Protected (5 page)

His mouth snapped shut, and he
glared at her.

“Well, looks like you two should
be just fine,” Jason said with a grin. “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Of
course, it all depends on the ferry. Be good. Sophia, try not to tease him too
badly. James, no tying her up.” His chuckle had a distinctly evil sound to it
as he hustled Vivian toward the door.

“Wait! You can’t just leave me
here with her!” James protested.

“Sure we can. Watch us,” Jason
called as he practically pushed her sister out the door. He was looking really
pleased with something. “Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,” he advised and shut
the door on them. James was standing there with his mouth hanging open again.

Sophia laughed and shook her
head. She was on her toes, reaching up and pushing the large man’s jaw closed
before she turned to walk away from him and back to her painting, humming and
laughing softly as she did.

* * * *

They’d managed to catch the next
ferry off the island and according the schedule, if they were quick, they could
get the last one back that evening. Jason was of a mind to leave James and
Sophia there for the night, alone, but Vivian was a little less happy about
that plan. She liked James, but Sophia was her sister.

“Quit worrying, Vivian. We’ll
get to the hotel, get my stuff and James’s, and then head to your place to get
a bag. We’ll be back in plenty of time for the last ferry. I was only teasing
you, sweetheart.”

“And you’re sure that he’ll keep
her safe? Whoever broke in might still be on the island. Are you sure he can
handle three men? I mean, he’s just one person. You should have stayed, and I
could have come back to get our things.” Vivian was worried sick about Sophia
and, grudgingly, James, as well. “And James won’t have a woman to warm him for
the next couple of hours. Are you sure he’ll be able to handle this?”

“It’s fine,” Jason said in a
soothing tone. “He can turn all that unused sexual energy into keeping your
sister safe. If things get too hot, he’ll get her out of there and hide. He
won’t let any harm come to her, sweetheart. I promise you. They will be
absolutely fine. We should find him a two-four of Jack, though. Pacify him when
we do return with some liquor he loves.”

“What’s a two-four?” Vivian
wasn’t a drinker and had no clue what liquor came bottled as. “And yes, we
should do something to make sure he knows how much we appreciate him keeping
Fia safe. The look on his face, though.” She giggled. “The poor man had his
mouth hanging open when we left. I think he might need more than just a little
booze to appease him.”

“It’s a reference to a bottle
size,” he explained. “And he did seem a little upset and surprised. We’ll stop
at a bakery, too. He loves his sweets.”

“Sounds good. Oh, hopefully Fia
will make him her special Baked Alaska. It’s really a mish-mash of flavors.
Beyond yummy for those that have a sweet tooth.”

“You should call and suggest
it.” Jason pulled his phone from a pocket and handed it over. “His number’s in
my directory. No password.”

She took the cell and pulled up
James. “Hey, can I talk to Fia, please?” she asked when he answered with a
curse. “And that’s my baby sister there with you. She’s not the devil
incarnate.” She shook her head at Jason. “He called her a demon-spawn. I think
that your friend is twisted.”

Jason chuckled and shrugged.
“I’d never claim he wasn’t. He’s just pissy because we left him there. Is he
giving the phone to your sister, at least?”

They were almost to the hotel,
she realized, recognizing some of the area. “Yes, he’s grumbling, but I hear
him talking to her.” Vivian snorted. “Sophia Lynn Duffy, I cannot believe that
you just said that to the poor man. Give him a break. He didn’t want to stay
behind. You kind of sucked him into it,” Viv told her with another snicker.

“Now, why don’t you make James
something nice and sweet to eat tonight? You have to go to the store, anyway,
so how about your special Baked Alaska?” She listened to her sister and rolled
her eyes. “You’re too funny. Just do it. He’s a friend of Jason’s.” She
listened to the question from her sister about who Jason was and promised she
would explain everything later.

She listened again before
nodding. “Yep, okay. Sounds good. Love you, too, and see you in a couple of
hours.” She ended the call and looked at Jason. “Those two are like oil and
water.”

“Expect a very detailed report
when we get back there. He’ll have it all logged—every second of every minute,
every single word and comment she’s made. Should be interesting,” he told her
with a chuckle. He took the phone from her when she passed it back over and
tucked it away as he pulled into a parking spot right out front of the hotel.

They headed inside and straight
to the elevator. “I’m not sure if they’ll survive a couple hours together. It
sounded like such a good plan when it came out of your sister’s mouth. Along
with the look on James’s face, which sealed it for me. Now I’m rethinking this
whole thing just a little,” Jason admitted.

“I think we should definitely
hurry. I don’t think Fia knew what she was doing. I think she just assumed that
you would stay with me.” She shrugged. “Sophia just speaks before she thinks
sometimes.” A character trait they both shared, actually. “I might have to hurt
him if he hurts her feelings.”

Jason hugged her close but
remained silent. “So,” she said once they were in the elevator, desperate to
take her mind off of the mess they were in, “who were you, you know, before?”
She couldn’t wrap her mind around these men, around what was happening, but she
wanted to try.

“I thought you knew who I was.”
He put a hand on her back when they reached his floor and guided her down the
hallway. “Your history books have some of my life right, but not all. Damn
idiots never could tell the truth when they managed to win. The boat that
collapsed on top of me, killing me, was the Argo. My ship.”

Viv stopped abruptly. “Oh God.”
She knew who he was now. “Holy balls,” she muttered. “Jason of the Argonauts,
right?” She frowned. “The things that you’ve seen and done in your life … I
have to be the most boring person in the world to you.” The farthest she had
ever gone from home was to Portland, Oregon. She was boring with a capital
B
.

“You’re hardly boring, Vivian.”
He got her moving again and into his room. Backing her to the door, he leaned
in to press a kiss to her lips. “You are mine, my soul mate, my reason to keep
going forward each and every day. You are the light in the darkness, the good
against which evil has no defense. You are
everything
. I may have seen
and done a lot, but not a single moment meant anything until you came into my
life. I can breathe for the first time. Everything seems clearer, better, and
it’s all because of you.”

She put her hands on his chest
and let them move up to wrap around his neck. “We should still make the very
last ferry tonight if we
…
finish what we started last night.” She needed to have this
time with him. “Make love with me?”

“Oh, thank the gods,” he groaned
out on a breath. She was in his arms in the next moment, being carried through
the suite for the bedroom. She recognized the same path as the night before. “I
won’t stop this time, Vivian. I don’t care if the whole building burns down
around us. I need to have this bond with you.”

Vivian wrapped her arms and legs
tightly around him. She leaned in and kissed him again, desperate for him. When
they parted, she was gasping. “Don’t let me go, ever. I need everything. Show
me,” she begged.

“Only long enough for us both to
get naked. Quickly,” he said. He kissed her again, harder, deeper, then let her
loose suddenly. When she was able to focus again, he was already stripped of
his jacket, shirt, and boots and was working on his jeans.

She began to peel out of her
clothes, tossing them haphazardly around her. She didn’t care where they
landed, so long as she was skin to skin with Jason as soon as humanly possible.
When they both stood naked, she approached him, her hand moving to his chest
once more. She stared into the clear eyes of the man she loved as she said, “I
look forward to every day of the rest of forever with you.”

He smiled at her, leaning in to
cup her bottom. Lifting, he eased them down onto the bed, one of his hands
stroking up her side with a brief brush to her breast before he buried it into
her hair. His lips were on her again in the next moment as he let his weight
press against her, pushing her deeper into the bedding around them.

Viv wrapped a leg around Jason’s
thigh, lifting her chest so that she could feel the brush of his pecs against
her tight nipples. “God, that feels so good,” she muttered, shuddering at the
connection. “I love how that feels, how hard you are all over.”

“You are so soft,” he whispered
against her cheek. “So soft and warm all over. You’re wet, aren’t you?” he
asked, his lips curving against her skin. His other hand stroked over her leg,
urging her to open to him.

“Yes.” She moaned. “I’m so wet
for you.” She had never reacted like this with anyone before. When his fingers
dipped into her hidden depths, she arched her neck and cried out. “Oh God,” she
whimpered. “There.” Her grip tightened on his arms when he slid the digits in
and out.

“Damn, you’re so hot,” he
groaned. His mouth slid over her neck, followed by a light bite of his teeth.
“And tight. So damn tight. You’re going to fit me like a glove. Perfect in
every way.” He withdrew his fingers before adding another and pressing back in,
stretching her more.

She writhed under him, her head
thrashing from side to side. “I was made for you.” She lifted her leg and felt
him slip deeper. “Oh God.” She bit her lower lip and urged him on. “Please.”

“I need to be inside of you.
Later, we’ll go slower, I swear it to you,” he said in a tight, strained voice.
He pulled his hand from her body and gripped her leg, positioning it high over
his hip. Then Jason shifted his weight until she could feel his cock at her
opening.

Vivian held him tightly. “Just
don’t stop. No matter what, please, don’t stop.” Her body accepted his, and she
loved the way he filled her.

“Gods, no, I’m never going to
stop.” He squeezed her thigh gently, massaging the muscle. He pressed in
deeper, pulled out a little, then pushed in more. “Just like a fucking hot,
wet, amazing glove,” he groaned.

She squeezed him tighter, tugged
him closer, and sobbed his name aloud when he filled her completely. She felt
odd, like nothing she had ever experienced before. It was almost as if there
were ties binding them as their bodies joined for the first time. “Again,” she
begged when he pulled out and slid into her hard and fast.

Shifting his weight, Jason
caught her hands and pulled them up over her head, lacing their fingers
together. With a firm hold on her, he began to thrust, slowly at first, but his
hips moved faster with each push. He was staring into her eyes as he took her,
never letting her look away from his penetrating gaze, not that she even
thought about it.

Vivian was captivated by this
man. Every plunge of his body into hers had her moaning. Every move of his hard
body against her softer one had her sobbing out in need. This was how making
love should feel. She relished every touch, every bracing moment, for what it
was. It was coming home. Her soul recognized his. Her heart melted and was
re-formed with bits of him deeply imbedded inside of it. She never allowed her
gaze to waver, just bit her lip and squeezed his large hands as they moved
together in perfect rhythm.

He thrust harder, deeper,
rattling the bed as he clutched her fingers, then released them a little as he
withdrew. “You are
mine
,” he ground out. “For all time, mine.” Not letting
her gaze go, he leaned his head closer to bite her lip and tug.

Vivian gasped. Her legs
tightened around his hips and squeezed. “And you are mine, Jason. For—” Another
groan broke her speech. “For all time.” She felt something intense waiting in
the shadows for them, felt the bonds binding them together, and it only made
her want more. “Please.” She didn’t know what they needed, but saw in his eyes
that he did.

“Uh-uh, not yet. Not until I say
you can,” he breathed out, a wicked smile curving his lips. “Focus on the
sensations.” Letting go of one of her hands, he pressed his free one to the
bed, levering up a little.

“Oh hell,” was all that Vivian
could say as he changed the angle of his penetration and demanded she wait for
his command. She didn’t know why, but that turned her on even more. The way
that he’d ordered she wait had her whole being struggling to do just as he
pleased. She focused on him, focused on the feel of him entering and leaving
her body, and ignored everything else. Only he was important in that moment.
Nothing and no one else.

“Touch your clit, stroke it, but
do not come,” he commanded. His voice was deeper, harsher, his gaze sharper.
“Push yourself to the edge and hold there. Gods, you are gorgeous,” he growled
out. He squeezed her hand as he rolled his hips, pushing in deeper.

She moved her free hand down
their bodies to her clit. She arched back. “Jason, God.” She panted and bucked
against him. She wanted to stroke his cock, wanted to put her fingers on each
side of the thick shaft and squeeze so he could feel just how good this was for
her, but she didn’t. He had told her what to do, and God help her, she was
powerless to do any less.