Secured Wishes (3 page)

He was forced to think about her question for a moment. “Why don’t you go first?”

“Are you sure?” When he nodded, she shrugged. “This is doomed to be a short conversation then, because there’s not much to tell.”

“That’s fine. You go first, then I’ll go.”

When she looked skeptical, he drew an X across his chest. “I promise.”

Her face cleared at his words. “Well, you already know my name. I’m twenty-six years old, five foot four, and there is no way I’m telling you how much I weigh.”

He sat quietly, waiting for her to continue, until he realized she didn’t intend to say anything further. “That’s it,” he asked incredulously. “That’s all you’re going to tell me?”

“I told you it was going to be a short conversation,” she said, unapologetically.

“What is your family like? Where were you born? Did you move around a lot as a child or did you spend your entire life living in the same town? There are plenty of things you could tell me.”

She shook her head before he finished speaking. “No, really. That’s it. I was raised in St. Katherine’s orphanage. I don’t know who my family was. The nuns named me Gracie, and all the orphans are given the last name of a saint—of course mine is St. John. I don’t even have a middle name. I don’t have an exact birth date either, but it really doesn’t matter since I don’t have anyone to celebrate with anyways,” she shrugged uncomfortably. “It’s your turn now.”

He was effectively distracted from his lust. A tight-knit, loving family raised him, and he couldn’t imagine the life she described. When he didn’t say anything, right away she began to chide him. “You promised, if I remember correctly. Here, I’ll get you started. Is Jacob your real name, or am I not allowed to know?”

It hadn’t occurred to him to give her a fake name. “That’s my real name.”

“I half expected it to be fake,” she said absently.

“It doesn’t matter if you know my name or not, since I don’t exist.”

She eyed him from head to toe, concentrating on all the strategic parts, leaving him burning once more. “You seem pretty real to me.”

He cleared his throat trying to bring his raging hard-on under control. “Let’s just say that cyberly speaking, I don’t exist. You can’t Bing me. There is no record of my birth. Technically I don’t exist anywhere in the world.”

“Hmm, I guess if we are being technical about things, considering the circumstances of my birth, I don’t exist either,” she said, surprising him with her easy acceptance of his strange circumstances. After a moment she added, “What else can you tell me? Do you have any family? Where were you born? Did you move around a lot as a child, or have you lived your whole life in the same town?”

He smiled at the familiar questions. It didn’t matter what he told her because so long as he was still breathing, no one would be getting close enough to question her. “I have a wonderful family. My parents have been happily married for thirty-three years and I have a younger sister, who is also one of my closest friends. She is married to a great guy, and I have a beautiful niece who means the world to me.”

“I don’t understand. If you were blessed with this awesome family, why are you non-existent, cyberly speaking?”

He shrugged. “Family trade.”

She was trying so hard to keep her eyes open, but they kept closing. He began describing his family at great length, covering everyone from his cousin, Caleb, to his Aunt Lena, who ran a physic hotline. Finally, her breathing steadied, and he knew she’d lost the battle against exhaustion. He could still remember the first time he’d been shot at, and the first time he’d seen someone die. It was the sort of thing that changed your life forever. Once he was positive she was sleeping soundly, he moved to the edge of the bed, pulling out several metal cases from beneath it. He found the ones holding his spare clothes first. He didn’t have any intention of sitting around with a towel wrapped around his hips all night. There were a few pairs of drawstring pants, and he pulled on one pair while laying out a second pair for when Gracie woke up. He grabbed a t-shirt for her as well, then moved to the case that held his laptop and cell phone. He spoke quietly as his call was connected. “What’s our status?”

“They have men watching the tunnels, but we have men watching them. We have the advantage since you guys have enough supplies to last a few days, but these guys are going to have to go somewhere else eventually, and hopefully they’ll lead us back to the rest. What about the girl? Was she harmed?”

“Just some flash burns but nothing serious.”

Caleb made a clicking noise, as if he were thinking the situation over. “Do you want to try for an evac?”

Jacob didn’t hesitate in his answer. “No. She’s a tough lady. She’ll be fine to hang out for a couple of days. As it turns out, she’s an orphan, so we don’t have to worry about coming up with a cover story for her absence.”

“That makes things easier. So just hang tight for a few days. I’ll check in with you periodically to keep you updated. Let me know if you change your mind about that evac. I’m sure we could come up with some sort of plan if you need to get out of there before then.”

“Seriously, dude, we’ll be fine.”

“Okay man. Catch you later.”

The line went dead, and he decided to shoot a text to Genie. He knew she would get it the next time she was up with the baby.

Just wanted to check-in and let you

know I’m fine. I’ll be out of touch

for a few days, but I’ll see you soon.

Kiss my niece for me - J

With the text sent, Jacob tucked the phone back into its hiding place, and then palmed several weapons from the case, before slipping it back under the bed. He didn’t think anyone would find this place, but he wasn’t taking any chances either, not with Gracie in the mix. Jacob grabbed the chair and set it next to the bed. He wanted to be between her and the door should anything happen. He was used to going for days without sleep, and it wasn’t a bad view either if he was going to be forced to stay awake until they were given the okay to leave. The chair creaked beneath his weight as he settled in, and Gracie rolled to her side, turning to face him. She slept peacefully for a moment then kicked restlessly at the blankets, uncovering her breasts in the process. Jacob felt like a lecher, but he didn’t do anything to hinder it. His mind flashed back to the way she had stared at him as he’d undressed. Her eyes shone with hunger, as she dared him to continue. He knew all along that he was going too far. She was only feeling the aftereffects of the adrenaline, but her eyes, damn; they kept him mesmerized, and he was unable to resist. He wasn’t overly body-conscious, beyond needing his to be his best weapon in a fight, but the way she stared so appreciatively still stoked his ego and left his body on fire. When he’d turned to face her, she lost some of her bravado, keeping her eyes firmly locked on his face, but it didn’t take her long to rally. And when she invited him to share her bed, he was so close to giving in to temptation that only the thought that she might regret him later held him to his chair. When, and if, she came to his bed, he wanted her to remember the experience fondly.

She stirred once more. This time she made a tiny sound of distress, and he was on his feet in an instant. Drawing in a sharp breath, she jerked, and her eyes opened. He leaned over her, unsure of whether or not she was awake. She stared at him sightlessly for a moment before her eyes focused. She blinked rapidly in confusion, then, in a move that blew him out of the water, twined her arms around his neck, drew his head down and sealed her mouth over his. He really tried to be good, he really did, but his good intentions were scattered to the wind at the first brush of her lips. Her unexpected move left him unbalanced, and she easily pulled him the rest of the way into the bed. He managed to cushion his fall just enough to keep from crushing her. Her hands roamed his body, and when she brushed the waistband of his pants, she made a sound of disgust, pulling away slightly. “Why the fuck did you get dressed?”

A laugh escaped his lips at the indignation in her voice. “You can still back out,” he told her honestly.

“Jacob, shut up.”

He broke into a wide grin. “Yes ma’am,” and then because he couldn’t not do it, he leaned down, sucking her nipple into his mouth, drawing a moan from her chest.

***

She watched horrified as Mary’s lifeless body melted to the ground, as if in slow motion. When her friend’s lifeless body landed upon her, the air was knocked from her lungs.

The dream was so real. When her eyes latched upon Jacob hovering over her, it was as if he were the last great hope left in the world. She couldn’t back down, and she promised herself she would never regret this moment, even if she never saw him again after this night. She couldn’t allow this emptiness to grow inside of her, and maybe she was only using him to fill that space, but she was desperate for him. His tongue flattened over her nipple as he sucked it into his mouth. The darkness within her mind was obliterated. She shoved both hands past the waistband of his pants and pushed them over his hips. She wiggled around beneath him, trying desperately to get him to do what she wanted, but he refused to take the hint. She was desperate to feel him inside her, but he resisted all her attempts to move him along. He continued to slowly explore her body with his mouth, making her insane with lust. She reached down, squeezing his erection and lightly stroking him, but he tugged her hand away, lifting it next to her head and pinning it with his large hands. He repeated the motion with her other hand, forcing her to accept his will. When he kissed a path down her rib cage and over her hipbone, the torture was exquisite. When his mouth sealed over her core, she thought she’d die from the pleasure, and she drew a gasp of air down her throat. She was so close to flying apart, but he crawled up her body instead of pushing her over the edge, and he pushed slowly inside her until she was stretched wide. His lips brushed her ear. “I want to feel you pulsing around me when you come,” his words alone almost did her in. He rocked against her, tearing a moan from her lips, and she exploded into a thousand pieces. He didn’t stop until she did it again and then once more. He kept her awake for hours. When she finally fell asleep, there were no more dreams to disturb her peace.

***

Her long lashes cast a shadow upon her cheeks as she slept peacefully. The temptation to wake her so he could see the green of her eyes was overwhelming, but he knew she needed rest. Something powerful was happening between them, and as unexpected as it was, he wasn’t shying away from it. In fact, she was oddly perfect for him. He knew she thought she needed no one, but he knew the truth: everyone needed someone. He hoped he could be that someone for her, because God knows he could easily come to need her. She was brave, strong, scary-smart, intoxicatingly beautiful, and she rocked his world. That was part of the reason he was having such a hard time letting her sleep. He was rock-hard ever since he caught sight of her in that mirror, and no matter how many times he made love to her, it refused to go down. That was a first for him. In the past, one time always proved to be enough with one woman, because he always found something about them he didn’t like. Gracie was the first woman he couldn’t fault. He didn’t want to be without her, and his body wanted hers non-stop. He wanted her pleasure; he wanted her so crazed with lust that she was screaming his name, and in the end he wanted all of her, and he would settle for no less.

***

His fingers were wrapped lightly around the gun resting against his bare stomach as he sat half reclined against the headboard. He didn’t notice that she was awake, and his eyes remained glued to the door. She took the opportunity to watch him uninterrupted. Her fingers itched to sketch him as he was right now. His pose was relaxed, but she could tell he was ready to spring into action at any moment. The lines of his face were hard, and his eyes watchful, leaving her no doubt he was in protective mode. She was drawing his lines in her mind, and when he turned his head catching her gaze, his face transformed, causing her heart to skip a beat. His eyes softened, and a half smile played across his lips. “Good morning,” Jacob told her softly before leaning over, his brown hair falling over one eye as he kissed her lightly.

“Is it morning?”

He shrugged. “We’re making our own hours for the next few days. We can go back to regular hours when we’re back topside, but I say we pretend it’s morning and make breakfast.”

“Mm, food. It’s been so long I’m not sure I know what that is any longer.”

Jacob leaned away looking worried. “How long has it been since you ate anything?”

“Well, it was twenty-four hours since I’d eaten anything as I was walking out to my car before, well, you know. Anyway, add the hours we’ve been here to that,” she shrugged, unsure of the exact amount of time.

Jacob glanced down at his watch, and she could tell he was calculating the hours in his mind. “Good God. It’s been fifty hours since you’ve eaten anything. Have you at least been hydrating?” Then as if realizing how stupid that question was, he added. “Never mind. Just don’t do that again. If you’re with me, tell me you’re hungry. Don’t go without.” He moved over to the fridge pulling out a can of soda and passing it over to her. “Drink this and at least get your blood sugar up until I can fix you something to eat.”

She popped the top on the can and took a few good gulps, then told him, “You don’t have to fix the food. If you’ll show me where everything is, I’ll cook.”

Jacob was already pulling things out. “No. I like to cook, and I’m wooing you.”

Gracie laughed. “Wooing? Do people even use that word any longer?”

“I just did.”

“Well it must be all the rage because you’re sure to know more about dating than I do.”

He felt a moment of confusion at her words. Was she implying that he must date a lot, or that she didn’t date at all? He finally decided there was no way she could know anything about his dating history, so her remark had to be about her. His confusion multiplied at that thought, since she was easily the most beautiful woman he could remember seeing. It made no sense for her not have a hoard of men dogging her heels every second of the day. Not that he was complaining, since it left the field open for him, but he was curious nonetheless. “Why don’t you date?”