Undercover Attraction, page 7
“I don’t think so, Jenna," he said, copying her words. "That stuff is dangerous information. You need to stay as uninformed as possible so whoever is on top doesn’t know who to come after.”
Hearing him say it like that dissolved her curiosity. Her face paled. “Do you think they are going to come after me? How did it get in the bag anyway? Should I hide out somewhere? What about my sister and friends?” she rambled, instantly nervous over her safety and that of her family.
He got up and came around the counter towards her, putting his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. “Calm down. Take it slowly. No, I don’t think they are coming after you because they would have to know who you are and where you live first. I saw one of the guys slip it into your bag last night, the one who was hitting on your friend Mackenzie. I think we should at least warn them about going back there until this is cleared up.” He felt her panic rising, and pulled her to him, doing the only thing he could think of to distract her.
The kiss wasn’t intense. More like a sweet caress to coax her to trust him. And even more surprising was that she thought she really did. Granted, one night wasn’t enough to learn if someone was trustworthy, but he was a cop, and that should say something, right?
His mouth moved on hers slowly, taking his time tasting her, running his tongue along the fullness of her lower lip, sucking it into his mouth to nibble on the softness. And just like that he wanted her again. Fiercely.
He lifted her against him, setting her on the counter behind her, a squishing sound barely registering through the haze of heat in his head. He groaned and deepened the kiss, becoming more demanding, more intensely aware that she was kissing him back every bit as passionately as he was giving to her.
Jenna’s nails raked his scalp, her breath became an act of sheer will. And then he yelled, jerking back from her as if he had never been there.
Jacob flailed around for a moment, cursing and trying to reach his back, until he turned just enough for her to see the problem.
Chuckles was latched on to his back, his claws digging into flesh, shredding the t-shirt that recently hugged his body so perfectly. Now it was tattered and angry looking, hanging in ripped ribbons along his ribs and shoulder blades.
And Chuckles had picked the precise spot to launch. He held on just below those perfect shoulder blades, his body tucked into a furious ball, low enough that Jacob couldn’t reach him over his shoulders, and high enough that only his tail swished within distance at his lower back.
And the look on Jacob’s face… Jenna started laughing despite the fact that he was screaming bloody murder, and loudly announcing that he was going to neuter that 'fucking cat' himself. He reached back, barely missed catching the tail that swished back and forth merrily, and she took pity on him.
She gently detached Chuckles from his back and cradled him in her arms just in case Jacob decided to make good on his threats. But he just stared at the cat, and Chuckles stared back, a grim sort of smile on his furry lips. She could imagine a silent conversation going on between the two.
In this imaginary conversation, Jacob would say: Cat, you are one nanosecond from death.
And Chuckles would say, Bring it on, human: to which Jacob would reply, I am going to shave you bald and dip you in steak sauce, then throw you in a dog pen so I can watch you run from the big mean canine teeth.
Of course, to this Chuckles only had a silent warning: Stay away from my human. She could easily imagine Jacob laughing to this.
The imaginary conversation was over and Chuckles jumped down, leaving them with his tail held high and no backwards looks. As for Jacob, he was still looking angry, and well, like the victim of a vicious attack. It was hilarious, and before she could stop herself, she was laughing again.
Jacob’s eyes narrowed and he helped her jump from the counter, watching as she doubled over at his expense. But then a chuckle slipped from his lips when he saw her ass. He had apparently sat her on the plate of scrambled eggs on the counter, and now they were stuck to her rear, coating her jeans.
So while she was laughing at him, desperately trying to catch her breath, he was laughing at her each time she bent over. And honestly, he debated on telling her about the eggs. It would serve her right since her cat had declared war on him.
Then again, she did save him from the hateful critter, despite laughing so hard she was probably going to pee on herself any second. He guessed he owed it to her.
“You have eggs on your ass,” he said rather loudly to get her attention over their laughter.
She slowly quieted, until only a giggle or two escaped here and there. “What?” she said rather breathlessly, and he barely caught it.
“I said, you’re ass is covered in scrambled eggs.” Then he chuckled when she stood straight up, looking behind her to the squashed plate no longer covered in breakfast. They were now coated on her.
“Oh… You did that on purpose!” She turned red as she twisted this way and that trying to look down at her backside. “That is terrible!” With each step she took eggs dropped to the floor with plops. “Ugh, gross.”
She turned to go change clothes, and glared at him as she passed. His laughter got louder with every step she took, with every squishy plop of eggs as they hit the floor. She straightened her spine, and walked down the hallway to her room.
“Don’t be offended. That’s the best looking breakfast I have ever seen,” she heard him call out to her.
Her face heated further even though he couldn’t see her. She quickly changed clothes, throwing her egg coated jeans into the washroom as she passed it in the hallway.
He had finished his breakfast and was rinsing the plate when she returned. Her phone chose that exact moment to ring and she decided it was a good day to talk to everyone, especially since a normal day was no longer an option.
The caller id announced that it was Amy, surprisingly, since she never woke up before noon. She pressed the on button, absolutely terrified of the questions she knew would spew forth from her sister.
“Hey. How’s the headache this morning?” her sister’s bright, cheery, slightly slurred voice said through the speaker.
“I’m fine. Isn’t it a bit too early for you to be up?”
“Oh, I haven’t been to bed yet. Shea and I went to a few of the local clubs then stopped off at IHOP for breakfast. We are just getting in.” Amy yawned rather loudly into the phone. “Actually, this is kinda important or I wouldn’t have even called you since I know you have that yummy hunka-hunka burnin’ love there. By the way, was it as good as his moves promised?" She didn't stop to give Jenna time to answer. "Mac called us a few hours ago, said that that stripper followed her home. She didn't stay at the dorms with us last night. Mac said he asked a lot of questions about the gift bag and got really pissed when she told him it wasn’t hers.”
Jenna’s blood froze in her veins. “Did he hurt her? What did she tell him?”
“Well, she basically told him to fuck off, and when he tried to grab her, she pepper-sprayed him. She's fine. He screamed like a little girl and ran away. She wanted me to warn you though; she thought it odd that he wanted the bag back that badly.”
“Thanks Amy. I know why he wants it back. It might be a good idea for Mac stay with you for a few days, or tell her to go somewhere else.” Jenna hesitated to tell her sister more than was necessary.
“What’s going on, Jenna? I hate to think that some kind of psycho stripper is after us. I’ve seen one too many scary movies about this kind of stuff.”
Jenna sighed. “Basically, there was something in that bag that someone wants back. Just keep your head up, and stay away from any of the people in the club last night.”
Her sister yawned again. “Are you okay? Should we be really worried and run around in a panic?”
“I'm fine, and no, you shouldn’t be worried. I’ll call you if things change. Keep your cell on you.”
Of course Amy could hear worry in her voice. Actually, she was the one person Jenna couldn’t fool with anything, no matter how hard she tried. “Are you sure? I can catch a cab and be there in less than thirty.”
Jenna chuckled halfheartedly. “You go to bed. I will call you if anything changes, I promise.”
“Okay. But only because I know you don’t go back on your promises. I will call you this evening. Love you, sis.”
“You too.” Jenna blew a kiss into the phone then hung up. Hundreds of horrible thoughts went through her head. All of which ended rather badly. Gruesome images of her friends lying in pools of blood flashed through her mind, and for a second, she almost believed they wouldn’t be able to get through whatever insanity this was.
She looked over at Jacob, who was now seated at her computer, opening the dreaded files. He looked up at her when she walked near, then minimized the files so she wouldn’t be able to read any of them.
Keeping her safe, she thought, of course, I'll just look in my backup files to read it.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves a bit. “Are they going to be okay? Mac had that guy follow her home, and I’ve got to admit, I’m getting a little scared.”
He could tell she was scared. Her skin was pale, and her eyes sparkling with fear. “Everything is going to be fine. I am going to finish looking at these files, then call in to the department. Tell me what happened to your friend.”
Jenna explained what Amy had told her and he reassured her that she did right by telling Amy to have Mac stay with her. He knew now that someone was going to have to be an inside bodyguard for Jenna until the main players were arrested. So far, the information he had been combing over was going to be hard to decipher. Much of it was in code, something he knew little about. Hopefully he had someone who could easily de-code it when he got it to the station. But first he wanted to make himself an extra copy, just in case someone intercepted it.
He figured it was time he explained what was happening to Jenna. He got up from the computer and pulled her with him towards the couch. Small bits and pieces of stuffed animal were still scattered about, and neither of them had attempted to sort the drugs from the fluff. He made a mental note to pick it up for evidence next.
She sat down next to him, her arms going around herself defensively.
He tugged her a bit closer to him, trying to give her some sort of comfort. She reluctantly slid closer to him, letting him wrap an arm around her shoulders. “I was working as a stripper undercover. There has been an increase of drug busts, most of which contained drugs with the club’s logo on them, so my partner and I were on assignment there to figure out what was going on and how the drugs were being distributed without the owner knowing.”
“How do you know the owner wasn’t in on it?” she asked quietly.
“She's the one who called us when she realized something was going on, and tipped us off once we began our investigation. Anyway, last night began our third week with no info, or anything really, until I saw Mike slip the CD into your bag. Even then I thought it was just something for Mackenzie. Now I know otherwise. This is the information we have been waiting on. The drugs are carried out by someone hired to come in and take a gift, then return it once the drugs are safely off the premises. The disc, well, it’s as ‘Ace’ said, a compilation of information of the drugs, who wants them, and even worse, our dealer is into selling illegal weapons.”
He saw her brain working, taking it all in, processing it and storing it away in the recesses of her mind. “So what’s going to happen to me, and Amy, and everyone else?” Her voice was small, almost as if she was afraid of the answers to her question.
“We are going to do our jobs, and keep you all safe. There will probably be a security agent here 24-7 to watch over you, they will go where you go, making sure these people don’t get their hands on you, even though I doubt they have any clue who you are. I have to call in to the station, and get everything in order, turn in the drugs, and write a report. But I’m not going anywhere until all this is cleared up.”
Jenna nodded, trying to stay calm when all she wanted to do was panic. She watched as he rose, then caught sign of his back and let out a loud giggle. He still hadn’t changed his shirt after Chuckles had ripped it to shreds.
Chapter 6.
She had what seemed like one hundred people swarming in her house. Jacob had done what he said he would, collecting the drugs in zip-locks for evidence, writing what each was on the outside of the bags with a sharpie. When finished, he called his department. Within fifteen minutes, her home had gone from small to miniscule once his people filed in.
Jacob, of course, started barking orders to secure the premises, check the perimeter to make sure no one had been snooping, and all other sorts of commands Jenna thought were ridiculous.
Jenna just sat on her couch clutching Chuckles to her chest, grateful the cat let her keep him out from beneath everyone’s feet, and watched Jacob take control of her life as if he had every right. He had told her that she had to go to the precinct for questioning, even though she had answered all their questions repeatedly. Standard procedure, he had stated with a shrug. She had also seen him make a copy of the disc when he thought she wasn’t looking then stick it in his duffel before anyone had arrived earlier.
She figured he knew what he was doing, but whatever had pressed him to make an extra copy was anyone’s guess.
Then again, I basically had done the same thing.
After another hour had passed, Jacob sat next to her. He had gone from playful and teasing to serious in about one second, and she didn’t know this side of him. It was rather daunting, knowing that he had this hard side, all business and no laughter. And she was slightly terrified of him like this. He was intense, driving all the happy and rainbow colored thoughts from her head, replacing them with ones of murder and all the bad things she had seen in the old mafia movies.
He turned to her with his dark eyes piercing into her. “We have to go to headquarters now for questioning and to file a report. You can either ride in a squad car, or drive, with one of us as a passenger. It’s a bit invasive and ridiculous, but that’s how it is.”
She considered her options for a moment. Hmm, go in like a convict, or like an innocent woman. It didn’t take much thought on her part, and before long, she was packed in her Camry, with Jacob tucked into the passenger seat, his duffel bag in the back seat, headed to the station for God knows what kind of experience.
The thirty minute drive seemed to take forever. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable in his presence. Not because he was so intense, but mainly due to the fact that she never brought men home, and she didn’t know how to deal with the ‘day after’ a one night stand.
His silence was only making the apprehension thicker. He hadn’t muttered so much as a single syllable since leaving her house and she was somewhat grateful that he wasn’t trying to do the cop thing and tell her everything was going to be fine.
Nope, he did that earlier, right after he changed his massacred shirt.
So now, here they were, in a Camry, in Vegas, silently making their way to his station. She bravely risked a glance at him every so often, the urge to just look at him overwhelming while he sat so close to her, his arm bumping hers, his presence taking up every bit of space in her car.
And she wanted him again. Even after the slight soreness lingering where he had so thoroughly ravished her. She couldn’t deny it. Her eyes were continuously drawn to his sculpted mouth, and she could feel herself clench, warmth and wetness following in its wake.
But it couldn’t continue. She knew that better than anything else. Cops were generally reluctant to settle down. Whether because of the danger they could bring to a family, or because of the hours required, she didn’t know. She just wasn’t the type of girl a guy would be willing to have more than a fling with. College taught her that lesson.
Last night would be a fond memory, tucked deep inside a box in her mind, only to be brought out when she was alone and feeling sorry for herself.
He had offered her more this morning, a second- or third-round of amazing sex, but she hadn’t taken him up on it. She rather thought that he wanted as much as he could get from her before going their separate ways. Eventually he would tire of her and leave anyway, so she would rather not prolong the inevitable.
She wanted no broken heart in this deal.
He was thinking pretty hard when she looked at him again, but she refused to let the issue drop without making sure he knew it was over.
“Look, I never do the kind of thing I did last night. And now I’m tied up in this mess. I wanted to make sure you understood that last night was just that- last night. No today, no tomorrow, just last night. I’m sure you aren’t looking for a relationship and I’m not exactly your type if you were.” Wish I were, though. She took a deep breath and continued, “Thanks for last night, but it won’t happen again. I don’t want to make it out to be anything more than what it is.” Please keep this simple, she said inside, knowing that he could make this much more awkward than it already was.
He just sat there silently studying her. He had already resolved himself to the fact that he would probably never see her again, but her stated finality of it made him want to plead with her. Last night had been the best sex of his life and he hated leaving it at that. But he could tell she was determined to be done with him, had convinced herself he wouldn’t want anything other than a one night stand.
Finally he nodded. “If that’s the way you feel.”
She released her breath in a whoosh and smiled at him. “Thanks for not making this difficult.” Even though on one secret level, she wanted him to deny everything she had said and demand more, another chance, but she knew it was for the best. I mean, who could really fall in love overnight?
Jacob just inclined his head and turned to stare out the window for the rest of the ride.
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