Oracle Saving (The Phoenix Files Book 3) Read online

  “Really?”

  “Always, but we have no choice. We have to kill them and move on.”

  “Ethan!”

  He started laughing. This was exactly what he needed. The humor was a welcome thing. It helped soothe the worry he was feeling.

  “Not really kill them, but there are almost forty thousand employees in the FBI. Somehow, we have to bury them in there and make sure no one ever figures it out. Nathaniel Carter is going to be flagged—as is Lucas Mars.”

  She was aware.

  “You have to come up with a solution to hide them in plain sight. You need to change Avalon’s appearance once more, and you need to find a place for them to go that’s off the grid.”

  “Fire Bay…”

  “Was yours. That’s the first link to us. You have to put them where no one will look. You have to think like POTUS and his staff. I can hold them off a little while, but if the shit hits the fan, we’re going down. Don’t be shocked if he calls us to the Oval Office.”

  There was her warning.

  “The president has only one year left on his term, Ethan. We can hold out. Once he’s out of office, the next administration won’t be so focused on her.”

  He hoped she was right.

  It was going to be the only thing that saved their asses, and he knew it.

  Avalon had been with the president the last seven years, and he liked having her in his arsenal. He was a douchebag who didn’t care how he got the job done. The POTUS before him had passed her on, and hopefully, the next one would never even hear the word Oracle.

  “Bury it and hurry, Lyzee. We don’t have any options from here on out. This is our worst-case scenario, and we no longer have a choice.”

  Elizabeth headed toward the door. Once there, she stopped. “Ethan?”

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I love you, and I’m sorry.”

  He couldn’t be angry with her. They’d made the choice to save Avalon Miller, and here was the price. They had to keep moving her, and they couldn’t hesitate.

  The chatter didn’t lie.

  POTUS was suspicious.

  “Don’t be sorry, baby. Do what you have to do to save her, and we’ll sweat the rest later. I love you, Elizabeth. I love your compassion and your heart the most.”

  She glanced back at him.

  He was worried.

  Well, she was too.

  Now, she’d have to make this count.

  Nathaniel Carter and his team were dead men walking.

  There was no other choice.

  * * * O R A C L E * * *

  Roxy’s Rental

  She catnapped.

  After she ate her lunch, she curled up on the bed and slept a little more. Before he could join her, Jagger had gone out to the living room to check with Avalon and Lucian. They reassured him that it was safe.

  Avalon was dialed into the static, and she would hear his arrival. Once she did, Lucian would rush in and wake them.

  That meant he could rest too.

  While he should have camped out on the floor, he didn’t have the power to avoid her anymore. Jagger wanted to feel her against him, he wanted to hold her, and he didn’t think he could stop himself.

  It had been two months, countless worthless hookups, and the need hadn’t been quenched.

  Now it could be.

  If she didn’t push him away.

  When he climbed onto the bed and moved into positon behind her, he didn’t touch Roxy. If he did, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to stop. There was something about the idea she was having his child.

  They’d both had horrible childhoods. His mother was stolen away. Her parents abused her body and soul.

  This could be different.

  What if they could make this child’s life perfect?

  Would it wash away the horrible lives they’d led?

  He was all about redemption, and this child was likely theirs. Having this shot at a new life was precious, and he knew it.

  Jagger craved it.

  As he lay there, she smelled so damn good. He wanted to touch her. He wanted to hold her in his arms. He closed his eyes and prayed.

  Then a miracle happened.

  She rolled over until she was against him. When she was snuggled against his chest, he wanted to celebrate.

  Fate really liked him today.

  It was about damn time.

  “Jagger,” she whispered, cuddling into his body even more. When her hands slid beneath his t-shirt, across his flesh, he never wanted her to stop.

  That one touch was healing him.

  Roxy was special.

  He knew it.

  “Oh, Roxy,” he whispered back, as she was in his arms. His words did the opposite of what he wanted.

  They woke her.

  She stopped.

  Glancing up, her eyes were filled with tears. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…”

  He couldn’t do this anymore.

  He couldn’t hold onto the pain. If he did, he wasn’t going to make it through this alive. It was eating away at him from the inside out.

  He took that chance—again.

  His mouth found hers, and there was that surprise from her when he dove into the kiss.

  Jagger wasn’t going to stop unless she told him to. He couldn’t. When he’d first been mauled by her in the morgue, it caused a reaction in him.

  He found peace.

  For the first time in his life, it became about feeling and not obligation. He wanted her—all of her.

  It took her a second, and then she realized that he was kissing her. The tangle of his tongue sliding against hers brought her back to that moment.

  She didn’t want that.

  Roxy pulled away.

  He stared at her.

  Then he let her go.

  “I’m sorry. I’ll go.”

  Once more, he’d been rejected. This was his worst nightmare come to life. The woman he loved was having his child and she couldn’t bear to be touched by him.

  Forget celebrating.

  He wanted to escape.

  As he pulled away and sat on the edge of the bed, she knew there was only one choice. That was lust.

  This was love.

  She climbed across the bed to where he sat with his face in his hands. The sorrow was flowing from him. She could feel it.

  She needed to show him what she needed. Before it was to fill a void that her father had created. What Roxy wanted was Jagger the man—not the sex object.

  “Give me a second and I’ll go. I need to regroup,” he said softly.

  His voice sounded so empty.

  It was like he was lost.

  She placed her hands on his shoulders. “I don’t want sex Jagger. I realized I’m beyond that. I need more.”

  He wanted to weep.

  He didn’t know what to say. Jagger didn’t know what would make her happy. He just wanted Roxy to love him like he loved her. He didn’t know how to make that happen.

  “I understand.”

  “No, you don’t.”

  She hopped off the bed and moved to stand in front of him. He stared up at her. There was such hopelessness in his eyes that it broke her heart.

  “You said to me on that last day that you wanted to have a date. You wanted to build something.”

  “I did.”

  “I wasn’t ready.”

  Apparently, she still wasn’t.

  “I won’t ever push you, Roxy. I only want you to be happy. You’re the woman I love. I’ve never loved anyone before other than my family.”

  Her heart stuttered in her chest. That was the last lock being opened. He’d said the magic words.

  She loved him too.

  “I want you to love me. I don’t want meaningless sex with you, Jagger. I want it to count. I want to love you with all of me. I have to be honest.”

  He waited.

  “I’ve loved you from the second I told you that you were an asshole. I’m glad I’m pregnant. For
a while, I was so afraid. I’m not anymore. Yes, I could die, but I want my time to mean something. I want it to be with you. I love you, Jagger Armstrong. I always will no matter what.”

  He was shocked.

  Did she just…?

  Really?

  Maybe prayer was a good thing.

  “Roxy.”

  “Make love to me. What happened before was the past. I want your future. I want to give you what’s left of mine.”

  His heart skipped.

  “I made a mistake. I wanted that date too. I wanted a million of them with you.”

  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders as his face rested against her breast.

  “Roxy, I feel so broken without you. I don’t know how or why, but you got through. I tried to fight it, but you own my heart.”

  She lifted his face. “And you own mine. What do we do about it?” she asked.

  Only one thing came to his mind.

  “We start to live.”

  Her mouth found his, and this time, the kiss was filled with everything she felt for him. She held nothing back. Before, where she’d been wild and out of control, now she was calm and gentle like a spring storm.

  His heart thundered.

  His hands clung to her hips, as she stood before him. He was afraid she’d disappear.

  Roxy loved him.

  Jesus!

  Someone loved the broken mess he’d been, and she wanted him regardless of it.

  That set him free.

  Finally, he found the strength to let her go. His hands slid up her body and into her rich brown hair. It felt like silk running through his fingers.

  It was Heaven.

  Jagger was staggered by the heat it forced through his whole body.

  And the kiss?

  It was enough to melt him from the inside out.

  “Roxy,” he whispered into the kiss as she slowly pulled away.

  “Let me heal you.”

  He blinked a few times as she went to her knees before him. It dawned on him how she was going to do it. The last three times they’d fornicated had been great, but this was what he craved.

  It was this intimacy.

  She was going to make love to him.

  From her knees, she stared up at him. The blue of his eyes was staggering. He was barely breathing, and she wondered if she could change that.

  Roxy wanted to rock his world—the way he’d done to hers.

  Her fingers went to the button on his cargo pants. She flicked them open, and still she never looked away from him. The old Roxy would have climbed onto his dick and only found pleasure for herself.

  Would it be good?

  Yes.

  But this would be a million times better.

  “You’re still going commando, I see,” she teased.

  His laughter was rich and warm. It was genuine. That was the sexiest thing about him.

  Then he took off his shirt.

  Okay, so he was lots of sexy in one package.

  Roxy ran her fingers down his abs. “Buckle up, soldier. I’m going to show you how much I love you.”

  And she did.

  The second her mouth enclosed over his erection, he moaned. The wet warmth was enough to send shockwaves through his body. She wasn’t being wild. It was a simple glide of her mouth and tongue over his dick, but it spoke to him.

  This definitely mattered and changed everything.

  For once, he wasn’t trying to get off. In fact, he was desperately trying to keep this pleasure going. The woman he loved, who was having his baby, was finally within his reach.

  “Roxy!” he gasped as she scraped her teeth down his erection. His whole body shook.

  So…

  This was love.

  It was awesome.

  As she worked him pretty hard, he stared up at the ceiling and thought about only her. Later, he was going to take a turn, showing her what he felt like inside.

  It was like being on a cloud. Months of stress were gone, and finally, she was his.

  God!

  He wasn’t going to die alone. He now had what Nate and Avalon had. He finally figured out why Maura was always smiling and at peace when Luke was by her side.

  He understood how Bishop could love Lucian even after he broke her heart so many times.

  Love healed.

  It forgave.

  Before he knew it, the warm glide of mouth stopped. When he looked down his body, Roxy was stripping.

  “Yes, please. I’ll have a lot more of that.”

  She laughed. “I love your sense of humor.”

  “I love your body,” he admitted, as he sat on the bed to take in the amazing sight of long sexy legs, full round ass, and breasts.

  Oh, the glorious breasts.

  “Enjoy it now. It’s going to be a kid condo for the next eight months.”

  He didn’t care.

  If he could have her smile at him every day, he’d wait eight years for her.

  Eight centuries.

  Eight Millennium.

  When she climbed onto his lap, straddling him, he wanted to thank God for the bounty he was about to receive.

  He’d found his other half.

  As she was perched above him, Roxy stared down into his face. He looked different. The pain was gone, and that wall…he had dropped it.

  No, he’d yanked it down. This was the real man beneath, and he was raw, real, and baring his soul to her.

  Jagger was just like her.

  She needed someone to trust and to love her. He was looking for that too.

  They were a matched set.

  “Come here often?” she asked.

  He laughed.

  Then he moaned as she slid down his dick.

  “I’ll come here every day if you promise to keep doing that,” he offered.

  She laughed as she stared down at him.

  “I’ve never done this before,” she admitted.

  He opened his eyes. “Um, you’re pregnant. That’s proof you’ve been here and done this before, and with me.”

  She got serious.

  “I’ve never made love to someone I loved before. What if I screw it up? What if I don’t know how to do it right?” she asked softly, hoping he didn’t laugh at her. She was being raw and honest too.

  Jagger deserved all of her.

  He heard it in her voice. “I’ve made love to someone I’ve loved before. You. Want me to show you, and then next time, you can take over?”

  Her heart hitched.

  That was incredibly sweet.

  The man knew how to get to her. How the world saw him was completely different from what lie beneath that tough exterior.

  “Yes, Jagger. Yes.”

  He rolled, placing her beneath him, his erection still buried in her body. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, and he wanted to share it with her.

  Slowly, he began moving in and out, trying to find that one spot to bring her so much pleasure. When he hit it, she moaned.

  “That’s it, baby. Let me show you love,” he whispered, as he kept their bodies pressed together.

  Her legs went around his hips, her fingers found his neck, and she stared up into his eyes. In that moment, she shared everything with him.

  “I missed you.”

  His heart filled with so much peace at those three simple words.

  “Never leave me,” she offered.

  And those three tore down every last barrier to his heart. It was forever hers.

  She needed him.

  “I won’t leave you. I promise.”

  Tears filled her eyes as he made love to her. The pleasure was overwhelming. She never wanted it to stop.

  He could feel his body reacting to hers. As much as he wanted to keep going, he couldn’t last much longer. There was that overwhelming need to find his way home.

  To her.

  “Roxy, baby, I’m close,” he whispered, as her body began telling the tale. It wasn’t lost on him that with all the other
women, he barely could get off—if at all.

  With her, he couldn’t stay in control.

  “Jagger!” she gasped, as he stroked in and out of the wetness. All she could do was feel.

  It was amazing.

  “Together,” she murmured. “Let’s go together.”

  “Always, baby.”

  With one long drive into the wet heat of her body, Jagger let himself fall. He trusted her with everything, and they took the tumble.

  She moaned his name as the colors and pleasure exploded around her. She was safe.

  Finally, the war was over.

  Jagger poured into her, and then rolled so she’d be cushioned over his body. Even in release, he was worried about her and the little life they’d created.

  Roxy couldn’t breathe.

  Her heart was finally filled.

  “I love you,” she whispered. “No matter what’s coming, Jagger, my heart is yours if you want it.”

  He couldn’t believe the words. Just three days ago, he was lost. Now he was found. It was simply a matter of trusting Oracle and his heart.

  It staggered him.

  “Do you want it?” she asked softly, as if expecting him to break her heart.

  Jagger had news for her. There was no way he’d turn that offer down. A lot had been learned over the last two months.

  Don’t take love for granted.

  Don’t be arrogant.

  Don’t lose the opportunity. You might not get a second chance in life.

  Yeah, there was no way he was letting her go. Jagger wanted her more than anything in his life.

  “I’ll take it on one condition,” he stated.

  “What?” she asked, lifting her head to stare into his eyes. She wasn’t sure what he was going to say.

  “That you take mine as well. I want to give you mine, Roxy. It only beats for you.”

  That was all he had to say.

  The tears came.

  And he held her through them all.

  * * * O R A C L E * * *

  Brianna Moyer’s

  Home

  Apparently, she was well loved.

  Brianna was only dead a couple days, and already, the neighborhood was mourning her death. At her front door, there was a memorial for the woman. Mostly, it was flowers and handmade cards from children in her class.