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“Why don’t you go up, sweetheart? I want to check and see if security has anything yet.”
Trying to smother a yawn behind her hand, Olivia didn’t bother to point out she was a grown ass woman and could send herself to bed, thanks. She did glare hard enough he lifted his hands in surrender, however.
“Sorry. You can take care of yourself.”
“Damn right, I can.”
She was a little surprised he acknowledged it though, so she kissed him, dancing back before he could get a hold of her and deepen it.
“I’m going to bed.” Oh, she knew that look in his eyes. “My bed. It’s probably the only way I’ll get any sleep.”
He followed when she backed away, grabbed her hips and scraped his teeth over the sensitive spot on the side of her throat.
“What if I promise to let you sleep for a few hours before I have my wicked way with you? I’ll even throw in breakfast in bed. C’mon, sweetheart, it’s just a little bribe.”
She had to laugh at that. He knew how hard it was for her to resist him, especially when he teased and charmed and treated her with the same respect he’d give a male colleague. She couldn’t give in that easily, though. Hell no.
“We’ll see,” she teased.
She’d taken him off guard—he’d really thought he’d win—and she slipped out of his arms, was halfway to the second floor landing before he recovered.
“You know I love a good dare,” he called up after her.
Shaking her head and laughing softly, she continued up to their suite. She found a short satin nightgown, red and slinky, and headed into her bathroom, where she stripped and took a quick shower. She looked at her bed and considered climbing in. She really was exhausted. She hadn’t had much sleep in the last week, and it had been a long ass day. First the range, then awesome good sex—twice—, the meeting about Stine, another meeting with the young women in the compound for a self-defense lesson, and then that dinner.
Dinner had been interesting. She liked Faine. Mostly because he treated her aunt like a queen, but she did not appreciate the Elect male tendency to take over a family patriarch role when she’d barely known him half a year. Worse, he’d started out hostile, which was fine with her, but by the time they’d left, Jack had worked his magic and they were best buds. What the fuck was that about? Alpha male bonding? She was good and mad when she heard the outer door open, and she didn’t go look for him, so of course he came to her.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asked and that quickly her irritation faded.
What the hell was wrong with her? His effort with Faine and Delia was obviously for her benefit. Her life was here, and he’d taken a big step tonight, proving he wanted to be a part of it.
“I’m fine, just tired.”
“I won’t keep you up,” he promised softly. “I just want to hold you.”
She glanced out the window—it was still light—and shook her head. “Bad idea. If I go to bed now, I’ll be up at one or two. Want to watch a movie?”
“Sure,” he said easily and backed into the living room.
She followed, grabbed the throw from the back of the couch and curled up in one corner with the remote. Jack disappeared into his room and returned a minute later, shirtless and barefoot, wearing a pair of black Army sweats that hung low on his hips. It took serious effort not to gape and drool. He was too damned hot, and he knew it, gave her his slow, sexy smile and a wink. She tossed a pillow at him.
“You’re impossible.”
He sat down and pulled her close, bent close to nuzzle her neck. “Yep, but I’m yours and I’m the same guy I’ve always been. You like me anyway.”
Her breath lodged in her throat at his tone, which was somehow teasing and dead serious. He was right too, damn him. She’d always been drawn to him.
“Give me that,” he said, straightening and reaching for the remote.
“No sports,” she warned before handing it over.
He kept his arm around her and started flipping channels, finally settling on an old Bruce Willis action flick. It was so damned normal she wasn’t sure what to think and as the minutes stretched by, she grew more and more tense. Sighing, he nudged her to turn so her back was to him and set his hands on her shoulders, thumbs pressing hard in tight circles.
“Relax, Olivia,” he murmured against the back of her neck, lips kissing softly. Apparently, he realized ordering her wouldn’t cut it because he continued with a neutral topic. “How did the lesson go? You’re teaching the older girls, right?”
“Yeah.” Now that she wasn’t thinking about it, his touch had a mellowing effect. “Sixteen to twenty actually, and mostly Elect. Two are human.”
“Those classes should be mixed.” She heard the frown in his tone.
“We’re going to give it another couple of weeks before doing some mixed classes. Most of these girls have been taking self-defense or martial arts for years. Integrating them isn’t the problem.”
He snorted. “Teenage boys are the same no matter the race. Cocky, headstrong know it alls. Throw in Elect genes... I see the issue, but it isn’t serving any of them—especially those boys—to have their prejudices catered to.”
And that was why she loved him. He may be possessive and protective and sometimes irritatingly bossy, but he never got in the way of who she was. He never tried to redefine her, never tried to cage her. He should be the perfect fucking mate. If he stuck around. She didn’t believe he would, yet, but she was getting there. If he left after that it would devastate her, but she’d deal.
As if sensing her withdrawal, he changed the subject. “Were you living in the barracks before Brax made you move in here?”
The Elect owned tens of thousands of acres. There were family houses scattered throughout their land and a small village about half a mile from Brax’s place, which also served as his headquarters. The village had a general store, a new bookstore opening in just a couple of days, a school, the Elect’s central mail facility, two barracks with studio apartments, and a few dozen cottages and houses.
“No, I share a cottage with Jane and Rose.”
“Is there a housing list or something?” he asked. “We can’t stay here forever.”
God, the last thing she needed was to imagine playing house with Jack.
“I don’t suppose Brax will let us build our own place? I’ve had plans for what I wanted after the Army from almost the day I enlisted,” he continued, without waiting for a response.
His tone was joking, but his expression was dead serious when she looked over her shoulder at him. She should have shut the conversation down, but her curiosity got the better of her.
“Tell me about this fantasy house.”
He grinned and nudged her aside. “I’ll show you.”
Bemused, she waited as he hurried to his room and returned with a laptop. He fired it up, signed online, and brought up a storage site. A couple of clicks later and she was looking at a floor plan for a U-shaped house along with sample photos.
“Huh. I should have figured you for a mid-century modern kind of guy.”
“I like light and open spaces.”
“All these walls looking into the courtyard are glass?”
“That’s the plan. Wood floors throughout, a small pool in the courtyard, a wall of bookshelves on this side where the living room and dining room are combined, and a state of the art kitchen.” He flashed her an enthusiastic grin. “Yes, I like to cook, and I’m good at it.”
“And still hauling books all over the world?”
She wasn’t sure how to react to the cooking claim, but his reading habits were easy enough. Jack always had books with him. There was a stack on the floor at the end of the couch and probably more in his room.
“Hell yeah. I moved everything to a storage unit in Tampa when I came down here.”
“They have this nifty little invention called e-readers, you know.”
“I have a couple of them too.” He shrugged one shoulder. “Also some dishes and cookware I’ve picked up over the years, and Mom’s antiques.”
She’d met the charming rogue and the competent, hard ass soldier, but this was a side of him she’d never seen before. Like a boy in a candy store. Over a house design? But the more she thought about it, the more sense it made. He’d been raised by a single mother, had no other family, and she’d died several years ago. He’d never once mentioned returning to his hometown either, other than to say he’d never do it. Maybe the man who seemed so rootless and content with his lot wanted what he’d missed out on.
As far as she was concerned, that desire just made her more leery. Was he so onboard with the mate thing just because he wanted a family, a place to belong? Or because he wanted her? She’d have to figure that out eventually, and what she could live with, but not tonight. Something had been set in motion between them and she was going to enjoy the ride as long as it lasted.
“Did I lose you?” he asked, breaking her train of thought. Probably a good thing. He watched her carefully. “You don’t like it?”
“It’s wonderful, Jack.”
He nodded once. “But it’s too soon for you to take this big a leap.”
He put the laptop on the coffee table, sat back, and tugged her close to his side, one arm wrapped around her shoulders. There were explosions on the screen, the only sound that broke up the silence that fell over the room. It didn’t stop her from sensing Jack’s frustration and hurt. She couldn’t stand being the cause of that so she answered his original question.
“There’s an Elect construction company. They mostly do commercial work outside the compound, but anytime Brax approves a new house here they handle it. So, yeah, there’s a list if you want to build.”
“How long is the wait?”
And of course, he wasn’t going to let it go at that. Was she lucky or what?
“I have no idea. I moved right in with Rose and Jane when I came here.”
Apparently she’d finally settled his curiosity, or maybe he just figured he’d pushed his luck enough for one night, because he didn’t ask anything else. His frustration faded and she relaxed, closing her eyes and snuggling closer. She gave up fighting the lure of sleep. Sometime later, she felt strong arms pick her up and carry her to bed. She opened eyes long enough to look around, didn’t have the desire or energy to protest when she realized where she was. Jack’s room. Jack’s bed. She’d deal with that presumption later.
