Still The One (Family Stone #4 Jack) (Family Stone Romantic Suspense) by Lisa Hughey Read Free Book Online Page B

wallpaper.
    Jack slid into the other bed. She heard the rustle of the sheets, and the squeak of the box springs as he propped up the pillows and pulled out the file regarding Maria and flipped through the sheaf of papers. They had gone completely old school with Maria. Her name wasn’t anywhere in the Adams-Larsen database so there was no way for anyone to hack their system and find information. He sipped from the water bottle next to the bed.
    Bliss was exhausted. But the emotional toll of the last few hours hit her hard and her brain wouldn’t shut off. She kept seeing the hard planes of Jack’s chest, the ripple of his pectorals and the bunch of his biceps as he crossed his arms over his massive chest.
    Bliss’s breath came faster and she began to sweat as other images of Jack bombarded her. His fierce determination to protect his assistant. His frustration when they’d found the house empty. His relief when they found no evidence of foul play at the safe house. The longing that she managed to suppress most days came roaring to the forefront of her mind. She missed his passion. Missed his intensity, missed him.
    She needed to shut down that line of thinking right damn now.
    She just needed to get through the next few days, find Maria as quickly as possible, then Jack Stone would be gone, and her life could go back to normal. She could hold out. She just needed to focus on Maria. On getting her back.
    And then she would be lonely again.
     
    ***
     
    Bliss was finally asleep. He’d listened to her panicked breath and wondered what she had been thinking about?
    But he was no longer entitled to that knowledge. He’d given up the right to be privy to her thoughts right around the time he’d left. Although in reality, she’d kicked him out.
    To put it mildly, he’d been shocked when she’d told him they were over. Completely blind-sided. Thankfully, he’d already joined the Navy and he’d known it was the right move. She had never explained why she had dumped him. But even if it had something to do with his intention to serve, he wouldn’t have given it up. He’d given up his childhood to take care of his step-mother and siblings. He’d been responsible for everyone for years. He’d known that the Navy was his path. That he needed, wanted, someone else to be in charge, at least for a little while.
    When they’d been together, life had been amazing. He’d left California, his brothers and sister behind and reveled in his newfound freedom. He hadn’t been responsible for anyone but himself. And yes, he had felt guilty off and on. He’d done what he wanted, when he wanted it, and only thought about how Shelley and the kids had been getting along in the dark of the night, when he couldn’t sleep or the quiet morning dawn when his head had been pounding from a hangover and too little sleep.
    Jack continued to sift through the files. He just needed to get through this, find Maria, and get back to the West Coast and forget all about Bliss. But he knew after less than a day in her presence that was going to be easier said than done. Jack tried to wipe the memory of the fear on her face when they’d first gone into that house earlier.
    She’d been terrified that they were going to find Maria dead. The stench of the rotting meat wasn’t distinguishable from other types of rotting flesh. She’d known instinctively that something was dead, which also made him wonder what she’d seen in her life.
    Jack glanced over to her bed, stared hard at the elegant curve of her back and the tumble of her auburn hair on the pillow and tried not to remember when that hair had cascaded over his chest and shoulders. Tried not to remember waking up with her wrapped around him, curled into his body as if he were her world.
    Jack forced his gaze back to the papers and his laptop. If Bliss was correct and Maria was heading back to California, to the Salinas area, and she didn’t fly which required identification, how long would it