The front door opens, and Sadie and Rebel, with Bull and Maya, come into the living room. My parents have met the team, but the guys introduce their women before meeting up with the ladies in the kitchen. Eventually, the whole gang arrives, and the guys are pushed out of the kitchen.
The table is packed with seven kinds of homemade pizza. A plain one with cheese and basil, one with zucchini and mozzarella, another with potato and mounds of mozzarella cheese, several with all kinds of salami, sausage, and bacon, prosciutto and arugula, and a vegetarian. The aroma makes my stomach grumble, but I make sure our guests are seated first. Even with the leaf added, the table is a tight squeeze for fourteen people. I push back one of the chairs and pull Remmi onto my lap.
“Are you okay like this?” I ask. Remmi grabs three pieces of pizza, puts them on my plate, and wriggles on my lap to get comfy.
“Yup, but I think we need a bigger table,” she says. She takes a big bite, then holds it up to my lips so I can take a bite too.
“I think you’re right, babe. The family is growing,” I reply after taking a huge bite. The stringy, ooey, gooey goodness of the cheese stretches, and Remmi begins to laugh so hard that the others can’t help but turn to us and join in.
Chapter 17
Come Back to Me
Remmi
It was a great night with our family. The only odd thing was the way Falcon and Mina kept pretending to ignore each other and secretly looking over when they thought the other wasn’t watching. I wanted to ask Mina about it, but I couldn’t find a quiet moment.
Falcon was the first to leave, and I heard him tell Wire that their flight leaves in the evening and that he was going to come pick him up. Wire ran a hand down my back and told me we would talk when we were alone. I nodded and left it at that.
Maya, Sadie, and Kailyn wanted to stay and help clean up, but I shooed them away. Both my mother and Wire’s were in the kitchen, and they had it almost done. Mom and Dad left and headed home, but not before our mothers made plans to go shopping the next day.
At the far side of the room, I see Wire and his dad talking quietly, while his mother says good night and heads to bed. I decide to do the same, giving them a wave as I slip past them.
I’m sitting up with my back to the headboard when Wire walks into the room. He stops at the door. He looks at me and smiles like he’s seeing me for the very first time.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
“Yeah, beautiful. Everything’s perfect.” He comes closer to sit on the edge of the bed. “I have a good life, baby,” he begins. “I grew up with a family that showed love. My father is a good man, but after he got out of the army, he suffered because he couldn’t find a way to cope with what he saw in the war zones. My mother kept him grounded and made him seek help. He fought it, but she wouldn’t let up. She saved him from himself.”
“Your mom is awesome.” I’m happy that Wire’s father found the help he needed.
“That’s one of the big reasons that I joined Storm. I knew that after I left the military, I would need a purpose. Falcon had a vision and worked his ass off to make sure we all had a place in the company, but mostly, he’s seen how good, solid men can fall apart when they don’t know what we’re fighting for. Storm is about taking care of people who are in danger.” Wire pauses, taking a breath and reaching for my hand. “I never want you to know the horrific acts of mankind that I saw when I was overseas. I used to have shitty nightmares and wasted hours trying to understand what makes people do horrible things to each other. I could never find an answer that made any sense to me. I came to the conclusion that I never would find an answer, so I stopped looking for one and turned my energy to helping people the best way I know how.”
“You’re made to be a hero,” I tell him.
The corner of his mouth turns up. “Thank you, baby, but I’m telling you this because I thought I had everything a man could want. Then I met you, and I knew that I’d give up everything to have you in my life. I walked in just now and saw you and thought to myself, God smiled upon me and gave me a gift that I’ll cherish for the rest of my days.”
I crawl out from under the covers and into his lap, resting my head on his shoulder. “I feel the same way.” I kiss his jaw and look deeply into his eyes. “I don’t ever want you to change who you are. I’m in love with you, and I accept you as you are, just like you love me as I am. I’m not perfect, and neither are you, but we are perfect for each other.”
Wire kisses me softly, his warm lips moving passionately over mine. When he pulls back, he says, “Falcon and I fly out tomorrow. We’re headed back to England. I think we have a solid lead to finally free Maria and Franco from the hell they’ve been going through. Vic’s been on babysitting duty long enough, and we need to finish this up. I hate to leave you.” His fingers skim my cheek.
“I’ll be here when you get back.”
“Mom and Dad are staying for a few days. He’s going to take his job of looking after you seriously,” he says.
“I’ll let him do that,” I say, and revel in his sexy grin. “I might even put him to work in the workshop. Who knows, he might even discover a new hobby?”
“I can’t imagine my father’s hands in mud,” he replies with a chuckle.
“It’s clay,” I insist, my lips forming the perfect pout as I pretend to be offended.
“You do that on purpose.”
“What?”
“Make those lips so damn kissable that I can’t resist them,” he says, then proceeds to kiss me. A hard, passionate, and hungry kiss. He moves me back onto the mattress, our mouths still connected. I wrap my legs around his waist, wanting to feel his hard body against mine. I run my fingers through his soft brown hair. His kisses suck the air from my lungs, and yet I don’t want him to stop because they fill my soul.
He tugs at my pajama tank, pulling it up and off, then swiftly latches his mouth to my nipple, causing me to moan hungrily for more.
