Agent S5: Jaydan (12 page)

Walking behind Issy’s chair, Hope grabbed a brush and began to work. Sitting stock still, the little girl jabbered on about her imaginary castle and its residents. Penny and Ella, Gunner’s bride-to-be, beamed at her in gratitude.

Thanks to her mother, hair and fashion were her forte. She enjoyed helping out and talking with the girl. Ten minutes later, Hope looked to the bride for approval, Issy’s hair adorned in a crown of abundant curls and flowers. Ella’s eyes shone with appreciation. She nodded with a smile.

“I’m all done, Princess Issy.” Hope walked around to the front of her chair and held out her hand. “May I escort you to the royal wedding?”

The little girl gave an exaggerated nod. “Yes, you may.”

Following the bridesmaids to French doors that led to the back of the house, Hope let go of Issy’s hand.

Leaning down, she told her, “You are the fairest of them all, Princess Issy. Remember to smile at your Daddy when you walk down the aisle, okay?”

Penny handed Issy her basket of rose petals. “Let’s go, honey.” Moving Issy in front of her, Penny leaned back to Hope. “I’ll save you a seat.”

Hope walked back inside the suddenly still house. This wasn’t her family. All of the celebration, the love, the laughs belonged to Jaydan. She had no place here.

But, she wanted this. For so long, it had only been her and her father. When Riordan appeared, he brought along Natalie. Her family had doubled in the last several months and she wanted it to continue to grow. Keegan was another step forward.

Grabbing her tote from the floor, she found a guest bath. She had to shower or she’d go stark-raving mad. Maybe, once she changed into the only clean clothes she had left, she could find a quiet place far away from the festivities, to think.

Rushing through a shower, she blow-dried her long hair and pulled it into a low ponytail on the side of her head. Donning her denim capris and pink abstract tunic, she put on a light coat of makeup and slipped into her sandals.

Stepping out the front door, she couldn’t help but be drawn to the beautiful wedding taking place under the tree. Walking to the corner of the house, she watched the bride and groom exchange vows, Issy between them. The minister asked for the rings…

Hope caught a breath.

She’d forgotten how handsome Jaydan looked in a tuxedo. It was the reason she’d made a fool of herself the night they met. He wore it to perfection, his strong shoulders unbelievably wide in the fitted jacket, his hips ridiculously narrow. He wore his long hair combed back from his face to flip up on the ends, his face clean-shaven and smooth.

Her body exploded with unfulfilled longing, just like that first night in the hotel hallway. When he stood no more than a foot away from her, she’d blurted the first thing that came to her mind.

Come home with me
.

The same words that had sealed her image as the spoiled, dumb blonde that had to sleep her way through college to pass. The same words that had caused her to live a life of celibacy ever since.

The same words that had caused Jaydan to chuckle and tell her he was busy.

Hope squeezed her eyes shut. She’d felt like such a fool. Using that line on her young, parapsychology professor, and having him accept, had been the biggest mistake of her life. Her father spent a great deal of time and money trying to fix her reputation.

The stigma remained.

Jaydan’s eyes met hers across the sea of people. In that moment, she realized she’d do the episode in the SUV again. Forget the respect, forget the reasons why or why not it was a good idea.

She wanted Jaydan Rose.

Once the ceremony ended, he made his way over to her. He looked even hotter up close.

“Mom, saved you a seat. Where were you?”

She glanced down at her linked hands. “I didn’t want to intrude after what I did.” Meeting his curious gaze, she said, “I’m sorry.”

He gave her a lopsided grin. “Hell, I was impressed. I’ve never seen anyone talk to Booker like that.”

Laughter sputtered from her throat as she straightened the flower on his lapel. “You look ridiculously hot, by the way.”

His eyes darkened as he closed the distance between them. “That’s totally unprofessional, Hope.” He placed a hand at her hip.

Laughing, she linked her fingers with his at his side. “If you’re going to file a sexual harassment claim, let me know. I want to make it worth my while.”

His gaze raked over her like molten chocolate. “I have a bedroom inside.”

She skimmed her palm across his hard belly, just above his waist. His muscles contracted beneath her touch.

“Who needs a bed?”

With a low moan, he lowered his mouth toward hers.

“Is this how co-workers act where you work?”

With a groan, Jaydan backed away from her.

Austin sauntered up to them, his arms out wide. “If it is, I’m going to apply.”

Jaydan hooked him around the shoulders. “You’re still a pain in the ass, you know it?”

Austin laughed before he spoke to Hope out of the side of his mouth. “It took me years to perfect busting into a room when Jaydan was making out with a girl.” He pointed over his shoulder. “Speaking of, we need you for pictures. Sarah Jane wants one of you two together.”

Hope glanced back and forth between them. “Who’s Sarah Jane?”

A guilty blush stole over Jaydan’s face. Dread dropped to Hope’s stomach like a load of bricks. When Austin wouldn’t look her way, she knew.

Sarah Jane was an old girlfriend. Hope’s presence had put a monkey wrench in his plans.

Jaydan looked straight at her. “Sarah Jane is Ella’s older sister.”

Clenching her hands to keep from pounding a fist against her forehead, Hope mentally admonished herself. She would’ve made a fool of herself with him
again.
He hadn’t intended to bring anyone because he’d already had plans to hook up with his ex.

She had to get out of there before she really did something foolish – like drag him to his bedroom.

With determined steps, she headed for the reception in the barn.

“Hope…” Jaydan called after her.

Holding up a hand in the air, she didn’t turn around. “I got it.”

Jaydan told her cowboys knew how to treat a lady. What better place to find one than Texas?

Gunner and Ella had really done up the barn right.

Jaydan stood in the middle of the room with them, admiring the wedding décor. Ella’s father had spared no expense in insulating and installing central air conditioning so the crowd would be cool throughout the event. Nothing but the best for his girls.

“I wish we would’ve put the ice sculpture on that table over there.” Ella pointed toward the band stage. “Now, it’s going to mess up the serving lines.”

Jaydan handed Gunner his beer. “I can move it.”

“That thing is heavy and awkward,” his brother said. “Don’t worry about it, Jay.”

“I got this.” He grinned at them, wanting their day to be all they wanted and more. If anyone deserved it, Gunner did.

Lifting the sculpture of two swans in the shape of a heart, Jaydan knew he wouldn’t break it. Melting it, though, was another thing. Hope had him so mad his system ran on overload, his body still hard after she’d come onto him outside. His system heat could very well reduce the ice to water.

A gasp fell over the room as he carried it to the table. Once he situated it where Ella preferred, he took his beer from Gunner. Ella thanked him before a guest pulled her away.

“Damn, thanks for making me look bad in front of my new wife.” Gunner grinned at him.

Jaydan clapped him on the shoulder. “That’s what brothers are for. Just doing my job.”

Rubbing his chin between his thumb and forefinger, Gunner said, “Speaking of your job, how did you end up rescuing a kidnapped woman?”

His family had no idea what he did for a living.   Explaining the D.I.R.E. Agency to someone outside of his world was… delicate. “I work for a private security agency. I can do anything, anywhere in the world, on any given day.”

Gunner stared at him with renewed admiration. “Are you saying you’re some kind of mercenary?”

Jaydan gave a one-shouldered shrug.“I don’t hire out on my own. The agency is the best of the best, run by a former SEAL. All contracts go through him.”  He grinned.  “But yeah, it pays well.”

Gunner nodded toward Hope standing across the barn, talking with his mother. “And she works with you?”

“Oh, hell no.” He’d never allow her near people like Cyrus Matheson again. “She had a personal stake in the rescue. She’s Luke Powers’ daughter.”

His brother’s eyes bugged out. “
The
Luke Powers? As in Powers Technology?”

Jaydan laughed at his brother’s reaction. “Yeah. Her brother’s an old friend. He works for the agency.”

“So, how’d you end up bringing her today if you’re not sleeping with her?” He pointed at Jaydan. “Which, by the way, makes you the dumbest sonovabitch on the planet.”

He laughed aloud. God, he loved being around his brothers again. He could take their good-natured teasing all day long.

“She invented an application that we tested on the op. It worked like a charm. Things got a little sticky though. That’s why we were late.”

Glancing over at her, his gut churned when his mother introduced her to one of Gunner’s groomsmen. “As for sleeping with her, I learned my lesson with Sarah Jane. High-maintenance women and I don’t mix.”

Gunner tilted his head to study her. “She doesn’t seem high-maintenance to me. She’s among strangers, completely out of her element and seems fine with it. She works for a living – hell, it sounds like she’s smarter than the two of us combined.” Looking around he lowered his voice. “Sarah Jane, I get. She’s just waiting for the next sugar daddy to come along.” He nodded at Hope. “But that one? She – aw, hell. I think you’ve already lost her.“

Whipping around, Jaydan spotted Hope over at the bar, sipping a glass of wine. Surrounded by, not two, but four men, she laughed as though
she
were the Texas native and not he.

I may have to go to Texas and find me one.

She’d uttered those words just days ago after he’d told her cowboys knew how to treat a lady. Obviously, she was taking advantage of the opportunity. Not only was she flirting with flare, he
knew
she was in the mood today after she’d come onto him outside.

I’d have a hell of a good time finding out.

When he thought about Hope sleeping with anyone else the way they’d gone at it in the SUV the other night, he wanted to rip down the barn with his bare hands. No way in freaking hell he’d let her sleep with someone else.

His stomach swirling, he headed toward the bar, his boots echoing off the hollow, wooden floor.

Sarah Jane popped up in front of him, blocking his path. Still beautiful in her own right, she smiled up at him, her whiskey gold eyes sparkling with interest.

“Hi, Handsome.” She laid a hand against his chest. “What do you have under that shirt?”

He pulled her hand off his chest. She stuck out her bottom lip.

“Have you become an old fuddy-duddy, Jaydan? You used to be so much fun.”

He harrumphed.  “Yeah well, setting me up to get caught sneaking out of your room really pissed me off, Sarah Jane.”

Her hand played with the fingers of his left hand. “I was just trying to get you to propose, Jaydan.”

“We were in
high school
, Sarah Jane. And, there was no way in hell your father would’ve forced me to marry you.”

She looked up at him from under heavy-lidded eyes. “Can’t we start over? Maybe see if we can find what we had before?” Lowering her voice, she said, “You used to be so damned hot in bed, Jay.”

Did it mean he was getting old if he found this entire conversation boring? He could have Sarah Jane tonight, but the idea left him indifferent.

Not to mention that she would freak out when she found his microchip. Someone like her would never understand his job or the reasons why he did it.

Hope didn’t like it, but she understood it.

Understood him.

Glancing past her shoulder, his eyes met Hope’s smoldering gaze. He hoped his eyes conveyed the burning thought in his head.
What the hell are you doing
?

Lifting her nose in the air, she turned away from him and smiled at a cowboy on her right. Curse words zinged through his head like gunshots.

A part of him couldn’t believe she’d sleep with someone else. Although they’d known each other for months, they’d formed a bond this week, pulling together to rescue Keegan.

Maybe he only felt it. Maybe she had used the time as an opportunity to further the DNA tracker and her potential position as a liaison to D.I.R.E.

He let out a breath.  Hell, trying to figure out Hope Powers was a fulltime job. A job that wore him out.

A job he just didn’t have the strength to fight anymore.

Let her have her fun. He’d vowed no high-maintenance women for exactly this reason. They were too damned much trouble.

He didn’t have anywhere to go tonight but to his bed a few feet away. He’d dance with his mother, get to know his niece, and avoid Booker. He’d pick on his brothers and just take-in the idea of being home again.

He’d missed it.

***

Gunner pulled Ella into his arms and stared down at her with so much love it brought tears to Hope’s eyes. She wanted to be loved that way, with complete and unequivocal adoration. She wanted to be loved and respected for who she was, not for her father’s money. To be accepted despite her foul temper, her past mistakes and her outspoken nature.

“They’re so in love, Penny.”

Jaydan’s mother gave a soft laugh as she cuddled a sleepy Issy in her lap. “They’ve been crazy about each other since high school. When they conceived this one, Gunner refused to marry her unless she absolutely loved him. It took them this long to take the leap. But, we all knew it would happen sooner or later.”

“How did you know?  Was their love that evident?”

Penny stared at her like she’d grown a third eye on her forehead. “Haven’t you ever been in love, honey?”

Hope frowned at the bad memories that danced in her head. She’d thought she was in love with Professor Darius Ramos.  He’d consumed her thoughts, challenged her mind in ways that pushed her to excel at her visionary gifts.   He’d believed in her – and her father’s money.    

And obviously, adultery. 

With a melancholy smile, Hope shook her head. “No. My brother and his fiancée are the only people I’ve been around that are completely and obviously crazy about each other.”

Penny gave her a knowing smile. “You’ll know it when you see it.”

Propping her chin in her hand, Hope stared at Jaydan standing on the edge of the dance floor. Earlier, Austin had set a black cowboy hat on his brother’s head, lending to Jaydan’s already irresistible air. He looked so handsome tonight it made her want to cry even more.

She sighed. She really had to get some rest. The tears were coming way too easy now.

Jaydan had come for his family – and Sarah Jane. She’d seen them talking on the dance floor, her touch on Jaydan’s chest familiar, her beauty one Hope would be hard pressed to match.

When a country ballad started, the woman in question rushed up to Jaydan and pulled him onto the dance floor. He lingered a second to finish speaking with a group of men, eliciting a laugh. Setting down his beer on a table, he allowed her to drag him out on the floor. He held her in his arms, his steps sure as he shuffled her around the floor.

Hope clutched her stomach. She needed to just go to bed. The last few days had been an emotional rollercoaster. With a little rest, her feelings would all settle down.

“Dance with me, Hope?” Austin stood beside her chair wearing a cocky smile, his hand extended.

She laughed. “I’ve never two-stepped in my life.”

Helping her up, he nodded toward the floor. “I’ll teach you. Come on.”

Following him out on the floor, Hope decided she really liked the outrageous flirt. She’d watched him make the rounds with all of the women, never favoring one.

Keep them all wanting for more.

Twirling her around, Hope laughed when he pulled her into his arms.

“I thought you couldn’t dance.” He smiled at her, his eyes heavy with unabashed appreciation.

She rested her hand on his shoulder.  “I never said that. I said I’ve never two-stepped.”

He pulled her closer against him. “Maybe I can give you some private lessons while you’re here.”

Laughing aloud, Hope shook her head. “You’re a smooth one, aren’t you?”

Austin’s smile vanished, his serious gaze so contradictory to the smile she’d seen him wear since she arrived. His eyes searched hers with intensity, swirling and dark.

“If my brother isn’t smart enough to know a good thing when she loves him, maybe I’m just what she needs to get past him.”

Hope felt like he’d flicked her on the forehead, springing her awake. She blinked her eyes. “You… think I’m in love with Jaydan?”

He chuckled, his tone patient. “Sweetheart, it’s written all over your face. You haven’t been able to take your eyes off him.”

Slumping her shoulders, Hope let the idea slip past the brick wall she’d erected around her heart. She did love Jaydan. That’s why it hurt so much to be away from him.

God above, she was an idiot.

Slowing his movements, Austin trailed a feather-light finger down her cheek, his lips following with the briefest of kisses.

Hope’s gasp caught in her chest before she was yanked from his arms.

“I hope you enjoyed that, little brother, because that’s the last time you’re touching her.” Jaydan whirled her into his arms.

An instant feeling of homecoming washed over her.

“
Jaydan
, what are you doing?” She stopped herself when she meant to pop him on the chest.

He glared at Austin behind her, his eyes narrow and dark. “You crossed a line, little brother.”

Austin glared right back. “Someone had to…”

Gunner appeared beside them, the voice of reason. “What’s going on?”

“Not a thing.” Jaydan pulled Hope onto the dance floor, away from them.

As they swayed to the slow song, he held his body stiff, his eyes straight ahead. She stood where she wanted to be, in Jaydan’s arms. Yet, she felt more alone than when she sat at the table with Penny. 

A sob caught in her throat as she tried to hold it in. It would never be easy with them.

“Are you
crying
?” He held her away from him, his turbulent gaze searching hers beneath the dark hat.

Shaking her bowed head, she leaned her forehead against his chest. Wrapping her arms around him, she fisted her hands into the back of his vest. “I can’t do this, Jaydan.”

He pulled her tight against him and kissed the top of her head. Wrapping her in a bear hug, he squeezed her once before burying his face against her hair, his familiar scent enveloping her in sadness and joy. His hat hid their faces from view, their breath mingling hot and heavy against her skin.

The touch of his lips against her temple was soft and all too brief. She turned to him, her mouth just out of reach of his, desperate, seeking his taste.