When the Smoke Clears, page 2
Unlike Paige, who was conservative and sometimes shy when it came to men. Blame it on her overbearing father and two big brothers, although in truth, her awkward social behavior was the by-product of being thrown into college at sixteen. For so long, she was the too young, underdeveloped college freshman not allowed to date. When Bellamy arrived a year later on the college scene, Paige evolved. But she never really met the social mark when it came to discarded traditionalist views where dating was concerned.
“Decided to stay?” her friend asked with a wink. Paige shrugged off Bellamy’s sarcasm and grabbed a glass of wine from a moving tray. “Thank God.” Bellamy snickered once more while rolling her eyes at Paige. “Well, this is Tariq, our host for the evening.”
“Nice to meet you. Thanks for inviting us.” Paige offered her hand to the man. He made her think of the Saudi prince who consistently made the world’s top ten hottest guys list. He was regal, handsome, and a bit arrogant as he took three steps instead of one and began a gentle caress of her hand with his thumb. She pulled her hand from his, not liking the attention he seemed determined to give. “You have a nice place.”
“You look nice in it.” Tariq closed the gap between them. “Bellamy has kept you under wraps.” He fingered a loose strand from her cheek and then began undressing her with his intense hazel eyes. “Killer body, beautiful brown eyes, and lips made for sin. I could eat you, Paige.”
“Tariq!” Bellamy stepped in and slapped his hand. “Be a good boy.”
“I am.” His finger traced along Paige’s collarbone. “I need your friend to be a bad girl.” Paige flicked his hand away and took a step back. Tariq tilted his chin, frowned, and then walked away while Bellamy covered her mouth, fighting back mirth.
Paige cut her bestie a deep sideways glance. “That guy is a dick, Bellamy.”
“True. I mean, he does have a lot of it.” Bellamy glanced toward Tariq and gave a sly smile.
“You’ve fucked him?”
“Hellll, yes! He’s a certified freak and you know I like ’em extra freaky.”
Paige’s cheeks exploded with laughter. “Oh my God. Sooo, do you like him?”
“Hellll no. He’s a hoe. It’s just good—I mean great fucking. Maybe you should try it. It’ll damn sure take your mind off that pencil-dick asshole you dated for almost two years. Who, by the way, never gave you an orgasm.”
Paige rolled her eyes deep within their sockets at the mention of Richard. Her ex was the product of her middle brother’s horrible matchmaking skills, and a year and a half had been wasted on a self-absorbed, rich pretty boy who lacked reasonable depth unless his photo was being taken for a newspaper.
“Belli!”
“I’m just saying. We’re both on the wrong side of twenty-five to be faking orgasms.” Bellamy grabbed Paige’s hand and proceeded to the beverage station. “You can’t tell me that no one here has made you contemplate plating your cookies.”
A sudden warmth saturated Paige. She looked around, seeing people on the stairs, in the living room, on the pool deck, on the balcony, and then there he was…Brenden. His blazing stare made her body temperature spike. It seemed as if the man hadn’t lost sight of her since they entered the house. Truth be told, she didn’t know if she wanted him to.
The minute her brown eyes met his blue-grays, she turned away, embarrassed he might sense she was looking for him or, worse, that she wanted him. Wanted him in a way she had never wanted anyone. Her heart stuttered because she never thought like this when it came to men.
Paige took a deep breath. The butterflies in her belly settled, and then she dared to take another look. This time, Brenden winked and raised his glass to her before sipping the contents.
Infinite seconds passed before she finally lifted her glass in return. “Him,” she whispered, turning to Bellamy’s side as she sipped her wine. “In the back to my left. Tall, tan—”
“And fine as hell! He’s a damn tree I’d love to climb.”
“Belli, stop!” Paige giggled as her friend continued to stare in Brenden’s direction.
“I’ve never seen him before, but he is hot! You should go say something.”
Paige shrugged, fighting back the social anxiety she had been plagued with forever. “Have you forgotten? That isn’t me.”
“Why, because he’s white?”
“No, because I’m a lady. I’m not approaching a man.”
“Oh gawd, must you always be so old-fashioned? Dare to live, Paige.”
“Besides,” Paige looked over her shoulder. This time Brenden was occupied by a few women. “Doesn’t seem like I’d be his type.”
“Because you’re Black?”
“Umm… I don’t know. He just seems like the type who’s into tall, skinny, big-boobed no-booty blondes.”
Bellamy erupted in laughter and cajoled a few giggles from Paige.
“Paige, dear, you’re like a buck twenty-five. And your ass, well, it is one to be admired.” Bellamy slapped Paige on the behind. “You’re passing stereotypes. He may like little, short, curvy girls like you, too. You never know. You would, however, if you said something.”
“No thanks.”
“Hmmm…well, you’ll figure it out. Until you do, let’s make a round or two.”
Chapter Two
Brenden glanced down to his Q8—only three minutes before the infamous ball dropped in Times Square. For a second, he thought of his mother. Right about now, Joan Jasper would be bustling around the Jasper Estate spreading her never-ending excitement for the New Year at her annual gala. Years had passed since Brenden attended, and he didn’t miss the high society gathering. His family’s party reminded him that he was different because he chose to live life bound to a code.
He didn’t get the luxury to think about second chances and resolutions. Not while a monster lurked within him, when he often thought of how to cleanse his mind, body, and soul from the blood he spilled on missions. Tonight at Tariq’s took his mind off what would come next. There was no pressure to conform, no great expectations, no judgment, and he could actually have fun.
Brenden took another swig of his drink. The burn of the liquor chased the darkest parts of him away. He became appreciative of the cheer surrounding him and then allowed his line of sight to fall on the woman he had met outside.
Without hesitation, he began moving to her. The countdown started, and now he had four seconds before Paige’s bright and contagious smile would hopefully be his prize for the night.
“Brenden.” Amanda, his comrade and good friend since West Point days, grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him to her, reminding him of less complicated times. “Two…one… Happy New Year!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Happiness, the kind that was rare for him to experience, crept in. He chuckled and wrapped his arms back around his friend. “Happy New Year, Manda!”
They raised their voices in chorus, joining in on the song of days gone by, before moving about the space and greeting other friends. After a while of pretending to be social, Brenden eased into a circle and bided his time with Trent, Josh, Linc, Luke, and a few others not belonging to their elite Black Ops brotherhood. They hung back and observed the crowd’s mass exodus while staying behind to partake in the scandalous parade of adult fun.
Under normal circumstances, Brenden would have bolted the minute the countdown was over. These types of parties were known to take on an alternate life, and he didn’t like entertaining tenacious women who were always looking for more than he was willing to give.
Despite his reservations and the deployment in the morning, he remained while disregarding his pick of the groupie litter. He wanted only one woman—Paige. He cursed himself for not getting to her in time to make another gesture of goodwill by wishing her Happy New Year.
Throughout the night, he had watched her. She was like a little bee in a field of poppies, beautifully mingling and flirting before turning her stinger on many of his colleagues’ advances. Her constant rejections were why he decided to pace himself against the competition, making him want her even more. He burned all over to feel her skin and smell the fragrant bouquet of her perfume that had made his head swim as he kneeled in front of her. There had been women he wanted in the past, but this one he needed to capture…if only for one night.
Because there could never be more than that.
“Dude, stop staring.” Trent bumped Brenden and then grinned wide. “Which one has caught your eye? The one in gold”—Trent angled his head to the left then slowly moved it to the right—“or her friend in the green?”
“Green seems to be my favorite color tonight.” Brenden’s head remained tilted to the right as he watched a random guy approach Paige. He unfolded from a relaxed lean against the bar top and stood at attention. Paige would be his New Year’s resolution. Not that of the lanky, civilian dork talking to her now.
“Yes, green is stunning. Those legs.”
“Everything.” Brenden took another sip of gin. “She’s curvy, and…fucking perfect.”
“That’s because she’s a Pilates fiend. She also runs a few times during the week.”
Brenden and Trent whipped around to see the mahogany-skinned girl in the gold dress flaunting a wide smile.
“Happy New Year!” She raked a bold gaze over Trent. “How y’all fellas doing? I’m Bellamy, and you two are?”
“Trent.” He stepped in front of Brenden, flashing pearly whites.
“Brenden.” Brenden sipped from his glass, then glanced over his shoulder only to see Paige had vanished. “Where’s your friend?”
“You mean Paige?” The vixen in gold gave a sly smile, looked over her shoulder, and then turned her attention to Trent. He hadn’t stopped ogling the way her cleavage greeted him from her V-cut dress. “You like them, Trent?”
Brenden barked a hearty chuckle, seeing his comrade get put on the spot. “Yes, Paige,” he finally responded through laughter.
“I like them, and you. The things I’d do.” Trent took one step toward Bellamy before being halted by Brenden’s hard arm.
“You can have Trent after you answer my question, Bellamy.”
“Knowing Paige, she probably went to the balcony for air. She’s not going to say anything to you, but if you say something to her…” The woman winked, tugged Trent’s lapel as an order to follow, and the two disappeared.
Brenden tossed back the last of his drink before strolling toward the sliding glass doors. He disregarded the half-naked women vying for his attention, but paused at the sight of his ex-Black 2131 operative Tariq. His ex-comrade sucked on the nipples of a redhead while a brunette massaged his dick. Their dirty little picture was the reason most came to these parties. Except he didn’t envy his friend this evening.
Brenden couldn’t think of any woman beyond the one he’d met on his way in. The way that damn green dress clung to her hourglass figure and revealed her shapely legs still had his mind doing somersaults. Those were the legs he wanted wrapped around him. Her lips, both sets, were what he wanted to taste.
Where the hell is she?
Brenden went to the balcony and got nothing. When he turned to go back inside, the flicker of a shadow caught his eye, but the shape moving toward the house was too large to be the petite-framed woman he was seeking. Familiar battle-ready tension heated his veins. He stilled, giving his eyes a second to adjust, and then recognized the blur of a silver barrel tight at the torso of the shadow.
Predator instincts crept in. He jumped over the second-story balcony, landing as if his feet hit the clouds. Under the canopy of night that he most often operated from, he pulled his Colt .45 and began moving forward, then trailing the shadow. The scent was— Couldn’t be. Jacob Henderson’s trail had gone cold last year after Yemen, where the team had dodged an ambush.
“Happy New Year to you, too, Mommy! Tell Lauren that Te-Te Paige is sorry she missed watching the ball drop with her.”
Brenden glanced up to the third-story balcony then shook his head, severing the distraction Paige’s sultry voice induced while refocusing on his surroundings. He took a few more steps in the dark, scanning the perimeter, but there was no movement, and the scent he had latched onto had been replaced by the pungent salty air of Clearwater Beach. He lowered his gun and stood still, scratching his head. Since threats of a contract of a hit on his team were confirmed, his internal alert system had been hypersensitive. But now he wondered if paranoia wasn’t getting the best of him.
Padded footsteps and a feminine giggle sweeter than any lullaby turned his gaze back up to the third floor. There she was. Long black hair blew carelessly in the wind as Paige endured the rush of the ocean breeze.
The girl in the green dress was the beauty who stole his breath, focus, and ability to think rationally. Thank God he hadn’t been on a mission. Losing focus for a second could cost him his life and the lives of his men. It had already happened once, a fate he didn’t care to relive in this lifetime.
Despite Brenden’s better judgment, he was determined to see Paige once more before leaving. Without further deliberation, he made his way up to the third floor.
…
Listening to the push and pull of the ocean waves while pretending the night sky was her canvas helped Paige calm her nerves. Envy had gotten the best of her, and she had damn near lost it after finding Bellamy behind a closed door, lip-locked while undressing a drop-dead gorgeous guy with blue eyes and wavy dark hair. Before Paige could say anything, Bellamy begged her to take an empty room on the third floor, then promised to leave early in the morning.
Paige conceded. If it were her sucking face with some hot guy, the woman she’d called her best friend since age four wouldn’t dare be upset. Besides, her sour mood on a celebratory evening was all because she wanted to hang on to notions of knights in shining armor. For once she should’ve rejected traditionalist views, taken her bosom buddy’s advice, and approached Brenden.
The thought of Brenden made Paige slump over the balcony rail. She recalled the courage she had drummed up to go over and plant a kiss on his cheek as the New Year rang in. She had even decided to start a casual conversation. Only as the confetti went into the air and streamers fell over raised “Happy New Years,” a fair-skinned, faux blonde wrapped her arms around Brenden and never let go.
The affection passing between Brenden and the woman was impossible to miss. In that moment, Paige decided all her non-Paige-like thoughts were indefinitely tabled.
“Are you done hiding from me?” The smooth tenor jump-started her heart.
Paige whipped around to see Brenden leaning in the doorframe. A smile curved his lips as she struggled through heavy breaths. “Hi… Hiding from you?” She gulped down a mixture of fear and excitement as butterflies began dancing in her stomach. She wasn’t sure if she wanted them to stop because at least the fluttery feeling confirmed she wasn’t dreaming.
He slid his hands into his pockets while his eyes intently scanned her face as if he were committing every inch to memory. “You didn’t give me a chance to tell you Happy New Year.”
A flush crept along her neck before stinging her cheeks. She peeked up, afraid of how the energy in her body was responding to Brenden. “Ditto,” she muttered. “Happy New Year! I guess chivalry does exist.”
He shrugged and began moving toward her. Face-to-face, he looked upon her, again studying her like a work of art. “Not sure if the thoughts I’m having of you would be deemed chivalrous, Paige.”
She felt her mouth form a little O while her heartbeat triple-timed. The sincerity etched across Brenden’s face and the want laced within his husky voice began casting a spell, unraveling inhibitions she’d clung to for fear of failure or rejection.
“Why are you here by yourself?” He shifted his gaze beyond her to the ocean before taking a few steps to claim the space at the balcony rail.
“I could ask you the same,” she replied before returning to her place along the rail that was now a few feet from the sexiest man alive.
“True, but I suppose neither of us wants to share what we’d rather forget.”
Paige nodded. How did he know? She’d been trying to forget for the last twenty years. And now, seeing the sliver of tension twitch at Brenden’s jaw, it made her curious to learn what he wanted to forget.
“Forget?” she asked out loud, and not on purpose.
He faced her. Sweet Jesus, the man’s eyes could read a girl’s soul and betray her most private thoughts. “Don’t you want to?”
Something in him whispered to her deepest, darkest desires. Her body slowly began overriding her mind. “How?” she asked, desperate for her next breath. She then swallowed an inhale and reached up, pushing strands of his tousled hair from his face.
Brenden stepped in, closing the distance between them. He looked down into her eyes, lowered his head, and brushed his lips across hers. His fingers threaded the strands of her hair before he tilted her neck and pressed his lips to her bouncing pulse.
Her breaths became more unpredictable, fueling the sharpening ache between her legs that halted rational contemplation. Mind versus body. Never before had she been uncertain of which would win.
Another stuttering breath escaped her lips, and her eyes closed as Brenden’s teeth sank into her skin. “Mmmm…feels good.”
“Tastes good.” His body pressed harder against hers. “And now you know my most indecent thoughts.”
Brenden was like the forbidden fruit that curiosity demanded she sample at least once. And why not? A tall, sexy-as-hell man wanted to please her in a way she hadn’t been for months. Not only had Mr. Pencil-dick Richard been ill-equipped with stroke game, his oral was—well, he needed training.
