Chapter 10
Drake stood up and felt the lingering aches of the impact from the shock gun and the knee in the groin. He walked bow-legged over and lifted the sonic gun—it was on the lowest setting. At least she wasn’t trying to kill him.
After the sting of humiliation left him and the pain between his legs faded, Drake was left with admiration and feeling a little bit...aroused. Her shooting was spot on, and the quickness of it, she was like a pro already. That was sexy as hell.
He couldn’t be angry with her. Drake had taunted her and insulted her. Jinx had every right to defend herself. Now he felt guilty about his verbal attack. Why had he said those things to her? He had watched her holding Vic’s hand and then Vic hugged her. An unwelcome feeling of jealousy had taken hold inside of him.
He had no right to feel that way, but the sight of her pressed against another man after watching her with Isaac last night had him reeling. His species weren’t known for their calm sensibilities, but he worked hard to get his emotions under control enough to handle his job. If Jinx could get under his skin this easily, she would pose a serious problem.
Maybe he was feeling tension from not getting laid, but he wasn’t lacking the opportunity. He left the club last night with a more than willing female who was just his type—leggy with a sexy curvy body—clinging to him. When they reached his hover truck, she kissed him and went to open his pants to suck him off, but images of Jinx dancing and possibly doing something similar to Isaac had dampened his arousal and his anger rising.
After several attempts by the female named Samantha...Mandy…Sara or whatever—he told her that he had somewhere else he needed to be. She was furious as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and climbed out of the truck. He watched as she waved down a hover taxi. Not wanting to go back inside, in case he attacked Isaac out of jealousy, Drake drove to a small bar a few blocks down and drank until dawn. Then he headed to the office early and used its shower facilities and the spare pair of clothes he kept in his personal locker.
Gingerly, Drake took a seat on the nearest bench. He wasn’t hiding from her, he just needed a few minutes to regroup and get his training plans straightened out. After about five minutes, he sighed, stood up, and headed back upstairs. Now that he had time to think about it, what Jinx had done was kind of incredible. Drake hadn’t been able to picture her tiny hands holding a gun, but the speed and precision of her shooting aroused him like nothing had before.
As he reached the top of the stairs, he paused on the top of the landing. He could see Jinx in the IT office though the glass walls. She was talking to Isaac, who said something that made her laugh. He envied Isaac’s ability to make Jinx laugh and smile like that. Drake’s attitude had only made her angry.
Drake moved slowly, taking in the way the light hit the colorful strands of her hair. He admired the delicate features of her cheeks and her cute little nose. His eyes lingered on her lips, which were luscious. He knew how delicious she was and craved more. He wasstalkingher.
This was insane. He was supposed to be her trainer. Maybe he should hand her training over to someone else...one of the female bounty hunters like Asia or Shy.
Drake watched as Isaac helped her put on a bulletproof vest. The material formed around Jinx’s curves, showing more of her feminine side. He noticed Isaac’s hands lingering a little too close near the valley of her breasts. Drake growled and fought to cover it up with a cough.
Jinx looked up and caught his eyes. An electric current shot between them. She must have felt it as well; she blushed before quickly turning away. Isaac looked up at him and they had a silent battle, one male ego versus another, fighting for the same female.
“Is there a problem with the new girl?” Asia asked as Drake walked past her.
“No problem.”
“Do you want me to take over the training and assessment?”
This was where Drake should say yes. He hesitated, glancing at Jinx again; she was biting her bottom lip. The words that came out of his mouth surprised him. “No, I’ve got this.”
He walked into Isaac’s office. “What did you show her, Isaac?”
Isaac took a step away from her as he turned to face Drake. “Not much, she already knows the basics. She’s had good training beforehand. I’ve set her up with the usual; gun holsters, blade sheaths and bullet proof body gear. I’ll have to custom fit her hip holster because she’s smaller than what I have for Shy. She has her own blade sheath on her boots and her own blade.”
That surprised him. He had no idea she had a weapon on her this whole time. He eyed her up and down his eyes lingering on her cleavage and hips. “Really? Does she have a gun hidden on her as well?”
Jinx crossed her arms over her chest. “Sheis standing right here. If you want to know if I have a gun on me, the answer is no. My weapons are being shipped down separately, so I didn’t have to travel with an arsenal.”
She was smart. Sending her weapons would also keep her from being held up by security. “Go over the communication links and the bugging devices. When you’re done, Jinx, I need you to do some more paperwork before you leave.”
“No problem coach,” Jinx said with a too-bright smile. The glare in her eyes belied the cheerful outer appearance.
He turned too quickly, not looking where he was going and knocked into the glass wall. The sound of him hitting it had everyone in the place looking over at him. Drake exited the office to a chorus of wisecracks and snickers.
“Shut it fuckers!” He growled out as he plopped down at his desk. Could he not walk without running into things when she was around? Drake was starting to see how she earned the name Jinx.
*****
Jinx fought the giggle that was threatening to erupt. Isaac had no problem laughing. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Drake so uncoordinated before.”
For some reason, she didn’t like others laughing at Drake. She was mad at him, but she still felt protective of him for some reason. “It could happen to anyone. I’ve walked into many glass doors in my lifetime.”
“Is that why you’re named Jinx?”
“No. My full name is Jane Jean Alexander. My grandfather nicknamed my Jinx.” She felt like she should to make a small admission. “As I got a little older, accidents did seem to happen around me, so the nickname stuck.”
