On Jason's Watch [Paladin Protection Agency 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (12 page)

“You’re a good man, one of the best I’ve ever met,” she protested, dipping her head to nuzzle against his hand.

“No, sweetheart, I’m not. I’m learning to be a good man. That’s what Paladin is, a second chance. We’re all there for our own reasons, but every member of that company is either ex-military or the family of someone who served. Remington built it that way.”

“It’s nice to know I’m not alone.” She smiled, suddenly understanding why the fates had brought her to Paladin. “I’m trying to redeem myself, too, trying to make up for the monster.”

“I keep telling you, you’re not a monster.” He drew her in and kissed her softly.

When he finally stopped long enough for her to think again, she just shrugged and pushed him back onto the bed so she could finish treating his wound. “And I told you, I think you’re a good man. We’ll just have to keep working on convincing each other.”

“You have yourself a deal, Miss Masters.” His smug grin faltered as she poured a generous splash of hydrogen peroxide over the bite. “Ouch.”

“You’ll be fine. I did promise it kiss it better, didn’t I?” She dried the area and applied a dab of antibacterial cream and then stuck a Band-Aid on top for good measure.

“Where’s my kiss?” He was almost pouting now, his eyes gleaming with humor as he lifted his arm and did an amazingly good impression of a sad puppy.

“First I clean this mess up. Then you get a kiss. I suspect if I try to do it the other way around I’ll regret it.”

She gathered up the contents of the first aid kit and tried not to yawn. Suddenly she was tired again. What she wanted more than anything else was to curl back into Jase’s arms and sleep.

He must have read her mind because when she returned from the bathroom, he was already switching off the light, and the moment she was back under the covers, he had her in his arms. “I still want that kiss,” he whispered.

She snuggled herself in close and brushed a soft kiss to side of the bandage, quickly followed by several more. “All better now?”

“For now, yes. I may need more of those come morning.”

“For you, I’ll even make house calls,” she quipped and then asked him the question that had been on her mind since he’d woken her so violently. “How often do you get these nightmares, Jase?”

“I used to get them all the time. Now, maybe once or twice a week. I really am sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.” She reached up to stroke his cheek. “I just wanted to know how many times a week I can expect to be woken up like that, so my wolf doesn’t freak out next time it happens.”

“Miss Masters, are you planning on spending more nights in my bed, then?” She heard the laughter in his voice, as well as a note of relief.

“I guess that’s up to you. After all, you’re the one who would be sleeping with a werewolf.”

“No, sweetheart. I’d be sleeping with you. And I’d like that very much.”

“Me, too,” she whispered and then closed her eyes with a contented sigh and wished for sleep to come quickly. It did, and as morning came, she began to dream.

She was running through the city streets. It was dark, but she knew dawn was coming soon. She could feel it. The streets were wet and heavy with a hundred different scents. People and machines. Rain-soaked asphalt and alleys full of forgotten trash, some of it human. None of those scents were the one she was seeking. Not tonight. Tonight she needed to find one scent. One among thousands. She lifted her muzzle and inhaled. There! That one!

She followed her nose, running hard. The wind blew gusts of rain into her eyes and made her nose sting, but she didn’t stop. She had to get to him. The one the scent belonged to. He was the only thing that mattered.

The pavement was cold beneath her paws. The rough surface making her pads tender, but still she ran on. Time was running out. She rounded a corner, and his scent came on the wind, stronger now. She followed it into an alley so dark she could see only the faintest of shapes. But she could hear them, snarls and growls and the sound of a man in pain. She flew into the darkness, howling a challenge. The last shards of moonlight shimmered in the puddles, and by its light, she caught the gleam of blond hair and pale skin. Him. She bounded to his side, but the scent she’d tracked was mixed with the acrid
odor
of pain, and there was blood everywhere, so much blood. The other’s fanned out around her, and she howled in fury. They would pay for what they’d done. She would defend her mate.

Chapter 8

Jazz woke up from her dream with a start. The taste of blood still lingered on her tongue, and for a moment, she could have sworn her mouth was full of fur.
What the hell was that?
She took a moment to gather her scattered wits as she tried to figure out the dream while it was still clear in her mind. She’d learned years ago that dreams were one of the few ways the beast within could communicate with her.

She glanced over at Jase to see if he was still asleep, and comprehension struck her like a blow. “No way,” she muttered, her hand already reaching out to lightly ruffle his blond hair. She leaned in and breathed deeply. His scent filled her mouth and nose, and her darker half howled in confirmation. It was the same as the one in her dream. She’d been dreaming about her mate, Jase.

“Mate.” She whispered the word and flung herself back onto her pillow with a groan, her arm over her eyes to block out the morning sunlight.
This isn’t happening. There is no way my wolf is getting a say in my love life.
The room was brighter by the time she rolled over and indulged herself in a long look at the man whose bed she was currently lying in. This was the man her wolf wanted to mark as their own. There was no denying he was attractive. His hair was cut almost military short, the golden stubble on his jaw just a few shades darker than his pale blond hair. Even asleep his mouth was turned up into a soft smile, just enough for her to be able to mark the dimples in his cheeks. Her gaze slid lower, and she drank in the sight of his bare arms and chest. He had the build of a swimmer, athletic without being bulky. She knew from her own lifelong battle with her weight just how many hours he must spend to keep that fit.

The sight of all that male beauty inspired her to recall how well he’d used that body to pleasure her, and a wicked thought popped into her mind. This brief bit of stolen time together was going to come to an end soon. The full moon would rise tonight and there were still werewolves hunting for her. She hadn’t forgotten the rest of the monster’s warning either. It sensed danger and wanted to protect Jase from it, whatever it was.

“Time to seize the day,” she whispered to herself and eased the covers off her sleeping lover. She was surprised to see he was already hard. For a moment, she wondered if he was merely pretending to sleep, but then she recalled one of the girls at the gym talking about “morning wood” and she realized what was happening.
It would be a crime to let that go to waste.
She shimmied down the bed and wrapped her fingers around the thick base of his cock. As much as she wanted to go slowly and enjoy this, she knew he wouldn’t stay asleep long. Not with what she planned to do.

The moment her lips touched his skin, he groaned, his cock twitching in her hand. Tentatively she planted several more kisses to the tip and felt it swell even more. She swiped the tip of her tongue up one side and was rewarded with another groan. With growing confidence, she swirled her tongue over the slit at head of his cock and then lowered her head to take it into her mouth. His body tensed, and his hips bucked instinctively, driving himself deeper into her mouth. She heard him suck in a breath that ended with a chuckle, and then his hand was tangling in her hair.

“Good morning to you, too, sweetheart.” Jase’s fingers caressed her scalp lightly.

Jazz hummed a wordless greeting and was surprised when his cock jumped in response. She did it again, and this time Jase’s hips rose and she heard his breath hiss over his teeth. Empowered, she combined a low hum with a swirl of her tongue and bit back a laugh at the result.

“You’re sure you’ve never…” was all he managed to get out before she drew several inches of him into her mouth and sucked lightly. After that, he stopped trying to speak.

She quickly lost track of time, exploring him with her mouth and hands. His unique musk was in her nose, and she savored it, loving the way his scent filled her senses. She would kiss her way down his cock and then back up again, pausing every time she heard his breath catch or his low groans of approval. Soon she knew just where he was the most sensitive, and she lingered over those spots, tracing patterns over his skin with the tip of her tongue.

She wanted to make him feel as good as he’d made her feel last night. He’d had other lovers, and she wanted to be sure that no matter what happened after this, he’d remember her. She needed him to remember their time together, just as she would. The beast inside her grumbled from the dark recesses of her mind, and she knew it was distinctly unhappy at the idea of letting him go. She ignored it. Some things were beyond her ability to control. All they really had was this moment, and she wanted it to be memorable.

The muscles of his thighs were taut and his breathing was a low rasp when he finally groaned her name and tugged at her hair. He drew her mouth away from his dick, and she let her tongue slide over the tip of his cock as she released him. She brushed the veil of her hair out of her eyes and met his hungry gaze.

“Come up here.” His hand left her hair to close around her wrists, drawing her up his body. As his lips took hers in a torrid kiss, he guided her to where he wanted her to be. She lay sprawled across his chest, her hands on either side of his head and her legs straddling his hips. His cock was trapped between them, every steel and velvet inch of it pressing along the seam of her pussy. She arched herself against him and gasped as a bolt of raw pleasure coursed through her. She felt herself grow wet with need, and she shifted again, her labia parting around his cock. The pressure against her clit grew stronger, and she moaned into his mouth, riding him with growing urgency.

He finally broke her kiss to murmur, “You can wake me up like this any time you want to, sweetheart. But I think you’re getting ahead of yourself.” She watched in bemusement as he reached between them to insinuate his hand between their bodies, pinpointing her clit with unerring accuracy. “First, you need to come for me, and then we’ll come together.”

She opened her mouth to protest this diversion from her plan, but all that came out was a gasp as he flicked his fingertips over that sensitive nub again.

“We’re tangled up and naked, so no arguments,” he warned her, his eyes almost glowing with the heat of his desires.

“I should never have agreed to that rule.” She groaned brokenly. He kept up his relentless caresses, swirling his finger around her clit in teasing circles until she was shaking and she could feel that her entire pussy was slick and wet. When she thought she would not be able to take another moment of the sensuous torment, he would reward her with a single swipe to the tiny cluster of nerves that had become the focus of her entire world.

Her head sagged forward and her eyes closed as his touch fell into a rhythm and her body matched it. She rode his hand and his cock together as he used them both to stroke the slick folds of her pussy. Just as she was ready to beg him to let her come, he pressed his fingers against her clit, pinning it lightly against his hot, hard cock. The sensation drove her to the edge of control and then right over it and into the abyss beyond. Lights flared and colors danced behind her closed eyelids as she came, completely overtaken by her pleasure.

Before she could catch her breath, she felt his hands on her hips as he pulled her down tight on top of him, grinding their bodies together. His mouth claimed hers, parting her lips so that his tongue could duel with hers. The teasing thrust of his hips rekindled her passions before the last echoes of her orgasm had even faded. His teeth closed on her lip, and she heard the wolf inside her howl in approval. Impatiently, she braced herself and raised up just as his hips rose for another thrust, and then he was inside her. She brought herself down around his dick with a groan of satisfaction, reveling in every exquisite sensation.

“Jazz.” He groaned her name and kissed her until the room spun in giddy circles and her lungs burned for air. Their kiss ended on a jagged groan, and then she was moving, taking him deep into her pussy until there was no room between them. His hands held her steady as she rode him, inner walls gripping him tightly as she ground her swollen clit against his body.

She sat up straight and cried out as the change in position took him even deeper, stroking and filling her so completely she never wanted it to end. Her head fell back and she heard herself whimper as strong fingers reached up to tweak at her nipples. Every touch and gentle tug sent flashes of intense pleasure straight to her pussy.