Page 129 of Fire and Ice

"Go and shower babe, I'll order our food."

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The loop necklace was dangling forward from her neck. Maia was on her hands and knees, Jack was pumping hard from behind her.

They were supposed to be out for a Christmas Eve dinner. He told her to wear a strapless dress, she thought was a strange request. And then he gave her her Christmas gift.

Her breath caught when he presented her with an exquisite diamond loop necklace from an exclusive jeweler's collection. She could only imagine how much it cost. As he finished clasping the pricey jewelry around her neck, she felt his breath fan her nape as he started raining open-mouth kisses down her bare shoulders. Then he turned her around and gave her the earrings.

"Jack, this is too much!" Maia wailed.

"Nothing is too much for you, babe. Go on. Put it on," Jack urged.

Maia excitedly walked to the full length mirror near the foyer and fastened the earrings. They looked amazing.

"I don't know if I can wear these," Maia protested. "I'm afraid to lose them."

Jack chuckled deeply as he looked at her reflection in the mirror.

"How does it look?" Maia asked.

His eyes grew heated. Uh-oh, she knew that look. Something told her they wouldn't be having dinner any time soon.

"I think," Jack murmured deliciously behind her ear as his fingers started pulling down the back zip of her dress, "I like this look better." He let the dress fall to the floor, leaving her naked except for the jewelry, her lace undies and stilettos.

"Jack, baby, we're gonna be late," Maia said in weak protest as he bent her over and pushed her to the floor on her hands and knees.

"Look at yourself in the mirror while I fuck you, babe," Jack said huskily and she gasped as he tore off her undies. There went another pair.

He bent over her and drove his long fingers into her while massaging her clit with his thumb. His other arm was wrapped around her front holding her hips against his. His breathing grew hot and labored against her neck.

"You're already wet, so wet. Do you want my cock, Maia?" he asked as his eyes glittered in the mirror, watching her as she began to pant with an aching need.

"Yes. Yes, Jack," Maia whimpered as his fingers left her moist core to work on the fastenings of his slacks. And then he was there, the tip nudging into her, thrusting into her fiercely as he took possession of her once more.

The New Year came too quickly for Jack. That meant back to a regular work schedule and less time with Maia. The week between Christmas and New Year had been one of the happiest he'd ever had with her. It was just the two of them. His parents were in Europe for their regular winter vacation and Derek was off somewhere with some girl. It was a quiet time in the office so he managed to slip away most days. Maia was just puttering around his apartment all day cooking or baking. Domestic bliss. He never thought he'd look forward to coming home to his woman every day after work. He hated everything that kept him away from her. Several times in the previous week, he had wanted to ask her to marry him.

But he hesitated. Maia was restless. Though she was totally into him when he was with her, sometimes he'd catch her looking at her phone with anxiety. He wished everything was less complicated with her.

Jack reached his apartment building after 7:00 pm. He normally got home by 6:30 pm on regular days, but the workload after the holidays were usually the worse. Everyone was sluggish, not wanting to be back at work, including him. Maia said she was making her famous roast chicken for dinner. That, at least, was something he looked forward to.

But when he stepped into the apartment, he immediately felt something amiss. First, there was no aroma of roast chicken and second there was a passport, two semi-automatic pistols and a stash of Russian roubles on the dining table. Not a romantic table setting for two.

He heard drawers slamming in the bedroom.

"Maia!" he called, panic bubbling up his throat.

"In here," she answered.

"What the hell is going on?" Jack asked in a bewildered voice.

She wouldn't look at him. Instead, she brushed past him and picked up the two firearms, making sure the magazines and chambers were empty before stashing them in her duffel bag. She was dressed in khaki-cargos, black shirt and black motorcycle boots. She was going on a mission.

"I got the call."

"What call?"

"Jack, I have no time to explain. My plane leaves in two hours and I need to get to Dulles."

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