Silver Fire (Guardians) by Victoria Paige Read Free Book Online Page B

like this guy one bit.
    “Angel,” Derek said as he spun her swivel chair toward him, deliberately shifting Sophie away from the Guardian and noting with satisfaction how Braden had stiffened at his pet name for the blonde physicist. “I need to head back to MDI, but I’ll call you later about your plans this afternoon.”
    “Mr. Lockwood, we need to limit Sophie’s social activities,” Braden began abruptly.
    “I am not about to change my routines for those assholes,” Sophie said tartly to the two Guardians. “Do what you need to do to keep me safe but do not think for a minute that I will be hiding.” Shifting her attention to Derek. “I’m busy all day.”
    Derek angled closer, Sophie had to lean back, but her eyes looked at him challengingly. “Don’t you need to shop for clothes?” he asked softly.
    “I do but—”
    “We’ll be taking her to do what she needs,” Braden cut in tersely.
      Derek had had enough and took a step toward the Guardian and got in his face. “You have a problem with me, Connelly?”
    “Derek!” This from Sophie.
    “Guys, what the hell?” Thalia exclaimed and stood up.
    “You are compromising our assignment.”
    “The fuck I am,” Derek shot back. “Back off Connelly. You are trying too hard, take it from me, this is not the shit you spend your time on. I am not the enemy.”
    “Derek,” Sophie said softly.  
    Her voice had a calming effect on him. He turned to her and said, “Two p.m., Sophie. I’ll pick you up and we’ll get the stuff you need.”
    “But—”
    “Later, Angel.” He kissed her lightly on her lips. Straightening up, he shot Braden a scathing look before he nodded to Thalia and left.
    ***
    Jack sat back lazily on a barstool as he watched his wife rolling out the pie dough. The first time they had had sex, it was after eating apple pie. Maia had pissed him off, and he was so turned on at the same time, he just grabbed her and the moment his mouth touched hers, it was over. He was gone for her. He watched her nimble fingers curl over the French rolling pin and imagined those same fingers on him, on his cock specifically, and just like that he was getting hard. Fuck. He would never get enough of her. She was such a combination of sass, badass and wit and was so fucking beautiful, he would do anything to keep her from harm. His jaw clenched. Last night was a nightmare. But he was getting better at handling what he called “Maia-crisis.” She had told him before to trust her to be OK no matter how dire the situation looked, and he had held on to that thought. His wife was one kick-ass paramilitary operative, and he felt guilty for curtailing her skills with his overprotectiveness, but damn it, he was trying to be reasonable. And failing miserably. Maybe in time when she informed him that she would be taking down a ruthless dictator, he wouldn’t even blink. Yeah, like in 100 years.  
    “Don’t you have anything better to do than stare at me, Jack?” Maia teased.
    “Nope. Best seat in the house.”
    Frances, Jack’s mom, walked in with a basket of peaches. “These just came in from the farmer’s market. They smell so fragrant, I bet they’ll taste so good in the pie.”
    As Maia and his mom discussed what to do with the peaches,   Jack decided to check in to the office. He walked out to the patio and called Derek.
    “Hey man, how’s Richmond?” his friend asked.
    “Mom’s happy we’re here for her birthday, hot as hell though. How was the meeting? How did it go with Sophie? Did you hand her off to AGS?”
    Derek filled Jack in on the minutes of the meeting which covered what the engineers thought on the latest technical data on the zee —they were ecstatic. Also on the agenda was their latest design upgrade on their very popular MD-Bandit drones.
    “I’m taking Sophie shopping this afternoon,” Derek informed him.
    Jack gripped his phone tighter. Damn, his friend worked fast. What should he say to