Chapter 4

4

The sun was peeking through the blinds as Elena stirred awake. It was warm and comfy in her bed and a weekend day. She rarely slept passed sunrise on duty days. Now that she had a hot NCIS agent in her bed, she definitely didn’t see a reason to get out of bed.

With JT on her mind, she rolled over and reached for him. Unfortunately, she found the bed empty. She opened her eyes and looked around. At first, she thought JT had left. There was a stillness in the room. Something cold shifted in her chest and it almost hurt. JT did have a reputation with woman, and he tended to disappear from what she’d heard. She noticed his shirt laying on the chair beside her bed, but not jeans. She listened carefully and heard movement in the kitchen.

Elena slipped out of bed and snatched up his shirt on the way to the bathroom. After taking care of her pressing needs, she slipped the shirt on over her head. She pulled on a pair of panties, then went in search of JT.

She found him in the kitchen drinking coffee and looking out the window. He wasn’t wearing anything but a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips. Lord have mercy, the man was a god of golden skin and muscles.

Elena still couldn’t believe he was there. For years she had been attracted to him. It wasn’t easy gaining the attention of her oldest brother’s best friend. Especially when that friend had known her since she was twelve. She had flirted a little, and he had practically patted her on the head. She had almost given up, and probably would have if she hadn’t run into him and Dante the night before. With a little liquid courage, she had taken a chance.

JT must have sensed her presence, because he turned his head and looked at her.

Damn. Those amazing gray eyes always seemed to see more than other people. She was sure it was one of the things that made him good at his job as an NCIS agent. The silence stretched between them, and she had to fight the need to shift her feet.

“Morning,” she said, feeling suddenly shy.

Elena wasn’t someone who usually had problems with the morning afters. She didn’t sleep around, but she also wasn’t ashamed to have a sex life. Her mother had raised her to have a healthy view of sex. Of course, she couldn’t really remember a man looking at her the way JT was looking at her now. He was watching her like a predator. One that wanted to take a big, juicy bite out of her.

“Morning, Elena,” he said, his mouth curving up on one side.

Oh, boy.

She couldn’t speak. For a long moment, she stood there not able to even move. Her heart beat hard against her chest, as her brain went amazingly blank. His gaze dipped down her body then back up. Her body flushed with heat. She felt awkward the longer he stared at her. Mentally, she shook herself and smiled.

“Amazing sex and coffee in the morning?” She walked to the counter to grab a coffee cup and fill it up. “I might just have to keep you around.”

Before she could turn around, he stepped up behind her and slipped his arm around her waist.

“I was hoping for more than one night, though.”

She closed her eyes and tried to compose herself. Elena had such a crush on this man for so long, she really didn’t know what to say to him now. She knew it wasn’t just the exciting feelings of a schoolgirl. Love . She did love him, and it scared the living hell out of her. But, she couldn’t deal with that right now. And she couldn’t make him deal with it. His next assignment was going to be probably the most dangerous of his career. He didn’t need baggage from her to worry about.

She turned around and was surprised to see the earnest expression on his face. He wasn’t flirting; he was serious.

“JT,” she said, setting her coffee on the counter then cupping his face. “I would love to say we will have a future, but we talked about that last night.”

He nodded. “Yes, and I can handle that. Sort of. And I have things to do. I hate to leave like this.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

“I wish we had more time together.”

She smiled. “We’ll have time when you get back.”

Something close to relief filtered over his expression. “Yeah?”

Her heart squeezed tight. She knew that the request hadn’t been easy to make. You didn’t grow up in a house with five brothers and not understand how their minds worked. Pride was more important to them than the air they needed to live. She leaned forward and brushed her mouth over his, then pulled back.

“I need to go get my car from Madison’s house.”

He nodded. “I can take you, then I need to go in and do a few things for work.”

She nodded. “I guess we better get our butts in gear.”

“Not until I have a proper good morning kiss.”

The way his voice moved over the syllables had her toes curling against the linoleum.

“Is that a fact?”

He nodded as he bent his head. She rose up on her toes to meet him halfway, unable to wait. The moment their mouths touched, she felt need explode within her. Heat coursed through her veins as he deepened the kiss. By the time he lifted his head, they were both breathing heavily.

“I need to take a shower.”

He set his coffee cup next to hers. “Imagine that.”

“What?”

“So do I.”

Her brain just stopped working right then. It was as if it had melted somewhere along the way. Then, she laughed and slipped away from him. She turned and walked backward.

“I’ll share…only if you catch me.”

His eyes darkened and she turned to run. He easily caught up with her and picked her up, slinging her over his shoulder.

“Jethro put me down.”

“Nope,” he said, smacking her rear end.

He made his way to the bathroom, then set her down on the floor. He kept her close against his body, and it was hard to miss the erection straining against the denim.

“Elena.”

She barely heard him whisper her name. Her heart trembled, then tumbled down. Oh, god, she was going to hurt so much when he left. It was going to feel worse than going unnoticed. Now she knew what it was like to lay beside him in bed and feel him there next to her.

He leaned down and took her mouth in a sweet kiss, one that did more to overwhelm her than anything he had ever done before. It was soft and wet and she felt it down to the bottom of her feet.

When he pulled back, she blinked trying to stem the flood of tears that threatened to embarrass her.

“What?” he asked.

She shook her head, then smiled. “I think you earned a shower with me, very special agent Jethro Thomas.”

He made a face as she walked over to start the shower. It always took it a while to heat up.

“Do me a favor?”

She looked back over her shoulder. “What?”

“Stop calling me Jethro Thomas.”

She laughed. “If you promise to scrub my back.”

He grabbed her and pulled her closer, turning her so she could face him. “I promise to do a lot more than that in the shower.”

She ignored the anxiety that was clenching her stomach and kissed him. She’d worry about missing him tomorrow.

* * * *

Elena glanced at the clock beside her bed. Three A.M. It was always bad when she got insomnia. Usually, she would get up and work out, or maybe do some other kind of busy work. She didn’t feel like it.

After leaving her brother and Madison, she had been unsettled. She wished it had to do with what had happened. It’s not every day your friend sees a murder and your brother’s house gets trashed. Guilt flitted through her, but she ignored it. Elena knew she couldn’t help but worry about JT.

He was going to leave on Monday morning, and he would be gone for a few weeks, maybe even months. She didn’t know exactly what this was about, but she knew it was important enough for him to go right back under. Since Anthony was an agent also, she knew they rarely went back into undercover work without a little down time. Even knowing it was a strain on him, JT had volunteered. She admired him for that. Santinis always served in some capacity, and since he was considered an honorary Santini, she knew it was in his blood to serve too. She just didn’t expect it to be so hard.

She was in love with him.

She had thought the words before, but now she was being hit over the head with it. It was killing her not knowing when she would see him again. He was going into a dangerous situation; she knew that for sure. And she would have to wait for a call from Anthony if JT did get hurt.

Her cell phone buzzed, and she looked at the display.

JT.

She drew in a deep breath and answered.

“Did I wake you?”

She closed her eyes and tried not to let her emotions take over. Elena knew she was pretty close to begging him to come to her apartment.

“No. I was up.”

“I’ve been up all night.”

Opening her eyes, she frowned up at the ceiling. “That’s not good. You need your sleep.”

“Yeah. But, then, I wanted to see you.”

“I’d love that too, but I assumed you had work to get out of the way.”

“I did. I’m all ready. Bags packed, everything ready for an extended absence.”

“Hmmm, but you still can’t sleep? I could help with that.”

“I’m pretty sure you could. In fact, that’s what is keeping me up.”

“Really?” she asked, her heart doing a little jig. The fact that he was thinking about her too boded well for when he got back.

“Yeah. I can’t stop thinking about the way you taste.”

She couldn’t talk. Air tangled in her throat, rendering her almost speechless. Heat raced over her nerve endings. Her heart was pounding so hard against her chest, Elena was surprised he couldn’t hear it over the phone.

“I especially like hearing you moan my name.”

She closed her eyes and tried to get her hormones under control. She loved when he said that to her. “You really shouldn’t call me and say things like that. It’s not fair.”

“Well, I guess that’s good then.”

“Why?”

“I’m standing outside your door.”

She sat up. “My door? At my apartment?”

“Yes.”

She jumped out of bed and made her way there. “Why?”

She opened the door before he could answer. He was standing there, holding his phone and looking too delicious to ignore.

He turned off his phone. “I had to see you.”

Without a word, she grabbed his hand and yanked him into her apartment. He kissed her, slamming the door shut with his foot and fumbling with the lock as she tore at his clothes. He didn’t let her finish right there. Instead, he pulled back and pulled her up into his arms.

“We only have a few hours,” he said, his voice deep with need.

She kissed his neck. “So what are you waiting for?”

He laughed and made his way back to her bedroom. “I like a woman who knows what she wants.”

“Then you’re going to love me.”

He threw her onto the bed, and covered her body with his. And neither of them talked about anything else for quite some time.