Page 25 of Tainted Gifts
"It is," Simone agrees. "If he'll agree to work with us, then we'll have much better depth. Jase, I think it's time for my aunt and uncle to leave."
"What?" Mom scoffs. "I'm not going anywhere."
"She's right," Jase growls, ready to get my mother out before she sways any opinions.
Though I'm appreciative Simone is looking out for them, I need Mom to convince Jase to agree to this. She's likely the only one who can.
"I agree," Kellan murmurs, the chains rattling as he leans forward to try and capture my lips with his. When I playfully lean back, he continues. "If you're the one I'm with."
"Absolutely not!" Jase yells. "Aria, you don't have this authority."
"Actually, she does," Mom scoffs, still angry with her niece. "When an interrogator is working an angle that can pay out, they're allowed to offer such things, as long as they assume the responsibility."
"He's a killer, Araya. Do you want him in a fucking house... alone with her?" Jase releases insidiously.
"We're all killers, Jase. This is war. My daughter sees something in him. I can tell. Perhaps there's more to this story than you know, but we won't find out with him in a cell he could most likely just break out of again.
"He could have beaten the tracker who found him. He could have escaped when captured. I've read his file. His military combat and tech knowledge alone would have kept him concealed. I think this is what he was wanting."
"She can't stay with him," Jase barks.
"Why? My daughter is perfectly capable of dealing with a man on a leash. A tight one."
"She's right, Commander," a new voice interjects. "Aria Banner has the skills and abilities to handle such a man."
"I'll say," Kellan inserts in a whisper for only me, making me laugh a little.
"I'll stay with her," Simone adds.
"I'll stay too," Mom adds, making my stomach twist in knots.
"Absolutely not, Araya," Jase adamantly grumbles. "You're back on leave as of right now. You only came out of retirement to interrogate, and now Aria is doing that. It's time you go."
"You can't just-"
"Watch me," Jase says with anger and dominance.
"That's not the commander I thought I knew," she mumbles.
"I'm doing what's best for you, for us, for the United. You need to leave, go back on retirement. I'll take care of Aria."
Crap.
"By holding her back worse than I did?" Mom asks, taking a stab at the man who just used his rank on her.
I hold my breath, waiting to find out if this plan is going to work while pretending to still be seducing information out of Kellan.
"You've got to stop," Kellan breathes, his breath rasp.
"Stop what?" I ask, my eyes tilting up.
He looks down to where my lower half is almost completely bared to him. My skirt has slid all the way up, and his erection is firmly begging for attention. I run my hand down his chest to his pants, and I unbutton them before lowering the zipper, making his breaths harsh.
"I could stop, or I could finish. Depends on what you give me, Ace."
He smirks, and then he leans over. "I'll give you something to scream about."
I swallow hard as the game turns on me, and our conversation is forgotten by the feuding room behind me.
