Drake Sisters 07 - Hidden Currents

rocked back on her heels. His grin flashed again. Masculine. Satisfied. “And you can find the candles while I mop up the floor. I’ve got some of those scented air things Inez brought me a while back. I think she thought my place was too much of a bachelor pad. Look under the sink in the bathroom.
    Or maybe in the closet. I think in a box on the floor.â€
    â€œGood place for them.†El e found a smal smile hovering as she hurried into the bedroom. “Do you want to take a walk after we shower?
    I’d like to get outside for a little while.â€
    â€œYou want to walk around town?†Jackson sounded skeptical.
    El e poked her head around the doorway to see him rinsing a mop. “No, sil y. There’s no fog. I thought we could walk on the beach. You practical y live on it. We can’t very wel avoid it. And Bomber can let us know if anything creepy is around.â€
    Jackson didn’t answer so she went in search of the candles. She opened the walk-in closet and was surprised to find it very neat. He had several sheriff uniforms and lots of soft, faded jeans, one suit and a dress shirt. The wal behind the clothes had a security keypad on it. El e frowned and ran her hand over it.
    â€œJackson, what do you have locked up in here?â€
    There was a smal silence. She turned her head to find him leaning one hip lazily against the doorjamb. “Weapons. Lots of weapons.â€
    She shook her head. “You’re so crazy.â€
    â€œI’m hopping in the shower. The candles should be in one of those boxes.â€
    He sauntered over to her and reached past her to grab a clean pair of jeans. El e inhaled his scent. She didn’t think they needed candles, she liked the way he smel ed, but maybe she was just a bit prejudiced.
    He laughed and kissed the tip of her nose. “You are, but I like it.â€
    â€œStop reading my mind.â€
    â€œI can’t help it since I’m in it so much.â€
    â€œDon’t flatter yourself.â€
    He laughed again and left her. She stood waiting for the sound of the shower, realizing she had a smile on her face when she honestly believed she’d never smile again. How could Jackson take every bad situation and make it not only bearable, but good? Why hadn’t she seen him the way he real y was before she’d gone off on her undercover assignment? Would she have taken such a dangerous job?
    El e sighed. Yes. She would have taken it because someone had to stop the monsters of the world. El e had believed in herself, in her abilities, in her psychic talents and her training. She would have gone even had Jackson asked her not to go. She had set out to prove she didn’t need him—that no legacy was going to dictate to her. And she’d wanted him to fol ow, to come after her, to love her that much. What she hadn’t realized was that he did. He loved her enough to let her choose her own way.
    She’d seen ownership. She wanted partnership and Jackson might be a man to stand in front of her when he deemed necessary, but he would always be her partner because he respected her right to choose. She closed her eyes for a moment and wrapped him in love from a distance—because she could. Because she needed to.
    The warmth and emotion came back tenfold. She felt it in her mind, moving through her body until her veins flowed with it. “Jackson.†She breathed his name out loud because she was forbidden to use telepathy and just the thought of that made her smile. She had thought him a dictator because she didn’t understand the difference between responsible caring and forcing one’s wil on another.
    El e pul ed out a box and glanced through the contents. Evidently Inez brought Jackson quite a few items he probably had little use for. Little fragrant soaps, scented lotions, potpourri, which she had to laugh over, certain he had no idea what it was, and cuticle cream. The second box contained flashlights and every type of battery possible, al neatly packaged. She closed the lid and pul ed out the last box. Pushing the lid off, she went stil . Medals.
    Lots of medals. Including a purple heart. How did a person get so many medals? What kinds of things had he gone through in order to be so recognized?
    The water in the bathroom was turned off. El e put the lid back on the box and put it careful y away. “I didn’t find any candles,