Read In the Still of the Night:Sexy Romantic Suspense (Book 2 The Blonde Barracuda's Sizzling Suspense Series) for Free Online Page A

and looked away, refusing to meet his hard stare, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes. To her surprise, Jake reached over and pulled her next to him. He took the pillow away from the front of her and held her against his chest. He tipped her head back, forcing her to look at him.
    “Listen to me, Lexie. Just to be clear, I do not think that either you or Ming is responsible for what happened to that poor young woman. The person who killed her and all those who exploited her are responsible. And you’re right. I do know why you didn’t call me. You knew I would be angry with you, because I thought we had agreed that we would discuss potentially dangerous things like this. I thought that you trusted my judgment. Trusted that we can discuss these things and even if we don’t agree, at least I’ll know what is going on. So, yeah, I will admit that when Dan called, my first reaction was to be mad as hell that you hadn’t told me about these missions. But my next reaction and the message I left for you that you obviously haven’t picked up, is that I worry about you, Darlin’. Not because I don’t think you are capable, or that the work you are doing isn’t important. No, dammit! It’s because if I had my way I would wrap you up in a protective shell and take you out only to feed you and make love to you. Do you understand me, Lexie, what I’m trying to say? You think I don’t know how hard this hit you? How much it hurts to know that yet another young woman has been killed?”
    Lexie didn’t know how she could burrow any deeper into Jakes arms but she tried. Just when she’d convinced herself that there was no way she could ever make him understand her, he went straight to the heart of what was bothering her the most—the horror of the woman’s death, and that she might inadvertently have contributed to it. She knew she should have called him. The problem was, as Master Wan could tell him if Jake hadn’t already figured it out, Lexie lived by the rule, ‘Do it and explain later.’ And she wasn’t a team player—she never had been. It was one of the biggest conflicts she and Jake had. He was accustomed not only to working with a team, but always as the leader, the commander. Lexie had never taken orders from anyone. She valued her independence above all. She knew it was an issue that would continue to bedevil them. But at least for tonight, she was grateful that he was holding her and not insisting she make promises they both knew she wouldn’t keep.
    Jake held her in his arms, aware of the emotions obviously tormenting her. The poignant sighs, the slight shivers, even a sound suspiciously close to a sob, wracked her slender body. He gave her what she seemed to need the most at the moment. Strong arms and no advice. In the seven months that he and Lexie had been together, Jake’d learned a lot about what to do and what not to do if he wanted to have any influence with her. Sure as hell, confronting her head-on didn’t work! May as well toss a load of C4 in the room, that was how volatile both her temper and fierce need for independence were. The problem for Jake was that he’d been in the Army too long and at too high a level not to assume command. Exactly the wrong strategy with Lexie. He snorted to himself. Thank god he’d spent his adult life ordering other strong men around, because if all women were as hard to corral as this feisty woman he had tucked against his side, he’d have left the military years ago and taken up rattlesnake wrestling.
    But there were times dammit, and this was one of them, when he needed to assert his authority, put on the controls. Dan Rourke had spent twenty minutes describing the growing violence affecting young Korean streetwalkers in the District. The problems were getting worse. The ongoing abuse and exploitation was bad enough. But now in the last month alone, they had fifteen unsolved murders. All young. All Korean. And all of whom could be traced to the