“We can go back to Seattle right now, if you want.” Graham’s Coast Guard buddy had my plane towed to the dry dock, and not only did someone pay to have it repaired, but they even got the blood out of the carpet and replaced the seats. The new lumbar support is amazing. “Ninety minutes, and we can be back at the Five Points.”
Natasha cups my cheek, leans in, and kisses me so tenderly, I feel it all the way down to my toes. “I love you.“
Worry twists in my gut. The words don’t come easy to her. Even now. She only says them in the middle of the night, after the nightmares come for her. I hold her close, tell her no one will ever hurt her again while I’m around, and she always says, “I love you, Doc. I hope you know that.”
“You’re scaring me, baby. We’re safe. We’re together.”
With a small shake of her head, she straddles me and runs her fingers through my hair. “I’m not tired, Doc. Are you?”
“Fuck no.” Stripping off the flowing purple blouse that shows off her toned arms, I drink in the sight of her breasts hugged in black lace. “I want you, Natasha. I want to taste you. I want to watch you when you come. And then I want to bury myself deep inside you and watch you come again.”
Her pupils are half blown and her lips part on a moan that sends all the blood rushing to my dick.
“These have to go.” I reach for the button on her khaki shorts, flick it open, and expose her matching lace panties. “God. You smell so fucking good.”
“How good?”
She wriggles her hips, and I swear under my breath. This woman is my everything. She saved me.
“You’re all I need, Natasha. For the rest of my life.” I unhook her bra, dip my head, and fasten my lips around one dusky nipple. The other rises to meet the pinch of my fingers.
Natasha fumbles for my belt buckle between her little gasps and moans. Her body sings for me, and mine for her. I toe off my hiking boots, tug my t-shirt over my head, and let my jeans fall to the floor.
My dick tents my boxers. Natasha reaches for the waistband, but I grab her hands and pin them to the mattress. “Not yet, baby. You come first. Always.”
Natasha wriggles out of her panties, and I bury my face between her thighs. She’s soaking wet. Flushed from head to toe. And begging me with those big gray eyes.
“You are the best fucking thing to ever happen to me, Natasha. I love you.”
Natasha
The boathouse deck needs a good scrubbing. But Gladys is in her Adirondack chair, her feet kicked out in front of her, wearing a pair of tie-dyed crocs, denim shorts, and a bright green t-shirt that reads, “I like my books, my men, and my martinis filthy.”
The normality of it all is too much. Tears spring to my eyes, and I take a moment before I step out from behind one of the tall trees so Gladys can see me.
I shouldn’t be here. Alive. Safe. Happy. But I am. Thanks to Doc. And his friends. His family.
Ripper emptied that bank account in the Maldives before we left D.C.—along with four others he traced to Bastian, Doherty, and Colonel Sapier. Half of the money went to Chris’s widow. Marisol will be set for the rest of her life. I haven’t been able to face her yet, but I wrote her a long letter, and she responded, inviting me to Maine to visit her and their two kids any time.
The other half…well, by some miracle, Clancy didn’t fire me. Not exactly. He sold me—and Doc—a controlling share of Blakely Island Resort. The house is now ours outright. Clancy will get thirty percent of the profits after expenses, but he’s tired of worrying about the place, and he’s got enough money saved up to pay for the best senior living Florida has to offer and still leave a sizable inheritance for his children and grandchildren.
My phone buzzes, and warmth spreads through my core.
Doc: I can still taste you. Think anyone would mind if we disappeared for an hour? Or two?
Natasha: Well, they’re all here because of us, but…I’m pretty sure Inara and Royce are making out behind the boathouse right now. So…
It takes me another moment to cool the flush heating my body before I pin a smile to my face and step around the tree.
“Gladys? Are you ready to go?” I ask. “Everyone’s waiting on us.”
“About damn time.” She wobbles to her feet, hands me her tumbler, and pushes her oversized sunglasses on top of her head. “What took you so long?”
So much for trying to cool myself off. My cheeks catch fire again. I turn quickly, but Gladys grabs my arm before I can rush down the steps to the ATV.
“Spill it.”
“I was…um…”
