Clarity (The Seductors #3.5) (3 page)

I was restless. Jade had been in Washington DC all week, settling into her job. I’d been too tied up with my own work to join her, though.

“You could come home, you know,” I mumbled over the phone, playing with my pen. I was sulking. She could probably tell.

“I would if I could, but I have a job to do. You don’t know how cunning Sonia—I mean Jennifer—can be. I’m doing this to keep you safe, too. I’m not taking any chances.”

“Have you found anything yet?”

“She seems to be behaving herself right now, but I still have their backup files to check.”

“You are being thorough.”

“She’ll already be planning to take you down. That’s how she works! She is ruthless! She’s lost the control of her company because of you, so she’ll be after your blood!”

“You don’t know that. And besides, she can’t touch me. I have eyes and ears everywhere, but more importantly, I have you.”

“It will take more than me to keep you safe, Oliver. That’s why I need to use all the resources I have.”

“Beautiful, stop worrying. It’s all under control. We have other things to worry about first, anyway.”

“Have you set up our meeting with Imogen?” She knew me so well.  

“Yes. It’s next Monday.” Jade was excited to be attending the meeting with me. Honestly, I was looking forward to seeing Imogen's face
when she saw us walk in together
.  

“When are you flying home?”

“In a few days,” Jade chuckled. “You asked me the same question this morning.”

“And you can’t come home now?”

“It’s only been
four days
!” she giggled.

“Exactly! That’s why you should come home.” She was going to say something when a male voice called her.

“I have to go.”

“Who’s that?”

“Miles. He’s helping me check the backup files.”

“Shouldn’t he be inventing something? That’s what I pay him for, isn’t it?”

“The government pays for him, too. I asked if he could help me. There’s a lot to go through, and I’m still learning. You can’t drop a job like this on me and expect me to just be able to cope.”   

“You need to have more faith in yourself. You don’t need that nerd helping you. Besides, it wasn’t me who hired you.”

“You know that isn’t easy for me, and
you
recommended me to General Johnson, remember? That’s kind of the same thing." She moved away from the phone. “I’ll be there in a few minutes, Miles. Hang on.”

“Does he know you’re talking to your
boyfriend
?”

“Yes,” she snorted. “You’re not getting jealous, are you?”  

“Of course I am. He’s there with you and well, I’m here.”

“You could fly to me. You have a private plane.” Could I? I’d already attended all the important meetings this week. Maybe I could surprise her. It would only be for a few days. I could put Miles in his place, too.

He didn’t like me because he had feelings for Jade. It was written all over his face when we first met. I’d told him that I was releasing her from The Seductors. He didn’t seem to like the idea at first, until I explained that he would be moving, too.

“I wish I could, Beautiful,” I sighed, pulling up my appointments on my computer. I only had four tomorrow, and I was sure Sylvia would be able to reschedule them for next week. Most were overseas conference calls anyway. I could do a few on the jet if I had to.

“Shame. My bed is awfully big here. It was so hot last night that I had to sleep naked too.” The little minx.

“Miles better not still be listening.”

“He’s not. I’m alone.”

“You’re not the only one that can tease over the phone.”

“I don’t have time for your dirty mouth right now. I need to focus.”

“My dirty mouth wants to do a lot of things to you. In fact, it wishes it was in between your legs right now.”

“Oh God!”

“I miss tasting you, Beautiful.”

“I need to go. Bye.”

“If you must,” I snorted, knowing she was getting flustered. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. You’ll call me before you go to sleep later, right?”

“Of course. I can’t sleep without hearing your voice. I’ll speak to you later, Beautiful.” Jade sighed, saying goodbye before we both hung up.

I reached for my intercom. “Yes, Mr. Kirkham?” Sylvia asked.

“I need you to cancel all my meetings until Monday, and can you arrange the jet please?”

“Where will you be heading?”

“Washington DC.”

“I’ll get to it right away.” To an outsider, I may have looked like a lovesick fool. Oh, who was I kidding? I
was
a lovesick fool. I needed to see Jade. A week was too long to be without her.

“This is a pleasant surprise, Oliver.” General Johnson greeted me once I’d gone through the security checks.

“How is Jade doing?” I asked, shaking his hand.

“You were right about her. She’s invaluable. She’s given us so much information already.”

“Where is she?”

General Johnson motioned toward one of his staff. “Jones, can you escort Mr. Kirkham to Miss Phillips’ office, please?” I followed the guy down corridor after corridor. How did Jade not get lost in this place? When we got there, her office was empty. After asking around, I discovered she’d gone to get some fresh air.

My heart was racing as I followed my guide outside. I could see Jade in the distance with her back to me, sitting at a table with Miles. This guy was starting to piss me off. He must have alerted her to my presence because she suddenly turned around. She quickly got up and rushed over to me.

“You came!” she gasped, falling into my arms as I picked her up off the ground and swung her around, kissing the breath out of her.

“You seem to have an effect on me. I can’t keep away,” I whispered as our lips parted.

“What about your appointments?”   

“There was nothing that couldn’t wait until Monday,” I smirked, running my hands through her hair. Miles had finally reached us. “It’s good to see you again, Miles.” I greeted, holding a hand out to him while my other arm was still wrapped securely around Jade.  

“You, too, Mr. Kirkham,” he mumbled. “If you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Was it something I said?” I frowned at Jade once he’d gone. Secretly, I was pleased that he had run off.

“You intimidate him,” she grinned. “Though I have no idea why. You’re not
that
scary. Even
I
could beat your ass.”

“I have no doubt that you could.” Pulling her toward me, I brushed my lips against hers. “But let’s leave the dominating behavior for later…preferably when we’re in bed.”

“Mmmm…that sounds like a great idea.”

“Are you going to show me around your office? How are things going?”

“Sure. I need to talk to you, anyway. I think we have a slight problem. One I should have thought of ages ago.” Jade knew me by now. I didn't
do
problems.

“That’s it?” I mused, leaning against her desk, trying to hide my amusement.

“Oliver, if any of these men find out that I’m with you, it’ll make you a target. I
stole
from them.”

“At someone
else’s
request,” I pointed out. “I don’t understand why you’re so worried.”

“Some of these people were politicians and businessmen. What if we run into them? Not to mention the crime lords and drug dealers. Here I was worrying about Sonia—I mean Jennifer—when there was a even bigger threat.”

“I saw your mission files before I came for you in San Francisco. There were only ten men dangerous enough that I needed to put a tracker on them.”  

“Y...you put a tracker on them? All
ten
of them?” she gasped.

“I needed to make sure you were safe once you were free of The Seductors, Jade. You really don’t need to worry, okay? There were a few that easily took a pay off
, so I didn’t bother putting a tracker on them
. I’ve spoken to the Politicians that you’re concerned about, too.”

“When?”

“Before London,” I smirked, taking a sip of water. Did she really think I would have let any of those assholes near her again? Watching her with Mr. Stone in San Francisco was more than enough for me. I didn’t want
any
of her past catching up with her again…ever!

“Jesus, Oliver! Why didn’t you tell me? I’ve been going out of my mind! I was trying to work out a way of telling you so you didn’t freak out!”

“I’m sorry. It must have slipped my mind. I’ve also set restrictions with the press.  I don’t want your face all over newspapers and gossip magazines now that you've snapped up the hottest bachelor in New York.”

She gave me a look of disbelief before speaking. “That ego of yours is showing again.”

“You love my ego,” I replied huskily, pulling on her bottom lip with my teeth. “If you give me the names of the men you’re concerned about, I can match it with my own list. I don’t want to miss any threats, either.”

“Why are you so smart?” she glared in a teasing manner. “I’ve only just thought of this and you’re already
way
ahead.”

“I’m just perfect,” I winked with a smug smirk. “Now, what time are you clocking out? I have this urge to be alone with you.”

“Let me get my bag. I suddenly have that urge, too.”

“Do you think you’ll stay working for General Johnson?” I asked once we were in the hotel room.

“I do enjoy the work. It’s something I know,
which is a plus
.”

“You can do anything you want, Beautiful. You name it and I’ll make it happen.” Jade had a troubled look on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I need to do this on my own. You’ve been amazing, Oliver, but I don’t want you to
pay
to get me my dream job. I want to work for it. I really do love working for General Johnson. Monitoring The Seductors is something I’m good at. I really feel like I can make a difference there. It’s still a little daunting having to make my own decisions again, though.”

“I want you to be happy. Whatever you decide to do, I’ll support you.”

All I wanted was her happiness. Leaving The Seductors the way she did, I knew it had taken its toll on her. Jade hadn’t even been able to see her friends yet, and I knew how hard that was for her. It was too risky for the moment, but it hadn’t been completely ruled out. Technically, she was in charge of them now so there was no rule against meeting up with them. We were just being cautious.  

“Mmm…I’ve missed you.” Jade pressed her lips against mine before moving to straddle me as she pushed me down onto the bed. Her lips were traveling down my body within minutes, licking and sucking as they went. When her hot, talented mouth engulfed my cock, I closed my eyes, becoming lost in the sensation. Clearly, she wanted to thank me for my support.