“I take it you saw that Dean was here.” Jagger startled her. “Sorry, honey, I didn’t mean to frighten you. I noticed that the door was unlocked, so I gather that you saw Dean.” She nodded, trying to cover her body by wrapping her arms around herself. Jagger growled in frustration, and she knew he was pissed off that she disobeyed his earlier command.
Jagger quickly stripped and stepped into the big glass-enclosed shower, pulling her through the spray into his body. She didn’t want to face him—didn’t want to see the anger or disappointment in his handsome face. He tried to turn her in his arms, and she couldn’t muster the strength to fight him, spinning around to face him. “Look at me, Justice,” he ordered. She wanted to, really she did, but she was afraid of what she would see in his eyes. She peeped one eye open, and Jagger laughed at her. She chanced her other eye open and saw his gorgeous face smiling back at her. Jagger just about took her breath away. “Good girl,” he praised, and oddly enough, she liked hearing those words from him. Usually, she wasn’t one to follow anyone’s orders, but hearing his praise made her happy, and that confused her even more. “Don’t hide from me, honey. I want to see you—all of you.” Justice must have looked as confused as she felt, and Jagger was finding the whole scene funny.
“I don’t understand what you mean. I was just taking a shower. I wasn’t hiding from you, and I wasn’t trying to spy on you. It was too quiet, and I was worried something had happened to you.” She whispered that last part, almost not wanting to admit that she felt anything for him. It was silly that yesterday Jagger was a stranger and today she was worried about him. Jagger shook his head at her.
“I’m not mad that you came to look for me, although if it had been one of your father’s guys on the front porch and not Dean, I’d be pissed that you didn’t follow my orders. I want to keep you safe, and I can’t do that if you disobey me at every turn, Justice.” She nodded, knowing he was right. If it were one of her father’s guys outside their door, things would have ended very differently for them both.
“I’m sorry, Jag. I just worried that you needed my help.” He laughed, and a part of her wanted to laugh at herself. The idea of her being able to take out one of her father’s men was hilarious. “Honey, I don’t think you understand just how capable I am. The government made me into a machine for their purposes. I’ve been trained to combat any situation, and I can fly almost anything. I’m pretty sure I can handle myself if some of your father’s goons show up here. What I can’t do is protect you if you refuse to do as I say.” Jagger ran his hands through her wet hair and grabbed the shampoo to work it through. They stood like that, him massaging her scalp and watching her as if he was trying to see into her soul—yet she couldn’t look away.
“I’ll do better,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself.
“See, that is why I’m pissed,” Jagger barked. “You’re hiding from me again. If this is going to work, I need you to stop putting up your walls every time you don’t like what I’m saying. Fuck, Justice. Disagree with me, fight with me, but don’t hide from me.” Justice lowered her arms as if accepting his challenge. Shewas never one to cower or hide from anyone or anything. He was right—if they were going to survive whatever her father planned for them, they were going to have to be a team. And from the conversation that he and Dean just had, Jagger hopefully knew exactly what was heading their way.
“Fine.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, allowing him to finish washing her hair. “No more hiding.” Jagger held her head in his big hands and bent to give her a quick kiss.
“Thank you, baby. Now, rinse.” He backed her into the hot spray of water and ran his hands through her hair, rinsing all the shampoo out.
“In the spirit of no more hiding from each other, how about you tell me why Dean was here?” Jagger sighed, and she knew he was stalling. She braced herself for the bad news.
“Your father has everyone out looking for us. Our little phone call this morning did nothing to appease him. He doesn’t trust me, and he’s put a bounty on both of our heads—a hefty one.” Justice gasped. If her father was willing to throw around his money, there would be no stopping him from getting to them.
“Jagger!” Her shaky hand covered her mouth, trying to stop the sob that escaped. “If he wants to get to us, he will. You have to turn me over to him—it’s the only way to keep you safe. Maybe I can even convince him to let Jules go.” Jagger pushed her body back against the cold marble wall. “No fucking way, princess. I won’t let him have you, and I won’t ever let Wolf fucking touch you.” He dipped his head to kiss her mouth, thrusting his tongue in to find hers. Nothing about his kiss was gentle. It was so different from earlier, when Jagger treated her like a fragile China doll. Now, he seemed consumed with passion, setting her on fire with his need. He pulled away from her, leaving them both breathless.
“If I go now, it will be best for everyone involved. Wolf will still want me—I’m still a virgin, and you will have kept your endof the bargain with my father.” Justice knew she sounded crazy, asking Jagger to turn her over to the two men who terrified her most. Just last night, she stood in front of him begging him to just let her go. Now, she couldn’t imagine any other scenario that would keep him safe other than turning herself in.
“You see, honey, that’s going to be a problem,” Jagger whispered into her ear, kissing his way down her jaw. He stooped to suck her taught, wet nipple into his mouth, and she moaned at the sensation of his teeth grazing over her sensitive skin. He reached down, pulled her legs around his body, and cradled her hot, wet pussy against his heavy cock, her back against the shower wall. “You’re not going to be a virgin. You are going to be mine, and I won’t let anyone else touch what’s mine.” He thrust his hard cock into her body, filling her. Justice cried out from the sharp pain that ran through her core. Jagger rested his forehead against hers, panting for air. He went completely still inside of her as if giving her time to adjust to having him in her body.
“Jagger,” she whispered. The way he looked at her with so much need and desire nearly did her in. She never had any man look at her that way, and it was almost too much. “Move, please,” she whispered. “Make me yours.” Jagger moaned into her mouth, pulling his shaft completely out of her and thrusting back into her wet core over and over. Justice was pinned against the wall by his muscled body and was completely at his mercy. She was his. He marked her with every thrust in and out of her body.
“Say that you are mine, Justice,” he panted. “Say that you belong to me.” Jagger pumped in and out of her, pushing her closer to her release. The way he talked to her—demanding not only her body but her words- turned her inside out with need.
“I’m yours, Jag. I belong to you and only you.” She barely had the words out of her mouth before she spiraled into anotherorgasm, whispering his name over and over as if it were a prayer. Jagger thrust into her body a few more times and found his release, his weight pressing against her body, pushing her into the wall until she almost couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know where her body ended and he began, and the whole thing felt oddly right.
“Marry me,” he whispered against her neck. Justice didn’t hesitate, even knowing that he asked just to keep her safe. She wanted everything he was willing to give her, even if it was short-lived. Even if it was only pretend, she wanted it. She wanted him.
“Yes,” she whispered back.
Jagger never felt more sure of anything in his life, standing in the small county courthouse with Justice by his side, agreeing to love and keep her for the rest of his life. He couldn’t explain why he felt the way that he did. He was never a crazy romantic or into that overly sentimental emotional crap, but Justice made him want to be all those things for her. It wasn’t just sex—he felt this strange connection with her ever since he saw her through the bakery window. He chalked it up to good old-fashioned lust, but that flew out the window when she kneed him in the balls. Every time he touched her, he felt crazy electricity that seemed to spark between them. Knowing that she felt it too only made it feel that much more real. She was his, and there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep her safe. Marrying her was just the first step. He wanted to build a life with her, and that meant clearing all the obstacles out of their way.
Dean arranged for a friend of his to meet them at the courthouse. Judge Joshua Thomas was a friend to them both, having grown up with the two of them. He was all too happyto help push through the paperwork for him and Justice to get married. In high school, Josh, Dean, and Jagger were inseparable. They both were there for him when everything fell apart between him and Sarah. They were the ones who convinced him to follow his dreams and join the Air Force. If it wasn’t for Josh and Dean, he didn’t know where he would have ended up. It was fitting that they were both standing with him when he was saying his vows to Justice. Jagger wished he could convince her that he meant every word of every promise exchanged in the wedding vows, but he could see on her face that she wasn’t ready to hear those words from him. How could she be? Just yesterday, he abducted her and was dragging her back to her father and an asshole who wanted to make her his slave. He almost couldn’t believe how everything had changed in such a short amount of time, but it had. He didn’t know what to call it—luck, fate. Whatever it was, he was thankful that Justice agreed to marry him. Even if she was doing it to stay safe, it didn’t matter to him what her reasons were. He wanted his chance with her, and now he had it. When he told Justice that she was his now, he meant it. There would be no giving her up, no matter who came to claim her.
“I pronounce you both husband and wife.” Josh smiled between the two of them. “You may kiss your bride.” Jagger didn’t need to be told twice. He hauled Justice against his body and pulled her up for a scorching kiss, loving the way she melted against him. He didn’t care that they were wearing jeans and T-shirts. He didn’t care if they didn’t have rings to exchange. All he could focus on was the fact that Justice was legally his. He turned and shook both Josh’s and Dean’s hands, thanking them both for all their help. Dean nodded and handed him two sets of keys.
“These are for a new truck—call it a wedding gift. You can’t keep driving Justice’s truck since it’s probably marked. Andthese—” He held up the second set of keys and handed them to Jag. “Are for the safe house you are going to.” Dean led Justice and Jagger out to the new black SUV that waited for them in front of the courthouse. “All your instructions are in the truck. Don’t stop until you get to the hangar. I’ve arranged for a plane to be waiting, and your flight plan has been registered under a fake name. You two need to lay low and use nothing that ties you to your identities.” Jagger nodded, taking Justice’s hand into his.
“I’ve already destroyed both of our cell phones,” Jagger said.
“Good,” Dean barked. “In the envelope with your itinerary, you’ll also find IDs with your new names as well as a valid marriage certificate, just in case you need it.” Jagger knew there might come a time when he would have to prove that he and Justice were married. He also knew that would mean that Wolf got his hands on his new bride, and that thought pissed him off. He thanked Dean for thinking of everything and for all his help.
“I’ll be in touch. I have programmed your burner phones with my number, just in case. Don’t worry about Jules. I’ve got my men on the inside keeping an eye on her. I won’t let anything happen to her, Jag.” Jagger knew Dean wouldn’t let any harm come to his sister, but he hated that he wasn’t the one keeping her safe. It was his job to watch out for her, not Dean’s. His last promise to Jules was that he would be back soon and he’d get her the fuck out of there. Jagger hated that he wasn’t keeping up his end of the deal. But he had to think about Justice now, too, and to keep her safe. They had to get as far away from Goose Creek as possible.
“Shall we, Mrs. James?” Justice looked at him and smiled, and for the first time in twenty-four hours, he felt as if things might end up going his way.
“I thought you’d never ask, Mr. James,” she teased, giving him a saucy wink. He couldn’t help his laugh—she just made himhappy. Yeah, things might just be turning around for him, and it was about damn time.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Justice woke and stretched, forgetting where she was, but quickly remembered when the plane hit some light turbulence, turning her stomach in knots. “Are we almost there yet?” she asked. Jagger sat in the pilot seat, looking completely confident and sexy with his head cans on and aviator sunglasses shielding his eyes from her. He looked to be in his element—like a complete badass. The muscles and tats didn’t hurt his overall look either, making her mouth water.
