5. Jack
JACK
The pre-dawn silenceof the room is my only company as I pry my eyes open at 4:30 a.m. the next morning.
I sit up slowly, my body protesting the early rise. Marlie, meanwhile, is still fast asleep next to me, her chest rising and falling.
Last night’s memories cascade through my mind—the smell of her skin, the fire in her eyes every time we touched, the way she whispered my name like it was a secret meant only for us.
It was the first time I’d tasted her, really tasted her.
And goddamn.
My wife was all heat and honey.
I wish I could stay cuddled up next to Marlie for the rest of the day, but there’s no time to indulge in the afterglow. Duty calls. I’ve got a meeting with Rich and Diego at the Surfside Diner. We’re supposed to be going over his new security protocol now that I’m in town.
Suddenly, Marlie stirs, a soft mumble escaping her lips. And for a moment, I’m frozen, caught between the urge to wake her with a kiss or let her linger in whatever sweet dream she’s having.
Fortunately, she settles back into stillness, and I take a breath, releasing the tension that’s gathered in my shoulders.
Slipping from the bed, I pad across the room to grab my clothes from the dresser. Jeans, boots, watch—each piece of my attire is armor against the day ahead. Then, quiet as a shadow, I step out of the bedroom, closing the door with a soft click behind me.
But as the cool morning air hits my face, a new determination settles within me. It’s not just about the job anymore.
It’s about coming home to her.
I pullup to the Surfside Diner about twenty minutes later. And right away, it’s impossible to miss Diego’s security detail parked out front. Their SUVs are as subtle as elephants in a ballet class, sticking out against the backdrop of the sleepy beach town.
I can’t help but shake my head at the sight.
It’s not just the visibility either. It’s the vibe they give off—like hawks circling, waiting for something to happen. No wonder they’re having security problems.
With a sigh, I get out of my truck and adjust my jacket. If this is the starting point, it’s going to be a long day.
As I step inside the diner, the scent of greasy air and sizzling bacon fills my nose. It’s still early, but the place is already buzzing with early risers and insomniacs clinging to their coffee cups.
Rich and Diego are tucked into a corner booth, and I can feel the tension crackling in the air like static before a storm. Rich’s jaw is set, his eyes hard, while Diego fidgets with the silverware, casting wary glances around the room. Whatever’s going on between them, it’s not good.
“Morning, gentlemen,” I say, my voice deliberately casual as I slide into the seat beside Rich.
“Jack.” Rich nods at me, his expression smoothing out into something resembling calm.
Diego just mumbles a greeting, his gaze darting to mine then away, like he can’t quite settle.
I decide to ignore the undercurrents for now. We have bigger fish to fry than their little spat. “Diego, you know why we’re here, right?”
He swallows, nodding slowly. “Yeah. You’re keeping me alive until the trial.”
“Exactly.” I lean forward, locking eyes with him to drive my point home. “And to do that, we need to follow the plan to the letter. No deviations. Understood?”
“Understood,” he says, though there’s a tremble in his voice that tells me he’s less than confident.
“Good.” I sit back, folding my arms across my chest. “Now I need you to tell me everything that happened with you and your security detail from the time you went to the DEA. And don’t leave anything out.”
Over the course of the next hour, Diego spills his guts to us in that dimly lit diner. He lays everything bare, from his old boss’s dangerous network to his desperate decision to turn informant for the DEA.
His voice is even, but there’s a tremor in his hands that gives away just how close he is to the edge. The pieces fall into place as he talks, each revelation painting an increasingly complex picture of the situation we’re tangled up in.
Once Diego is done speaking, Rich whistles low and turns to me, his brow cocked in question. “What do you think, Jack?”
“Definitely smells like a rat to me,” I reply.
Diego shakes his head. “But who? The feds said that everyone on the team came back clean.”
Rich chuckles. “Don’t worry. If there’s a rat, Jack here will smoke them out. You should see what he did to the guys in Vermont.”
“So what happens now?” Diego asks, glancing between us.
“First things first,” I begin. “We need to change your safe house. Today if possible. Rich will let his contact at the DEA know.”
Diego nods slowly. “My landlord has some other properties where I could stay.”
“Good.” The less visible he is right now, the better. “The feds will keep a skeleton crew stationed outside the perimeter at all times. But you should know that I won’t be shadowing you every second of every day.”
“Figured as much,” Diego chuckles. It’s the first time I’ve seen him smile since we’ve ben here. “Word around town is that you just tied the knot.”
“Yeah, it was a low-key thing,” I respond casually, leaning back in the booth and stretching my arms overhead. I find my thoughts drifting to Marlie - to the softness of our shared bed and the warmth of her body against mine.
There’s a strange comfort in knowing she’ll be waiting for me when I get home. It’s a sensation that’s equally foreign and welcome, like slipping into a well-worn pair of boots after years of going barefoot.
I pull out my wallet, leaving enough cash on the table to cover breakfast plus a generous tip. “Alright then,” I say as I rise from the booth, buttoning up my jacket. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
With that, we step outside, and I cast one last glance back at Surfside Diner before steeling myself for what lies ahead.
A few hours later,I’m back at the penthouse. And when I open the door, I pause, momentarily disoriented.
A burst of delicious aromas—garlic, herbs, something savory—fills the air.
Is someone cooking?
Marlie’s voice floats down the hallway. “Jack? Is that you?”
“Hey baby,” I call out, shrugging off my jacket.
When I walk into the kitchen, I see Marlie standing at the stove dipping a spoon into a large pot. Her brown hair is thrown up in a messy bun, and she’s got an apron tied around her waist.
Sneaking up behind her, I wrap my arms around her and press a kiss to the nape of her neck. “Smells good,” I murmur, my voice husky. “What are you cooking?”
“Spaghetti,” she replies, glancing over her shoulder at me with a playful smile. “I hope you’re hungry.”
I plant another kiss on her neck. “Starving.”
Giggling, she gently nudges me away with a shake of her hips. “Well, go wash up so we can eat. I’ll set the table.”
With a peck on her cheek and a promise to be right back, I reluctantly pull away and head towards the bathroom, my heart skipping in an unfamiliar rhythm within my chest.
As the water runs over my hands, I stare at my reflection, seeing the man I am and the one I’m becoming because of her.
My wife, with her macaroons and her easy smile, is doing more than feeding me. She’s giving me a taste of something I didn’t even know I was craving—a slice of normal life.
I’ve never been the kind of guy to expect a woman to cook and clean for me. Equality is the name of the game in my book. But the fact that Marlie chose to cook a meal for me, especially when she could have easily ordered in, means a lot. It’s her way of slowly opening up, letting me in bit by bit.
When I get back to the dining room, I sit down at the table, and Marlie places a steaming plate in front of me. Her movements are graceful, almost dance-like, as she settles across from me with her own plate.
“How was your day?” I ask, breaking the silence. “Looks like you got a lot done while I was gone.”
Marlie smiles, her fork twirling in her spaghetti. “It was good,” she says. “Pretty laid back. I unpacked and took a nap. Then I went to the grocery store.”
“Which one did you go to?”
She doesn’t know it yet, but we Texans are picky about our grocery stores.
“H-E-B,” she replies. “It was packed, but I found everything I needed. I’m still getting used to how fast everyone drives here, though. I’m glad I was able to walk there.”
She laughs lightly, her laughter filling the room with warmth.
Now that she’s taken off her apron, I can see that she’s wearing a simple dress that hugs her curves in all the right places. Seeing her like this, combined with another flashback to last night, triggers a rush of heat that courses through me like wildfire.
“What about you?” Marlie’s voice cuts through my thoughts. “How was your day?”
“If I’m being honest,” I start slowly, setting down my fork and letting my gaze meet hers, “it was miserable.”
Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise at my confession. “Why?”
I take a deep breath before letting out the words that have been on my mind all day long: “Because I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
Marlie bites her lower lip. “Really?”
I meet her gaze with complete sincerity. “Really.”
Before I know it, I’m out of my seat and crossing over to her side of the table. Then my lips crash against hers.
In an instant, our kiss spirals into a wild frenzy of need and lust. Marlie hooks a leg around my waist as my tongue slips into her mouth. Then she presses herself against me and starts humping the hard bulge in my pants.
“That’s it, baby.” I grab her supple ass cheeks so she can wrap both legs around me. “Grind that needy little pussy against this cock. Take what you want. I don’t mind.”
Marlie lets out a breathy little moan.
Fuck it - dinner can wait.
I pick her up and carry her into the bedroom. When I set her down on the bed, she looks up at me with hooded eyes.
“Tell me you want it, baby,” I rasp. “All you have to do is say it and I’ll stretch this pussy out and fill it up with my come.”
Marlie moans again. “Please, Jack. I want you inside me.”
I drop to my knees and spear her roughly with two fingers.
“Goddamn you’re soaked, sweetheart,” I growl as I spear her roughly with two fingers. “I love how wet you get for me.”
Then there’s no more waiting. Not when we’re both desperate for each other like this. I slam myself into her fully, and it’s only then that I pause to let her adjust to my size.
“How does it feel?” I grit out.
“So hard,” she pants in response. “So thick.”
The words are barely out of her mouth before instinct takes over, and there’s nothing left but raw, primal need.
I rut into her like an animal, fucking her with wild abandon while her hot little pussy squeezes my cock.
The pleasure builds up until it breaks free in a rush, leaving us breathless.
But we’re far from done.
I’m memorizing each moan, each shudder, every single response that my touch elicits from her. Her body is a landscape I could explore forever.
I reach down and Marlie onto her stomach. And the sight of her ass in the air sends another surge of primal hunger coursing through my veins.
Fuck.
“One more,” I rasp, my voice gravelly as I position myself behind her. “I need one more, baby.”
Then I plunge back into the welcoming warmth of her body.
A part of me knows that maybe this shouldn’t be so rough for our first time together. But I can’t stop now. Not with Marlie’s intoxicating scent filling my nostrils and the feel of her soft skin under my fingertips driving me wild.
“Tell me you’re mine,” I command, each word punctuated by a thrust that has us both gasping for breath.
Her response comes out in a breathless whisper that sets my blood on fire: “I’m yours, Jack. I’m yours.”
The sound of her admission only fuels my desire, propelling me to push deeper, harder.
The sensation of Marlie’s inner walls clenching around me like a vice is an exquisite torture that threatens to shatter my control.
I lean over her, pressing my chest against the curve of her back as I whisper urgently into her ear: “Don’t fight it baby... let that sweet pussy come for me.”
And then we’re tumbling over the edge together.
I fall back down onto the bed and pull Marlie with me. As the sweat cools on our skin, the world beyond our tangled limbs crashes back in.
“Jack?” Marlie’s voice pulls me from the edge of my thoughts, her hand tracing lazy patterns over my chest.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you,” she says softly, her head resting against my arm. “For making me feel special.”
“Always,” I assure her, because despite the chaos that surely waits outside our door, in here, I can give her that much. In here, I can pretend that this isn’t just part of the cover, that we’re not in some high-stakes game where danger lurks at every turn.
“Get some sleep, gorgeous,” I tell her, kissing her forehead.
I don’t know how I’ll go back to a world where Marlie isn’t in my bed. But that’s a thought for another day. For now, I hold her close, the guardian of her dreams, standing watch over the night.