Chapter 5

5

The next morning, JT was worried. Not about the mission, which was a whole other batch of worries. He was concerned about the woman sitting beside him.

She’d been quiet since they’d had breakfast. It was an air of pensive thought that filled the apartment, and he wondered if she was having second thoughts.

When he had suggested a movie, something they had both seen before, she’d agreed. Now, though, he thought maybe he should have kept her busy. In the quiet times, he could almost hear her thinking.

“What’s got you so quiet?”

She glanced at him then back to the TV.

“I have a lot on my mind.”

That didn’t sound good. Elena rarely was so quiet.

“Having second thoughts?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“Elena.”

She turned and focused on him. “I’m not really. It’s just that stuff with Madison and Dante. It’s a lot to handle for people in normal situation, but Mad has made so much progress. I would hate to think this would derail that.” She sighed. “Plus, I’m trying to figure out what the hell is going on between Mad and Dante.”

“Yeah, I got a vibe from them too.”

“He’s always had a thing for her. He just never admitted it to anyone, especially himself.”

He nodded and grabbed some more popcorn. “He knows about us.”

She slanted him a look and took some popcorn too. That was somewhat better. Not much got in the way of Elena and food. When she showed little interest in one of her favorite snacks, he’d wondered about it.

“He didn’t say anything, did he?”

His mind went back to the discussion they’d had at Dante’s house. “Just that he knew about us. I guess I should have gotten another shirt. He did say to be wary of your brothers.”

“He better have not warned you off me. He will be very sorry if he does. Or, if he tells the others. World of pain kind of trouble. ”

He watched as she turned back to the movie. There was something in her tone that clicked. “You have blackmail.”

She snorted as she slanted him a look out of the corner of her eye. “Well, if you swear not to reveal what I know…”

He crossed his heart. “Swear.”

She laughed and turned to face him. “See, when Dad was stationed at the Pentagon—”

“When you two were in high school?”

She nodded. “We were actually living close to Quantico. Dad had a long drive, but they wanted to keep us sort of in a normal area. Anyway, there was this O-6 at Quantico who had this horribly trashy daughter.”

“Really?”

She shook her head. “No one really knew it. She acted like some kind of saint when adults were around, but she went after every abled-bodied guy in the vicinity when out on her own.”

Again he studied her. “This sounds personal.”

“Damn right it is. She slept with Roger.”

“Who’s Roger?”

“He was supposed to be my prom date.”

“When was this?”

“My freshman year.”

“You had a prom date your freshman year?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t remember that.”

She rolled her eyes. “I doubt very much you were paying much attention to Anthony’s little sister at that point.”

“That’s true.”

“Anyway, she set her sights on Dante. And, even knowing it was going to be a problem, he slept with her.”

He shrugged. “Oh, is that all? I thought it was something bad.”

She rolled her eyes. “You are just like all those losers I share DNA with, but the blackmail lives on. First, her father was about to become our father’s next CO. Add in that he snuck into her house, he knew he would be in so much trouble with Mom and Dad.”

“Wait. Dante snuck into an O-6’s house?”

She laughed. “Yeah.”

“How did you find out?”

“I caught him sneaking back in. You should have seen the look on his face. I thought he was going to pass out. Of course, it means more now than it did then.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, that colonel went on to bigger and better things.”

Something tugged at his memory, suddenly it hit him. “Holy shit, your brother bedded General Cassidy’s daughter?”

“Yep. I tortured him forever about it.”

“She was older than you two.”

“Yeah, she was a senior. And I think she was his first.”

“He bedded the Commandant of the Marine Corps’ daughter.”

She laughed. “Not only that. He snuck into the house. I think he broke her heart also, because he realized just how bad it was when Dad told us who his new CO was. He completely broke it off with her. Oh, lord, I think he had a real freak out over that.”

JT chuckled. “Dante was always getting in trouble.”

She nodded as she munched on some popcorn. “It has been delicious messing with him over it. At that point, he wanted an agreement that we wouldn’t intrude in each other’s relationships. It’s hard on him because you know how all those idiots are, but I have that blackmail.”

“You are very scary.”

She leaned over the bowl of popcorn and kissed him. “Just remember how scary.”

Elena was pulling away, but he cupped her face and kissed her again, this time taking it deeper. She tasted of salt and butter from the popcorn, but also of Elena. It was something he would remember until the day he drew his last breath.

He was just thinking of how to convince her to ignore the movie when his cell vibrated against the table next to the couch. He had to keep it on because of work. She sighed and slipped away.

“Go ahead.”

One thing about Elena was that she understood about work. He looked at the number and inwardly winced. Anthony.

“It’s your brother.”

“You know him. Answer it or he won’t quit trying. He probably knows about the UA.”

She gave him another quick kiss, and left him alone.

He answered. “Hey, Anthony.”

“Hey back. Where have you been?” he asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I’ve been trying to get hold of you since yesterday.”

Damn. He forgot about the calls he had missed.

“I’ve been kind of busy getting ready.” And the moment he said the words, guilt tightened his stomach. Damn, he hated lying to Anthony, but he had to respect Elena’s wishes—for now.

“Yeah? Well, maybe you should think to call your best friend before going UA.”

“I was going to call tonight.” Maybe.

“Sure. Anyway, just wanted to tell you to keep your ass in one piece. My mom also said to be careful. She says you’re her favorite son.”

Mrs. Santini had adopted him. They all knew his background with his father. Calling Jed Thomas an alcoholic was too good of a label for the bastard. He cut ties with his father the moment he graduated from high school, and he didn’t even know where he was. From that point on, Mrs. Santini had treated him as one of her kids.

Great, more guilt. He was probably going to have an ulcer by the time he told everyone in her family.

“I went out with Dante the other night. Had a couple of beers and ran into your sister and one of her friends. Seems there’s something going on with him and a new woman.”

“Huh. Well, I just wanted to make sure I was still on the call list.”

Meaning if anything went wrong, Anthony would be called.

“Of course.” Until Friday night, he didn’t have anyone who needed to know other than the Santinis. Granted, Elena was a Santini, but this was different. He wanted her on the list—and he wanted to be on hers.

He pushed those thoughts away and tried to concentrate on the conversation, because Anthony was still talking.

“Good. I wish you could have found some time to come out here when you got back.”

“Yeah, that would have been nice.”

Then something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Elena was standing in the doorway wearing nothing but a shirt. It skimmed the tops of her thighs, but he had a feeling she didn’t have any panties on beneath it. The mischievous smile that curved her lips hit him square in the chest. Damn, the woman was a goddess.

“So, do you know how long?” Anthony asked.

She walked toward him. With each step the shirt moved, but not enough to let him see more. When he looked up at her face, he saw her eyes dancing with amusement. She knew just what she was doing to him and enjoyed it. There was something so damned sexy about a woman who knew how desirable she was. Layer that with a confidence in what she did for a living…in the way she held herself, she was irresistible.

“JT?” Anthony said.

“Sorry, what did you ask?” JT said, trying to keep his breathing under control. Of course, at the moment, he wasn’t sure his heart was still beating.

Elena pulled the shirt up and straddled his lap. Well, hell, she definitely wasn’t wearing any panties.

“How long?”

“How long what?”

There was silence on the other side of the “Are you sure you’re okay for another trip so fast?”

Elena settled on top of him. He could feel the heat of her through his jeans. Then, she moved her hips.

Holy Mother of the sweet baby Jesus. She was going to kill him. He almost dropped the phone, as most of the blood in his brain drained and headed south to his groin.

“Huh, not sure how long.”

“Well, get some rest and call me when you can.”

“You got it.”

He hung the phone up before Anthony could respond. Elena was laughing. He grabbed her face and gave her a long, wet kiss. Then, he lifted them both off the couch.

“Where are you going, Jethro?” she asked as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

“I’m going to show you what happens to a woman who does naughty things to me when I am talking on the phone.”

Elena laughed as he marched them both into the bedroom.

* * * *

As Elena walked JT to the door, she physically hurt thinking of him in danger. She wanted to beg him to stay. But she couldn’t. She would not do that to him. His job was such a part of him. It was something she understood. Every Santini did.

He stood in the doorway and slipped his hands around her waist. Bending his head, he took her mouth in a sweet, hot, wet kiss. She shivered as emotions rushed through her. She pushed them down, especially the one that was telling her to cry. She would not cry.

He pulled back then rested his forehead on hers. “I wish I had never said I would go back under.”

“Don’t say that. It would have bugged you.”

“How do you know that?”

“I know you, JT. Whatever you are about to go work on is something you’ve been committed to for awhile.”

“Too smart for your own good,” he said, shaking his head. There was no heat in the words.

“Can you tell me what time you’re heading out?”

“Seven.”

She wanted to tell him how she felt. The idea of being separated like this was going to hurt so much, but she couldn’t put that on him. It would play with his head, and he needed to have his thoughts in order for the job. That would get him back safe.

“If something happens, Anthony will be called.”

She didn’t need to ask why his parents wouldn’t be first on the list. He rarely talked to them these days.

She nodded and gave him another kiss, knowing this was the last one for a long time.

When he pulled back this time, she let him go. “Be careful.”

He nodded. “You be careful yourself, Elena.”

He turned to leave, and she watched him until he got into his truck. As his taillights disappeared into the night, she shut the door.

She didn’t move. Numbness stole over her. It was as if she was shell-shocked. She didn’t know what to do with herself. She was already thinking about him, about the danger he had just walked into. She couldn’t ask him not to do it any more than he could ask her not to fly her plane. But, damn, she had wanted to. More than anything else, she wanted to chase after his stupid truck and beg him to stay.

That was not an option.

Then it struck her. A bath would be perfect.

She headed into the bathroom and started up the water. As soon as it was hot enough, she poured in the bubble bath. She grabbed and lit a few candles she had sitting on the counter, carrying a couple with her to the tub. After undressing, she stepped into the tub. She was more than a little sore from her weekend activities with JT. She wasn’t a virgin, but she definitely didn’t sleep around. It had been a long time since she’d been in a relationship, and her body wasn’t accustomed to the kind of lovemaking JT was into.

Just thinking his name, she smiled. Then it faded as she noticed her vision wavered. Shit. Fear hit first. His job was always dangerous, but this one was going to be more hazardous than usual. She closed her eyes and tried to get her emotions under control. Immediately, the visions of him in her bed, and the way he had smiled at her materialized. Not seeing him for weeks on end had never been a problem before, but now…

A sob escaped before she could stop it. Elena couldn’t fight it anymore. She leaned her head back on the bath pillow and let the tears flow.

Sometimes crying was the only thing a strong woman could do to keep herself together.