Under Pressure [IAD Agency] (Siren Publishing Classic)

keep Bella safe.
    Bella knew they were overreacting. Nothing had happened since that night in New York. Nothing. The only thing that could be a concern was the few hang-ups she had gotten at home the last few days. Wrong numbers. Everyone got them. She was unlisted and didn’t want everyone to overreact, so she didn’t say anything. They were already treating her like she was made of glass, and she hated it. It made her want to scream.
    She was trying to be patient with this extreme protection mode that the guys had fallen into, but it was getting difficult. Over the past few days either Sal, Tony, or Danny was with her every moment. Sal had even slept on the couch in the great room downstairs last night, not listening to her when she told him to go home.
    On top of that, Tony and Bella had a very long fight last evening when he had told her that he had been planning on working in the front of her classroom in case she needed him. Like a freaking guard dog.
    She didn’t need a babysitter, but now she had a whole battalion of them.
    Looking up at the entrance of the room, Bella let out a sigh as she watched Tony typing away on his computer. She had obviously lost that fight. Tony had been with her the entire day, extremely happy at the chance to taste everything that was being made, but watchful all the same. He continued working as Bella packed up the rest of her stuff. A noise had her turning around when the door opened.
    And there he was.
    Jason stood in the doorway. His eyes quickly surveyed the room then settled back on her face. She knew without a doubt those eyes never missed a thing. For a moment it was as if only the two of them existed. Her breath caught at the intensity of his expression as he looked at her. With a cry of joy, she ran and threw herself at him and he quickly opened his arms in welcome to embrace her. His face had lost its hard edge as surprised pleasure swamped him at her uninhibited show of affection. His arms closed tightly around her as he picked her slight body up against him to bury his face into her hair.
    God, he had missed her.
    “I’m so glad you’re back! I’ve missed you so much. Welcome home,” Bella whispered against his neck, and his arms tightened on her, holding her closer to him.
    Jason couldn’t help himself as his hand tunneled into her hair, positioning her so he could smash his lips against hers in a searing kiss. His tongue pushed past her lips into her sweet heat. His normally rock-steady body shook slightly as waves of emotions crashed over him.
    When he had opened the door to her classroom and saw her standing there, he had been overwhelmed with his need for her. He had simply stood there, drinking in the sight of her like a man dying of thirst.
    Irritation ate at him during his short trip to Paris. He didn’t want to be there, not without Bella. A meeting had taken place to test potential candidates for directorship of another IAD division, and Jason had been on the board to oversee the results. Meetings were always in different locations, highly secretive and as secure as they could manage. Although successful, the meetings had taken too damn long, putting Jason on edge. He gave his report, concluded his business with a client of Mac Securities as cover, and was back on his plane as soon as he could manage it. He had been damn anxious to get back to Chicago.
    Back to Bella.
    He had felt unnerved at his need to be with her, but all of his tension had melted away as soon as she had flung herself into his arms. As soon as he touched her, everything seemed to click into place.
    “Hello, darling.” He smiled down at her, pulling back.
    “Get your hands off my sister,” Tony grumbled from the side of the room, without heat, as he continued to type with his head bowed over his computer.
    Jason winked at Bella as he reluctantly let her go, placing her feet back on the ground, but couldn’t force himself to move away from her. She animatedly told him about her first day of teaching as she packed up her things. Even though his face remained impassive, his eyes were tender as he listened to her and watched her flutter around the room. Every once in a while she would reach out to touch him, and Jason found that he wanted that connection.
    Damn it, who was he kidding. He needed her affectionate gestures like he needed air. It would have taken a nuclear explosion to take his focus off of her.
    Tony packed up his stuff and waited for them at the door as they