Protected (4 page)

She already mourned the loss of
Jason. “And the group—I know they meet once a month. I
…
I think they’re supposed to
meet next week. They don’t keep names or whatever. At least, they didn’t make
anyone write down their names when I went to that meeting with Fia, so I don’t
know,” she said, worry making her repeat herself.

“I’ll take you,” he said. “I
don’t want you going alone, not now that I’ve found you.” He slid his arms
around her, pulling her to him as he pressed his forehead to hers. “We should
sleep. We’ll get to the ferry in time, I promise. I’ll alert James, because I
want to take him as well. I’m hoping we won’t need the backup, but I’d rather have
it.”

Vivian nodded. She wrapped her
arms around his waist and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I feel bad because
…
I wanted to do more with you
than sleep.” And she never just jumped into bed with people. Ever. “So, what do
you mean, ‘now that you’ve found me’?” She wanted to hear it again, that he
needed her in his life as much as she felt she needed him in hers.

“You’re my soul mate. The
medallion heating, the intense need we feel … all signs that you’re mine. I’ve
been looking for you for a long, long time, Vivian. Where you go, I go.
Period.” A finger under her chin tipped her face up for his kiss. “I’m going to
make love to you, soon. But first things first, we need to make sure your
sister is safe and see if we can’t warn the other members of her group. Then,
you and me, somewhere nice and private and absolutely no fucking clothing
between us for hours, maybe even days on end.”

That had Viv shivering. She
licked her lips. “We’ll order food in to be delivered. We’ll just have each
other.” She moved so that she was tucked in nice and close to him, her ear
against his chest, the beating of his heart a comforting sound. “I think I
could see myself falling in love with you one day,” she admitted.

He gave her a squeeze, and she
felt his chin come to rest on her hair. “I think I’m already in love with you,”
he said softly. A small ripple went through him before he gave her another
quick squeeze. “We should clean up and get to bed. We only have a little over
four hours before we need to leave for the ferry. Grab one of my shirts to
sleep in, if you want. There’s a couple spare toothbrushes in the bathroom. I
need to call James.”

“Okay.” She didn’t want to move,
though. She wanted to stay where she was. “Or we could just both strip naked
and sleep in each other’s arms, skin to skin?”

Jason rubbed a hand over her
back. “However you want, Vivian. As long as you’re comfortable, that’s what
matters most to me.”

She nodded. “If we aren’t able
to do anything else, I want this at least. Even though I know there’ll be plenty
of time later—” She paused, then frowned and asked, “What about when I get old?
Will you keep going without me? How does that work? I don’t have a medallion,
so I’ll grow old and die, right?”

“No, your life will tie to
mine,” he said. “When we’re together the first time, we’ll bond. A thread that
already ties us together will get stronger, thicker, and your life will entwine
with my own. However long I live, so will you, as you are at the exact moment
we are first intimate.”

She had no idea how she felt about
living that long, but Vivian nodded, not stopping to analyze the relief that
coursed through her at his words. She wanted to know more about the connection
and was curious if he had an ability like she did. She wondered if he could
shield, too, or if he was like Fia and nature bent to his will.

“Okay. Go do whatever you need
to,” she finally said, forcing herself to concentrate on the situation at hand.

“I’ll make that call to James. I
don’t think you’ll want to hear most of his language. He tends to get pissy
when I interrupt his time with the fairer sex. It’ll only take a couple of
minutes, but it’s best not to burn your tender ears.” With a kiss to her cheek,
he helped her off his lap. “Be quick. I’ll be waiting for you when you come
out.”

“You had better be,” Vivian
teased him and all but raced for the bathroom. Once the door closed behind her,
she looked at herself in the mirror and shook her head. She couldn’t believe
she was doing this. She had never been so impulsive. But she believed everything
he said, because she felt in the pit of her very soul that he was being
completely honest with her. He was telling her the truth and that was both
terrifying and exciting in the same breath.

After she did her business, she
brushed her teeth, then walked back out to the bedroom, wrapped only in the
robe that the hotel supplied. “Your turn.”

Nodding to her, he rolled his
eyes as he spoke into his phone. “Yes, you have until four. After that, I
expect you to be dressed and ready to move. Good, I’ll see you then.” He hung
up and tossed the cell onto a duffel bag on the floor. To her, he said, “Two
minutes, and I’ll expect to see you in bed, without the robe.” He brushed his
fingers over her cheek as he went past her into the bathroom, shutting the door
to cut off her ogling of his behind.

Vivian shook her head but
dropped the robe and climbed up into the middle of the mattress, naked as the
day she was born. Pulling the blanket up and over her, she turned to watch the
bathroom door and wait for him to come out.

True to his word, two minutes
later he stepped out, shutting the light off in the room behind him and
striding toward her. He was completely, utterly naked. Dropping his clothing to
the duffel, he kept moving, not pausing even when he got to the bed. Instead he
crawled right up to her. “You’re staring,” he said, a smile on his face as he
watched her.

“How can I not?” She licked her
lips. “You are—” She couldn’t describe just how amazing he looked. He had scars
that crisscrossed his body, and they looked ancient, but it was him. He was
tall, with dark hair and eyes, yet his attraction was more than physical. It
was in the way he looked at her that had her pussy creaming for him. “Wow.”

“Hardly, but thank you for the
overly generous compliment.” He reached out and yanked on the blanket. She had
a death grip on it. “I think it’s only fair that I get to look at you, too.
Especially since I have an internal bet going on with myself that I have to
know the answer to before I can sleep.” He gave another light tug.

“And what would that bet be?”
She sat up, pushing the bedding down to her feet and holding her hand out to
him.

Typically, she felt very shy
about baring her body, but this time she couldn’t, not with him looking at her
like he was. She wanted him to touch every single inch of her skin, and even
though she was terrified for her sister, she wanted him now. She had to trust
that Fia would be safe, that if anything, nature would protect her. And there
was nothing Vivian could do until she got to the island. So why shouldn’t this
moment be for her and Jason? “Well, come on. What’s your bet about?”

“Freckles, mainly, and you do
have them,” he said. He traced a finger over her chest. “They’re even lighter
than the ones on your face, but they’re there. The other one was…” Jason sat
back a little and chuckled. “Well, that answers that.” Still laughing softly,
he moved so he was next to her and slid under the blankets.

She pulled the covers up and
around her shoulders, moving so that she could put her leg over his and rest
her head on his upper body. “Okay, what was the other question?” she asked,
rubbing her cheek over his skin and closing her eyes, her arm wrapped around
his middle.

He drew her in closer, his other
hand landing on her hip. “Whether you were
au
natural
, trimmed, shaved, or bare. I was wavering between trimmed and bare.
I like that you get waxed, though. Will make it very enjoyable when I finally
get my mouth on you like I’ve been fantasizing about.”

Vivian shivered, loving the way
that sounded. “I
…
I’ve been bare like this for years. I did it at first just
to say ‘this is me,’ but then I continued to do it because I like it. It’s not
that enjoyable when you get waxed, but at least you only have to do it every
six weeks or so, so that’s a good thing.” She pressed a kiss to his chest and
hugged him again. “I’m glad you like it,” she added very softly.

He was silent for a moment.
“Vivian, I should warn you now—I’m very dominant in bed. I don’t mind letting
go, now and then, but for the most part I have to be in full control. With my
training, it’s necessary, but I know that not all women are able or willing to
be submissive.”

Heat crept into Viv’s cheeks,
and she didn’t turn her face up to him. Instead she whispered into his skin,
“I’ve only had a couple of lovers before you. The ones that I had never felt
right because I’m not overly dominant in bed. I think I’ve waited for someone
to come into my life, for you to come into my life, to take control of our
loving. I think
…
I’ve been waiting to become someone’s submissive and just
didn’t know it.”

“We’re made for one another,” he
said quietly. “We each bring something to the relationship that’s unique to us,
that the other doesn’t have. It’s the way it should be. Everything has to be in
perfect balance for the connection to work as it should. I’m not saying we
won’t have to work at it … we will, until we find the balance that works best
for us.

“You and I will set ground
rules, figure out your comfort level a little at a time, and grow from there.
I’m sure there will be some very hard lines you won’t ever cross, just as there
are some that you won’t mind experimenting with. Like everything we’ll do
together, we’ll learn, grow, and always communicate so we know where the other
is at.”

Intriguing, the idea that they
would make their own rules and enforce them together. And she loved the idea
that he wouldn’t go past her hard limits. “And if I don’t know my own limits?”
She wanted to know just how far she could allow herself to be pushed. “I want
to try everything.”

“It’s easy enough to figure out
your limits. For example, you probably like the idea of a little light
bondage—having your hands tied to the bed while I touch and taste you. Maybe
even with a blindfold so that you’re never really sure what I’m going to do or
when. I’m also going to guess that you might even like the idea of my hand
smacking your ass until it’s rosy and warm. Not to punish, but to enhance and
heighten senses.”

Just the thought of all that had
Viv biting her lower lip, a small whimper escaping. “I think I’d like that. All
of it. I want to let go. To give over my pleasure to someone else. You’re the
someone I’ve been waiting for.”

“See, we’re already establishing
boundaries,” he said. “I’m also thinking that you aren’t the sort to like whips
or anything that’s going to make you bleed. Pain, if used right, is a tool.
Pain, if used wrong, is abuse, plain and simple. We need to find your limits
with pain and go no further than that. Too far, and there’s no pleasure.”

“I don’t like blood, no.” She
shook her head. “I think I’d pass out, and I wouldn’t like being beaten at all.
Having you warm my ass sounds appealing, but making me bleed or leaving bruises
doesn’t.” Although, she did like the idea of him tugging on her hair or showing
her what she needed to do in order to give both of them the most pleasure
possible.

“Good, another boundary
established,” he said with a squeeze. “Not that hard, is it? We talk, we figure
out what you like, what you want to try, and what you never want to do. There
are things I never would do either. So, tell me some of the things you’re
interested in trying.”

“I’ve always wanted to try toys.
To have both my pussy and ass stuffed.” She moved to look into his eyes. “I’ve
never trusted anyone enough to do that. But I do you. Weird, don’t you think?
I’ve only just met you, and I’m trusting you with every single part of me. I
know that you would never, ever hurt me.”

“It’s not weird. You are mine,
and I am yours. We’re meant to be together through everything. You know I wouldn’t
hurt you because I could never do so, any more than you could me. In a
relationship like ours will be, between guardian and VV, trust is paramount.
Your very soul knows I couldn’t harm you, because it would be like I was
harming myself.”

She shivered and licked her lips
again. “I like the thought that we will fit each other.” She lay her head back
on his chest and hugged closer to him. “That I’m yours, and you’re mine.” She
rubbed herself against him, an ache forming inside of her, a need filling her again.

His hand spread over her back,
his thumb rubbing her skin slowly. “Sleep now, Vivian. We only have a few hours
before we need to be up and moving for the ferry. Close your eyes, hold on
tight, and rest. I’ll wake you when it’s time to leave.”

She nodded, even though her body
was burning. He was right. They had a long night ahead of them, and she had
enough to deal with without adding exhaustion to the mix. “Okay,” she said with
a sigh, then kissed the side of his neck. She yawned once more before closing
her eyes and allowing herself to drift off.

Chapter Four

“Vivian, where the ever-loving
hell are we going, woman?” James asked. He’d taken the driver’s seat for their
little jaunt out to the island. Jason was riding shotgun, which left her in the
back seat. James was a little testy, apparently.

“Watch your mouth,” Jason
growled at him.

“Just stay on this road. It
dead-ends into a cul-de-sac. The massive house that’s there is where Fia should
be. Trust me, you’ll know when we’re closer.” She looked out the window. Mother
Nature smiled wherever Fia went. It was actually quite humbling to see.

When the trees started to look
greener and the flowers brighter, Viv just grinned. They were very close,
indeed.

Jason frowned in confusion. His
gaze flicked to a window, then back to her, with understanding dawning.

“I told you that you’d know when
we were getting close.” Vivian could only snicker at the look on his face.

“Damn,” he muttered, shaking his
head. “Un-fucking-real.” Leaning forward in his seat, he looked around. “I
can’t wait to meet your sister. I have a feeling she might have a few things to
tell me about you that I’m really going to want to hear.”

“Jason, all you have to do is
ask me, and I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. You know that, right?” The
uncertainty was clear in her tone.

He turned to look at her again,
reaching an arm over the seat to take her hand in his and squeeze her fingers.
“But there are things you’ll tell me—we’ll call it version A of a story—and
then there are things your sister can tell me, which we’ll call version B. I
like to get both because usually version A is underplayed and version B is a
little more grandiose in the description.”

“Well, I’ll accept that, then. I
bet she’ll be able to tell you all kinds of stories. Just don’t believe about
half of them.” She laughed. “Ah, there we are.” She pointed to the massive
house at the end of the road. “Hopefully, she’s in and not out walking in the
woods.” Something that they both had done all their lives. They had each felt
more at home in nature than in their own, mostly because of the abuse.

“Well, we’re here, so I suppose
we’ll find out.” James turned the vehicle along the sidewalk and parked.
Shutting the engine off, he leaned forward and looked toward the house. “Nice big
place. A little wild, maybe,” he said in a curious voice, glancing around at
the thick vegetation.

Vivian shrugged. “Wherever Fia
goes, nature grows like crazy.” Then she was out of the car and walking toward
the front of the house.

Jason was right on her heels,
his hand landing on the small of her back. “Is the couple here?” He was taking
in everything, his gaze moving constantly.

“Nope. They’re in Africa,
waiting on their daughter.”

“Good for them,” Jason said. He
sounded distracted, though, and suddenly she was yanked to a stop with the arm
around her middle. “Tell me one thing that only you would know about your
sister, and quick. James,” he called softly.

“I see it. I’ll go around the
back and see if there’s any issue there. I’ll meet you back here in two
minutes.” James began to move around the house with long strides, his attention
riveted on his surroundings.

“She took my beatings when we
were children.” Viv whispered the first thing that came to her. “Our father
couldn’t get through my shields, so he would take her when I was weak.” She
licked her lips and looked around. “She would be in the woods. If she knew
someone had come, she would be hiding in the woods.”

Vivian glanced up at Jason, then
the door. “We’re too late, aren’t we?” She wanted to cry. While she had been
safe and secure in the arms of a man she could easily love, her sister had been
left alone to fend for herself and was paying the price for Viv’s comfort,
again.

“Not necessarily.” He drew her
in close and held her tight against his tensed body. “We need to do a sweep of
the house. She likely did get out and is hiding, but we can’t know for sure. I
need you to stay with James while I go and find her. That’s why I needed you to
tell me something only the two of you would know about, so she’ll believe I’m
here to help instead of harm. Especially since she won’t have the same natural
inclination to trust me as you do.”

James came around the corner
just then. “Back door was unlocked but not broken. Best I can tell, a few
things are busted up inside, but I’m thinking the little lady ducked out the
back and made a run for it.”

“That’s what Vivian believes,
too. Do a sweep of the house. Keep her close to you. James.” Jason pinned him
with a look. “I’m entrusting everything to you right now.”

“I get it.” James nodded. “But
I’m not giving her a gun. She’ll probably end up shooting me.”

Jason let out a groan and hugged
her to him. “Keep her close, and I’ll meet you back here as soon as I find her
sister.” He drew back to look at Vivian. “Trust me,” he said softly, for her
ears alone.

Viv nodded and gave Jason one
last touch before moving off with James. “I’m not going to shoot you. Promise.”
She raised a brow and added, “As long as you don’t snap off at me.” She was
more than a little stressed at the moment. Her sister was gone, and she was
freaking out. “Find her, please,” she whispered.

And when Jason nodded, she knew
that he had heard her.

* * * *

Sophia loved painting. It had
always called to her. So when the Mortensons had asked her to do a mural for
their soon-to-be daughter, she had jumped at the chance. She hadn’t wanted to
go to the island, but that was all a part of it. Two days in, and Fia was
almost finished, fortunately.

That morning had been different,
though. She had started very early, before dawn, and by seven she was itching
to get outside. Listening to that inner voice, she had walked out the back
door. Then she’d heard the crash in the front. She had taken off in a dead run
for the wooded area behind the home. She hadn’t looked back, simply raced for
the safety of the brush.

Finding a niche inside of an old
tree, she had reached out and allowed nature to cover the opening with thick
thistle and thorns. Tucked safely into the trunk, she had sent out a prayer to
the winds. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but suddenly, something
changed in the air.

There wasn’t any sound, yet she
instinctively knew she was no longer alone. A large shape slowly came into
view. It was a man, tall, with dark eyes and hair. “Sophia,” he called out. “My
name’s Jason, and I’m here with your sister, Vivian. She told me what your
father used to do when she would put up her shield to protect herself. If
you’re here, and I know you are, I need you to come out so we can get back to
the house and your sister. You don’t know me, I get that, but please, I need
you to come out.”

Sophia looked out at the large
man and debated her options. Finally, she took a breath and allowed the brush
to move. She stepped out from her hiding space and spoke quietly. “She would
only have told that to someone she was very close to. Who are you to Viv, and
where is she?”

He held his hands out at his
sides, showing her they were empty, as he turned. “She’s back at the house with
a friend who can protect her. She and I
are
close. She’s my everything,” he told her with a smile.

Sophia frowned and looked at
him. She cocked her head to the side. “How do I know that she’s your
everything?” But she had seen this man before. She had seen him through the
eyes of the man—the stranger—she painted on a daily basis.

“Because my heart beats for her
and her alone. It had stopped for so long and now it’s beating again.”

Tilting her head slightly,
Sophia nodded. “Okay.” She would get a better feel from Vivian but she knew
this man was part of Billy’s life and knew that he wouldn’t hurt her. He would
never hurt her.

He blinked, looking a little
surprised at her easy acceptance, but quickly recovered. “I’ll lead the way, if
you’re okay with that. If anything happens, duck out of the way.”

 
Sophia nodded. “I certainly don’t want to be
in front of you.” She studied him up and down. “You’re a larger shield than I
am.” She moved so that she could stand at the other side of him. “Viv is okay,
right?”

“She’s fine. She’ll be even
better once she knows you’re okay.” He started to walk, heading through the
woods toward the house. “You weren’t harmed when they came after you, were
you?”

“No. I was outside already. I
had been up early painting and was taking a break. While I was outdoors, I
heard someone crashing through the front and raced for the woods. So, you know
my name. What’s your name?”

He shot her a peeved expression.
“What is it with the two of you? First your sister, and now you. It’s Jason,
for the second time today.” He shook his head. “It’s got to be a genetic thing
in the family or something,” he muttered under his breath.

Sophia snorted. “I see why she
likes you. Nice to meet you, Jason.” She saw Vivian then and moved around him
to her sister. Sophia hugged her tightly before pulling back. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Fia. What happened?
Are you hurt?”

Sophia shook her head. “Three
men followed me for a while. I could smell their scent on the air. It smelled
wrong … like oil. No, more like used oil,” she said with a nod. “I saw their
shadows, two large and one shorter but still bulky. Kind of square looking.”

“Oil?” Vivian replied, a
question in her eyes.

“You know, like if oil spills?”
Fia was trying to think of how to explain it. “Sometimes how bad gas stations
smell?” She looked to Jason. “Do you know what I mean?” She jumped when another
man cleared his throat. “Crapballs. Gosh bless it, Viv, did you raid a
gladiator outlet or something?”

Vivian snickered as she
introduced Sophia to James.

“Nice to meet you, I think?”
Sophia said as she moved to put herself slightly in front of Vivian.

“It’s cute how you slip forward
a little to protect your sister,” the other one said with a smile. “It’s a nice
trait to have.” He turned his attention to Jason, and his face went serious.
“There’s no sign of them. We should take advantage and get the hell out of
here.”

“Agreed. No use sticking around,
not until we get everyone safe and can arrange proper protection for Sophia
while she’s working here. I know this isn’t ideal, Sophia, but I wouldn’t feel
right leaving you alone here for any amount of time, not right now.”

“Protection?” Sophia frowned and
looked from Vivian to Jason, then to the other man.

Jason nodded. “Yes, protection.
There’s a killer, or killers, on the loose who appear to be targeting members
of a group you’re a part of. I’m sorry to say that two of the members have
already been killed. Vivian made the connection for us, which is why we showed
up here today.”

“Oh God,” Sophia whispered.
“Which group?” When he told her, she was shocked, “Those poor families.” She
was completely aghast at the number of people killed, people she knew.

“I tried to call you right away
as soon as I made the connection,” Vivian put in.

Sophia shook her head. “I
haven’t even looked at my phone since I started painting. I’d just grabbed it
to check my messages before I’d stepped outside, but then everything happened
and I dropped it somewhere in the woods. It doesn’t matter. I’ll go into town
and call the leader of the group and make sure she warns the other members.”

Then she looked from Jason to
James and back to Jason. She had a feeling he wouldn’t want to leave Vivian for
too long. “Crap,” she grumbled to James. “You’re a seriously big guy. That
means we need to go shopping. I have a feeling you’re a meat kind of person.”
She wrinkled her nose. “V, you trust them?” When her sister nodded, Sophia
sighed. “Okay,” she relented. “I should be done soon. I’ve finished the hard
part. Now it’s just filling in the edges and smoothing out the paint.”

“Uh, what?” James shot her a look.

Jason chuckled and gave a shrug.
“Apparently, you just got volunteered to stay and play protection detail for
Sophia.”

“Yeah, but, no,” James
sputtered.

“He’s a big meat eater, though
he does prefer it to be very dead on his plate, so that’s a plus,” Jason told
Sophia. Then he turned to James. “Look, Vivian and I will go back to the hotel,
grab our stuff, and stop at her place for a couple of things. Then we’ll come
back out. You’ll have backup, and Sophia has her sister here. It’ll only take
us a few hours, I’m sure. Right?” Jason was looking to Viv now for
confirmation.

Vivian nodded. “Shouldn’t take
more than that. As long as we catch the ferry tonight. There’s a store on the
island, James. You guys should be able to walk to it.”

“We can. There are even bicycles
with baskets in the shed. Not a worry. I won’t let the big guy fall into the
ocean. Maybe.” Fia looked up at James and snickered. “You might want to close
your mouth. We have very big bugs here, and gaping like that will only beg for
one to come and fly right in. Man up, buddy, I won’t hurt you,” she promised
cheerfully.