She sighed, leaning into him, her trim body brushing against his.He had to struggle to remember to remain tender and gentle.
When Bree’s little tongue brushed against his lips, all thoughts of tender fled.His hands came up to cup her face, tilting her head so he had better access to those sweet lips.
He nibbled at them until they opened then deepened the kiss until it was a melding of their mouths, no space left between them.He knew he should slow things down, but Bree’s arms wrapped snugly around the back of his neck weren’t going to allow it anyway.
Not that he wanted to.
But still he was impossibly cognizant of the need to take this at a speed she could handle and process.No matter how much her lips were driving him crazy.
In the end it wasn’t either of them who broke the kiss, it was Christian letting the world know he was awake.
Bree let out a sigh as they broke away from each other, but at least her eyes still met his.“That kid sure can scream,” she whispered.
“If it wasn’t for him crying, I never would’ve walked down that aisle at the drugstore.But I’m glad both of them aren’t like that.”
She let out a sigh and tilted her head against his chest.He would’ve gladly stood there forever and let her lean against him.“I don’t have much time to stop the Organization.I have to start right away.”
“What do you need?”he said against her hair.
“A safe place to work, preferably on a government computer so I can more easily cover my tracks.”She pulled back and looked up at him.“And someone to watch the twins.It’s going to take every spare minute before the symposium for me to get inside the Organization’s system.I won’t be able to care for the babies the way they need.It nearly killed me when I was trying to do that before using the library’s internet.”
“That’s why you were there in the middle of the night when you were supposed to be resting?”That made so much sense now.
Those green eyes widened.“How did you know?”
“I saw you there that night.I had no idea what you were doing.”
She nodded.“I was trying to help Melissa.But she told me to stop and focus on the kids and let her worry about the Organization.I don’t even know if she’s still alive, Tanner.She might have risked it all calling me and telling me to get out of the apartment.”
“I know people in federal law enforcement.Omega Sector can have someone knocking on Communication for All’s door today.If she’s still alive, we can get her out.”
Bree thought about that for a moment.“No.If they didn’t catch her, going in there will tip them off and we’ll never be able to stop them.Mellie wants to be free.Wants the twins to be free.The only way that will happen is for me to stop them from the inside.”
“Then we’ll make it happen.Whatever you need.I’ll make sure you have it.You’re not alone in this anymore, Bree.”
Her big green eyes blinked up at him.“I...I...”She faded off with a shrug.
He put a finger over her lips.“You don’t have to know what to say.You don’t even need to know what to feel right now.Let’s go get those babies fed and then let you go to work so you can save the world.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
After helping her feed the kids, Tanner left, telling Bree to pack up everything for the babies.She was crying by the time she got the second armful of baby stuff into the car Noah brought over.
She knew there was every possibility she might not see them again.Despite Tanner’s assurances that they could handle the Organization, he and his federal law enforcement friends in Omega Sector who were waiting on standby really didn’t have any idea of who they were up against.
Tanner thought he could protect her, but she still knew the odds were that she would be dead or, worse, back in the Organization’s clutches by the time the symposium was done.
She couldn’t live through that again.
But she couldn’t do nothing any longer, either.
“You want help loading?”Noah asked.He was standing at the end of the porch, Corfu at his feet.
“No.It’s not heavy.I’m just an emotional basket case.”
Noah didn’t try to argue or placate her.She appreciated that.“Being close to people is hard,” he said.“The price is high.”
“Too high?”she muttered, more to herself than him.
