Page 31 of Jagger
“Your words cut me to the bone, Lincoln. You took a beautiful moment, something unique and special, and basically made it another roll in the hay that you were regretting.” She crossed her arms and glanced to the side as she said, “You acted like I was nothing, and I deserve more. I deserve someone who puts me first, not who treats me as an afterthought.”
I reached across the table and held my hand out, hoping she would take it. Eventually, she reached out and let me hold her hand as I explained. “You were never an afterthought. If anything, you take over all my thoughts. You’re the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid eyes on, and I swear to you, on the patch on my cut, I will never put you through anything likethat again.” I tried to crack a smile as I tacked on, “If I do, then I deserve the ass kicking your father and Cheyenne will give me.”
Her cheeks pushed up as she replied, “Granny’s the one you need to look out for. She’s got mojo that scares even me sometimes.”
“I’ll remember that.” Lifting her hand, I leaned over and kissed the back as I asked, “So, do you think you can forgive me?”
She lifted her soulful green eyes, and when she nodded with a smile, I stood from my chair and yanked her up into my arms. Just before I slammed my lips to hers, I whispered, “Thank fuck.”
There was nothing nice or gentle about this kiss. This kiss was filled with passion, longing, need, and a frenzy that I’d never experienced before. Her lips tasted faintly of chocolate from her dessert, and as our tongues tangled together, I reminded myself to not push past this. I didn’t want her to think I was a horn-dog, even though the only thing I wanted to do was eat her perfect pussy until she passed out from pleasure.
Slowing the kiss, I leaned back from her and saw the smile she was beaming up at me. Trying to be a better man, I guided her back to her seat and kneeled in front of her. “I’m going to get your clothes from the dryer, if you want to take a shower.”
“You . . . we’re . . .” she began, and once again, I lifted her hands up to my lips and kissed them.
“We can get to that later. I want to make sure my woman is taken care of so we don’t have to go back out into the snow tonight. Besides, I forgot my laptop in my saddle bag and need to grab it.”
She seemed unsure, but as I stood, I assisted her back to her feet. Pulling her close to me, I whispered, “I want you more than you can imagine, but we don’t have to put a clock on sex. We’re going to have the rest of our lives for that.”
Biting her lip, she fluttered her eyes, and I winked at her before releasing my hold on her. As she walked toward the bathroom, I popped her on the ass, and she squealed as she grabbed her cheek and looked over her shoulder at me. Wiggling my eyebrows, I watched as she walked into the bathroom, and when I heard the door lock, I grabbed the key and walked out into the cold.
I had a few layers on, with a black-and-white flannel jacket under my cut, but the temperature was dropping. The snow wasn’t falling as heavily as it had earlier, and as I walked to the little laundry room and grabbed Jackie’s clothes from the dryer, I thought about what was going to be waiting for us back in Rapid City.
I put my phone on vibrate when I checked us in earlier, and after leaving the clothes on the bed and grabbing my laptop from my bike, I secured the door and took a seat. There were countless messages between Roughstock, Phantom, Animal, and strangely enough, Devlin Callahan.
Looking over them all, I decided to call Roughstock while I could still hear the shower running. I didn’t want to talk about this in front of Jackie, but I needed to know what was going on.
Dialing his number, I listened to it ring three times before he answered.
“Hey, brother. Cheyenne said you and Jackie are holed up about an hour from the ranch. How’s it going?”
I glanced to the closed bathroom door before answering. “Things are good. Motel has a little restaurant, so we’re covered, but I hope to be on the road early in the morning.”
“Weather should cooperate for you.”
“Did Animal bring back the box?” I asked.
“He did, and we have a lead on how they got to Dozer, whoever they are.” I sat up, listening as he spoke. “When we told his wife, she let Warhol look over his records. It looks like hewas digging something about forty minutes west of your current location. There aren’t any specifics, but from what Warhol can piece together, it was some kind of a bunker or underground shelter.”
I thought about what he said and asked, “When did he do this work?”
“There were actually two different jobs he did in the same isolated area. One was two years ago, and the other was about four months before Pops died.”
Standing from the chair, I walked closer to the bathroom door and heard the water still running, so I stepped back to the front of the room and lowered my voice. “Why does it seem like someone is tying up loose ends?”
“That’s exactly what I said to Devlin. Someone—be it Blur, a Bastard, or someone working with Blur—seems to be going after anyone who can make the pieces fit together,” Roughstock reasoned.
I heard the shower turn off and the curtain open, so I spoke softly and quickly. “Then the box was a warning.”
“I think so, brother. You need to make sure Jackie is covered at all times until we can get this stopped.”
Shaking my head, I ran my hands through my hair as I muttered, “She’s gonna fucking hate that.”
“Then make her understand. Even if it means telling her everything and letting her get scared. I’d much rather have her scared than in danger. Or worse.”
The bathroom door opened, and Jackie stepped out, looking like a dream come to life. Her damp hair fell halfway down her back, and as she secured the towel around her upper chest, I secretly wished it would fall to the ground. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her as she smiled and walked to her pile of warm clothes.
“Are you listening, Jagger?” Roughstock asked, and I shook off the lustful haze I was swimming in and gave him my attention.
