Chapter 24
LOCKE
I found it hard to concentrate on the game that afternoon.
The memory of Jett’s tight ass squeezing my dick was hard to ignore. It had never been like this for me before. With anyone. And I was beginning to wonder if the difference went beyond the physical. That the reason sex with Jett was so much better was because it was him.
And the only way to figure it out was to spend more time with him.
Throughout the afternoon session, I’d felt myself becoming more and more resentful of my role in the Paxis Council. I knew why it was important—how could I not when my grandfather had reminded me over and over? But today, I was annoyed as fuck.
Why couldn’t European and American militaries run this shit down without turning it into a spiderweb of diplomatic posturing, double-dealing trade agreements, and useless sanctions?
Yes, it was efficient for the council to nip shit like this in the bud before it turned into something bigger. But it felt like the barrage of global clusterfucks we had to handle was as never-ending as the tide. And just as relentless and destructive.
“Good game today,” al-Qadiri said, eying me from the seat next to mine as we all reset our pieces to their neutral positions in preparation for the morning’s session.
“Maybe.”
“You play like your grandfather.”
I felt the compliment. My grandfather had been deeply respected by his fellow council members. “Thank you. I always hope to honor him and the rest of the council with my moves.”
“You do. I am impressed.” He continued studying me, but then his eyes flicked to Esteban and back to me. “Patience and action are difficult to balance. Do not expect to get it right all of the time.”
“Mistakes are costly,” I said carefully. When spoken about, the interaction we had during a Paxis session always had to be referred to in game language. “I fear losing.”
He nodded slowly. “As do I. As do all of us. But there cannot always be wins. And remember, we can only do our best.” He hesitated before meeting my eyes. “It is only a game, Locke. Your life is important also.”
This was also a familiar chorus. “Now you sound like my grandfather,” I accused with a smile.
Al-Qadiri returned the smile. “He was a smart man.” He tapped a finger on the table over a symbol of family. “And he loved your grandmother very much. And his grandchildren and dogs and boats.”
I huffed out a soft laugh, remembering summer days with my grandfather on his sailboat, his old black Lab asleep at his feet.
“That’s not really my scene,” I admitted. “I enjoy city life, and I enjoy my work.”
He smiled and tilted his head toward Vraj Nanda, who sat on the other side of me. “Maybe you need to talk to our friend here about balance. He will do a better job than I will convincing you of its powers.”
“What do you do for balance?” I asked.
“I have my family. My hobbies. We need things that help us remember we are men and not gods.” His face widened into a smile.
“A love of horses is something my wife and I have in common. Her passion is for showing, and mine is for racing.” He chuckled.
“I never go to the racetrack without my family. It is possible to enjoy such things together.”
“Like when I take my sister shopping in London?” I suggested. “Because I do that more often than I care to admit.”
He laughed and clapped my shoulder. “Celeste will keep you on your toes. But she is too much about work as well. The two of you need to remember to play.”
I thought again about Jett. About using his body for my pleasure only a few hours ago. “I do play, Sidi,” I said, trying not to smirk. “Trust me, I play.”
He laughed. “I do not mean the ladies, Locke. I have seen your picture everywhere with pretty girls.”
“If you ask me when I’m going to settle down, I’ll think your wife has been in your ear too long,” I warned before drinking the last sip of water from my glass.
Al-Qadiri pushed back his chair from the table and stretched. “Ahh, no. I am no matchmaker, and marriage and children are not for everyone. But I know that time away from work and stress is for everyone. And that is all I will say to you about that for fear of sounding too much like an old man.”
Esteban must have been listening to our conversation because he came over to pile on. “Saleem is right. And it is time for me to play. It is hard to be cooped up in here while the ladies are laid out so lovely in the late afternoon sun. Let’s go.”
While I hadn’t seen who’d traveled here with Esteban other than his son, I knew the older man usually brought along a mistress or two. Never his wife, and never the same woman twice.
As we filed out of the room and collected our electronics, I caught sight through the open doors of the women laid out in chaises by the pool. Most of them were beautiful, slim and sexy in various types of revealing swimsuits.
But surprisingly, it was a man who caught my eye.
Jett was sprawled on a double-wide chaise alongside a sexy young woman in a tiny bikini. He was shirtless and wore only a pair of small swim shorts in a familiar blue checked pattern. Even from here, I could see ab muscles and the curves of shoulder and thigh muscles.
He laughed at something the woman said, and she leaned over to whisper something else, making both of them laugh again.
Jett Davis was fucking Kryptonite. Worse than that, he was like loitering munitions. Hanging around seemingly benign, but ready to cause mass destruction at any time.
My dick filled just watching him. Despite fucking him earlier, I wanted him again. To plant myself inside him over and fucking over until I couldn’t get it up anymore.
“Mr. Maris, would you like me to call Mr. Davis back inside?” an attendant inquired softly after seeing me watching Jett with a scowl on my face.
“Yes, please. Tell him to meet me in my suite. Thank you.”
The woman nodded and disappeared through a side door, moving swiftly down the stairs to the lower terrace level. I watched her approach him if only to see how disappointed he would be when his fun was interrupted, but disappointment wasn’t what I saw.
His face brightened, and he jumped up, tossing unknown words over his shoulder to his chaise mate before grabbing his shirt and yanking it on. Within moments, he was hurrying toward the house on the lower level.
I turned to our suite and moved just as swiftly, not wanting to be caught watching.
Unfortunately, when I got to the suite, my phone started pinging with messages from the office, reminding me of a critical video conference I had with one of our largest customers.
“Just give me three minutes to change,” Jett said, rushing into the room. “And I can help with whatever you… what?”
From this close up, I could see the sweat on his skin, the way the edges of his hair curled more than usual from it, and the noticeable outline of one of his nipples under the soft cotton tee.
I know what that nipple tastes like.
The thought made me salivate, and for a split second, I had the outrageous thought that this man had been deliberately planted to distract me from serious business.
I swallowed and ground my teeth together. “I, ah, have a meeting.”
His brows furrowed in confusion. “Okay…?”
“I thought maybe you could…” I wanted him to rub my shoulders again, but it would be too distracting.
Plus, he would be visible on-screen. I remembered the most recent Paxis session.
“Email Minnie and ask her to get me an updated summary of all inspection activity from ships in the Baltic region, with special focus on North Sea and Kiel Canal itineraries.”
He nodded. “Anything else?”
“C’mere.”
He stepped closer until I grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him the rest of the way into my personal space until his lips were close enough to taste. Jett’s arms immediately went around me as I took possession of his mouth, my hunger for him flaring hot.
We kissed for several long moments until I finally had to force myself to pull away. “I missed you,” I admitted gruffly. “Now go.”
I turned to the computer, not allowing myself to see his reaction to my ridiculous confession. It was too embarrassing. Instead, I busied myself getting my tech crew in Brunsbüttel on the line to tell them where to set up along the canal.
“I want to test the technology on all passing ships,” I explained. “Make sure the data collection is thorough, and report back to me with anything that pings.”
Before I could put the phone down, I got a call from Arjen, my contact in security and surveillance tech, with an update on CCTV at the ports.
“I’d bet you money the ship you’re looking for is the MV Helvig Star out of Hamburg. Looks like there are four additional cargo containers aboard that weren’t listed on the manifest. It’s headed to Helsinki. Was loaded yesterday.”
“What makes you think this is it?”
“I pulled the footage from the pier. There’s money changing hands and dock workers looking hella paranoid. If it’s not what you’re looking for, it’s something else big.”
“Where can I get close to it?”
A few clicks of the keyboard sounded. “Rounding Skagen now. ETA Nyborg tomorrow.”
I thanked him and let out a breath. Fuck. We’d gambled that the cargo would be in the canal. Now we’d need to reassess. Fortunately, I had some ideas. “Jett?”
He came out of his room with his laptop. “Yeah?”
“I need you to request a dinner session of the game. Ask Concetta to notify the players and change dinner plans accordingly.”
He looked at me with surprise and concern on his face.
I tried to give him a reassuring smile. “I have a few new moves I want to try, that’s all. Find out who’s willing to sit down with me for a game.”
I knew, of course, everyone would show up. It was expected, and the players understood the urgency.
“Locke…” Jett hesitated. “You seem to be juggling a lot between work stuff and Paxis.”
Sure, baby. I’m just trying to stop a potential terrorist attack before noon tomorrow. Everything’s fine.
“My work is stressful,” I explained. “I was hoping to take my mind off it with more game play.”
He studied me for another beat before nodding and leaving the room, murmuring that I would find Minnie’s inspection summary in my email.
I quickly scanned the email to discover all inspections were normal and clear.
But the MV Helvig Star wasn’t one of the ships that had been inspected.
I closed my eyes and imagined using the game to communicate the updated information to the council.
We’d need to get someone near Nyborg to sneak on board that ship and find the stolen cargo.
Esteban usually had the best crews for work like this.
And while they carried out the clandestine maneuver on the eastern coast of Funen, we needed to create a distraction for all the media outlets and law enforcement agencies in the region somewhere else.
Which meant turning my scanning operation in the Kiel Canal into a blockade instead.
Any way you sliced it, this was a pain in the ass.
I ran my hands over my head and wondered why my first Paxis tournament hadn’t been one of the good ones.
One of the easy ones. One in which we all came together to prevent the next pandemic, help rescue people from an oncoming storm, or silently bolster promising research.
When Jett returned to the room, I stood up and stretched.
“Hey, remember you tried teaching me about hugs?” I said, shooting him a pathetic smile. “Think you can show me how they work again?”
The relieved look on his face was all I needed. And when he came into my arms and tucked his nose in my neck, I remembered why the Paxis Council did what it did.
To protect people. To make sure their loved ones came home at night.
To preserve moments like this.