Read Online Badass: Deadly Target (Complete): Military Romantic Suspense by Leslie Johnson, Elle Dawson - Free Book Online
Authors: Leslie Johnson, Elle Dawson
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as he gets just centimeters from my center and … switches legs, patting down to my ankle.
Blowing out a silent breath, I turn to him. “Satisfied?”
He’s so close that I back up a step, until my back presses against the wall. His eyes travel from my eyes, to my hair, then to my lips, lingering there. He meets my eyes again. “Not even close.”
I’m not sure how many seconds pass before he steps back and turns toward the window, moving to its side and peeking out. In one corner of the room is a wedge of sunlight. I walk in its direction and sink to the floor. A month from now, Northern California will be warmer, but March days are cool, the nights downright cold.
I watch him stand vigil at the window, trading places with the door every few minutes to look out, then walking back. No, not walk. Swagger. Yes, swagger is a good word. Not the bowlegged John Wayne cowboy swagger, but a walk that says he’s confident in his skin. Purposeful. His thighs spread apart, not touching with each stride.
Are his balls that big? I wonder and then drop my face in my hands.
“You okay?” he asks and crouches in front of me. He presses his hand to my forehead. “You’re flushed, but don’t feel warm.”
Oh, I’m just thinking about your testicles and how they’d feel slapping my ass while you thrust what is probably a great big penis in and out of me.
And, of course, my eyes fall directly to his crotch. I groan, and he gives me a cocky, almost knowing, grin. “What are you thinking right now?”
AC/DC screams through my head.
“Nothing,” I say quickly. Too quickly. Then cover it with a subject much more pertinent to our current circumstances. “Just wondering why that guy tried to take me with him at first. Why not just take the damned box and go? Why did he deliberately come after me?”
Jax blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve been wondering that too. If he was the man who killed your mom, how did you recognize him?”
“His shoes. I had a long time to study them while I was lying under that bed. And there was some mud spattered on the hem of his black pants. When that guy came in, I noticed it right away.”
“And you said he left after speaking to someone about searching the house?”
“Yes.”
“And you left there and went straight to the bank?”
“That’s right.”
“Mia, did anyone follow you from your mother’s house?”
Follow me?
I shake my head. “I don’t know. It didn’t occur to me to look. I just knew I needed to get to the bank, so I went straight there.”
He studies me for a long moment, then stands back up and paces to the window. “Let’s say they followed you and learned I was also after the same box.” He walks to the door, looking out, and then walks back. “That could have been why he jumped us at the bank. We were downstairs in a private area. Easier to cage us in there than on the street. Plus, he wouldn’t know if you had the contents or if I had taken them from you…”
I watch him pace, processing the possibilities out loud.
“Mia, he probably knew you were at your mom’s house. He must have known she wouldn’t have kept something that important in her home and was betting she had relied on you to take over her assignment.”
Goosebumps spring onto my arms. “What? You mean he was just toying with me? He knew I was under the bed?”
He nods. “He might not have known exactly where you were hiding, but that you were somewhere in the house.”
My stomach heaves and I cover my mouth, terribly afraid I’m going to throw up. Could this be true? Had he been playing with me all along, waiting for me? While I’d feared for my life, he’d only wanted what Mom had so carefully hidden?
I circle back to the same question. “If he only wanted the box, then why try to take me too?”
Jax lifts a shoulder. “Insurance, maybe. Or maybe he wasn’t sure how much you knew of your mother’s business. He might think you are a
Blowing out a silent breath, I turn to him. “Satisfied?”
He’s so close that I back up a step, until my back presses against the wall. His eyes travel from my eyes, to my hair, then to my lips, lingering there. He meets my eyes again. “Not even close.”
I’m not sure how many seconds pass before he steps back and turns toward the window, moving to its side and peeking out. In one corner of the room is a wedge of sunlight. I walk in its direction and sink to the floor. A month from now, Northern California will be warmer, but March days are cool, the nights downright cold.
I watch him stand vigil at the window, trading places with the door every few minutes to look out, then walking back. No, not walk. Swagger. Yes, swagger is a good word. Not the bowlegged John Wayne cowboy swagger, but a walk that says he’s confident in his skin. Purposeful. His thighs spread apart, not touching with each stride.
Are his balls that big? I wonder and then drop my face in my hands.
“You okay?” he asks and crouches in front of me. He presses his hand to my forehead. “You’re flushed, but don’t feel warm.”
Oh, I’m just thinking about your testicles and how they’d feel slapping my ass while you thrust what is probably a great big penis in and out of me.
And, of course, my eyes fall directly to his crotch. I groan, and he gives me a cocky, almost knowing, grin. “What are you thinking right now?”
AC/DC screams through my head.
“Nothing,” I say quickly. Too quickly. Then cover it with a subject much more pertinent to our current circumstances. “Just wondering why that guy tried to take me with him at first. Why not just take the damned box and go? Why did he deliberately come after me?”
Jax blows out a breath and runs a hand through his hair. “I’ve been wondering that too. If he was the man who killed your mom, how did you recognize him?”
“His shoes. I had a long time to study them while I was lying under that bed. And there was some mud spattered on the hem of his black pants. When that guy came in, I noticed it right away.”
“And you said he left after speaking to someone about searching the house?”
“Yes.”
“And you left there and went straight to the bank?”
“That’s right.”
“Mia, did anyone follow you from your mother’s house?”
Follow me?
I shake my head. “I don’t know. It didn’t occur to me to look. I just knew I needed to get to the bank, so I went straight there.”
He studies me for a long moment, then stands back up and paces to the window. “Let’s say they followed you and learned I was also after the same box.” He walks to the door, looking out, and then walks back. “That could have been why he jumped us at the bank. We were downstairs in a private area. Easier to cage us in there than on the street. Plus, he wouldn’t know if you had the contents or if I had taken them from you…”
I watch him pace, processing the possibilities out loud.
“Mia, he probably knew you were at your mom’s house. He must have known she wouldn’t have kept something that important in her home and was betting she had relied on you to take over her assignment.”
Goosebumps spring onto my arms. “What? You mean he was just toying with me? He knew I was under the bed?”
He nods. “He might not have known exactly where you were hiding, but that you were somewhere in the house.”
My stomach heaves and I cover my mouth, terribly afraid I’m going to throw up. Could this be true? Had he been playing with me all along, waiting for me? While I’d feared for my life, he’d only wanted what Mom had so carefully hidden?
I circle back to the same question. “If he only wanted the box, then why try to take me too?”
Jax lifts a shoulder. “Insurance, maybe. Or maybe he wasn’t sure how much you knew of your mother’s business. He might think you are a
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