Under Pressure(70)

Jason calmly set aside his coffee, holding back a smile. He waited a few seconds just to see if smoke was going to start coming out of her ears. They had spent the night and a good part of the morning making love, and both of them had woken up around noon. Never before had Jason allowed himself stay in bed so late, but being with Bella, it was difficult to drag himself away from her. Jason thought carefully as he tried to find a way to explain his decision. He reached out across the table to grasp her hands, but Bella quickly pulled then out of reach.

“Listen to me, sweetheart. The Halloween party is open to the public. People will be dressed in costume, and there is no way to know if Victor Dane will be there. He could be hiding behind every mask, and I can’t protect you properly. If I can’t guarantee your safety, then you shouldn’t be there.” His voice grew harsh with conviction. “If anything happened to you, I don’t know how I would live with myself. Dammit, I love you, Bella.”

Bella’s shoulders slumped comically as her anger instantly disappeared. She knew he was right. Huffing out a breath Bella crossed her arms over her chest. “All right, I won’t go, but if I don’t go, you don’t go either.”

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but watching her expression, he changed his mind and just nodded gravely.

Her eyes narrowed. “You know, you could have just talked this out with me instead of giving an order.”

“I’m sorry, darling. I’ll never do it again.”

“Yes, you will.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I know you love ordering me around, so your apology is pointless.”

He smiled. “You’re right.”

“What is with you men?” she groused.

“We’re damaged.”

“Yeah, in the head,” she muttered, making Jason laugh. “I have to go to the school today. I have to check on supplies to see what I need to order.” Bella held her hand up to stop Jason from speaking as she stood up. “This is not a discussion. I’m going. You can come with me, but I’m going.”

“All right, darling. We will go to school today.”

“Your condescending tone is not helping your chances of sleeping in my bed tonight, buster,” Bella shouted over her shoulder as she made her way back to the bedroom with his laughter trailing after her.



* * * *



Jason contented himself working on his BlackBerry as he waited for Bella to finish taking stock of the items of the pantry in her room at the school.

Jenna had offered to come in and help, but Bella had waved off her offer, enjoying the quiet time alone. Since she had been poisoned, she had missed a full week of class and was surprised just how much she missed being in the kitchen with her students. She knew that teaching wasn’t what she was meant to do full time, but she enjoyed the students she had and wanted to be able to finish the semester off before moving on to fully focus on her new restaurant venture.

“All done!” Bella said happily as she made her way to the front of the room to join Jason.

At the sound of her voice, Jason’s head came up and he pocketed his phone. Bella’s breath always caught at the intensity of his focus on her whenever she was in a room. Bella walked forward slowly. “You still working?”

“Work can wait.”

He chuckled in surprise as she ran the rest of the way and jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck. He tried to keep from grinning like an idiot as happiness washed over him. “Careful now. It’s a long way down.”

“Hey, was that a crack about me being short?”

His arms wrapped tight around her waist, holding her body pressed tight to him. “No, darling, that was me telling you to be careful.”

Bella laughed as she leaned in to place a soft kiss on his lips. “Besides,” she whispered, “it’s not like you would ever let me fall.”

His arms tightened. “Never.”

She smiled as she leaned in to kiss him again.

“You know we are on camera right now,” Jason murmured against her lips, making her giggle.

“You know if it’s one of my brothers monitoring the cameras right now they are totally having a hissy.”

Jason laughter rumbled low in his chest. “Well then, let’s give them something to see that will really set them on edge.” He crushed her to him and deepened the kiss.

Bella finally pulled back as she gasped for breath. Jason hoisted Bella up onto the closest counter and stood between her thighs.

“Whoa, buddy, none of that now.” Bella pushed against his chest, but her eyes danced with mirth. “I may want to piss my brothers off, but I don’t want them to kill you.”