With a quick move, he had her nightie over and off her head, throwing it somewhere in the room.

"d.a.m.n, Baby. You just keep getting better and better," Jacks professed.

He zeroed in on her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, cupping her breast and bringing it up to meet his lips. He licked lightly around her areola, bringing her nipples to turgid peaks in between his teeth; biting gently pulling her breast away from her body. At first, Ryleigh gasped, but then moaned once again.

"Oh, Jacks, please," Ryleigh begged.

She had no idea what she was asking for, but knew he needed to do something. He released her breast only to start sucking on her other nipple. Ryleigh was sure that she had died and gone to heaven. She had never felt anything this good and she didn't want it to end, but she also knew that something bigger was coming. A few minutes later when Jacks began to make his way down her body, all Ryleigh could think, was, d.a.m.n, the guy didn't even need to make it to his goal because she was already ready to explode. She might be a virgin but she was not a stranger to self-pleasure, and she was about to explode. When his finger brushed her engorged c.l.i.t Ryleigh's hips buckled because of the contact. No way could she have controlled her body's reaction.

"You liked that, didn't you, Baby," Jacks stated. "You want my mouth there just as much as I do, don't you, Baby? It's going to be so good Rye. I can't wait to have all your honey running down my throat."

Jacks never let up. With the light touches of his finger on her c.l.i.t, once again all Ryleigh could do was moan her response, "Please Jacks." And then he was there rolling her engorged c.l.i.t with the very tip of his tongue, teasing, tormenting, and drawing her closer and closer to rapture. He placed his finger at her entrance and slowly started to push the tip of his finger inside Ryleigh froze. She needed to tell him that she was a virgin, but G.o.d, she was so close.

Jacks noticed her tense up and said, "It's okay, baby, just my finger."

Then he sucked hard, and she exploded into a million pieces. Her self-induced o.r.g.a.s.ms had never felt this good. Maybe there was something to all the erotic romance novels that she had been reading. Mind numbing ecstasy actually did exist, Ryleigh mused to her delight. When she came back down to earth Jacks was cradling her in his arms, staring into her eyes like she was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.

All Ryleigh could say was, "Well, Jacks, if that was lesson six then you can count me in for the long haul."

Jacks laughed but then said, "Come on, Baby, time to get some sleep."

"Jacks, did I do something wrong?" Ryleigh asked, concerned. "I mean, what about you? Are you sure you want to go to sleep?"

"Baby, watching you come apart like that was the most erotic thing I have ever seen, but taking this further is going to have to wait until after the mission," Jacks explained. "There are things we need to talk about before that can happen. But Ryleigh, it will happen, so you'd better prepare yourself."

Jacks didn't want her to know that he had exploded right along with her, because, yeah, it wasn't exactly the manly thing to do. Holding her tight, all Jacks thought was that he was never letting this woman go. He was also kind of afraid because he could feel that his bear was already bonding with her and Ryleigh deserved all the facts before that happened. s.h.i.t, who was he kidding, he had already bonded with her. If she chose to go home after the mission like she said earlier, he didn't know what he was going to do.

Ryleigh hoped Jacks was telling the truth. This man was worth losing her long held v-card. What they had just done was more amazing than she ever thought possible. She felt connected to him on a soul-deep level, and at the moment it didn't scare her.

Somehow, Ryleigh managed to fall asleep and when she woke she found Jacks gone. Dang it, maybe she shouldn't have said anything about being in it for the long-haul; men didn't like clingy women.

Chapter 33.

After getting up, taking a quick shower, and getting dressed, Ryleigh had about twenty different conversations going on in her head all at the same time. Did she do or say something wrong? Would he regret what they had done? Should she have tried harder to please him? She had never given a b.l.o.w.j.o.b before, but knew enough to perform one. So, lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed Wyatt, who was standing behind her.

"c.r.a.p, Wyatt!" she screamed, "you scared the h.e.l.l out of me."

The sounds of boots pounding on the floor, the door crashing open, and Jacks storming through the door followed by the rest of the guys in Alpha happened within seconds of her scream. Shoot, thank the lord she had already gotten dressed. Jacks had Wyatt by his throat up against the wall with his feet dangling in the air. It took Ryleigh a minute to realize what the heck was going on. Wyatt's face was beet red, and he was gasping for air, clawing at Jacks' hands.

"What the f.u.c.k were you doing in this room, Wyatt?" Jacks demanded.

Ryleigh put her hand on Jacks shoulder, "Jacks, he can't answer you, please let him go. He just caught me off guard I was thinking about something, not paying attention like I should have been. He startled me. That was all that happened. Please, Jacks, just let him go."

Jacks finally released Wyatt, who slumped to the floor.

"What the f.u.c.k, man," Wyatt gasped. "I was walking past your room and noticed the light was on. I wanted to let Ryleigh know that Cash had breakfast ready. I knocked and called out to her. When she didn't answer, I opened the door to make sure she was alright. I didn't mean to scare her."

"f.u.c.k, we don't have time for this," Jacks announced, "but when this mission is over, Wyatt, you and I are going to have words. You need to learn some boundaries, man. I can see opening the door. I can even see walking into the room, but you had abso-f.u.c.king-lutly no reason to go into the bathroom with her. And that, man, you are going to explain. Now, everybody get the f.u.c.k out."

The audience left the room.

"Baby, are you sure you're okay?" Jacks inquired. "You screamed so loud that I swear it took five years off my life. I am so sorry about him. Wyatt is like a little kid; he lives in his virtual world twenty-four seven. He didn't mean any harm, I swear."

"He just caught me off guard, Jacks" Ryleigh a.s.sured him. "And yeah, I know better. I am never off guard Jacks. I don't know what you are doing to me, but I am not sure I like it. I feel safe with you Jacks; I don't feel safe with anyone. I let my guard down, and that can cost me. I don't think Wyatt meant any harm; we were both at fault."

"s.h.i.t, Baby, you shouldn't have to be on guard all the time. I promise I will protect you, just like this time," Jacks promised her. "Baby, just let me hold you for a minute. I have never been so scared in my life. I thought something bad had happened to you."

Hugging Ryleigh as tightly as he could without hurting her, he just kept on saying "Nothing can happen you, Ryleigh. I don't know if I could live without you."

Ryleigh knew, right then, love at first sight definitely existed. She loved this man with all of her heart. To h.e.l.l with what anyone else thought. She felt this was right for her, and it seemed it was right for Jacks; that was all that mattered.

"Okay, Baby, let's go and get you feed," he suggested. "We need to be on the road in thirty. s.h.i.t, I can't wait for this mission to be done."

"You and me both Jacks," Ryleigh declared. "Let's get this done so we can concentrate on one of the other hundreds of things we need to do next. Like finding Ca.s.sie Larson and all the other part Shifters that Dr. Franklin created, take down the Pandora group, and figure out if Davis Defense is in bed with them. Then when we are about 150 years old, we can finally have that talk that you keep on saying we need to have after the mission is over."

"s.h.i.t baby, that conversation will happen a long time before we are 150 years old," Jacks guaranteed. "I get what you are saying; all we can do is take it one day at a time, one moment to the next. We just need to make sure we think of ourselves a little in the in-between times. Those are for us, Ryleigh."

"From your lip to G.o.d's ears, Jacks," Ryleigh replied.

Then Jacks graced Ryleigh with one of his mind-blowing kisses, and all she could think was, this mission couldn't get over fast enough.

After breakfast, Eli came to get Ryleigh to place the tracker, but thankfully Wyatt stopped him.

"Hey Doc, sorry, but Ryleigh's a.s.s, or rather foot, is mine," Wyatt quipped. "You ready, Rye? The prototype is programmed and ready to insert."

Eli looked p.i.s.sed but just walked away with one more little jab, "Okay, but I sure as h.e.l.l wouldn't be putting an untried prototype in my mate. But have at it, you can also remove it when the mission is over, right?"

That caught Jacks attention, "Uh, Wyatt, are you implanting Ryleigh with untried tech, man? I emphatically don't like the sound of that and if Eli had a better, more effective, and proven method, maybe we should go with that."

p.i.s.sed that Jacks would question her judgment, it was Ryleigh's turn to fume.

"Jacks this isn't untried or unproven tech, Wyatt and Tory have been working on this for a while," she snapped. "He gave me all the specs and this is the method I am most comfortable having inserted in my body. No way is your medic, regardless of how close you are or how much you trust him, is going to put an IUD in me, no way."

Jacks instantly had images of Eli between Ryleigh's sweet legs, gazing at her pink bits. He did not like the image. Those parts were for him and him alone; no man was allowed to see her that way ever again.

"What the f.u.c.k do you mean IUD?" Jacks demanded.

His bear hit him so hard that he had to bend at the waist to relieve the pressure.

Cash ran up to him, "Come on, man. Hold him back; no one's going to be touching your mate's girly bits. Breathe, man. There is no place for you to change and run here. Eli was just trying to do his job. Remember he did that for Rhonda on that mission a few years back? You remember, the one where you guys had to go into that swingers retreat to find that f.u.c.king rapist."

Okay, now Ryleigh was seeing green and was more furious than ever.

"So, Jacks, how many times have you gone undercover with a "wife"?" she snapped. "Once, twice, ten times? How about a ballpark figure; in the teens or maybe twenties?"

Jackson's bear snapped right back into place when it sensed how p.i.s.sed Ryleigh was.

Once he regained his footing, he said, "Now, Baby, it wasn't like that with Rhonda or anyone else for that matter. We were just there to complete the mission. We had to make it look good but..."

"But what?" Ryleigh screeched, "You just had to make it look good for the mission? Did you teach them your wifely lessons as well, Jacks?"

Fumbling, Jacks said, "No, Baby. Honestly, those were just for you. I swear."

And just like that, Ryleigh stormed from the room.

While glaring over her should she said, "Come on, Jacks, we need to get on the road. After all, the "mission" can't start until we get there. And just so you know, any lesson above three just flew right out the window. Just think; we will be like an actual married couple. Complete with abso-f.u.c.king-lutly no s.e.x life."

"Oh, come on, Ryleigh, Jacks pleaded. We have all done things for missions. I'm sure you have even done something that you're not proud of in the past."

"Yeah, Jacks. I have, and it happened for the first-time last night."

Jacks turned to Cash.

"Thanks a lot, a.s.shole. Next time you try to help me why don't you keep your mother f.u.c.king mouth shut," Jacks warned.

Jacks left the room, going after Ryleigh.

"Ryleigh, come on. Just wait for a minute," he begged. "We still need to get our bags and load the car."

Jacks followed behind in Ryleigh's wake, picking up their bags along the way. s.h.i.t, this was going to be one h.e.l.l of a fun ride.

Dalton walked up to Cash and said, "So dude, did you do that on purpose or are you that dense?"

"Not dense at all, my friend," Cash replied. "Jacks was going to shift and go after Eli. No question about it, his eyes were bright, and his hands had already shifted. You didn't see that because his back was turned to you and Ryleigh. I had a choice p.i.s.s her off or hurt her, and I sure as f.u.c.k wasn't going to hurt her. Jackson's bear will always protect her, even from himself."

"Wow, that was pretty genius of you then, good job buddy," Dalton said slapping Cash on the back.

"Yeah, well, I am not sure Jacks is going to feel that way. Man, Ryleigh was p.i.s.sed," Cash laughed.

"Yeah, I'm thinking the team is due for some RR when this mission is over. A little distance might help you, Wyatt, and Eli, when he gets back," Dalton tried to contain his laughter but was failing miserably.

Cash said, "I couldn't agree more."

Chapter 34.

After about a half hour of driving in a silent car, Jacks couldn't take it anymore, "Come on, Baby, we have a mission to complete and we cannot go in there p.i.s.sed off at each other. We both have pasts. I mean, you didn't think I was a virgin, did you? I will be the first one to admit I have done things that I am not proud of to complete a mission. But Ryleigh, what we have is different. I know I feel it, and I am hoping you are too."

Ryleigh had acted rashly, but dang, Cash talking about that other mission with that woman hit all of Ryleigh's insecurities. She wanted to be special to Jacks, not just another mission. She wanted a future but hearing that he had gone on a similar mission with a woman acting as his wife, stung.

"Yeah Jacks, I definitely feel something between us," she admitted. "But I have been sitting here wondering if you knew that I was yours, as you put it, from the first moment you saw me. Why did you mention your other paid operatives in the conference room?"

"s.h.i.t Baby, I was confused. I have never felt this way for anyone before, and it happened so quickly," Jacks confessed. "I'm a man, Ryleigh, we don't do feelings well. So, I tried to push you away. All I could think was if I were away from you, then I wouldn't have to worry about what this thing was going on between us. But Ryleigh, we are way beyond that now. I won't apologize for things I have done in the past, and I don't expect you to either. I won't even ask about them. But I will tell you that none of that stuff matters anymore because you are it for me."

"Jacks, I want to trust you so badly, but I have been let down so many times before. So, I am just going to go with it, for now. I'm giving you my trust, and I have never felt this way either. Maybe we both are just on edge a bit."

"Do you want to talk about what else happened back there? I almost lost control of my bear. Did that scare you? Ryleigh, that is a part of me; I cannot change. I am a Shifter, and if you have reservations about that then maybe we should talk about that now before we get any deeper with each other."

Jacks hoped that she could accept all of him because there really wasn't another option. He was a Shifter; deadly and lethal in both forms. She needed to accept the possibly of seeing him shift from time to time.

"No Jacks, I wasn't scared. I have lived with a dragon for years, after all, but you do have a point. Even though I knew something was different with Dad, he didn't come clean with me until recently. He still won't show me his dragon. Will you show me your bear some day?"

"Yeah, he needs to see you too," Jacks replied.

Well, at least her answer lessened some of his doubt. He was expecting a lot out of Ryleigh. First and foremost, what was happening between the two of them. It was fast, even by Shifter standards. Well, at least he thought so. He could honestly say that he knew for sure. Cash and Jessie had years together to grow, and he and Ryleigh seemed to be moving at lightning speed.

"Does it hurt when you shift?" Ryleigh asked.

"Yeah, in a way. I have been doing it since adolescence, so I hardly notice the pain anymore. It's hard to explain if you have never shifted before."

Ryleigh could tell that Jacks was trying to gauge her reaction to him being a Shifter. She wanted to tell him that she didn't care and tried to convey that with using her Dad, but maybe she needed to be a little more curious.

"How about this, I will tell you what I already know about Shifters and then you can tell me more or tell me if I am wrong. I talked with my Dad and he explained some things, but I'm aware that I don't know everything. He never went into your legends or beliefs and he also didn't go into anything beyond the basics."

"Yeah, I think that might be a good idea. Hit me with what you know."

"Well, I already know that Shifters can change at will; the moon has nothing to do with it. Additionally, you are either born a Shifter or not. You also cannot turn anyone into a Shifter. It also seems that science cannot create a Shifter either. We may have the genes but they are dormant. There aren't any reports of these experiments creating a Shifter that can actually shift. At least we haven't found any yet. I know that you are stronger, heal faster. Your instincts are higher as well as eyesight and smell. But that is about it. Do you want to tell me anything more?"

"Not much," Jacks responded, "every animal is different just like every Shifter is different. But you do have a gist of the basics. We aren't the Were people like in books. We can talk about it more in the future. Since we seem to be on the same page now, we absolutely need to get in mission mode."

"You're right though, we need to concentrate on the mission. Since we only have about 15 minutes until we get there, any last words of wisdom you would like to impart?"

"Nope, just stick with me at all times and watch your back, baby. Let's get this done, we've arrived," Jacks a.s.serted.

Jacks and Ryleigh pulled up to the gate of the Franklin's estate. The place looked like a mausoleum. Enormous and ostentatious with its manicured lawn and over the top water features. Once allowed into the inner sanctum, they were ushered into the den to meet with Julianne Franklin. Ryleigh couldn't help but think that this woman could have been beautiful if she ate a hamburger and laid off the Botox. Even worse, as soon as she got a look at Jacks, she zeroed in like a cobra ready to strike. The woman had the nerve to ignore Ryleigh entirely and go right for Jacks.

"Mr. Thompson, I presume, welcome to my home," Julianne greeted, "I understand you are just here to be the muscle. She looked Jacks up and down, "and it is evident to see why that is. Do you work out often? I have a full gym available to you at any time; clothing optional of course," she said, with a fake little giggle.

Ryleigh wanted to puke, but Jacks seemed to preen for the wench.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Franklin," Jacks responded, "and I might take you up on the offer of the gym. Depending on what the boss has to say of course. She's the brains behind this duo."

"Oh, well. Of course, your wife," she said, barely acknowledging Ryleigh. "I almost forgot, and please call me Julianne."