Fire and Ice (Guardians Book 1)

It was the dead of winter, not the most ideal time to be walking along the River Seine. But there’s nothing more romantic than watching couples all-bundled up and clutching at each other tightly as they strolled along Paris’ iconic waterway.

“Want some ice cream?” Jack asked.

“Are you kidding me?” Maia groaned. She was stuffed from dinner. They had arrived at Charles de Gaulle at around 3:00 p.m. and taken the RER to their hotel in the 8^th arrondissement where Jack was able to secure a premiere suite. There was nothing Maia wanted more than to soak in the marble bath tub, but Jack insisted on getting ready for an early dinner.

By five, they were seated at a restaurant known for the best duck confit in Paris. They followed the meal of crispy duck with the restaurant’s famous but simple apple tart. So despite Maia’s penchant for overeating, she couldn’t understand Jack’s suggestion of more food.

“Well, there’s a popular ice cream shop right on Ile Saint-Louis,” Jack informed her.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re fattening me up for the kill?” Maia asked as she angled her clear blue eyes on him.

Jack looked sheepish and glanced down at his feet. He guided Maia to the railings that lined the river embankment.

“We haven’t really talked about what happened,” Jack began tentatively.

“Oh, the night you kicked me out of your apartment?” Maia said sarcastically. Her eyes flared with the beginnings of her temper as the events of that night came back to mind.

“Let’s go back a bit further than that,” Jack fired back, obviously getting himself riled up as well. “About the night you just packed up and left me to go on some dangerous assignment. I know I said I’m okay and I understood it’s your job. What I’m not okay with is you just up and leaving me like I’m some damn roommate or some damn meaningless fuck. I thought we were in a committed relationship, I deserved more than just a ‘Hey I need to be somewhere, see you in three weeks’ kind of deal.”

“Well if …”

“I’m not done talking,” Jack snapped. “I was okay with that then. Not now. After this shitstorm you got yourself into this last time, you are done accepting these kinds of assignments. I don’t care if you quit AGS to do this. You will tell me exactly where you’re going, when you are leaving, what you are doing and who you’ll be dealing with. I want names. I told Viktor, once I get you back from this I make the decisions to keep you safe, not him. Got me?”

Maia gaped at him in disbelief. Her mouth must have hung open.

“You can say something now,” Jack said impatiently.

Maia snapped her mouth shut. She stalked a few steps away, spun around and walked back to Jack and got into his face.

“Unbelievable! You are delusional! What gives you the right to control me like that?” Maia sputtered. “Quit the AGS? In your dreams, buddy! You’ve got the wrong girl if you think you can enforce those rules on me.” She poked her fingers in his chest three times for emphasis.

“No, you’re the girl I’m in love with. I love you more than my own life,” Jack declared fervently. “If anything happens to you Maia, it will be over for me. I’m never gonna come back from losing you—not in ten, not in fifty years. So I’m asking you not to throw away what we have on some fucking job someone else can do. I’m begging you to give what we have a chance. You’ve done your time; it’s OK to slow down, babe. I promise you, I’ll make it my life’s priority to make you happy.”

They were standing apart, close but not quite touching. Maia’s eyes were defiant, the set of her mouth mutinous. But her heart was melting with what Jack had just said. It was probably time to put him out of his misery. After all, she had had a plan for after this last assignment.

“Jack, even before I left for Russia in early January, I had already told Viktor I was planning to slow down,” Maia said. Jack’s eyes flared with hope. “I was going to suggest taking a more active role in our training program. AGS is growing and Viktor is complaining that there are no experienced instructors as most of the good ones are in the field.”

“Maia, that would be perfect!” Jack said gruffly. He tried to yank her into his arms, but she evaded his reach. She needed to get this all out before he kissed her and got her distracted as she always did when he touched her.

“Wait!” Maia said quickly. Jack froze and then crossed his arms in front of him, impatience crossing his face. “I might have to do the odd mission. But I won’t keep you in the dark about the nature of them or when I plan to ship out. Though names and locations may still be a problem.”

Jack considered this for a minute. “I won’t be happy when you keep things from me, but I understand the nature of covert ops. Of course, I can always come rescue you when you get into trouble.” He smiled wryly. “What I do promise you is I’ll deal with it. I may be angry, but I won’t ever let you go again. That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done and I hope you forgive me.”

Maia smiled as she stepped into the circle of his arms and raised her right hand to caress his face. Jack caught her hand and kissed the inside of her palm and held it to his face while using his other hand to pull her fully into his space.

“I love you, Jack. I admit I was hurt, but after all that went down this past week, I realized life is too short to hold that against you,” Maia said, and her lips quirked up. “And those twenty messages you left me on the phone kinda gave me an idea of the freak out you were in. But don’t do it again.”

“I won’t,” Jack promised quickly. “I lasted about a day before I panicked when I realized you had erased yourself from my life. How did you manage to do a clean sweep like that? It was like you were never there.”

Maia grinned mischievously. “I recruited the AGS clean-up crew. That was how Viktor knew we had broken up. No fingerprints, no hair or fiber. You’d be hard-pressed to find my DNA even on the jewelry.”

“Don’t you ever disappear from my life like that again,” Jack whispered worriedly.

“Don’t give me a reason to,” Maia retorted and gasped when Jack slammed his lips down on hers for a quick, hard and punishing kiss.

“Something tells me you’ll be keeping me on my toes for the rest of my life,” Jack muttered in resignation.

“You can count on that,” Maia replied as she pulled his head down for another kiss.

“What are we doing here?” Maia asked as they got off the Paris Metro stop for the Trocadero. She was impatient to get back to the hotel. After all that kissing by the River Siene, she was all hot and bothered and wanted some action.

“You’ll see,” Jack replied mysteriously.

“Jack, I’ve seen the Eiffel tower,” Maia said dryly. “Countless times.”

“Humor me, babe,” Jack coaxed. They got out of the underground station and walked straight into the Trocadero.

Well, Maia had to hand it to Jack. No matter how many times you’ve seen it. Paris at night, with the Eiffel tower all lit up, was always a sight to behold. She sighed in contentment as they stopped in the middle of the Trocadero. Jack hugged her from behind while they watched the gleaming lights of the most popular tower in the world. After a moment, he turned her around and started kissing her. It started gently, then became more insistent. His tongue plunged deeply into the depths of her mouth and tangled with hers. As his mouth scorched across hers, both arms banded tightly around her body, his palms cupping her ass and pressing her tightly to him as he rubbed against her.

He tore his mouth away and leaned his forehead to hers. “I love you, I love you so much,” he whispered raggedly. “I can’t get enough of you…”

“Maybe we should get back to the hotel and um… you know,” Maia suggested and waggled her eyebrows.

Jack suddenly appeared nervous. What the heck was wrong with him? Maia thought. Hadn’t they already sorted out their issues? Oh my God, did he have sex with someone else when they were broken up?

“I promised myself that we wouldn’t have sex,” Jack exhaled deeply. “Until you agree to marry me.”

“What?” Maia gasped as all breath left her lungs. Whatever she may have thought was wrong with him, she certainly did not expect this. It didn’t help that Jack was standing so close. She vaguely saw him reach into his coat pocket to bring out an exquisite—and huge—diamond ring.

Oh my God. Oh. My. God! Maia’s mind screamed in panic.

“Will you marry me, Maia?” Jack asked solemnly.

“Um …” she stared stupidly at the ring, speechless. And the longer she remained speechless, the more agitated Jack became.

Was this happening? Thoughts swirled around Maia’s head. Was she ready to marry Jack? Was this what she wanted? And then it became clear to her. Yes, yes and yes!

“Yes.” She breathed as a smile broke across Jack’s anxious face.

“Yes!” she said more loudly as Jack quickly slipped the ring on her finger, lifted her up and then whirled her around as he gave a joyful whoop of triumph.

“You’ve made me so happy,” Jack said gruffly when he let her body slide down against his. “Now let me make love to you.”

They couldn’t keep their hands off each other—in the Paris Metro, in the hotel elevator. It was surprising they weren’t cited for lewd public display or thrown out of the hotel. Maia guessed it was because it was Paris.

“Keycard,” Maia gasped even as Jack pushed her against the door and had his hand under her shirt squeezing her breast.

“Back jean pocket,” Jack growled as his lips got busy down the side of her neck, his other hand jammed behind the waistband of her leggings squeezing her bare ass.

They stumbled into the room, tearing each other’s clothes off while lip-locked and in a tangle of limbs. The coats came off, then their tops, and then Jack quickly divested her of her bra and with his lips still attached to her breast, hoisted both of her legs up around him and carried her to the bedroom.

He flung her on the bed and tore off her boots and leggings. She looked up at him in anticipation; he was looking at her with an almost painful yearning on his face. Despite the urgency, Jack slowly unbuckled his belt, unbuttoned his jeans, lowered the zipper and divested himself of his clothes—never once taking his eyes off of her. The sign of his arousal was pushing straight out of his boxers as he finally removed that last scrap of clothing to spring it free.

“I don’t think I can be gentle,” he rasped hoarsely as he leaned one knee on the bed.

“I can handle rough,” Maia replied saucily. She quickly wiggled out of her underwear before it became another casualty of their lovemaking. She spread her legs and cocked her knees in blatant invitation.

“Take me, Jack, I’m yours.”

With a low growl, Jack dove right for the center of her desire, burying his face in the growing moisture between her legs. Maia thought she was going to pass out with sheer pleasure. His hot breath fanned her rapidly swelling core as his lips devoured her, like he had been starved of her. He took hold of her swollen nub and sucked hard.

“Oh God!” Maia screamed as she came violently, over and over. She mewled and moaned as her hips undulated madly against his face. She kept coming endlessly while he continued alternating between sucking and laving the delicate folds of her sex with that devilish tongue of his.

As her shudders receded and her legs felt boneless, Jack rose above her, pushing into her slowly and planting himself there. The heat between her legs began to rise again.

Jack slid into her and held still to let her get used to him, savoring the feeling of her wrapped so tightly around his throbbing erection.

“God, it feels so good to be inside you,” Jack groaned into her neck. He raised his head to gaze down at her possessively. “Mine. You belong to me. Say it.”

“I’m yours!” Maia gasped as she arched her back, desperate for him to start moving inside her.

Jack’s breathing grew labored as he controlled his strokes. He thrust in long and hard in a steady cadence. Pulling out slow and thrusting in strong. It was driving him insane with the need for release, but he wanted to make this something she couldn’t live without.

“Jack, faster …” Maia pleaded as he felt her starting to clench around him in anticipation of her second orgasm.

“Shhh… easy babe… I got you…” Jack murmured through clenched teeth as he moved inside her with relentless patience.

“Jack …”

At her second entreaty, Jack lost all self-control. He shoved inside her with such brutal ferocity her body shifted up. He let her take his full weight and locked her shoulders with his arms, his hands gripping the edge of the bed to keep her body immobile as he pumped furiously into her. The room filled with the sounds of their grunts and rapid slapping of flesh as Jack continued to pound into her. She spasmed around him, squeezing his shaft so tight, Jack felt drunk. The pleasure was almost unbearable.

“Maia… fuck!” As her second orgasm spiraled around him, he let go, groaning as he drove into her one last time before surrendering to the ferocity of his release. His body convulsed with his climax as he buried his face into the curve of her neck.

They stayed that way for a while. Not moving, not talking. Just trying to catch their breath as their heart rates returned to normal. Finally, Jack slid out of her and rolled onto his back beside her.

“Every time I think it couldn’t get better, it does,” Jack said reflectively as he let one arm drape over his forehead.

“Yeah,” Maia agreed as she stretched languorously.

He turned his head to her and stated quite seriously, “We haven’t made love in a month.”

“Was it worth the wait?” Maia asked huskily as she leaned into him.

Jack’s eyes warmed as he pulled her into the crook of his arm. “Totally worth the wait, babe.”

4 months later

The idyllic turquoise waters shimmered hypnotically, so immaculately clear as to reveal the brightly hued tropical fish that swam beneath its surface. Maia sat mesmerized on the landing at the bottom of the steps of their over-water bungalow in the island paradise of Bora Bora.

She recalled the last four-months. They had stayed in Paris for a week before heading back to the United States. Everyone was stunned by their engagement except Viktor and Derek who acted like they had known all along. Jack did not want a long engagement, much to his mother’s dismay. Frances wanted to plan a lavish ball, the wedding of the year in DC and four months was simply not enough time.

Maia turned everything over to Jack’s assistant, Laurie Stone, to work with his mother and the wedding planner. She had told Jack from the beginning that she didn’t mind a City Hall wedding but even Jack balked at that idea. He said he wanted everyone on the East Coast to know that he was marrying the most beautiful girl in the world. Because of the short-notice, most of the wedding venues were already booked. In the end, they were able to get into the Ritz Carlton because of a cancellation.

Jack was understandably on edge during the months leading up to the wedding. After all, tragedy had struck his family the last time he had tried to get married. He attempted to be subtle in his hovering but failed miserably. He constantly kept tabs on where she was or what she was doing and Maia, for the most part, humored him. But when he had insisted on accompanying her to her dress fitting, she confronted him and said, “Jack, nothing is going to happen to me. We’ve survived mad Russian mob bosses, surely we can survive our wedding?”

In the end, he did let her go with the girls. Her gown was a beautiful creation by Monique Lhuillier, but Maia was more concerned with what shoes to wear. She had a shoe fetish and she had picked out three-inch custom-made Louboutin heels that Jack had loved slipping off her feet on their wedding night.

Maia blushed as she remembered that night. They had re-enacted the wall-sex they had had at the Grand Harbor Hotel, which was one of her favorite positions. She was completely naked while he looked so sexy, fully dressed in a Tom Ford tux, as he fucked her against the wall. She shuddered deliciously with that memory.

She was so in love with Jack, she couldn’t believe that he was hers. He was still overbearing and overprotective sometimes, but she had learned how to deal with it. He also found a way to make it his business to know every detail of her work. He invested in AGS, making him a partner in the company. Viktor was still running the entire show, but Jack made it clear in the investment contract that he wanted to be informed on all the activities of its agents.

Viktor had no issue with Jack’s conditions, but Maia was fuming when she found out. She had a huge fight with Jack, calling him a sneaky bastard which ended up with her giving him the silent treatment. He allowed her to nurse her snit for two days before he put his foot down and made her come around to his way of thinking in the most effective method he knew—fucking her brains out, damn him.

She smiled as she felt his warm presence at her back. Jack sat down behind her and cradled her thighs with his as he let his legs dangle beside hers. His lips brushed her shoulder.

“Happy?”

“Blissfully so,” Maia said dreamily. “Thanks for bringing me here for our honeymoon, Jack. I’ve always wanted to come here.”

“You just needed the right man to fulfill your dreams,” Jack murmured. “You know you haven’t had a nightmare since we got out of Samara?”

“I haven’t?” Maia asked, pleased.

“I wondered if finishing that mission gave you the closure you needed.”

“Or, I’ve finally found my safe haven in you …” Maia murmured.

“Babe, I love you,” Jack whispered thickly as his fingers pulled the strings of her bikini top and let it fall.

“Jack, people will see!” Maia exclaimed, scandalized as his forearm covered one breast while his hand cupped the other, his thumb caressing the nipple.

With his other hand, he gently grasped her chin around to receive his open-mouth, passion-filled kiss.

“Come on, wife,” Jack said as he got up and quickly swung her up into his arms and went up the steps of the bungalow. “I have an aching need to make love to you.”

So did she.

*** The End ***