Just five more minutes, Joss thought as she rolled over to hit the snooze button on that annoying buzzing coming from her alarm clock. Instead of her fingers coming into contact with the source of the noise, they slapped against something hard. "Ow! Damnit!" She yelled, as her eyes snapped open to find that she had attacked the coffee table next to her couch rather than the clock next to her bed. "Shit." She mumbled. She'd done it again. After a long night of helping John and Finch on their latest 'case', she had come home completely exhausted, wanting nothing more than to sink into a hot bath and then fall into her bed. Instead, she had walked in and hung her trench coat on the hook, removed her gun and holster, set her keys down, and just as she was heading to the bathroom, her cell phone vibrated. Not her 'official' blackberry but her 'other' phone.
She audibly sighed as she dug it out of her pants pocket and flipped it open. "I've been gone an hour John. One hour! What the hell could be so important that you couldn't tell me before I left you two?" Joss heard his low chuckle on the other end of the line. She shivered a little; not sure if it was from the sound he emitted or from walking home in her coat that was far too lightweight for as cold as it had become, over the course of the day.
"I just wanted to make sure you made it home in one piece Carter."
She shook her head, the corners of her lips curving up just the slightest bit. She could never stay annoyed at the man for very long, God knows she'd tried... and failed... miserably. That didn't mean she had to make that point obvious.
"Uh huh. What do really want John? I'm tired. We've both had a long day. I'd like to get some sleep. I've got things to do tomorrow."
"Oh? Anything exciting?"
She sighed. "No, just going to visit an old friend. It's my day off."
"Not anywhere too far, I hope. It's supposed to start snow..." He paused. "No, it has started snowing. Supposed to do it all night. You want a ride…to wherever you're going?"
"No." She hadn't meant for her answer to sound so waspish. She knew he was just watching out for her, that protective streak of his, especially for those close to him. She slipped off her shoes and flopped down onto her couch and leaned back against the soft cushioning of the armrest. Her legs soon followed, stretching out languidly across the soft material. "Sorry John, I didn't mean it like that. I'm just tired. I'll be fine. I've walked through a few inches of snow before. I actually happen to enjoy it, if you must know."
Joss could almost see his brows arch along with that one-sided grin he got whenever she either revealed, or he was able to trick, any type of personal information out of her. She didn't even realize that she had smirked in response to that particular mental picture of him until he started speaking again.
"Well, you be careful... and Carter?"
"Yeah?"
"Wear a better coat. Wouldn't want you catchin' a cold."
She bristled at the thought of him telling her what to do but she really did know that he meant well. She had just barely stopped the sarcastic response (on where he could shove it) from leaving her lips and instead, decided to take the high road. "Thank you John, but my coat is just fine." When in all actuality she knew it wasn't, but she hadn't even taken out her winter coats from storage yet, so she really had no other choice in what to wear. She heard nothing but silence on the other end. She wondered if he'd hung up. "John?"
"Yeah Carter?"
"G'night." ...Silence.
"Good Night Joss." Her breath caught in her throat. The way he'd said those last three words in that velvety-textured tone of his, just took her breath away. About a minute later, she flipped the phone shut and set it on her stomach as she leaned back further on to the arm of the couch. Her thoughts took over...thoughts of a tall man...in a suit, his face hidden in shadows, standing watch over her as she slept. That was the last thing she remembered before she was awakened by that blasted alarm clock - that wasn't really the alarm clock. She realized - a few seconds later when the buzzer sounded again, that it was her intercom, letting her know that someone was there to be let into the building.
She swung her legs off the couch and got up slowly. It wasn't that her couch was uncomfortable… it was just that she was used to stretching out on her stomach across her queen-sized bed and instead, she had slept on her back in one position all night. Still in her clothes from last night, she stretched as she walked over to her call button next to the front door.
She pressed the answer button and said a simple, "Hello?"
"Yeah, I've got a delivery for a Detective Joss Carter."
"What kind of delivery?" She hadn't ordered, or been expecting anything so her senses were now on high alert. God only knew how many people Elias had on the outside just waiting to take out his vengeance on her.
"I'm sorry ma'am, I don't know the contents but the sender is marked as J and H."
She chuckled as she pressed the button to give the man access to her building. A minute later she heard the quiet knock on the door. She looked through the peephole and saw a tall, skinny man carrying a large, white, rectangular box and some papers. She unlocked and opened the door and smiled at the man standing on the other side.
"Sign here please." Joss took the proffered paper and signed on the line indicating that she had received the delivery. He handed her the box, took the paper, and turned to leave.
"Thank you." She called down the hall.
She closed the door and immediately set the box down on the coffee table turning away from it to head to the kitchen. She started the coffee pot and filled a cup with hot water. She then headed to her bedroom to grab her clothes and then to the bathroom. She went about her normal morning routine; shower, makeup, hair, in that order and then padded back to the kitchen wrapped only in her towel. Her eyes fell on the box, still sitting right where she'd left it. She wanted to open it so badly but she couldn't; she knew if she did that whatever was in there would somehow distract her from what she was doing today. This was her day off, she was determined not to get pulled into whatever 'those two' had planned. She walked past it and didn't look at it again.
She dumped the now lukewarm water back into the sink and filled her cup with coffee adding a bit of creamer and sugar. She took a sip, savoring the aroma and taste of some of the best coffee money could buy...at least in her price range.
Joss walked back to the bathroom and got dressed. She'd chosen a pair of jeans and a long sleeve tee with a short sleeve tee over that. She wanted layers for walking in the cold weather but she also wanted to be able to remove some if she got too warm once she reached her destination. She soon finished her coffee and walked back into the living room and flipped on the TV to try and catch the weather. The snow that fell last night was of the dry variety, not the wet, slushy kind that would make foot travel difficult. She flipped off the TV and walked back into the kitchen, eyeing the box once again as she passed it.
'Damnit', she thought. She set her cup down in the sink and walked back into the living room. She sat down on the couch and slid the box in front of her. After a resigned sigh, she felt around the sides of the box for tape, but found none. She slipped the top up and set it aside. She pulled aside the expensive looking white tissue paper to reveal what looked very much like a coat. She reached in and lifted the garment out and held it up in front of her. She couldn't help the smile from tugging up the sides of her lips. How the hell had those two known...really?
She stood up and admired the material that looked and felt very much like Cashmere. When she slipped the coat on, she sighed at the luxurious feel of the satin sliding over her hands. She walked to her bedroom and stood in front of her full-length mirror and couldn't help but admire the coat. The color was a deep, rich, red which looked stunning against her skin. It was a long double breasted Pea Coat that fell about halfway from her hips to her knees. It had a slightly over-sized hood but there were little tiny clips hidden within that could be clipped to her hair, to keep it from being blown off. She pulled the coat closed and fastened the buttons. It was so lightweight but it was already making her warm. She turned to look at it from the back and then from the front again. It fit perfectly through the shoulders, around her chest and waist and then flared out slightly from there giving it beautiful movement. The material, whatever it was had to be incredibly expensive. 'Yeah', she thought, 'Finch was definitely involved in this little - no, make that big gift'.
She knew she couldn't accept it but she wanted to so badly. Damn those boys for dangling it right out in front of her nose! She was going to give them a piece of her mind the next time she saw them...but for now, she resolved to keep the coat because she needed it, and she absolutely loved it. She caught herself smiling as she glanced at herself in the mirror one last time before turning on her heel and heading out to the living room.
She unbuttoned the coat so that she could strap on her holster and gun. She sat down and slipped on her knee-high leather boots then walked over and grabbed her shield and wallet and deposited them both in her pocket. Her black scarf that was hanging on the hook along with her black leather gloves would go nicely with her new coat. She put them on and headed out her door.
When she reached the street she barely shivered as the cold, brisk wind immediately hit her head on. She raised her chin and breathed in the crisp, fresh air as she started down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. She didn't really have to be at her destination at any given time but she enjoyed the rush that the brisk pace brought on.
The foot traffic ebbed and flowed around her as she walked past the bodegas, shops, and cafes lining the sidewalk. She stopped in at one of the local coffee shops that she stopped at almost every day on her way to work. The little bell on the door announced her arrival to the barista standing at the counter.
"Morning Joss!" The barista called out.
"Hi Ash, how's it goin?"
"Oh, just enjoying this gorgeous snow. It's so beautiful this time, not that slushy stuff that looks ugly after a few hours."
"Yeah, it's pretty alright."
"I was wondering what time you'd get here. Gorgeous coat by the way. I've been waitin' to see it all morning."
The smile on Joss's face dropped and her forehead wrinkled. "Wh..what do you mean Ash?"
"Oh, umm. I thought... well, John told me about it. He said you'd be..."
Joss interrupted her. "John?" Her brows raised then lowered in a frown. "John." Her voice was almost a growl.
"I'm sorry Joss..." The girl started but was interrupted again by Joss's chuckle.
She shook her head as she smiled, pursing her lips. "Oh no Ash, it's nothing." She chuckled again. "I should have known... So, what did John say?"
"Well, he just said that you'd be coming in sometime this morning for your usual...and well, then we just started chatting about the weather and the snow and then he mentioned that he had given you a new coat." Joss's brows rose again but she didn't speak, allowing the girl to continue. "I just, well...the way he talks about you all the time, I figured you two were dating or at least really good friends."
Joss couldn't stop her jaw from dropping open. "Uhh..." She tried responding but stumbled over her words, which was not something that she normally did. "We're... well... I... It's complicated Ash."
"I'm sorry Joss, I shouldn't have said anything." She turned around to start making Joss's usual; a skinny, Zebra Mocha, extra hot, no foam.
"Oh Ash, I'm sorry. No, I just...no. We're not 'dating' ." She sighed, annoyed that she let him get under her skin when he wasn't even in the same room.
Ash turned back around with Joss's drink and set it on the counter for her. "It is a beautiful coat though." She said with a wink as she smiled at Joss. "John's not so bad either." She whispered, winking at Joss again. "Even if you two aren't 'dating', he sure seems to like you." Joss's head cocked to the side.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well, he does talk about you a lot."
"Wait, a lot? You talk to him often, Ash?"
"Yeah, he's in here pretty much every day that you are. There's only been a few times when he wasn't in right before, or right after you." The girl's eyes drifted up. "It was a couple of months ago."
Joss was floored. She had no idea John had been following her every day. She kind of had an idea that he watched out for her, when he had time, but it blew her mind that it was to that extent. She also knew why Ashley wouldn't have seen him. It would have been when he was recovering from being shot by Agent Snow. 'God', she thought, he'd been following her even before she'd started working with them.
"Anyway, if there was a guy talking about me, the way he talks about you...I'd wanna know Joss."
Joss shook her head; the only reply she was capable of at the moment, and reached into her coat pocket for her wallet. Ashley put up her hand, waving Joss's money away. "It's on the house today." She smiled at the girl as she picked up her cup and headed for the door.
"Thanks Ash. See ya tomorrow."
"Say hi to John for me!" Ashley called out as Joss walked out the door. Joss held up her hand in an absentminded wave goodbye. She walked down the sidewalk in a fog, her mind reeling with all of the thoughts and questions churning around in her head. How long had John been following her? She knew he had been watching out for her since right before she'd been shot by her CI, but she hadn't even considered the fact that he might have been watching her before that. Hell, she'd been chasing him! How the hell did he find time to follow her around… while protecting the countless other people that she knew about. And God knows how many others she didn't know about! Then her thoughts took a turn to Ashley. Why, would John say something that would prompt Ashley to say something to her...after all this time? She chuckled and answered her own question; because he wanted her to know that he had been following her. Yet again, she was asking herself why? 'Oh hell', she wasn't even sure why she tried to question anything John did. The man was an enigma dressed in a designer suit. No fuckin' way was she going to figure him out.
She turned and glanced over her right shoulder and then again over her left. When she was turning back to the front something in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She turned again, trying to figure out what it had been but she saw nothing out of the ordinary. It occurred to her that he might be following her at this very moment but then she dismissed the thought, just as quickly as it had come to her. He knew she had the day off...there would be no reason to follow her today. No homicides to investigate, no Elias to come after her; since he was currently in jail, she wasn't in any danger...
Before she even realized it, she had finished her coffee and was now putting an empty cup to her lips. 'Damn the man', she cursed him again for the...oh who knows, the hundredth time today. He'd made her forget about her coffee, it was gone before she could even enjoy it. She threw the empty cup in the next trash can that she walked by and then pulled her hood up over her head, securing it easily with the little clips. The wind had picked up and she noticed a significant drop in the amount of people around her. Most of them had probably started work or arrived at their destinations by now, so she was one of the few left walking the pathway through this concrete forest.
She felt a shiver crawl up her spine that almost brought her to a stop. 'Where the hell had that come from?', she thought to herself. She shivered and slid her hands into her pockets. The coat had kept her warm up until now but the chills her body produced couldn't be warmed by any outside source. Her years in the military and on the force had taught her not to ignore any warning signals that her brain produced.
She kept moving but looked behind her again. The sidewalks were even more barren now than they had been five minutes ago. The shops and cafes were few and far between now as she had moved into a more residential district. Again, something caught her eye and she started to turn around to give her full attention to the sidewalk behind her but her boot caught on something. She felt herself falling and braced herself for whatever pain the sudden stop might bring, but it never came. Instead, she felt two strong arms wrapped around her and instead of cold snow, she was pressed up against a firm, warm chest.
Before she could look up at the owner of said chest, it was vibrating with the softly spoken words of a very familiar voice. "Good Morning Detective."
Joss exhaled a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She turned towards him and looked up. "Wha..what are you doin' John?" Her voice broke. She cleared her throat, trying to sound more forceful in her questioning, while still wrapped in his arms... It didn't work for her though. "Where did you come from John?" Her voice was still too high. 'Damnit!' She thought. What the hell was wrong with her? "Have you been followin' me?" She hissed at him.
His chest rumbled again with his chuckle. "Ya know, you really should watch where you're goin' Carter."
Her chin tilted and her brow cocked, if her hands had been free, one of them would most definitely be on her hip. "You didn't answer my question John."
"Which one?"
There it was... That damned smirk of his. She couldn't help her own lips from curling up, oh she fought it...valiantly, but she lost.
"You should be more specific if you want an answer Carter." His smirk had lifted a little, making it more of a smile now. She really liked what his smile did to his eyes... Oh, she had to get away from that thought right now before she embarrassed herself even further.
"You sure like tellin' me what to do." She said, her hard ass detective persona quickly back in place.
"I wasn't telling you what to do. I was just making intelligent observations...suggestions if you will..."
"Mmm hmm. So what's your next suggestion for me?"
"Walk with me. Or at least let me walk with you." His eyes, those gorgeous, silvery blue eyes, slowly left her gaze to follow the line of the hood that was still covering her head, and then down, to rake lasciviously over the rest of her body. Her smile instantly fell as her jaw dropped and her chin pulled in slightly towards her chest. 'Did he just check me out?' She thought to herself. The smirk was back. "I'm glad you like the coat. You make it look even more lovely than it was when I first saw it. In fact, you remind me of...Little Red Riding Hood." His tone was light and airy but his eyes turned dark and then flickered back to normal so quickly that she couldn't be sure if she'd imagined it...
Then, before she could even think, he was lowering his head slowly towards her. His nose and mouth slid between the edge of her hood and her cheek, nestling right next to her ear. His voice; that slow, velvety textured voice whispered, "Joss...listen to me. It's dangerous out here. A beautiful woman, walking alone..." He slowly inhaled a deep breath through his teeth that sent chills down her spine as he continued. "...You're perfect, just what a ruthless, unsavory criminal... Or the big bad wolf, could want." His lips are just a ghost of a touch against her ear and his warm breath caresses her skin, sending a fresh wave of chills over her body. Her eyes drift closed; heavy with a lust that she didn't realize she felt, but had overtaken her in a matter of seconds.
"John..." Was the only word her mouth seemed able to form, and even that was only a raspy whisper.
"You see Joss, that's another reason you should stay with me. Those lips...that luscious mouth..." She could swear he had just growled. "Don't you know Joss, there are so many miscreants that would kill for that mouth."
'Oh fuck.' Was all she could think as he pressed his slightly scruffy cheek against hers… and then it was gone. She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her with a wicked gleam in his eyes. Thankfully, his arms still held her because she wasn't quite certain that her knees were capable of holding her up at the moment.
"Well Joss?" His voice was back to normal, light, soft...how the hell did he do that? She thought.
She gaped up at him. She didn't think she could speak without making a fool of herself. Wait a minute, she thought, where the hell had her confidence, her self-assurance gone, for God's sake? She had been an Army interrogator, a lawyer, and now a fucking detective for the NYPD! She started to get angry with herself and that helped her to pull herself together.
"Well what, John?" She was proud of herself. Her voice came out much more forcefully than she had expected it would.
"Don't you think that I should accompany you, make sure you make it safely to...wherever you're going?"
"For what John? I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." She pressed her arm against her Glock tucked safely into its holster under her coat.
His eyes never left hers, not even to glance down at the gun she knew he was already aware of, and that, for some reason, rattled her again. He still hadn't released her from being corralled by his arms. Funnily enough, she hadn't tried to break free of them yet either.
"You're a little big girl Joss but that doesn't mean that you can't get eaten up by some of the animals that lurk in this neck of the woods. And I don't want you to get eaten up... by them." Her breath hitched in her throat as her mind started spinning at his double entendre.
"What more do you need from me, to convince you that you need me? I already told you what would attract them..." One of his hands released its hold on her arm and rose to her face, while the other slid around behind her to the small of her back. The backs of his fingers reached her cheek and made a gentle arc down to her jaw. "That, right there is definitely one thing..." Then his thumb was gliding softly across her lips. "...This, is definitely another." Her lips parted as she gasped at the sensation of his skin against hers.
"I... I'll be just..." Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat...again. "I'll be fine, John."
His hand slid down under her scarf and then his fingers curled around behind her neck while his thumb pressed up underneath her jawbone. He applied just enough pressure to tilt her head up to him. She swallowed hard, knowing that he had heard it. "You don't want to worry about being chased, now do you?" Her ears pricked at the lilt she had just heard.
She couldn't look away, not with his warm fingers trapping her in their grip. "You know you wouldn't have to worry about those other animals...not if I'm with you." His smooth voice had changed in timbre; it had dropped to a low, dark, raspy...growl. It triggered something in her senses but she wasn't sure what. His eyes had also darkened again to that deep, rich, blue that not many people had seen, and lived to tell about it. She felt an irrational but overwhelming desire to reach up and touch his face, but instead she settled for his chest. Her hand came to rest right over where his heart would be. She could feel it pounding out a strong, steady, rhythm against her palm. "Your heart..." Her eyes flickered down to her hand for just a second and then back up to his. "..it's..."
His brow cocked. "Well Joss, did you expect me not to have one?"
To the contrary, she thought he had a good heart, a huge heart. No one who thought so much about everyone else before themselves could be missing a heart.
"Joss..." There it was again, that deep rumbling...growl.
"Hmm?" Her response was nothing more than a vibration in her throat, yet audible enough for him to hear. She shook her head slightly, almost as if she were trying to shake the feelings she had for him out of her lust-addled brain. "I...
"Tell me you want me...that you trust me...to stay with you."
Oh God, did she ever... But did she want to admit it to him? She wasn't sure yet… but what she did know was that she didn't want him to leave her, even though she didn't want to admit that she felt a million times safer whenever he was with her...only because it might serve to prove that she can't necessarily handle every single situation by herself. 'Damnit', she thought, she owed at least that much to him; to admit that she did need him around...that didn't mean she had to admit that she now wanted him around, hell, she didn't even want to admit that to herself.
She searched his face, meeting his gaze. She was surprised at what she found in those piercing blue eyes. His over confident, self-assured persona was gone and was replaced by a hesitancy that she had only seen on him once. When they were at the safehouse for Moretti; the day Szymanski had been shot…when she had told him to go, she had raised her voice at him...ordered him away. She hated that look, hated herself for being the one to cause it. She had actually had nightmares about it. Taylor would come in and wake her up with a terrified look on his face and ask her why she was begging for 'some guy, John', not to leave her. Of course that was before he knew who John was, before he had saved her baby from that fucker, Elias. She realized then, that she hadn't had any nightmares since then and somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered if Taylor had, or would, put two and two together. She couldn't think about that now. She'd made her decision.
"I do, John. I want you...to stay with me."
His hand slid back around from her neck to cradle her cheek and then she watched as his face changed almost instantly. His eyes darkened and his lips pulled up revealing his gleaming white teeth. That smile...'wolfish' is how she would describe it, was the exact same smile she'd seen the night he'd saved her from the drug smugglers...
She wasn't sure how he'd known that she was in trouble that night, but then again, it didn't really matter. She had received a tip that a new group of drug dealers from Ireland were using sheep's wool to smuggle cocaine into New York. She had called Lionel to meet her at the warehouse where the merchandise was supposed to be. She and Lionel were only supposed to be checking the place out before calling in the entire drug task force to raid the building. Her source had assured her that the warehouse would be empty that night, so she had decided to go ahead and go in before Lionel had arrived. Yes, in hindsight, it was a stupid, rookie move and she would chastise herself later for it but she had done it anyway. It had turned out that the smugglers were there and had captured her. They'd tied her hands and feet but hadn't bothered gagging her. At first, she hadn't been as scared as she should have been. She knew that Lionel was on the way and when arrived, he would see that she wasn't outside with her car and he would figure out that she was inside and call for backup.
After an hour of Lionel not showing up, and the smugglers promising to have some fun with her before shooting her in the head, she had started to freak out...just a bit.
Then a few minutes later a large straight truck had pulled up to the building and a couple of the men had jumped up to unload several large crates from the back. She watched as they pried open one of the crates to reveal a large bale of off-white, almost yellowish material that looked like spun cotton. So that was what wool looked like before it was spun into thread or yarn and eventually made into clothes... that had been the last thing she had seen or thought about before one of the men had started in on her. At first, it was just him touching her... her hair, her face and then he had moved lower to start touching her breast and that's when she'd started kicking out at him with her bound feet.
That was when the man started getting rough with her and everything else around her was forgotten. He had pinned her down on the ground and her hands that were bound behind her back were forced down against the hard surface of the warehouse floor. The man pulled out a knife and cut the ropes around her feet and then held it to her throat, pressing just hard enough to allow the knife to bite into her sensitive skin. She had gasped in pain but then immediately stilled in submission, knowing that the asshole could very possibly have his way with her, even if he killed her right then. She still held out the slightest hope that Lionel was on his way and had just been held up.
"Shut up, or I'll go ahead and kill you now rather than later." The man spat out at her. He bared his teeth in what he probably thought was a smile and slid the knife down between her chest and her shirt, slicing through the thin material easily. He leered down at her for a minute and then he was slicing through the black lace of her bra; leaving her chest bared for him and all the others to see. At that point her hope had been completely destroyed. She felt a tear slide down the side of her temple and into her hair. She turned her head to the side so that he wouldn't see it but the movement made the cut on her neck burn like fire which had spawned even more tears. God, she had been so angry with herself at that moment! She had stupidly risked her life on the word of some unknown source and now she was going to, at the very least, be violated and quite possibly killed and taken away from her Taylor. As scared as she was that he would use the knife on her she couldn't just lie there and not try to reason with the man.
"Please... you don't need to kill me. I don't care about what you boys are doing here. I've got my own shit to worry about."
"Oh lass, we know exactly who you are. You won't be leavin' this place tonight."
Her eyes had widened at that and then she had really started freaking out. She watched as the man moved his hand that held the knife down to her waist and started undoing her belt.
"Please!" She'd shouted. "Don't! Get off me!"
The sound she'd heard in response was the most beautiful that she'd ever heard. Gunfire! That meant that Lionel had shown up and had hopefully brought backup. She knew he couldn't take all six men out. Not like John could... John! Why the hell had she been so stubborn and not called him. She turned her head towards the sound as the man jumped up off of her and pulled his gun, but she couldn't see anything from where she'd been on the floor. She'd turned back and looked up at the man and then pulled her legs up to her chest and kicked out with all she had against the man's knees. He'd fallen just a little to the side of her and then the gunfire stopped as suddenly as it had started. She rolled away from the man; ready for him to leap up and turn his gun on her, even though she had been sure that she had felt bones snapping when her feet had connected with his legs but when she looked over at him, he was lying still on the ground.
She'd heard footsteps coming towards her and not being sure if it was Lionel or one of the men that had survived, she rolled towards the man and got up onto her knees and started looking for his gun that had to have landed around there somewhere. She didn't quite know how she'd shoot it with her hands tied behind her back but she was done with laying there and waiting to die. She'd felt hands on hers and she dropped and started kicking out and writhing against her captor until she'd heard an even more beautiful sound than the earlier gunfire. "Joss. It's alright. I'm not going to hurt you." His smooth whisper was a soothing balm for her traumatized senses.
John! She should have known. Didn't he always come to save her? Always. She felt him untying the ropes around her wrists. When he was done and her hands were free he had gently helped her to her feet while he was still behind her. When she had turned to face him, she hadn't been able to help herself; she'd slid her arms into his long black coat and wrapped her arms around him. At the time she also hadn't thought about the fact that her chest had been completely bare and pressed up against his, the only thing separating them had been his dress shirt. He had wrapped his arms around her and pressed his face into her hair. She vaguely remembered him whispering something but she hadn't been able to hear exactly what he had said.
She didn't know how long they had stood there like that but when she'd finally stepped back from him and looked up, she'd been surprised to find him locked in her gaze. He had slowly removed his coat and without ever looking anywhere but her eyes, he had wrapped it around her shoulders. She'd slipped her arms through the heavy, black, garment and it had completely swallowed her up, but she was covered, her chest no longer bare from the waist up. Only then had he had allowed himself to gaze over the rest of her, looking for injuries. When his eyes had taken in the blood on her neck, they had narrowed and darkened quickly. His hand had raised and touched her jaw, turning her head slightly and then his fingers were pushing her hair back so that he could get a better look at the cut.
"I'm sorry Joss." He whispered.
"For what John? You just saved my ass...again."
"Not before they hurt you."
"But I'm alive, and I'll be alright. Besides, it doesn't hurt...much."
He'd frowned at that comment. She'd looked down then and had noticed his coat. It was covered in the soft wool fibers that she had seen earlier. She'd smiled when she looked back up at him and asked, "So John, how many sheep had to die to make this coat?" His long nimble fingers that had been holding her hair back began plucking the clumps of wool from the coat as he had responded with the same 'wolfish' grin that was currently on his lips, "No sheep Joss, just drug smugglers...and there were six."
"Well, those six men didn't have a chance against this wolf in sheep's clothing, did they?"
"No Joss, they sure didn't."
She smiled at the memory.
"What are you smiling at Joss?"
"I was just thinkin' about somethin."
"Oh?" His arm tightened around her pulling her against him, trapping her arm that was still resting on his chest between their bodies. "Well be careful Joss, that smile can be dangerous."
"Oh?" She said, mimicking his response. "I thought you were going to protect me, John." She cocked her brow and continued smiling up at him even though being pressed up against him was seriously affecting her ability to breathe.
He lowered his head so that his mouth was once again between her hood and her ear. "No one else will touch you Joss, of that you can be certain. But the question is..." He pulled back just enough to be able to look at her. He was still close enough that his breath warmed her lips as he continued. "Who's going to protect you from me?"
Her quick intake of breath was stopped by his mouth capturing hers in a heated kiss. His tongue demanded immediate entrance and she willingly complied. Her moan was swallowed up by him before it could even leave her. Her hand fisted in his coat, the same coat that he had worn the night he had saved her. His arm tightened around her, crushing her against him. His tongue dueled with hers for just a few more seconds and then it was gone. His mouth drew back from her and as it did his teeth captured her bottom lip, pulling and tugging at it, sucking it between his own lips before letting it slide slowly back out.
"John..." Her whisper was both a moan and a question.
He rested his forehead against hers and inhaled deeply. "Joss..." He drew the sounds of her name out as he slowly exhaled. She didn't think her name had ever sounded so erotic in her entire life than it just had, being spoken by him.
Her breath was coming in short uneven gasps. She couldn't believe how he had affected her, just from a kiss. But she knew, deep down, that that hadn't been just a kiss.
"Wh...why... did you... stop?"
His hand rose to her cheek. "Because Joss...my Joss, I promised to get you safely to where you were going, and I intend to keep my promise."
She took two more deep breaths before she responded to him. "Home. That's where I want you to get me to...home." She tilted her head up and captured his lips before he could move. She heard that growl again, resonating from deep in his chest and it made her stomach clench in anticipation as to what she might find hiding below the surface of her great protector. "Please John? Get me home safe, where no one can hurt me. You can stay, and… and protect me there too..." His eyes met hers. They were dark and focused intently on hers, and if she didn't trust him implicitly with every fiber of her being, she would have been scared absolutely shitless. "Please?" She whispered.
He didn't answer her for what seemed like minutes and when he did, his voice was rough and uneven. "Are you sure that's what you...where you want to go?" She lifted both her hands to capture his face between them. She kissed him once on his upper lip, once on his lower lip, pressed her cheek to his, and then returned to lock eyes with his.
Her breath hitched and stuttered as she nodded her head in affirmation. "More than anything in the world…"
TBC…
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