"I don't think the orders are authentic. Something about them is fishy and it doesn't correlate with the other intel you've dug up. It may just be a false report to keep the info classified, but it is possible that he's just in theater," Jackson said. His mouth was a thin line. He hadn't wanted to tell Chloe they were fake, but he couldn't lie to her either.
"I see," she said quietly, looking down at the floor. She took a breath and looked up. "Thank you for looking. I appreciate it."
"Of course." Jackson nodded and went to reach for the door.
"Where are you going? You just got here." Chloe tried to keep the pout out of her voice. Even if he obviously didn't want to kiss her, she didn't want him to leave. Just having him in the same room made her feel better. Safer.
"I can't stay," he said. His voice was low and his face troubled. He took a small step toward the door.
"Why not?" Chloe stood. She didn't want him to leave. They had shared a magical kiss. Chloe had never felt anything like it in her entire life; they had a connection and she knew it. She wasn't about to just let him walk out and leave her hanging without at least a decent explanation.
His brow tightened. "I just can't. It's not safe." His eyes pleaded with her to understand and betrayed that he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. She stepped forward, slowly approaching him as though he were an unfamiliar dog.
"I don't want you to go. Ever." She gave an embarrassed smile, and bit her lip.
"Chloe," he started, his voice husky. "This won't work. We won't work."
"I disagree. The past two nights, I've barely slept because of dreams of you. I close my eyes to sleep, and there you are. And the weirdest part, is that I know they're true."
"Chloe..."
"I know that you like to sleep on the right side of the bed. I know that you have a scar on your shoulder and one on your back. I know that kissing your ear drives you crazy. I know you have nightmares about fire, but that you aren't afraid of them when you're with me." She stopped just short of touching him, her green eyes wide and searching his. With every word, his eyes had grown a little wider and told her that she was right.
She reached out and touched his chest where the bullet had entered his shoulder. Electricity traveled up her fingers, igniting a hot flame in her core. She looked up at him and his eyes flickered golden. The change was startling, but it didn't frighten her. The wolf wanted her as much as the man.
"Chloe... please, I don't want to hurt you," he whispered, desperation and desire dueling in his voice. She smiled and moved her hand to his cheek, feeling the stubble under her fingertips.
"You'd never hurt me."
He shook his head, but didn't pull away. His eyes were golden and mesmerizing. "You don't know that."
"Yes, I do. I dreamed it." This time, Chloe didn't hesitate. She just moved her hand to the back of his neck and pulled down, and rose to her tiptoes to kiss him. The moon and the stars spun in her mind as their lips met. Galaxies collided and twirled, their light paling compared to the heat growing inside of the two of them. It was even better than their first kiss, and Chloe lost herself to it completely.
She pulled back after a moment, breathless and shaky. Jackson's eyes still glowed with a golden light and his body was pressed against hers, warm and hard. He searched her face, concern flitting across his features as he struggled to find words.
"You saw what I did to those men," he finally whispered, but he didn't let her go. His arms were wrapped around her, pulling her to him. She nodded and nestled her head into the hollow of his shoulder where she could hear his heart.
"Yes. I saw."
He pushed her gently away, putting his hands on her shoulders and peering into her eyes. "I can't control what's inside of me." The gold in his eyes glowed brighter for a moment. "The wolf is howling to get out, and I can't keep him caged.
"Then don't," she said softly and reached a hand to his cheek. She smiled. "I think the wolf likes me."
He closed his eyes and leaned into her palm, turning his head slightly to kiss the soft flesh. She smiled and when he opened his eyes, he delicately took her chin in his hand and brought her lips to his again. The passion and the heat was there again, this time a slow burn infusing both of them instead of an explosion. Chloe found her fingers going to the bottom of his shirt, slipping under the soft fabric and skimming along his perfectly sculpted abs.
The shirt was almost up to his shoulders when a knock on the door made them pause. They both froze, hoping it was just the maid or someone with the wrong room. The knock came again louder.
"Will one of you two please let me in?" Quent's voice called through the door.
"We should probably get that," Jackson whispered into Chloe's ear and she nodded but made no effort to remove her hands. He kissed the top of her forehead along her hairline and disentangled himself from her grasp. She pouted as he stepped away and he grinned at her.
Chapter 18
"I have news!" Quent burst through the door as soon as Jackson had it open. He shook his head and carefully glanced about outside before closing it again. Chloe hoped the blush on her face and the thumping of her heart wasn't too noticeable to the older Were.
"I spoke with the council," Quent began as he shrugged out of his light fleece jacket, tossing it onto the single chair. Chloe still couldn't get over the fact that neither Jackson nor Quent ever seemed cold. In this weather, she was wearing a ski parka, not some flimsy little fuzzy thing. "Jackson, you are to present yourself at the next full moon."
"What's going to happen?" Trepidation made his voice quaver at the end of his question.
"Nothing bad," Quent assured him. "The alpha of our pack is interested in meeting you. You will need to take a lesson with one of the older Weres to learn the ins and outs of being a full wolf, but since you seem to be able to control yourself currently, it shouldn't be bad."
"And if I don't go?" Jackson's question hung in the air for a moment. Quent turned slowly to face him, his face serious.
"You are not of our pack. You are a lone wolf. You can do what you please as long as you are not in our territory. In our territory, you conform to the council and the alpha. The consequences are severe if you do not." Quent frowned until Jackson nodded.
"I guess I have no choice. I'll go."
"Excellent." Quent smiled and spun to face Chloe. His eyes were bright. "On your side of wolf business, I asked some questions around. There have been rumors of a rogue Were scientist at the base."
"Rumors?" Jackson looked skeptical. "You're excited over rumors?"
Quent gave him a withering look before turning back to Chloe. "There have always been rumors of genetic testing going on at Fort Baskerville, but what if they were true? What if they were experimenting with the Lycan gene?"
"Would something like that even be possible at that base?" Chloe asked Jackson. He thought for a moment, leaning back against the wall. She had to focus not to stare at his broad shoulders tapering down to his hips.
"It's possible... there are some pretty serious looking science station buildings set up across the compound from me." Jackson shrugged. "I guess I could see the appeal of a werewolf super soldier."
"But my brother's not a werewolf. Why bother with his inactive gene at all?" She looked back and forth at the two men. "Why not just find full Weres? I'm sure there are more than just our captain here in the military."
Quent looked thoughtful for a moment and then shook his head. "If you wanted straight Weres then, yes, a full active Lycan gene would be best. But, if you wanted to improve upon nature and were doing genetic modifications..." he paused and frowned. "The dormant Lycan gene would be much better. A full Were's genetic structure is already stable. The Lycan gene isn't. If you wanted to have genetic material that is primed to be modified, the Lycan gene is it."
"So they would be doing experiments on him then. Modifying him." Chloe paled and sat down on the bed. Jackson went over and put his hand on her shoulder, his warmth spilling into her and giving her strength. She reached up and held his hand, trying to keep the screaming voice of panic inside her head quiet. Her brother would be fine.
"Do you really think the orders are fake? I think I'd prefer him in Afghanistan now," Chloe asked, looking up at Jackson. He shook his head sadly.
"I figured. That would be too easy." Chloe sagged slightly then straightened. "Can you get us on base?"
Jackson stepped back, dropping his hand and looking surprised. "What?"
"Can you get us on base?" Chloe repeated. "We'll break him out."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Are you nuts?" Jackson knelt in front of her on the floor, putting both his hands on her shoulders. The warmth was amazing. "First of all, we don't even know that he's on base. Second of all, that is a military base. Secured by men with guns who will look for any excuse to use them. Third, it's dangerous. You might have snuck on once, but they've fixed that portion of the fence and have upped security."
Chloe just raised her eyebrows and shrugged like he had simply read a grocery list.
"No," he growled. "Too dangerous."
"But he's my brother!" she cried, her eyes filling with tears. "We have to do something! We can't just let them experiment on him!"
Quent moved to stand behind Jackson, the two of them frowning. "He's right, Chloe. It's too dangerous."
Her face fell and she struggled not to let the tears fall. Her throat was tight and not even Jackson's warm hands on her shoulders were making her feel better. Quent put one hand on Jackson's shoulder and the younger Were turned his head up to look at him.
"We need to know more, though. Can you sneak around a bit? Peek into that science building? If there's nothing there, then we'll find a new lead." Quent asked. Chloe looked up, hope filling her face. They weren't giving up; they were just being tactical. She had to admit that she wasn't quite sure what they were going to do once they were on the base. She just knew she needed to do something.
Jackson frowned slightly, his dark brows coming together. Then he looked at Chloe, her face full of hope and trust, and just a little bit of fire. If he didn't help, she was going to do something rash.
"All right. I'll do it," he said finally. Chloe's face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Thank you! Thank you!" She fell forward off the bed, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugging him. He felt so good under her hands that she didn't care if Quent saw or thought it was odd that she would hug him.
Jackson laughed, carefully pulling her off of him. "I need to get some sleep first, though."
She flashed him a wicked grin and raised her eyebrows.
"No, real sleep." He shook his head at her and she sighed, rocking back on her toes before standing back up. She glanced over at Quent but he was busy looking at the files on the table.
"You can have the bed. I need to take a shower anyway," she announced, giving him a wink before sauntering off to the bathroom. She made sure to swivel her h*ps just a little bit, and when she reached the door she turned to see Jackson eying her appreciatively. With a giggle, she disappeared behind the brown, wooden door and started the water.