“If you’re contracting for me to take a life, then you’re not allowed euphemisms. Kill. You want me to kill.”
Fire lit her eyes. “Yes. I want you to kill.” No hesitation, no regret in her tone. But fear? Yeah, enough fear filled her eyes to amount to terror.
He pressed against her tailbone, his fingers extending across her waist. “I won’t let anybody hurt you, Lynne.” It was as close to a personal promise as he could make in his current situation, but he meant every word.
“I know,” she said softly.
Even if they hadn’t slept together, he’d protect her as one of his own. Sex did create a deeper motivation, and a smart woman would know that. He moved his hand. “Is that why you slept with me?”
She angled her head to better study him. “I’ve made it this far and this long without bartering my body, Jax. I slept with you because it felt good, and you intrigued me.”
He grimaced. “Before the world disintegrated, no way would somebody like you and somebody like me end up naked together.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know that. When I worked for the CDC, I met a lot of soldiers.”
Yeah, but not one from the streets who’d done more killing by the time he’d turned twenty than anybody he’d ever met. “Nah. I would’ve asked you out, and you would’ve told me to get lost.”
She bit her lip. “You would not have asked me out, and you know it. I would’ve been a little too, well, boring and studious for you.”
Nope. He would’ve wanted her on sight, just like he had the day before. “Who did you date?”
“I didn’t date.”
Lie. The first lie she’d told him, and it was about whom she’d dated. Interesting. His back stiffened. “Please tell me you want me to kill somebody dangerous and infected by Scorpius and not some ex who betrayed you.” Jax couldn’t have read her that badly, could he?
She met his gaze levelly. “Everything is about Scorpius these days, isn’t it?”
Good damn point. “Have you slept with the person you want dead?”
She didn’t answer.
Well, shit.
A sharp rap on the door jerked up his head. “Saved by the door,” he muttered. He maneuvered over Lynne and yanked on jeans he couldn’t fasten with the semi hard-on still torturing him. Padding barefoot to the door, he glanced back to make sure Lynne was covered.
She lay in the bed, the covers at her neck, her hair mussed, looking like a woman who’d been well loved to within an inch of her life.
He grinned.
She rolled her eyes.
He turned to the door. “What?”
“Jax? It’s Sami. I have news.”
Jax slid open the door to one of his top soldiers, Sami, his only female lieutenant, handed him a hastily drawn map. “C Team was out scouting near Pacific Palisades and found another food depot controlled by some unknowns.”
He took the map and frowned, studying the rough lines. “We should get more intel before deciding what to do.” He focused back on her.
Sami stared at his chest, her tongue darting out to lick her lips. About twenty-five years old, the former LAPD rookie had pinned her thick black hair in two braids hanging down her back. She had deep brown eyes and sassy freckles spattered across angled cheekbones.
This was the first time he’d seen her blush. “You okay?”
She swallowed. “Ah, yeah. Just never seen you right out of bed.” Her gaze rose. “Want to go back?”
He stilled. “Um—”
She stiffened her shoulders and nudged open the door. “I’m serious, Jax—” Her voice caught as she took in Lynne. “Who the fuck are you?”
Lynne, naked and wearing razor burn on her chin, lifted an eyebrow like any three-star general questioned by a subordinate. “I’m unaware of that being any of your business. Who the hell are you?”
Sami sputtered and rounded on Jax.
He took a deep breath. At least two guns and three knives showed along Sami’s fit form. “Can we talk about this later?”
She planted both hands onto trim hips. “No. Let’s talk about it now. There’s a strange bitch in your bed, and considering I’m in charge of take-ins, I’d like to know who the hell she is and why she’s here.”
Amusement, dark and annoyed, filled Lynne’s eyes. “I’d get out of bed and introduce myself, but that would just piss off handsome here. And according to him, I don’t really want to piss him off. You know. The whole ‘you won’t like me when I’m angry’ kind of thing.”
Jax shot her a look that would’ve immediately made a recruit piss his pants back in the service. While he appreciated her keeping the blue heart hidden, he didn’t like the fury emanating from her well-kissed skin.
“Now, Jax,” Sami ordered.
Oh hell no. He pivoted until her back was against the door. “She’s none of your fucking business, Sami. When I want her properly taken in, I’ll let you know. Get back to work.”
The soldier opened her mouth to argue, and he stepped even closer, erasing all expression. She gulped. Her skin lost color, and she shot Lynne a hard look. Lifting her head, Sami sidled past him and stomped down the hallway. He shut the door and crossed his arms. “Was that necessary?”
Anger, bright and obvious, nearly succeeded in hiding the wounded look in Lynne’s eyes. “I take it you fuck your way around your people?”
Shit. He truly didn’t owe the woman an explanation, and having her believe he was a complete asshole suited his plans. But that hurt look did him in. “You’re the only woman I’ve had sex with in the last year.”
A frown furrowed between her eyebrows. “Bullshit.”
He sighed and rested his head back against the door. “Listen, Lynne Harmony, and listen good, because I ain’t saying it again. I haven’t fucked anybody else and have no intention of doing so, because it creates an issue I can’t afford right now. However, what happened between us already happened, so there’s no going back. I like you, I enjoyed the hell out of being inside you, and I’d like to be there again. But the decision is yours.” He lowered his chin to meet her gaze.
She studied him, her eyes clearing. “You also don’t go around spanking people, now do you?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “No.”
“You wear dominance like most guys wear boots.” She rubbed her reddened chin. “Were you all into that BDSM stuff before Scorpius hit?”
He barked out a laugh. Damn. He’d smiled more in the last day than he had in months. “No, I wasn’t into that BDSM shit. Labels have never worked for me. Although if I was with a woman, and she needed her ass reddened, I took care of it.”
She sputtered.
Yeah, he liked that expression. A lot. With a brain like Lynne’s, probably not many people had the ability to catch her off guard.
She shook her head. “You’re unbelievable.”
He shrugged. “Probably. Again, the decision on whether or not to continue this is yours.”
She swept a bare arm around the small apartment. “Right. But I’m pretty much a prisoner here.”
He grabbed a shirt from the counter and yanked it over his head. “Stay here for an hour or so while I talk to my lieutenants before announcing your arrival to the group at large.” Too many people already knew about Lynne, and he needed to get out in front of the story. “You can look at research afterward.”
She blanched. “They’ll riot and want me kicked out.”
“You stay.” He softened his voice as he slipped into his boots and buttoned his jeans. “If they want to leave, they may do so. Period.”
Her chin lifted. “What if I want to leave?”
“No.” Keeping her against her will went against all the standards he was trying to establish, but she was valuable, and she was vulnerable. So she stayed put. “Sorry.”
“You don’t look sorry.”
He gave a half nod in acknowledgment. With her knowledge, he finally had a chance of deciphering all the confiscated research, and with her in his bed, he had a chance to stay human. Maybe. She brought out dueling parts of him, but maybe she could help him remain sane. “We made a deal, Lynne.” Although she still hadn’t told him who his target was.