Jameson (In the Company of Snipers #22) - Irish Winters Page 0,31

hip, his fingers splayed across the cheek of her lovely ass. “I was that,” he whispered as he dipped his head and captured her lips.

“I love you, Alex,” she breathed into his mouth.

“And I will love you to the day I die,” he promised, mumbling around her lips. Swearing fealty to his queen was easy.

“So tell me about your dad.”

Damn it. Were all queens this persistent?

“After dinner,” he promised. “First we eat, then story time.”

“You’re stalling.”

He nodded. There was no sense trying to fool the woman who knew him best. “I promise. Tonight, I’ll answer all your questions. But first, I’m ordering you a steak and a salad. Chocolate cake for dessert.”

“And you,” she whispered. “All I really need is you.”

Alex dropped his nose into her hair, so damned tired of hiding his tears, but hiding them all the same. He was that guy in the Christmas story, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” He was the richest man on Earth.

Chapter Six

Jameson froze at Maddie’s blurted declaration, positive she wasn’t any more married than he was. She’d lied, and he wanted to know why. Yet he’d never ask. People lied for many reasons, most frequently, when they were backed into a corner. Asking would only back her into another corner. Confrontation never worked in meaningful relationships; not like he’d had one in a while. But he was hopeful.

People didn’t realize that lust was a vibrant, living, two-way connection. Maybe it was just the adrenaline of getting a new job—a blind man’s dream job. But he was certain Maddie had also felt the sexual tension simmering between them. He surely had. Felt like a strand of det cord on fire. Hot. So damned hot that he needed a couple minutes to get his body to stand down. Not up, which it was certainly doing now.

He was breathing hard, trying not to. For her sake, he’d put on his TEAM polo, then located his cane and held it centerline, hoping like hell that skinny white stick hid the bad, bad boy now pressing tightly behind his zipper.

But if she wasn’t ready or—God forbid—if she were truly married, well… Damn. That’d be too bad. Because finally, Jameson was raring to go and ready to live again. He hadn’t told Maddie he’d failed at dating too, because really? What kind of a wimp would that make him?

So he went for nonchalant. “How do I look?”

“Good,” she answered, but her vocal cords were still too tight.

He’d pushed her too hard, too quickly. Time to reconsider. “Just good?” he teased. “Damn. Thought maybe I looked stellar or buff in this shirt, or, I don’t know, maybe like… Hugh Jackman. Heck, make that Captain America. If I’m gonna dream, I might as well dream big, huh?”

She huffed through her nose, and he was sure she’d just smiled. “Sorry. Still think you should try the bin on for size. It’s square like your head.”

He lifted his chin to the ceiling and laughed. “Well, thank you, Missus Smarty Pants. You sure know how to keep a guy in line. What’s next?”

“The vault.”

Oh, yes, he’d almost forgotten. Pointing his elbow at her, he said, “Then lead on. We’ve still got a diva to get out of town.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t let you miss your first mission.”

After a quick, thoroughly delightful visit to a weapons vault that rivalled some of the best private armories Jameson had ever seen, he spent the rest of his day acclimating to the sense of belonging to something bigger and grander than just himself. At last! He was back where he belonged, with brothers and sisters who knew, who’d been there.

Around three pm, someone ordered a dozen pizzas, and that was another thing about this new team he was on. Everyone seemed to look out for everyone else. Most agents came around and introduced themselves, but the stories they told, mostly on each other, brought tears to his eyes. Good tears. Tears of laughter. Tears that made him feel like he was finally home.

Mark came by and talked about completing Alex’s ungodly after-action reports. But nothing could dim the tremendous high Jameson was floating on, not even the fact that he was working overtime on his first day on the job. He was a trusted agent and he was alive again. Alive, damn it!

Turned out Maddie was an excellent guide and chauffeur. She made sure he was at Lucy Shade’s five-star hotel in Crystal City precisely at nine pm. Which gave Jameson plenty of time to acquaint himself