
her
—because I like her and you’re being an asshole.”

“
Zane
?!?” Jaxson shouted, his anger tripling as he speared his sister with his eyes to gauge her reaction.  Nothing.  He walked over to her to glare down at her.  “Are we talking about Alexander?  Because if that’s true, I’m going to—”

“
Not
Zane,” Anna cut him off, putting a hand in the center of his chest where his heart pounded.  “You’re not ever going to know.  That was my mistake, and I’m way over it.”

Way over it?
  Jaxson thought back to the one time Anna visited him on base during a break from college five years ago when she wasn’t even old enough to drink.  He tried to remember who she’d hung out with.  All of the guys on the team made rude remarks about how hot she was, and Jax had come very close to shutting a couple of their mouths with his fist.  But he couldn’t think of one who stood out in the group.

“Get over it, Jax—talk to Fallon.  I’m going out for a run,” Anna said, walking toward the door.  “I would wait for you, because you look like you could use one too, but you’re probably going to be a while.” With a finger wave and a wink, she let herself out of the door.

His eyes swung back to Fallon and found hers squarely on him.  “Yeah, Jax—get over it and tell me what the hell you mean my father has decided I’ve recused myself from the Crifaso trial?”  With a huffed breath, Jax flopped back on the sofa. 

“It was on the news a few minutes ago,” he replied, running a hand through his hair.  “Since your whereabouts are
unknown
, and the trial starts in three days, the case has been given to your father.  I just thought you’d want to know.”

“Oh, hell
no
it hasn’t,” Fallon growled, reaching for his cell phone.  “I didn’t tell my father I was leaving town, because I didn’t know until the last minute and I left my cell phone on my bed at home.” 

Before she picked up his phone though, it rang and Jax grabbed it.  Relief washed through him when he saw it was the FBI agent he’d been talking to.  Maybe they finally had news and had caught the guys who were after Fallon.  Maybe this whole thing was over.

“Jaxson Thomas,” he said, putting the phone to his ear, but holding Fallon’s angry gaze.

“Mr. Thomas, I need you to bring Judge Sharpe back to Washington.  We need her assistance to finalize our investigation.”

“When do you need her there?” he asked, and Fallon flinched.

“As soon as possible, but no later than tomorrow.  We’ve hit a dead end on finding the men who are threatening her because she isn’t here.”

Jax’s body tensed.   He could read between the lines of what this man was saying.  Because he’d taken Fallon out of Washington, she was out of the mob’s reach so there was zero chance for them to strike again.  To finish what they hadn’t been able to do the first time they tried.  The FBI wanted to use Fallon as
bait
to finalize their investigation.  The problem was Fallon’s life could be
finalized
instead.

“Not happening,” Jax replied firmly, dragging his eyes to the black TV screen.

“What?” Fallon asked her voice shaking as she sank down on the sofa beside him. “Let me talk to them.”  He looked at her outstretched hand and shook his head.

“It’s the only way we’re going to catch them.  The only way she’ll ever be safe again.” The frustration in the agent’s voice was tangible. “I think the decision should be Ms. Sharpe’s.”

No, the decision was Jaxson’s, because he was the one hired to protect her, and there was no way in hell he was going to go along with this. 

“Call back if you have anything else.” Jax disconnected the call.

“What did they say?” Fallon demanded when he tossed his phone down on the sofa.

“Nothing important,” Jax lied then huffed a breath.  “The FBI still doesn’t know who is after you, so we can’t go back.  That’s probably why your father was given that case.”

“You’re lying—I heard what he said.”

Jaxon’s eyes flew to hers and there was fear in their brown depths, but determination too.  That fear transferred to him and sliced through his body.  He knew what she was going to say even before she said the words.

“I need you to take me back to Washington.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“No fucking way!” Jax growled, as he pushed up from the sofa.

“Either you take me back to Washington, or I’m booking a flight and getting a taxi to the airport,” Fallon replied calmly, as she stood.

Jaxson grabbed her shoulders to glare down at her. “You. Are.
Not
. Going. Back.”

His anger and fear soaked into her body, but Fallon refused to let it sway her.  She was scared too, but dammit, she wanted her life back. If going back to Washington to serve herself up as bait is what it took to get it back, she was doing it, whether her surly bodyguard agreed or not. 

After meeting Jaxson’s mother, seeing how he acted with her and the men he used to work with, hearing one of them tease him about being bitten by a bug, presumably the love bug, Fallon decided to give him a chance to prove her assumptions about him wrong in case she’d overreacted.  He’d had two weeks to show her exactly what the night they had sex meant to him, what she meant to him if anything. 

Fallon knew now without a doubt that Jaxson Thomas’ interest in her ended at the job he’d been hired to do.  When this job was over, he would be gone from her life and on to his next adventure.  She’d been stupid to think, to hope, otherwise.  What that night meant to him was satisfaction of a need and acceptance of her offer of her body as the price for his forgiveness.  She thought he’d forgiven her now, which was a relief, but he certainly didn’t want her.  Her heart would eventually get over the silly attachment it had formed with him and she’d move on too.

“I
am
going back with or without you.  I’d feel safer with you, but that’s your decision,” Fallon said, peeling his fingers back to step away.  “I’m sure the FBI will provide me with protection if you don’t go with me.” She walked toward the hallway to go pack her things, but felt Jax following hot on her heels as she entered the bedroom.

The door slammed behind her and she spun.  The look in Jaxson’s eyes scared her as he stalked two steps to grab her shoulders, turn her to push her back into the door. 

“I won’t let you go get yourself killed,” he growled, his head already in motion toward hers.   Fallon’s body melted when his lips touched hers, but his hips pinned her to the door as he ravaged her mouth, not seeming to care that she couldn’t even respond because he was kissing her so fast and hard.  She tried to move her hands up to his shoulders but couldn’t, because they were trapped between their bodies.  His heart pounded against her palms, almost as hard as her own drummed.

Jax shoved his hand under her shirt, scorched a path up to her bra and shoved it aside to cup her breast.  Her nipple puckered in response and he swallowed her groan.  His other hand slid down her left thigh to her knee to jerk her knee up to his side as he settled his rock hard erection at her core.  A shiver worked through him, but he didn’t stop devouring her mouth.

His thumb raked over her nipple and an electrical shock rocked her, sending all the moisture in her body to sizzle at the top of her thighs. Well most of it.  The rest rushed up to her eyes for some reason to burn there.  Jax circled his hips and his erection worked the heavy bud between her legs into a frenzy.  He kissed her deeply, his tongue danced over hers as his hands set her body on fire. 

But it wasn’t enough.  The heat in her eyes burned hotter and left a scalding streak down her cheek.  She tasted the salt, and Jax must’ve too, because he froze.  Dragging in breaths, he pulled away, easing her leg to the ground and Fallon’s body slumped against the door. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, his eyes glazed and dilated as he reached up to run his thumb over her cheek.  “Did I hurt you?  I’m sorry if I did…I just want you so damned bad.”

“I’m just sad,” Fallon replied, biting her swollen lower lip when it trembled.  The emotion near her throat was so thick she couldn’t swallow it, but she did manage to keep it from shooting up to join the unwelcome tears.

His eyes softened, and his palm flatted on her cheek.  “What are you sad about, babycakes?” Jaxson asked, his thumb gliding over her lower lip when she released it.

Oh, God that name
. 

Tears welled up again and she looked up at the ceiling to roll her eyes and disburse them.  She was a freaking thirty-year-old woman, a federal judge. She was not going to turn into a sobbing teenager.  She’d done enough of that when she actually was a teenager.  Dragging in a shuddering breath, Fallon forced the tears away to look Jaxson in the eyes. 

“It’s nothing.  I just can’t do this.  I need to get back to D.C.”  She pushed off the door, and tried to move past him, but he grabbed her arm.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” he demanded softly.

Sucking in a deep breath, Fallon blew it out then turned to face him.  “I’m sorry this is all there will ever be with us.”

His hand fell away, and her body deflated.  The surprised look on his face told her that she’d been right in her assessment of their status.  “Are you taking me back home, or do I need to book a flight?” Fallon asked shortly.  He didn’t answer, just stood there boring holes into her with his eyes.  “Are you going to answer me?  Or is that my answer?”

Jaxson looked like he woke up from a trance when he suddenly shook his head, dragged in a shuddering breath met her eyes again.  “You’re not going anywhere without me.  And why do you think this is all there is with us?”   He waved his hand between them.  “As hard as you’ve made it for me these last two weeks, as
hard
as you’ve made
me
with your damned teasing, I’ve kept my hands to myself to focus on doing my job, which is keeping you safe.”

Fallon’s heart jerked in her chest, and she turned toward the bed.  “I’m pretty smart, Jaxson—I get what you’re saying.  I’m past the horny teenager stage though, so I like a side of emotion with my hot sex.” 

She sure felt like a horny teenager around him though, and that had to stop right now.  Fallon made it as far as the dresser and opened the first drawer to pull out her underwear, before his long legs appeared in her line of vision and he kneed the drawer shut, before putting his knuckle under her chin to lift it.  His eyes held hers like an open socket, dragging her inside to see the raw man that existed there.

“I hated you for five fucking years,
despised
you.  Suddenly, you’re in my life again and I have to
protect
you when I really want to strangle you.  And then you’re so damned beautiful it hurts me to look at you.  You’re smart and successful, caring and ethical, not the judgmental, big-mouthed prude with a silver spoon I’d built you up to be in my mind all those years.  Can you see where that might be confusing?” he asked, his eyes intense.  When Fallon didn’t respond, his hand dropped from her chin and he leaned against the dresser.  “I’m still trying to work things out in my head, but that’s damned hard when all I want to do is bury myself in your body.  That’s the reason I haven’t touched you again—it’s not because I don’t want to.  That and the fact I’m trying to focus on watching both of our sixes
alone
.  At the end of the day my main goal is to keep us both alive.”

Fallon huffed a breath.  That was sure a mouthful, and yeah she could definitely understand where he stood now.  She’d probably hate her too if the roles were reversed, and be just as confused.  Fallon
had
hated herself for the last two years she’d known the truth, but kept it to herself because of her father.  She hated her flighty younger sister and her father more though, for putting her in that position.  There was just too much history between her and this man for things ever to work out.  Forgiving was one thing, forgetting was something entirely different.

“It’s probably better if I just pack my things and call a cab,” Fallon said, trying to force lightness into her tone.  She waved her hands down her body.  “I’m still alive, so you’ve done your job, big guy.  What happens after this is not on your watch.” Fallon tiptoed to lean in and kiss his cheek.  Jaxson tensed, his leather and wood scent brought heat to her eyes again, but Fallon fought it back as she eased back to her heels.  “Thanks for everything, Jaxson.  I’ll call Senator Greenwood when I get home and give you a glowing recommendation.”

Jaxson’s jaw worked and his eyes got suspiciously bright.  “I don’t want a recommendation, because I’m not even sure I’ll stay with GAPS once this is over.  What I want is you to let me keep you alive until the situation is resolved and give me time to get my head straight. Can you do that, Fallon?”

All that would do is give her extra time to become more attached to him, maybe even tumble over the cliff she was balancing precariously on now.  It was masochistic to say yes, to prolong what she knew would eventually come, but Fallon couldn’t make herself say no, not to this man to whom she’d done so much harm. 

“Yes, I can do that.”  His relieved smile was worth every minute of agony she knew she’d suffer when he figured out like she had it was never going to work.

Jaxson’s arm snaked around her waist and he gently pulled her into his hard body.  Fallon’s insides quivered when his eyes turned to liquid silver as his mouth descended towards her and his lips met hers in the slowest and sweetest kiss she’d ever had in her life.