Romance: Wanted by the Alpha Lion (A BBW Paranormal Suspense Romance) (Heroes of Shifter Creek Book 2) (36 page)

IX.

Commander Jones spent much of the next few weeks holding planning meetings with the SEALs, as well as disappearing to continue with the interrogation of the captured Russians. When the SEALs weren’t sitting in the long meetings, their commander made them train or study research on their enemy and battle plans. It left little time for Cassius to see Amy – the commander didn’t think it was safe for them to leave with all that had happened with the other recruits.

Cassius tried to keep contact with Amy, though he couldn’t see her. Since he had the phone, he called and texted her, but with every day that passed with the same excuse:“Mid-terms. You know how that can be.” She didn’t,Her voice sounded more and more disappointed. He hated that sound in her voice, the sadness in it. Yet, he still had the nagging voice in his head wondering about how involved she was with the enemy.

He couldn’t shake it.

At the end of the second week of not seeing her, Amy called him. She normally hadn’t initiated the calls; he figured it had to be important.

“I feel like you’ve been avoiding me,” she said slowly. “A slow retreat, you know.”

“That’s not what’s happening,” he answered, looking out his open door as Orion and Jimmy passed, laughing all the way. He stood to close the door. “I just haven’t been able to get out of the house.”

“Funny that happens right after we have sex and all.”

“Don’t be like that. I just told you…”

“If ‘that’s not what’s happening,’ meet me at the coffee shop in half an hour. I need to talk to you.”

“I don’t know if I can…”

“If you don’t come, just consider us done.” The line went dead.

“Amy? Amy?” He set down the phone. “Great.”

He quickly dressed and tried to look normal. He peeked out the door, then moved swiftly down the hall. Jones had left already, but Cassius didn’t know when he’d return. He knew if he got caught leaving, he would get into trouble. But with the threat of losing Amy, he had to take a chance. Though he had his nagging feelings about her, his heart wouldn’t let him let her go just yet.

“Where are you going?” Orion asked as Cassius opened the door to leave.

Cassius’s mind searched for excuses, grasping for straws.

Orion raised an eyebrow. “I don’t care where you’re going; I just figured I should ask.”

“I’m meeting Amy.”

“Should’ve figured as much. Be careful, kid.”

“I’m not a kid.”

He smiled close-lipped. “I guess so.”

The younger brother nodded and made his way out. The older watched him go, but didn’t stop him. Cassius moved as fast as he could, though he wasn’t sure of how much time he had. He thought of her face, sadness imprinted in the clean lines of it. His mind clouded too with her voice when they made love and the smell, the taste of her. How could he let himself not see her? And just for being a SEAL?

He waited outside the coffee shop, watching as couples passed him with smiles and hidden kisses. He wanted to be free to be with Amy that way – to not have to lie to her about who he was and be constricted by his duty.

“Hey.” Amy approached him wearing a hat and sunglasses. “I didn’t think you’d show.”

“How could I not?” he replied, swooping in to kiss her. Her lips stayed frozen as his met hers. “Are you a big celebrity in disguise from the paparazzi?”

She didn’t laugh. “Let’s go inside.”

Is she gone already?
He walked in with his head down, impending doom weighing him down. She sat at a secluded table in the corner, her mouth thin and serious.

“Would you like a coffee?” he asked.

“They only speak Russian here,” she answered.

“Well, tell me what you want, and I’ll pretend.”

She only slightly smiled, then told him the drink she wanted. He repeated it, which made her smile a little more, and she repeated it. She coached him each time he repeated it until she finally laughed and said, “It will have to work.” He felt lighter as he walked to the counter and ordered for them. The cashier laughed at his accent, but gave him the order.

“I’m on my way to full conversations.” Cassius smiled as he sat down. “I’m practically a Russian now.”

She laughed.“You aren’t flashy or blunt enough.”

“I could become better at those things with some coaching.” He looked at her, longing to look into her eyes, but they were still hidden. “Is it too bright in here?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your sunglasses.”

“Oh.” She paused. “I just would rather keep them on.”

“Why?”

“Look, I wanted you to come here today because I hadn’t seen you in two weeks. That scares me.”

“I’m sorry. Things have been crazy.”

“I feel like you’re not telling me something.”

“You’re wearing sunglasses inside and won’t tell me why.”
And you didn’t say anything about how Alexei died.

She lowered the glasses to reveal a dark bruise around her right eye. “I didn’t want people to see.”

“Oh my God.” He lurched forward to examine her face. “Who did that to you?” She shook her head. “Who did it?”

She put the sunglasses back on. “My boss. Something happened at the bar when we went out, and he wasn’t happy.”

“You can’t go back there.”

“Tomorrow’s my last day. I quit, but he said he needed me.”

“I don’t want you to go back.”

“You have been avoiding me for two weeks. You can’t tell me not to go back to my job.”

“If your boss hit you, you can’t go back.”

“They have a delivery tomorrow. They need me. And the sunglasses create a mystique.”

“Then I’m going too. I’m going to be there all night.”

She frowned, “You don’t have to do that.”

“I want to.”

“You know that it’s not safe on delivery days. You were there for one.”

“I’m willing to risk that for you.”

She smiled, “Where did this come from? I thought you just didn’t want to see me anymore.”

“No. I’m more afraid that I can’t be without you.”

“That’s not a bad thing.”

He leaned forward and kissed her again. This time, she responded, but as the kiss got hotter, her sunglasses hit against his nose. They pulled back, laughing. She readjusted the glasses and he rubbed his nose.

“You just wear those sunglasses to keep me from kissing you.”

“That’s true. Honestly, the black eye is really punk rock, and I like it.”

“It is punk rock. You might be too cool for me now.”

“I think I’ve always been too cool for you.”

“That’s probably true.”

They sat together pleasantly, their conversation no longer with a dark cloud hanging over it. He forgot about the nagging thoughts he’d had in his mind – it felt too natural with her to not be real. Their chemistry sparked too much electricity. He figured if she was playing a game with him, at least it was a fun, enjoyable game.

They finished their coffee and strolled out together, hand in hand. The sun shined on their smiling faces (revealing them as non-Russians, he thought), and he felt completely content. He hoped some wayward soul would see them walking together and also feel sad, as he did before.
Maybe that makes me a masochist?

“Maybe we should find a secluded place.” She grasped his hand harder and leaned her head on his shoulder.

“Why?”

“Because then we could have a quickie.”

His face warmed up from more than the sun, and his blood boiled with excitement in his veins. “Maybe we should then.”

She laughed loudly with her head leaned back to amplify her voice. “You’re so cute!”

“Morello?” a familiar voice asked as they passed by one of the street merchants.

Cassius turned to see Jones standing there with a guitar slung over his shoulders. He looked to be playing on the street for money. Cassius froze.

“Hey Vince. I didn’t know you were coming out to play today,” Amy said conversationally. “You haven’t been playing at the bar lately.”

“It’s more a self-preservation kind of thing,” he answered. “The bar got a little too dangerous for me.”

“I can understand that. I think the boss misses you though.”

“He might. He seemed to like the music. You and Morello having a day rendezvous?”

“I guess you could say that.” She looked at him, her eyes still hidden by the glasses. “We got coffee, but were about to go our separate ways.”

“Right.” Jones kept his eyes on Cassius. “I was about to pack up myself. Maybe you and I could walk back together, Morello?”

Cassius nodded, but said nothing. He felt sick to his stomach.

“Aw, that would be sweet,” Amy cooed. “What a bromance you both share.”

Jones laughed, but Cassius couldn’t muster one himself. He gave a half, labored laugh instead.

“As much of a bromance that a person could share with his superior,” Jones commented as he packed up his guitar. “Can we walk you home, Amy?”

She shook her head, “No, no. I have somewhere I have to be anyway.” With that, she gave Cassius another kiss – a long, slow one that made his skin tingle. He felt on fire.
Why couldn’t they have the quickie?
“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

He nodded. “Definitely.”

She smiled and walked away in the other direction. Jones watched her as he zipped up his guitar bag, then stood to reveal his full height. The heat within Cassius dissipated almost immediately, replaced with fear of punishment.

“I didn’t know you played the guitar,” Cassius said, hoping bringing up that Jones wasn’t where he was supposed to be would ease any anger Jones felt.

“I do,” he answered, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s head on our way.”

“Okay.”

They walked quietly, the tall man saying nothing. Their silence didn’t feel comfortable – Cassius wished he could just go home on his own,or find a secluded place with Amy. Oh, how he longed to make a trail down her body and taste her again. Feel her thighs tremble as he settled between them.

“I play in that area for surveillance,” he said finally. “We think they are planning another delivery, and I’m trying to figure out when it is.”

“Does that seem to work?”

“I hear a lot of conversations. One of the best ones was with some Italians here for whatever reason. They spoke in Italian the whole time, thinking no one could understand them here.”

“But you could?”

“I could. What I don’t understand is what you’re doing outside of the compound when I explicitly told you all to stay inside.”

“She wanted to see me. It’s been two weeks.”

“Your job here is not to date; it’s to complete your mission and listen to instruction.”

“I’m sorry, Sir. She was going to leave me.”

“Again. Your job is not to…”

“She said there’s a delivery tomorrow. That’s why I’m going to meet up with her – her boss hit her. She had a large shiner.”

“A delivery, huh? She told you that?”

“Yeah, she said it would be her last day tomorrow. I couldn’t let her go on her own.”

“I am still upset that you went against my orders, but I’m glad you told me. We should set something up. If we can get into one more delivery, and we successfully complete the plan, we will make a lot of leeway. We’ve already done a lot–” he sighed– “despite appearances.”

“I just want to keep Amy safe.”

“I understand that. I warn you, though, that maybe Amy is not what she seems. I can tell that you…”

“Commander Jones?”

“Little Morello?”

“You’ve warned me before. My brother warned me too. I don’t need any more warnings.”

He took a deep breath, “You’re a young man. Have you… have you had a relationship like this with someone before?”

“No.”

“I know how wonderful it feels the first time, but…”

“Do you know why I joined the SEALs? I wanted to be closer to my brother. I told my dad if I joined, it would help my senatorial career, but I hoped Orion and I would finally bond. I didn’t care about this.”

“That isn’t something you should tell your commander.”

“When I met her, I felt more myself and bolder, braver. She made me stronger in myself. I don’t need Orion’s approval anymore.”

Jones took a deep breath in and out, but didn’t speak. Cassius had more he could say, but Jones didn’t push it further. When they stepped inside the building, the commander turned to the shorter man and looked him in the eye.

“As your commander, I appreciate you sharing your feelings, but I’m not your friend. Your deep emotions are not mine to know unless it interferes with the mission. Please be ready for the planned meeting in two hours.”

With that, he walked down the hall to his office. Cassius frowned, his self-righteousness now subdued. Yet, his feelings for Amy still beat strongly in his heart. He moved to his room, dreaming of a day where they could be together, undaunted by his duty.