Jasmine (Kings of Guardian Book 6) Read online

  “Close.” She acknowledged his warning with a moan around his cock.

  His hands tightened, and he stopped her movement. A guttural groan accompanied the strong, hot jets of come that filled her mouth.

  Jasmine swallowed his release and lapped at his cock until he pulled away.

  He lowered himself into the tub and kissed her while he stretched out, wedging her between his legs. He pulled away and studied her face. The deep inspection was disconcerting enough to make her feel self-conscious. She blinked and mentally pulled up her professional mask, which had completely disappeared.

  “Don’t do that.” He gently twisted her shoulders until she spun around. He pulled her back, so she was reclining between his legs, her back against his chest. The water from the falling shower hit the middle of the tub. The sensation was pleasant and unfamiliar.

  “Don’t do what?”

  “Hide. You’re confused, and that’s okay, but don’t hide.”

  That mindreading thing Chad just did bordered on freaky. “How…”

  His hands roamed over her breasts, circling her taunt nipples. The electrifying sensations jolted her nerves, and instinctively she pushed into his caress.

  “You keep a part of yourself hidden.” Chad’s hands continued to explore, caress and tantalize. He paused long enough to lift her arms and place them behind his neck. “Keep them there.”

  Jasmine hesitated at the command in his voice. Fingertips of one hand teased her nipples with alternating light touches and piercing pinches. His right hand snaked down her torso and settled on her sex. She bucked into his hand and linked her fingers behind his neck. His fingers opened and slid through her, rubbing the side of her clit with enough pressure to make her legs clench in pleasure. She pushed back into him as his fingers performed a sensual dance across her most intimate places. He was relentless and yet gentle. His touch alternated from almost pain to soothing and feather-light. Her mind and body disconnected. She floated in a sea of blissful sensation.

  “That’s it, baby. Let go; I’ve got you.” His words rumbled around her in that sexy deep bass voice that had wrapped itself around her heart. His touch pushed her to the edge and pulled her back, over and over again. Finally, he kissed her temple and said, “You can’t hide from me. I see you. I see all of you. You’re amazing and beautiful. I want you, Jasmine. I want all of you.”

  Her body exploded. The intense rhythm of his fingers carried her over the edge. Her cry echoed in the confines of the bathroom as she convulsed through her orgasm. Heat and pressure held her in its grip. Chad’s hand continued its assault. She gasped and moaned in exhausted pleasure when she came again. Her body went limp, the sensations too much and too many to process.

  Jasmine felt Chad’s leg move and then realized the water that rained down on them warmed. His arms circled her, and he hummed a beautiful tune in her ear. He kissed her neck and shoulder, punctuating the musical serenade. God, she’d died and gone to heaven. She felt as if she could float away on the notes of his music.

  “Is that one of your songs?” She couldn’t recall the tune from the concert.

  “Not yet.” He leaned back and hummed the tune again. This time, the notes he hummed flowed into a beautiful arc. He chuckled softly and kissed her shoulder.

  “What’s so funny?” Jasmine tipped her head back. Her eyes locked on his stubbled jaw. She stretched to kiss him there.

  “Funny? Nothing, really. We’re on the run from someone who wants to kill us, and there is a maniac out there somewhere killing off people connected to me for reasons nobody understands. And yet… here I am with a new song layering itself perfectly in my mind while I’m holding the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”

  “It’s been a hell of a week.” She drew her fingertips up his forearm in a mindless caress, his most amazing woman comment still pinging through her brain like a bullet ricocheting off a series of metal barriers.

  Sensations and feelings floating way too close to the surface of her mind conflicted with her need to keep her emotions in check. She needed to be careful. She could fall for this insanely talented music icon. Hell, they had exactly zero chance of a relationship. She wasn’t the person he’d searched for in those clubs. Sooner or later he’d get tired of her. She wasn’t into BDSM, and the thought of it wasn’t remotely interesting to her. Yet this man had sought out that lifestyle. Was he still looking for a partner who would be his submissive? That wasn’t her. She was a personal security specialist, and a damn good one at that. She turned off the water with her toe and lifted out of the tub. Her phone vibrated on the vanity. Reality was calling, her primary needed her protection, and that reminder pushed away the remnants of a dream that would never happen.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “You’re cleared to leave, but you need to exercise extreme caution, Jazz. Nothing about this case makes sense. There are so many questions and not enough fucking answers.” Jared growled the comment. His tinny voice echoed from her phone’s speaker. She handed a towel to Chad and wrapped herself in one.

  “We’ll head out shortly.”

  “I want you to check in every hour on the hour until you check in with the twins. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but give the damn musician a gun. We all agree he is no longer a suspect in the murders. This shit is convoluted and fractured, but there isn’t a connection strong enough to tie him to the murders as anything other than a pawn. I’ve checked into his background. We’ve got his permits covered. Do me a favor and make sure he remembers which way to point the damn thing.”

  Jasmine slapped her hand over Chad’s mouth, preventing any retort. She shook her head at him in warning. “I’ll do that. We’re going to grab our stuff and hit the road. I’ll call you when we clear the city.”

  “Be careful, Jazz. Nothing about this is adding up. You’ve got the primary’s life in your hands. Keep your head in the game.”

  “I got this. I’ll call soon.”

  Jasmine removed her hand and leaned over to the vanity to disconnect the phone.

  “Jazz?”

  She shrugged and headed out to get dressed. “A nickname my dad used to call me growing up.”

  Chad dropped the towel and turned toward his duffle bag. Jasmine took the time to memorize the line of his back… and that ass. Good Lord, he was gorgeous. “Used to? Did you ban him from calling you that?”

  Jasmine blinked and jerked toward her suitcase. She pulled out another Jade-influenced ensemble and cleared her throat before she answered his question. “No, my dad was murdered.” She straightened, holding the clothes against her.

  “Shit. I’m sorry.” Chad spun her around, and his vivid blue eyes searched her face.

  She gave a small smile. “It was a long time ago. He was a wonderful man and a great dad.”

  Chad pulled her into a hug that she moved away from quickly. She drew a sharp breath and refocused. “We need to get a move on.”

  They finished getting ready and quickly packed. Chad donned the old Atlanta Braves hat he’d worn yesterday and a pair of aviators. The stubble on his jaw highlighted the overt sexiness the man exuded. Jasmine glanced at her watch. It was almost eight. The hotel would be bustling with people. She glanced at Chad again. They’d snuck in last night without anyone seeing him, but this morning? Hell, it would be a trick to get out of the hotel without someone recognizing him. He glanced at her and smiled. “I don’t blend in. I’ll handle any attention that comes my way.”

  “Was my concern that obvious?” She checked her .45 and slipped it into her shoulder holster, making sure her credentials and cuffs were secured to her jeans and out of view. The lightweight jacket that she threw on covered her weapons.

  “I can read you like a book, Ms. King.” Chad shouldered his duffle and grabbed her bag. They’d left his guitar in the SUV.

  Jasmine moved toward the door and spoke over her shoulder as she gazed down the hallway. The only human presence was a maid who struggled to get a vacuum off the huge cart she’d p
arked about four doors down. Jasmine nodded, and Chad followed her into the hall. The elevator took forever to arrive, and to Jasmine’s dismay it had a couple of people in it. Chad allowed her to go first and turned his back to the people in the car.

  “Excuse me? Has anyone ever told you that you look like Chad Nelson?”

  Jasmine glanced sideways at the middle-aged woman who was staring at Chad’s profile.

  Chad chuckled and nodded. “I get that a lot.”

  “Oh my God! You are Chad! You can’t disguise that voice!”

  The man beside her grabbed her arm. “Kay Francis, seriously, show some respect. He obviously doesn’t want to be recognized.”

  Chad turned and smiled at them both. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t make a fuss. We just wanted a few days alone together.” He nodded toward Jasmine.

  “Oh! Now I recognize you! You were the one he met at the airport! It was all over Chad’s fan site.”

  Jasmine lifted an eyebrow and gave what she hoped to be a polite smile.

  “Can I get a picture? Please?”

  Chad looked at Jasmine. She shook her head. This was exactly what she had hoped to avoid.

  “If you promise not to post it to social media until at least noon. I don’t want to have to fight my way out of the parking garage.”

  The woman nearly fell over herself reassuring Chad that she wouldn’t. Jasmine even took the damn picture so the lady’s husband could get in it. The doors opened, and the couple spilled out into the lobby. Jasmine hit the button to close the doors before anyone else could enter the car. They headed for the parking garage in silence.

  In the garage, quite a few people milled around vehicles. The early morning fans were wearing jerseys for Kansas City’s professional football team. Several people did double takes as they walked by. There were whispers and phones being pulled out. Jasmine cussed under her breath. They loaded up and pulled out of the garage.

  “Well, that went well.” His ball cap landed on the dash, and his hand raked through his hair.

  “No… no it didn’t, but we are on the road now.” She maneuvered the vehicle through the Sunday morning traffic. The GPS came online and started her route north. She wanted a coffee, but she’d be damned if she was going to stop anywhere near Kansas City.

  “Yeah, and how long do you think it will take for someone to splash the picture of this vehicle on their social media account? Damn it!”

  Anyone with half a brain and minor computer hacking skills could tap into traffic cameras to pinpoint their location. “Not long. You were recognized. We don’t know if the vehicle has been compromised. Right now the best thing we can do is get miles between us and where we were. Guardian will monitor social media. They can delete posts, blur the plate numbers and do their best to make sure we aren’t identified. In the meantime, we stick to the plan. Jared is watching our back. If he thinks we need to detour, he’ll let us know.” Her voice crackled with pent up anger and frustration.

  “The man in black said you should give me a gun,” Chad reminded her.

  “In the back. Open the metal bin with this. Take your pick.” Jasmine handed him a key. She kept tabs on him in the rearview mirror while trying to navigate game day traffic and look for possible tails. Shit, talk about a fucking mess.

  “You have two M4s in here?”

  “Standard issue for a tactical vehicle. Only a few of us are authorized to drive them, and only if we have been through training. The vehicle is hardened, so it maneuvers like a bogged-down tank, but it’s safe, has an arsenal and a duress button. If anyone ever has an issue, we flip up this cover and hit that button. It will bring every cop and Guardian operative in a three-state radius.”

  She heard a clip slide out of a weapon and glanced back. He’d chosen a .45 and a shoulder holster.

  “Dig through your bag and put on a button-down over your t-shirt. Guardian issues only concealed-carry permits. We aren’t the Texas Rangers, even though I paraded out of your house like one yesterday.”

  He laughed and secured the arsenal. After a few moments to grab a shirt and another brief but intense struggle to get six-foot-plus of muscled man over a cramped SUV console, he flopped back and released a huge sigh.

  “I’m hungry. Are we there yet?”

  Jasmine snorted and laughed at the impish look on his face. She signaled to take the exit onto the interstate and shook her head. “I liked it better when you were brooding and silent.”

  “Yesterday was stressful.”

  “And today hasn’t been?” Jasmine scanned the vehicles behind her. The lack of traffic this early in the morning helped. She weaved in and out of slower cars. There didn’t seem to be anyone following, or if they were, they were damn subtle.

  “One photo with a fan and several people who thought they might have recognized me? Nah, even though it is frustrating as hell not being able to go anywhere without being recognized, I guess it wasn’t too bad. I probably owe my hat an apology.” He reached for the tattered cap and put it on. Chad pointed to the right as they sped by the FedEx terminal. “Wow, look, the airport is right there. We could get a flight out.”

  “No thank you, cowboy. I’ve seen the shit that happens when you go to airports. We are going north under the radar.”

  “That wasn’t my fault. I seem to recall you wanted a fuss.”

  “True, but that was then.”

  The ride settled into comfortable conversation. The traffic was thin enough to give her the ability to change lanes to pass while not being boxed in between slower vehicles. When they drove through Council Bluffs, Jasmine did a double take at a series of four huge modern art sculptures displayed prominently on an interstate overpass.

  Chad chuckled. “Damn, that stuff looks like a transformer caught in mid-morph.”

  Jasmine cast him a dubious look. “Transformers? Really?”

  “Hey, what’s not to like about cars, robots, hot girls and things blowing up?”

  Jasmine nodded. “Granted, but they come in a pale second to any of the Die Hard movies.”

  Chad shook his head. “Old school, woman. There are so many movies that are leaps and bounds above Die Hard.”

  Jasmine laughed while keeping one eye on the review mirror. “Please, convince me.”

  And he did. They talked for hours about movies, television, music likes and dislikes, both his and hers. Nothing but superficial conversation, but the back and forth banter lightened the mood and ate up the hours.

  He opened the glove box and searched through it before he pulled out a pad of paper and pen. His hand flew over the paper. Jasmine glanced down at the quickly drawn musical grids. His hand jotted down notes and symbols in rapid succession, his concentration one hundred percent focused on the work he was doing. The minutes dragged by silently, punctuated by his fingers moving in a coordinated air guitar dance. His humming gave sound to fragmented words and a haunting melody.

  Jasmine kept an eye out. I-29 North was a smooth drive. She passed semis and passenger vehicles. She alternated her speeds, tucked in between a couple of big rigs and drove, waiting to see if anyone would attempt to come alongside. The vehicles around her all seemed to be unremarkable. She checked in with Jared twice while Chad was lost in his world of music. Social media in Kansas City hadn’t exactly blown up with Chad’s appearance, but it was mentioned enough that it was trending on two of the major sites.

  Chad finally put away the paper and rolled his shoulders, cracking his neck. He looked up and searched the area. “Where are we?”

  “Ummm… the middle of nowhere.” Jasmine motioned to the GPS that indicated the road ahead was vacant of any turn-offs.

  “Okay, I guess I should ask, where the hell are we going?” Chad reached into the back seat and opened his guitar case. He placed his papers into the case and shut it again.

  “One of Guardian’s training complexes. Until Jared comes up with a lead or a plan, we’re going to hole up at the securest location this side of the Mississippi.”


  “In the middle of the South Dakota plains?”

  The rolling hills of golden field corn waiting for harvest spread out in seemingly endless lines on either side of the interstate. She understood his question.

  “In the middle of a ranch near the Black Hills of South Dakota.”

  “No shit?”

  “No shit.”

  Chad turned to face her in his seat. “So, I know you’ve done your homework on me, and with what I’ve told you about my life, I could say you know me better than anyone, but I don’t know anything about you. Other than the fact you have brothers, and one of them stepped out of a role in the latest MIB movie. Tell me about Jasmine.”

  She glanced over at him and searched the rearview mirror again, not at all sure she wanted to let him into her world any more than she already had. When this assignment ended, it was going to hurt to walk away. Hell, she was going to hurt. Did she want to expose more of herself to him?

  He reached over and grabbed her right hand. “You’re doing it again. You can’t run away from me. I’ve seen who you are. Now, I want to know what made you this way. Tell me about yourself.”

  “Not much to tell. I have a twin sister, Jade, who is beyond crazy but the best friend I’ve ever had. She works for Guardian, as does my other sister, Jewell.”

  “Does everyone in your family work for Guardian?”

  “I have five brothers, four of whom work for Guardian in one capacity or another.”

  “But Jared’s the big shot? He runs the company?”

  Jasmine lifted her hand and waved it back and forth. “Meh… he runs the Domestic Operations section, which is important. I have other brothers who perform other functions. The one who is the overall boss would probably strongly disagree with your assumption. But Jared is the face of the company, so he gets tagged with that role a lot.”

  “Your mom and dad had a thing for J names?” Chad pulled off his baseball hat and ran his fingers through his hair. That simple movement made his chest muscles and biceps bulge. It shouldn’t have been that sexy or distracting, but damn it… it was.