Jacob(8)

Jacob pushed the man away. “Down boy, mine—not yours!” Jacob turned to Tori as he made the introductions. He moved his shoulder as he spoke, his discomfort obvious. “Victoria, may I introduce one of my older brothers, Justin King.”

Justin took Tori’s hand and lifted it to his lips. His eyes rolled as he turned back to Jacob. “Shit man, you’re home and you brought a beautiful woman to our restaurant. Dude! Way to make an appearance. I may be only one of four, but I’m the best brother he has. The others?” Justin crinkled his nose and made a face. “Believe me, they are way too intense and have serious control issues. You only need to know me.” Jacob rolled his eyes to the heavens just as his brother had and sat down at the table. Justin pulled up a chair next to Tori, across from his brother, and stared at her. “Victoria, how do you know my scoundrel of a brother?”

Tori blushed and looked through her lashes at Jacob. “Scoundrel? God, no! Justin, you must have the wrong man. Jacob is my knight in shining armor. He actually rescued me from a hellish date. The man I was with at the time was absolutely horrible. Jacob literally swept me off my feet. Our first night together is one I’ll never forget.”

Tori assessed Jacob’s brother as she visited. Justin’s eyes were greener, his features were not as sharp, his body was not as bulked with muscle, and he did not have the severe edge that made Jacob so sexy and attractive, yet the man was gorgeous. He was obviously not in Jacob’s profession, but Tori recognized his intelligence and the sharpness in his eyes. Justin was a warrior, but his battle raged on another front. It would be interesting to know where he fought and the enemies he conquered.



*



Jacob watched Tori as she told Justin about their first meeting. Her instinct not to reveal the relevant facts of the encounter, and yet not to lie, provided an endearing story. The talent also spoke to the skill and developed traits of an experienced operative, someone trained in the subtlety of innuendo and half-truths. Justin would be easy to manipulate with those skills. His brother had nothing to do with Guardian. Justin owned and managed four exclusive and Zagat Top Rated restaurants, one in D.C, two in New York and one in Las Vegas. He was a multi-millionaire by the effort of his own sweat and hard work. “Dude, we were trying to have dinner, and we are on a rather tight schedule. We have other things planned.”

“Really and what would those things be?” Justin grinned.

Without a doubt, Justin designed the question to embarrass him in front of his date.

Tori blushed and put a possessive hand on Jacob’s arm, “Well, actually, you can blame me for the rush. I asked Jacob for an early night tonight. I recently returned to town and wanted to get him to myself as soon as possible.”

Jacob’s hand covered hers, and he felt her jump as he gave her a gentle squeeze. Their eyes met and held. The space between them sizzled.

Justin cleared his throat and stood up. “Well, I’m the obvious third wheel here. Victoria, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

Tori pull her eyes away from him, her blush deepening. “It was nice to meet you too.”

Justin clamped his hand on Jacob’s good shoulder and squeezed as he departed. “I’ll tell the staff you are a priority, and I’ll send out a bottle or two of your Beckstoffer. We wouldn’t want to delay your evening.” Without a backward glance, the big man went to an adjacent table and greeted the patrons.

Jacob held her hand on his arm as she looked back into his eyes. He smiled, leaned in and kissed her. The light press of his lips hinted at a promise of more. “That is a thank you for putting up with my brother.”

Tori’s smile spread as she wrinkled her nose at him. “He’s sweet.” Jacob leaned in and kissed her again. This time he ran the tip of his tongue along her full bottom lip. Sweet merciful God, she sighed and melted into his arms. Her lips opened and relaxed allowing him to deepen the kiss.

A discrete cough crashed through his…what? Need? Want? Jacob glanced at the sommelier holding two bottles of wine and nodded towards the table. “Just open them and leave, please.” Tori rested her head against his good shoulder as they watched the nervous little man. When he left, Jacob bent his head down, her soft scent drawing him to her and kissed her hair. “I thought it could be blond, but I wasn’t sure.”

“Yeah…well the spa I was at had the mud bath package down to a science.” When the meal arrived, Tori cut up his steak and handed him the fork.

“You know I’ve never been glad to be injured before. I could get used to someone taking care of me.” Jacob leveled his gaze on her as he tried to gauge her reaction to his words.

Tori took a sip of wine and lifted both eyebrows in shock. “Someone?”

Jacob’s good hand lifted hers from the table. “You.”

Tori blushed and took another drink of wine before she spoke. “I never considered myself as a caretaker. I’m not sure I would be good in the Florence Nightingale role…but, for you, I might be willing to try.” While he listened, she looked at him through her lashes. “Would I be required to wear one of those sexy nurse uniforms?” She fluttered her eyelashes with a comedic flare.

Jacob’s mind almost short-circuited. He knew the wicked mental pictures that seared his mind showed as pure lust in his eyes. He kissed the back of her hand not even attempting to conceal his fully-enflamed desire. “I’m sure I could find one for you. You could rock a tight, white blouse and skimpy, starched, white skirt.”

Tori seemed to relax and sat back in her chair. She licked her lips and smiled. Her eyes danced with mischief. “I do look good in white. Very good.”

She sampled the meal and then swirled the glass of exceptional Beckstoffer and patently ignored his low growl. He watched her study the dribbles of wine as they meandered down the crystal globe of the wine glass.

Tori’s eyes flicked to his. “Does your family know what you do for a living?”

Jacob shook his head. “Changing the subject?” Her quick, bright smile and wink were playful. He decided to let her lead the conversation. “Three of my brothers and all of my sisters work with me. Justin is the anomaly.”

“What about your parents?”

“It’s just my mother. My father is dead. And to answer your question, she is unaware of my actual responsibilities.”

“I figured. My dad has no idea what I did. He thinks I worked computer security for an international accounting firm. Mom died when I was young.”

She took another sip of the wine and chuckled, then leaned towards him. “If they knew what we really did. I wonder who would have a coronary first, your mom or my dad.”

Jacob’s eyebrows shot up in mock terror. “Oh, shit…definitely my mom. If she had a clue what I did for a living, I would be grounded for life.”

Tori laughed as the absurdity of his comments registered. “You’re probably right. My dad would just shake his head and go back to work.”

Jacob’s eyes traveled over the beautiful woman beside him. “How are you, really, Victoria?”

He topped off their glasses again and she examined her wine glass. “I’m alright, nerve damage to my left arm from the dislocated shoulder. It aches when I’m physical. I lost most of the sensation in the bottom of my feet—that took some major adjustment. The nightmares are less frequent. Sometimes I can go two or three days without one.” Her eyes lifted to his and she continued after a sad little smile. “I haven’t had a genuine panic attack in about a month. That’s a key milestone. I’m still jumpy, and I have issues with not feeling safe. Those feelings are the hardest to manage. So, I guess in answer to your question, I’ve changed, sometimes to the point where I don’t recognize who I’ve become. I’m not who I once was, but I’m trying to become more like her again. To be less afraid.” Her hand shook as it rose to her hair and pushed the mass back. She licked her lips and drew a breath as her voice grew in strength. “I had a really hard time at first. I had a…a difficult time when I tried to extract myself from what I used to do. The firm wasn’t pleased with my decision to leave. The medical assistance afterwards…it wasn’t…well, anyway, I’m getting better.”

“Are the injuries and residual issues what stopped you from going back to work?”

She shook her head. “No, the physical and mental trauma wouldn’t have stopped me.”

“Meaning?”

She sighed and dropped her eyes to the tablecloth, “Meaning there were reasons for me to leave the organization.”

He leaned forward. “Tori, are you okay?”

She looked up, her large blue eyes showing him the bare truth of every emotion she felt. “I’m never going to be the same person I was before. But I’m better. I went home when I was released from the agency. I’m hiding from reality for a while.”

“Where is home?”

“Oh, somewhere way out in the middle of America, you know, Small Town, U.S.A.”

He crooked his finger at her and whispered as she leaned in. “You know I could find out if I wanted to.”

She wrinkled her nose at him and smiled. “Oh, you think so, do you?”