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  “Can I take a rain check? I have plans tonight.”

  He frowned, flicking a glance across the room to where Jasper stood, an immovable mountain.

  “Next time.” He rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. I followed his gaze.

  Jasper looked Nolan up and down with a cool stare and then surprised the hell out of me by casting me a wink.

  I knew what that wink meant. He knew what he’d just told me to do, knew what he would do to me later. It was our dirty little secret.

  “Yeah, next time.” I stepped around Nolan, nodding goodbye, and returned to my room, hurrying after a glance at my cell phone showed me the time.

  Forget the panties.

  I’d wanted a distraction, and I sure had one.

  I couldn’t wait.

  Chapter Four

  When I dragged the desk away from the door again and stepped into the hall, I found Jasper leaning against the wall, waiting.

  “Hi.” I was nervous, which was stupid because after everything we’d done together, there shouldn’t have been anything left to feel nervous about.

  This, though… This felt different. Almost like a date.

  “Turn around for me.” He watched intently as I did a little spin, feeling foolish. I didn’t really have anything fancy with me, since I spent most of my time in dirty cargo pants, so I’d had to make do. I’d chosen a pair of black shorts that showed off the muscles I’d earned from working outside, and the heeled sandals again, since they were the dressiest shoes I had with me.

  With these I wore a sky-blue T-shirt. It was simple in cut, but the material was silky, and it could pass for dressy. It was snug, and between it and the brief shorts, I felt as though I could probably handle whatever Jasper had in store.

  “Very nice.” Pushing himself off the wall, he hooked his fingers in my belt loops and tugged me closer. I gasped when he grabbed my thigh, bearing its weight as he pulled me open.

  “I like these.” With his other hand, he tugged at the hem of the shorts, then without warning, slid his fingers underneath. I sucked in a breath when he found nothing but skin—I’d listened.

  “Good girl.” He slid his fingers through my folds, instantly making me wet. My head fell back when he pushed one inside of me, brushing over my clit—I’d shaved, and the newly bare skin made every brush of his fingers feel more intense than ever.

  Just when I was about to rock into his palm and demand that he make me come right there in the hall, he pulled his finger from my tight heat. With a hint of that sexy smile that I loved, he urged me down the hall with a nod of his head. “Ladies first.”

  My pulse throbbed in my wrists, beneath my jaw, between my legs as I made my way to the lobby, Jasper a looming presence at my back. My awareness was so centered on him that I was self-conscious, certain that everyone around me knew that I was sleeping with my bodyguard.

  Nobody said a word. With my gaze on the ground, I didn’t see if any of my team members were around, but if they were, they were probably thrilled that I was leaving the premises. They’d be off “Keep Cari Safe” duty.

  I stopped short when I got outside. Parked illegally, right in front of the motel, was a huge black Humvee. The thing was massive, just like the person I assumed was its owner—I was going to need a ladder to climb in.

  “Job perk?” Arching an eyebrow, I looked over my shoulder at Jasper. Sometime on the walk between my room and here, he’d pulled a pair of dark sunglasses over his eyes, but I was betting that they held amusement.

  “I freelance.” Opening the passenger-side door, he didn’t ask if I needed help, just scooped me up and dropped me in. I batted away his hands when he reached for the seat belt—I was more than capable of doing that myself. “But I do have a reputation to uphold.”

  “You forget I know you now, or so you claim.” I threw my hands up as he rounded the vehicle and swung himself up into the driver’s seat. “You might have the cool car, but you’ve probably got that big, blue phone booth thingie in the trunk.”

  “Big, blue phone booth thingy?” He actually winced. “It’s called a TARDIS. Haven’t you ever seen Doctor Who? Any of them?”

  “Nope.” I grinned.

  That earned me a head shake, but I was smiling as he pulled out of the small, pitted parking lot.

  “Where are we going?” As he navigated through Meadow Ridge, I entertained myself by watching people’s reactions when they looked over and saw the monstrosity of a vehicle. There was usually an expression of shock, followed by the vehicle, biker, or pedestrian just getting the hell out of the way.

  “Atlanta.” He took the ramp for the highway, reaching over to pull my sun visor down before the beam of light from the new direction could hurt my eyes.

  I waited; he stayed silent. Apparently, that was the only clue I was getting. Pulling a lip gloss from my purse, I applied it slowly, then tucked it away again, which killed approximately two minutes.

  “How long of a drive is it to the city?” I drummed my fingers on the dashboard, earning me a pointed glance.

  “An hour, depending on traffic.” In stark contrast to my excess of energy, he seemed completely relaxed. “Usually this time of day is fine, but once in a while there’s a big snarl in traffic.”

  “How do you know that?” Leaning back in my seat, I slid off one of my sandals.

  “I’m from Atlanta.”

  “What?” I curled my newly bare foot up beneath me on the leather seat. “No. You don’t have any accent at all.”

  “Y’all listen up now,” he drawled, and I barked out a startled laugh. “I’m fixin’ to make sure you forget all your troubles tonight, you hear?”

  “No way.” Leaning over, I pulled his sunglasses right off his face, wanting to see his expression. “How did you do that?”

  “An accent like that sticks out. It’s memorable.” He fixed his stare on the road. “In my line of work, it’s better to be forgettable.”

  I snorted as I looked him up and down, enjoying the view. “I hate to break it to you, but the last thing you are is forgettable.”

  His lips curled into a slow smile. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “I meant it as one.”

  “Now sit down. I need you alive for what I have planned for tonight.”

  Heat curled through me, a sinuous twist of flame. I looked at his hand on the wheel, the one that had so recently been up my shorts, and thought I might just crawl out of my skin.

  “How did you get into bodyguarding?” I needed something to keep my mind off the delicious promise of what would happen later tonight. “That doesn’t seem like something a kid dreams of being when they’re older.”

  “It’s not.” His lips twisted a bit. “I wanted to be a soldier, and that’s what I was. Served ten years in the United States Marines.”

  “I bet you were good at that.” To serve and protect—I could just see it. “Why’d you stop?”

  “Do enough tours, and the things you see start to weigh on you more and more.” His voice was flat. “It’s harder to stay positive, harder to think you’re making a difference when you’ve been fighting for things for so long. I’d had enough, so I was done.”

  “And you became a bodyguard.” Some men might look for a job with less stress after what he’d just described, but it didn’t surprise me that Jasper hadn’t. “So you could keep protecting people.”

  “It’s what I’m good at.” To my surprise, he grinned. “Just like you’re good at making people think that dusty sticks are interesting.”

  “They are!” I knew he was baiting me, but I didn’t care. “Every little thing found on an ancient site holds importance. Who used it? What did they use it for? Did they dig with it, hunt with it, cook with it, use it as a weapon? One dusty stick helps explain why we’re here today.”

  “I’ll believe you.” He grinned as he took an exit that would lead us to the city. “Others wouldn’t, but I do.”

  “Right. You’re only interested if th
e dusty sticks are dragon-killer swords.” I studied him for a moment, the easy confidence in his movements. I wanted to shock him. “So, that’s where your predilection for danger comes in. What about the freaky sex stuff? Not enough stimulation in the anal stage of your development?”

  “The what?” Incredulous, he actually took his eyes off the road for a moment to blink at me.

  “Never heard of Freud’s psychosexual stages of development?” I grinned up at him. “Well, we can save that for another day. But, seriously, what’s with the kink?”

  He was quiet for a long moment, and when he spoke again, his voice was serious. “Different people need different things.”

  I waited; I knew there was more.

  “You need to be working toward a goal. Margot needs to organize things. Some people need to be around others constantly, and some need to be alone.” He navigated the Hummer past the city limits. “I don’t see this as any different. I need things to be dirty in the bedroom.”

  “You need them to be?” I asked curiously. “Like, if you were…say you were married. You would need to watch your wife have sex with other men?

  “My cock wouldn’t shrivel up and fall off,” he answered, his voice dry, “but I wouldn’t be very happy without it. And as I’ve explained, that’s why I rarely have girlfriends. There are lots of women who enjoy exploring their kinky side. But when push comes to shove, they can’t handle it for the long-term. Humans have a very deeply ingrained concept of monogamy.”

  “What’s your concept of it?” I was genuinely curious.

  “I think that having this kind of sexual relationship doesn’t in any way detract from the bond two people can have together.” He turned on the signal light, pulling into the parking lot of a large hotel. “As long as they do it together.”

  “Hmm.” I took a deep breath, trying my best to calm the excitement coursing through me.

  I didn’t see a problem with what he’d described, which surprised me. I frowned, examining my thoughts. No, I truly didn’t.

  As long as the couple did their exploring together—and for pleasure, not to fill a hole in the relationship—was it really so bad?

  I kept my thoughts to myself as Jasper parked, then helped me out. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, exactly—maybe drinks and dinner—but I was surprised when he pulled my bag from the backseat and slung it over his shoulder.

  “Are we staying here?” I had to trot to keep up with him, taking two steps for his every one.

  “Yes.” Once we were inside the doors, he stopped so abruptly I almost crashed into him.

  My pulse picked up the pace again when he unexpectedly turned and slid his hand into mine. Tangling our fingers together, he lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a single soft kiss to the top.

  “I want you to know that you can say no to anything I offer you tonight.” His eyes seemed to darken as he stared down at me. “It’s all in place for your pleasure, and all you have to do is say no, and it stops.”

  “What are you offering exactly?” His hand remained in mine as he skirted the check-in desk, pulling me instead to the bank of elevators. “Jasper?”

  He simply smiled, tugging me into the first empty one. I watched, eyes wide, as he pressed the button for the twelfth floor.

  The hall was quiet, our steps hushed by thick gray carpet. I let myself be led past ten identical doors. When we stopped, rather than pulling out a key card, Jasper knocked.

  My pulse throbbed. Who was in that room, and why were they there?

  “Remember.” Jasper let go of my hand, only to trace his fingers down the length of my spine. “You can say no.”

  Nerves were like a drug, lifting me high as I listened to the footsteps on the other side of the door.

  There was the sound of metal as the knob turned…a shadow as the door swung open…

  Over six feet of muscle, topped with a thick beard and a naughty expression.

  “Hello, Cari.”

  It was Jackson.

  Chapter Five

  Excitement pulsed through me as I looked up at Jasper. “Care to explain?”

  “Let’s go inside.” Jasper urged me forward with the slightest bit of pressure on my back; Jackson stood aside to let me in. As I brushed past him and felt his heat, arousal started to hum.

  “Want a drink?” Jackson grinned at me, gesturing me forward to a plush-looking leather sofa.

  “Hell, yes.” Sinking down to the couch, I wrapped my arms around my knees and looked around.

  The room was larger than I’d expected it to be, with a spacious living area and floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a fantastic view of the sunset gilding the city. Jackson crossed to a bar of polished wood, and I heard the tinkle of ice on glass as he pulled a bottle of champagne from its bucket.

  “How’s this?” He waved the bottle in my direction. I nodded, my attention caught by Jasper as he tossed his sunglasses onto a small table and sank into the couch beside me.

  “You two know each other. From before the bar, I mean.” I wasn’t asking a question. No matter how kinky he was, I just couldn’t see Jasper looking up some guy we’d played with at the bar for a bit of follow-up nookie. “Want to let me in on the secret?”

  Jackson smirked as he filled a champagne flute to the top with pale, frothy liquid. Tucking two bottles of beer dripping with condensation under his arm, he carried the wine to me, handing Jackson a beer before seating himself on the couch across from us.

  I watched his movements, the precise control in them. I hadn’t noticed it before because I hadn’t been looking for it, but now I saw the similarity to the way Jasper carried himself. “You were in the Marines together.”

  “Give the lady a doctorate.” Jackson smirked, toasting me with his own beer before twisting off the cap and taking a deep sip.

  I turned back to Jasper, who was watching me intently, waiting to pick up on any sign of discomfort. “Do you work together now?”

  “Jackson left the Marines not long after I did. Since he worships me so much, he decided to follow me into the world of protection.” Jasper drank, and I was distracted by the sensual line of his throat as he swallowed. “And since his services are not nearly as in demand as mine, he had nothing better to do than follow me out to freaking Meadow Ridge, Georgia, on assignment.”

  “Wait.” I gulped down half of my drink before setting it on the coffee table in front of us. I pinned Jackson with a hard stare. “You must have known who I was when you approached me, then. Did you do it just to piss him off?”

  Beside me, Jasper huffed out a breath; Jackson laughed.

  “Sure, I knew who you were. I like your show.” Draining his beer, he set the bottle down beside my half-full champagne flute. “I approached you because you’re hot. It was my shitty luck that you’d already attached yourself to Jasper’s ugly-ass self.”

  Beside me, Jasper snorted, and I sat back, evaluating my feelings. I felt like I should have been a little upset that neither man had let on that they knew each other that night. Instead, I found it kind of sexy. “You guys get handsy with each other’s women all the time?”

  I tensed as soon as I spoke; I’d just referred to myself as Jasper’s woman. What would he think of that?

  When I cast him a nervous glance, he was watching me intently, but he didn’t look like he was going to run screaming off into the night. Instead, he was focused on me entirely, and if I had to label the emotion I saw on his face, it would have been possessive.

  “Jackson can’t help wanting what’s mine.” Jasper’s smile was dark and sexy. “But if we’re feeling nice, maybe we’ll let him play for a bit.”

  Blood rushed through my head. This was it. I’d known, as soon as Jackson had opened the door, where this was leading, but here it was, out in the open.

  “What do you think?” Dipping his head, Jasper whispered the words into my ear. His warm breath on my neck woke my senses, aroused, and I tilted my head back with a slight moan. “If you want, you can h
ave us both tonight. Touching you, tasting you, giving you pleasure.”

  “And if I don’t?” Turning my head, my nose brushed against his cheek. I followed it with a light kiss, keeping my voice low, even though I knew Jackson could hear me.

  “If you don’t, then he leaves, and it will be just me fucking you all night.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “You say no at any time. Now, or in five minutes, or three seconds before he slides his cock into you. You say no, and it all stops. No questions asked.”

  Staring down at my feet, I considered. There was no denying how aroused I was from just the idea. Jasper alone could make me wet with one look, and there was a little spark of chemistry between Jackson and me, too. If I did this, if I let myself have sex with them both at once, I had no doubt that it would be the hottest night of my life.

  But could I do it? Was I really that wild?

  I cast a sidelong glance at Jasper, who was still watching me intently. Never mind all of his warnings—I knew that the interest I felt when I looked at him was about more than just sex. Could he really watch me be with another man and not let it eat him from the inside out if we continued along this path together?

  As if sensing my thoughts, he nodded once, slowly, and I understood.

  He wasn’t the kind of man to say one thing and mean another. He wanted this—wanted to watch me with another man.

  But only if it was what I wanted, too.

  I did. I really, really did.

  Not sure how to express this with words, I instead reached up, pressing my hands to Jasper’s cheeks. I traced the high cheekbones, feathered the stubble with the palms of my hands, then pulled him to me for a kiss.

  I pressed my lips to his softly, testing and teasing as if I was still making sure that this was okay. When he kissed me back, it was with the same intensity that he applied to everything. His fingers fisted in my hair, holding me in place, and I parted my lips when his tongue swept softly over the seam.