Serving the Soldier - Part 1 (An Alpha Military Romance) Page 4

  Slowly, I reached up under my shirt and caressed my own breast, feeling its weight in my hand. Would it feel like that to him? I brushed my fingertips softly over my nipple, trying to imagine what it felt like if Jax did the same thing. My groin throbbed with heat and I couldn’t get the sight of Jax and his blonde out of my head.

  I had to find release, and soon. I quickly scrambled onto the bed, unbuttoned my pants, and shoved my hand in beneath my underwear, cupping my pussy with the palm of my hand. I was already wet. I had never done this before, but what the hell? Spreading my knees slightly apart, I lay on my back, my left hand up under my shirt and bra, playing with my nipple while my other hand began to stroke my clitoris.

  In response, my hips began to rock slowly. It wasn’t the same as doing it with a guy of course, but I guess it was a close second. In my mind, I kept imagining the sight of Jax’s tongue lathing the Swede’s labia one second, and then sucking on her clit the next. I imagined his hands on my own nipples, gently pinching, teasing, and encouraging them to reach out for attention.

  Before long, I felt the blood surging through my veins and a steady and burgeoning heat continued to grow in my groin as my hands took the place of Jax’s obviously skilled tongue. The last image I fastened in my mind before I felt the waves of an orgasm rush over me was the site of his cock in the Swede’s mouth, hard, thick, veined, and slowly pumping upward in response to her own gifted tongue.

  In a matter of moments, I reached orgasm. Waves of pleasure washed over me, leaving me gasping for breath. If I could do that to myself, I could only imagine what someone as skilled as Jax could accomplish. Finally, as my muscle contractions gradually slowed and the pulsing in my pussy declined, I removed my hand from my pants and from under my shirt. I lay staring up at the ceiling, feeling slightly ashamed and embarrassed. Still, what was a girl supposed to do?

  After several more minutes, I slowly heaved myself off the bed and headed into the bathroom where I washed up, straightened my clothing, and then stopped one more time at the sink to splash cold water on my face. My cheeks were a little flushed, my pupils dilated, but in a couple of minutes I would surely be back to normal, whatever that was around here.

  For a brief moment, I felt a twinge of jealousy for the Swedish woman, and then decided I didn’t care. Jax was my client, my patient. I was here to provide him care, fix food, and otherwise make sure that he stayed on track with his recovery. Other than that, I didn’t really care what he did with his personal and private life. It was none of my business. It was not my place to judge.

  Or to want, my mind whispered.

  Nevertheless, as I stepped out of my bedroom and made my way quietly back down the hall and then downstairs toward the kitchen, I couldn’t halt the frown that I felt furrowing my brow. I scolded myself, literally ordering myself not to get emotionally involved with Jax Andrews. He was not the type of guy I was interested in anyway, at least not for the long-term. He was a thrill seeker, an adrenaline junkie. That much was obvious. He was not the kind of guy that a girl could rely on for the long haul. No, I didn’t know anything about him or his background, but I knew his type. Elite forces guys were not long on commitment. They lived fast and hard.

  I headed into the kitchen and glanced into the stew pot. Good thing I turn the heat off underneath the pot before I’d gone back upstairs. That wouldn’t have been funny, trying to explain why the stew had burned, or why the kitchen filled up with enough smoke to set off the smoke alarm, and then having to explain to Jax what had been so important or occupied so much of my time that I allowed such a thing to happen. I imagined having to explain that one and felt a flush of heat rise up my chest and into my cheeks.

  “Everything okay down here?”

  Startled, I gasped and spun around, my hand reaching for my throat. “Oh my God, don’t do that!”

  “Sorry,” Jax said, striding into the kitchen wearing a pair of khaki, knee length cargo shorts.

  The waistband of his shorts hung low on his hips, as if daring me to once again imagine what lay beneath, but I forced my gaze upward. “Everything’s fine. There’s a pot of stew here anytime you want.”

  “My buddy will be here soon. Is there enough for him too?”

  I gazed down into the pot, half filled with stew. “Plenty.” I watched as he made his way closer toward the stove. He crowded close to me to peer into the pot.

  “Looks good and smells even better,” he commented. “Good thing you can cook, because I sure as hell can’t.”

  He looked at me, his expression as unreadable as ever. I didn’t know how to respond to that, so merely nodded.

  “You’re going to join us, aren’t you?”

  My first reaction was to shake my head, but I thought better of it. If I was going to live here for the time being, I might as well get used to the comings and goings of his friends. No use hiding in my room like a frightened little mouse. “If you would like me to join you I can, but I can also eat up in my room if you require privacy.”

  He stared again for several moments and then grinned. “So formal,” he commented. “Are you always so formal, or do you let it all hang out once in a while?”

  I immediately thought of what I had just done in my bedroom and felt the heat of a blush once again travel upward from my neck to my cheekbones. Trying to keep my voice calm, I responded. “I know how to have fun, but I’m on duty. Duty first, you know.”

  He nodded, serious now. “Always.”

  Just then the doorbell rang and he turned toward the sound. “That’ll be Michael.” He glanced at the wooden kitchen table and gestured with his chin. “We can eat in here.”

  I nodded. While Jax went to open the door and greet his friend, I began to open the cupboards, looking for the dishware. I idly wondered how the Swedish woman had gotten out of the house so quietly. Maybe she hadn’t. Maybe she was still in Jax’s bed, waiting for his return and Round Two.

  I shook my head and pushed her out of my mind. I set several plates and bowls on the table and had just turned to look in the rollout drawers for the silverware when I heard the sound of voices and footsteps in the hallway, heading toward the kitchen. One hand in the silverware drawer, I turned to look over my shoulder and once again found myself staring.

  What the hell? Were all Special Forces so handsome? Michael had broad shoulders like Jax, but he was leaner. He had a swimmer’s physique, a high forehead, gorgeous green eyes, and a long aquiline nose that looked like it belonged on a Greek statue. While the opposite of Jax in coloring, Michael looked almost angelic. If he’d had an external glow and sported wings, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

  “Michael, this is Angie Meadows, my new live in nurse, maid, cook, Jill of all trades, whatever you want to call her.” He gestured to his friend. “Angie, this is Michael Weathers. He’s one of my buddies from my squadron.”

  I had begun to smile, but got stuck on Jackson’s term “new” live-in nurse. So he’d had one before? Nancy hadn’t told me anything about that. What happened? Why wasn’t she here any longer? Before I could even begin to analyze his comment, Michael stepped forward, hand extended. He wore a devilish smile on his face and I steeled myself, prayed for strength, and returned his handshake with a smile.

  “Pleased to meet you, Michael. I hope you’re hungry, and I certainly hope you like beef stew, because that’s what we’re having.”

  “Told you,” Jax commented to his friend.

  Again I glanced at Jax, confused. “Told him what?”

  Jax looked at me with a deadpan expression. “I told him that you were little bit bossy, but that you are easy on the eyes, you know your stuff, and you have orders not to let me get away with shit, at least not too much.”

  I stared at him in stunned dismay. He thought I was bossy? I began to frown but then Michael spoke, distracting me.

  “Someone’s got to keep him in line, Angie, and better you than me,” he grinned. He seated himself at the table, his expression sobering. “After dinner, Ja
x, we gotta talk. It’s serious.”

  Jax gazed at his friend a moment, offered a slight nod, and then sat down across from him at the table. Looks like I had my choice to sit next to Michael or Jax. I ultimately decided that the end of the table was probably the safest and set the silverware and plates accordingly.

  As I served up brimming bowls of beef stew for Jax and his friend, I wondered about his former nurse. He’d only been out of the hospital for a little while and he’d gone through one live-in nurse already? That didn’t bode well. I frowned, wondering once again why Nancy hadn’t said anything to me about it. Maybe she thought I’d have declined the job.

  In my book, there was nothing more challenging, emotionally and physically, than a difficult client. Sure, I understood that illness, injury, and living with pain got on the nerves of my patients, but some of them turned downright ugly, difficult, argumentative, and sometimes even violent. The last thing I needed in my life right now, especially with a live-in situation, was what I called a ‘problem child’.

  I dished up half a bowl of stew for myself and then sat down at the end of the table. I ate quietly while Jax questioned Michael about friends who I assumed were other members of their squadron. It was small talk, really, nothing stimulating. It didn’t involve me, but it did help me gain a sense of the camaraderie I sensed between the two. That was nothing new to me either.

  Soldiers relied on their buddies, and the term implied way more than friendship. Growing up in the military, I knew that the term, in a way, defined a bond between soldiers that was often closer than that of brothers. In combat, you relied on your buddy to not only have your six, but to rely on at all times, in all situations, in combat, peace time, and anywhere in between.

  “You in there, Angie?”

  I startled, realizing that I was holding a spoonful of stew over my bowl. I straightened my shoulders and glanced at Jax, and then at Michael. “Sorry, just daydreaming.”

  “About me?” Michael grinned.

  I tried to prevent the smile from lifting the corners of my lips but failed. Great. A charmer on one side and a noncompliant and hot, sexy patient on the other. “Nope,” I said, lifting the spoon to my lips. I realized that both of the guys had nearly devoured their stew already. I swallowed and made to rise. “You guys up for seconds?”

  “I am,” Michael said, lifting his bowl toward me.

  Jax shook his head, staring at his friend. “I know you just didn’t come by to check out my new nurse or to snag a free meal. So what’s up?”

  Michael glanced at me and then back at Jax, gesturing slightly with his chin. “Maybe we ought to take this into your office.”

  Jax leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. “Angie’s going to be living with me full time for a while. If it involves me, this house, or the property surrounding it, I figure she has as much a right to know as I do.”

  Michael thought about it for a moment and then slowly nodded. “Okay then, I’ll just spit it out.”

  He glanced at me, lifting an eyebrow. “I hope you’re not high-strung.”

  I stared at him a moment with a lifted eyebrow. “I’m a nurse. There’s not much that rattles me.” I glanced quickly at Jax and saw the expression on his face. “Don’t even think it,” I warned, narrowing my eyes at him.

  Michael glanced between a grinning Jax and me and then shook his head. “I don’t even want to know.” Then he grew serious, placed his spoon back in the bowl and put it down on the table, seconds forgotten.

  “You asked me about the guys,” Michael said, watching Jax.

  Jax nodded. “And?”

  “Well, I haven’t told you about Benz.”

  Like Michael, Jax placed his spoon beside his bowl, apparently finished. “What about him?”

  “Well, he headed off to California when we got back. To visit his family.”

  “And?”

  “And after he’d been gone for a few days and we hadn’t heard anything, Gaithers called him to ask how long he was staying.” Michael paused a moment, frowning. “Benz didn’t answer the two calls or the voicemail that Gaithers left him. The next day, Gaithers called Benz’ parents.” Michael paused again, fingering his spoon before he looked up at Jax. “His parents haven’t heard from him.”

  I glanced between Michael and Jax, sensing the sudden tension. Jax frowned. He had just opened his mouth to ask a question when Michael continued. “Needless to say, we did some digging. He was supposed to get on a plane a couple of days after we got stateside, but none of us could find a plane ticket in his name.”

  “What the hell?” Jax muttered.

  “I went by his place the next day. His car was still in the garage, all his stuff still there.”

  Jax swore. “Why haven’t I heard anything about this before now?” he demanded.

  Michael gestured at him. “Jax, you were in surgery, then recuperating, and you just got home. There’s nothing you could have done. The guys and I are on it.”

  “Done about what?” Jax asked, leaning slightly forward now.

  “Jax, Benz is dead.”

  Chapter 4

  I sat stunned, and I could only imagine how Jax felt. I assumed that Benz was part of his squadron. Jax frowned, but I saw the wince that briefly twisted his features.

  “How? When?”

  “Not sure about the when, but we do know the how. Long story short, we finally found him up in an old family cabin in the Virginia woods—”

  “Virginia?” Jax exclaimed. “How did he end up there when he was headed to California?”

  “We’re still working that out,” Michael explained.

  Jax said nothing, but glanced at me before returning his gaze to Michael. “What happened to him?”

  Michael lifted a hand, palm out, stopping the question. “I’ll save that for later. There’s more.” He paused a moment, glanced at me uncertainly, and then with a nod from Jax, continued. “Just last week, Benning was poisoned. He got to the hospital in time, but it was a close call.”

  I glanced between the two men, my alarm increasing. Jax had turned dark, and to say I wasn’t intimidated would be a lie.

  “Who’s targeting us?” he asked, the words forced out between gritted teeth.

  Michael shrugged. “I can only assume that it’s a covert stateside terror cell.”

  Terror cell? Covert? What were they talking about? My eyes widened as my gaze switched between Michael and Jax. Neither seemed particularly panicked, although my blood pressure had increased exponentially as the discussion proceeded. What were these guys into? Wait a minute. That was a stupid question. They were special ops.

  “Would foreign forces or covert terrorist cell members specifically target members of a specific unit here? Why?” I blurted.

  “Are you really so surprised?” Michael asked, glancing at me. “Ever since 9/11, the risk has increased. In the last year alone, the FBI has identified at least five Al Qaeda groups operating here in the states.”

  “But—”

  “Did you know that over tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghanis, Saudi’s and other Middle Easterners now live in the US? Just last year, the FBI questioned about fifty thousand of them in their effort to find sleeper cells here in America. Joint terrorism task forces are nothing new, and domestic terrorism in the post-9/11 era keeps not only various federal agencies busy, but us and other special ops units as well.”

  I shook my head. That many? I was certainly not naïve nor uninformed, but I guess I had never really thought too much about it.

  “Domestic terrorism is alive and well in the US,” Michael commented, glancing at Jax.

  Jax turned to me, obviously saw my concern, and spoke. “I’ll understand if you want to quit, Angie,” he said. “Helping me recuperate is one thing, but putting yourself in danger is quite another. Your call.”

  Well, no one had ever accused me of being a quitter. Besides, they weren’t sure what was happening. I glanced at Michael. “Do you have any definiti
ve proof that someone is targeting your unit?”

  “No,” Michael said. “But it seems likely. We’re all taking extra precautions.” He looked at Jax. “You should too. Just in case. In the meantime, the rest of us and the squad commander is looking into this. If there is someone targeting us, you can damn well be sure we’re going to find out about it and quickly.”

  Jax turned to me.

  “Like I said, Angie, it’s your call. I won’t think any less of you if you decide to leave.”

  I was still trying to process all this extra information and now he was asking me if I wanted to quit. Well, the plain truth was, I didn’t. I shook my head. “Unless there’s a definitive threat, or you feel it’s no longer safe, I’ll stick around for a while, if you don’t mind.”

  He grinned. “I don’t mind in the least.”

  The look he gave me was enough to have me picturing him upstairs in bed with the Swedish lady again. I quickly shook that image from my thoughts, grabbed their bowls, and headed toward the sink.

  I stood there for several moments, not knowing what to say or do. I decided to go back to my room, let Jax and Michael discuss things among themselves. Besides, I had some thinking to do.

  I excused myself, telling Jax that I would come down and take care of the dishes later. I bid goodbye to Michael and then nodded to Jax as I left the kitchen. I didn’t linger, but quickly headed up to my room.

  I stepped inside and closed the door, frowning. I had talked myself up downstairs, but did I really want to stay in a place where I might be in danger? I was a nurse, not a covert operative. I knew nothing about Jackson Andrew’s world.

  My thoughts also wandered back to his earlier comment about me being his “new” nurse. I glanced at the clock on the wall and realize that it would be too late to call Nancy. She would’ve left the office for the evening and it wasn’t an emergency, so it could wait until morning.