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“Killing in a kilt. This has to be a new low for us.” “More like a nightmare,” I grumbled, not amused by any of this, but especially not the fact we’d had to wear kilts to blend in to infiltrate our target location.
“Wait, I gotta know, how’d you two wind up in kilts?” Easton started laughing despite the grim situation. “When you called me for an assist at the last second, you said nothing about dressing up.” “Don’t ask.” I wasn’t in the mood to talk about Griffin’s bright idea to get us inside the building unnoticed, particularly since it’d worked. That admission would only make him more insufferable. Cocky fucker. I could practically feel Griffin’s triumphant smirk as I went back to the task of opening the briefcase, using the target’s thumbprint on the biometric scanner.
“Something told me you worked with him back during his fuck-around-and-find-out days,” the Secretary had said to Griffin, and I was pretty sure that comment was Gray’s dad trying to get back in my good graces.
Dallas jumped onto the bed and curled up next to Diana, setting his head on her abdomen.
“Go,” I insisted. “Call me the second you have news. I’ll reach out to POTUS to inform him the package is secure.” That “package” softly whimpered, and I turned toward her as she stirred. Dallas lifted his head and licked her cheek before returning his head to her stomach.
Dallas appeared to have no plans to go anywhere. You’re trying to claim her as yours, huh, boy? The little
mind reader lifted his head and gave me a light howl before snuggling up next to her again.
Unholstering my sidearm and setting it by the other medical supplies, I sat at the edge of the narrow bed. There wasn’t much room for me with Dallas hogging the rest of the space, but I needed to be as close to her as possible.
Dallas lifted his head and began yelping, which was more like his version of cry-singing. “She can’t be ours. I know what you’re thinking, but she can’t be.” It was ridiculous how much my heart hurt saying that. Dallas clearly felt the same, because he groaned in disapproval. “Lift your head, I need to check her stomach and back.” He didn’t budge. So stubborn. “I’m getting worried at how quickly you’ve become attached to her.” Maybe he saw her a time or two while I’d watched her on the security cameras and recognized her, but I knew him. He was like me. Didn’t cozy up to people easily.
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Dallas circled the bed and parked his ass alongside me, both of us waiting quietly, eager to see Diana come to life. Her subtle stirring transitioned to full-blown shaking and chills, coupled with yelps of pain.
Dallas set his paws on the bed by her, and all I could think to do next was hold her. Sitting on the bed, I gathered her in my arms and hauled her upright so we were chest to chest.
I glanced over at Dallas. “Out. Door,” I ordered, and he jumped to all fours. He took a few steps back and clamped down on the handle with his teeth, pulling the door closed to leave us alone. “Talented dog.” “He’s a little cocky. Don’t let him hear you say that.”
Dallas must’ve heard the rumbling in my stomach, a reminder I was famished, because he bopped his nose against my face as if worried.
“I’ll be okay,” I reassured him. “Thanks to you and your dad. Well, I think he’s your dad.” He nudged his nose my way again. “He is, right?” I smooshed his face between my hands and leaned toward him, nuzzling the tip of his nose, grateful for the soothing effect his furry presence provided.
Carter backed up, his hand resting atop the gun strapped to his side. Then those tight, strong abdominal muscles flexed before my eyes. Thank God my vision isn’t that bad . . . because damn.
“You sure you don’t need to get anything off your chest?” Griffin and his worrying about me, damnit. “Is this payback for what I put you through when we were protecting Savanna?” I kept my voice low and faced him. “Are you about to put me through the wringer as well?” Instead of appeasing me with a no, he pushed with more force that time, asking, “Is there something else going on I should know about?” That something else was on the other side of the door. “No, everything’s fine.” “Thank God you’re not a woman. When Savanna uses that word, I know I’m screwed.” He shook
his head, and I motioned for him to drop the conversation and assist Easton. “Fine,” he said as a smile passed between us at his ridiculous rebuttal, then he headed outside.
“We’re connected for a reason,” I whispered, hating the sadness finding its way in my voice, “just maybe not for the reason I’d originally thought.”
Dallas curled up by her bare feet and gave me a little yelp, apparently angry at me for some reason. Yeah, yeah, join the club.
Eyes closed, I murmured, “A kiss won’t corrupt me, but if your lips don’t touch mine . . . you just might kill me.”
“I need to know if what I’m feeling is real, or if I’m imagining it. Please. Help me understand,” I begged, my voice saturated with thirteen years of guilt and longing for this man. “Of course it’s real.” The tight strain of his jaw became more prominent. “It’s so real I’m going to do something I haven’t done in a very long time.” “What’s that?” I asked, breathless. He angled his head while tightening his hold of my hands, and the words came out slow, firm, and deliberate: “Lose my control.”
“So, this is really a family, not just a team?” Diana knelt alongside Dallas as he wagged his tail, waiting for attention from his new favorite person. I’d definitely been replaced. Couldn’t even blame him. She was far more easy on the eyes than my rugged-ass self, not to mention much sweeter.
Dallas let go of a little distressed moan, worried for his dad. Yeah, I’m worried about your dad, too.
Dallas came up alongside me and Carter removed his little doggie helmet. I took a knee alongside his faithful companion who was apparently becoming mine as well.
“Semantics,” she muttered, eyes wide and pinned on me. “They weren’t trying to kill us. They could’ve blown up the vehicles, but they didn’t. They opted not
to take the chance since you were in one. You saved us. Bright side.” “Did you just make a joke?” “Maybe.” Probably not.
Dallas finally stirred awake, apparently feeling the weight of that thud of news, too. He maneuvered around everyone in the aisle to get to me. He was a living, breathing, four-legged oxytocin booster.
Dallas licked my cheek, then bopped his nose against my jaw as if telling me to calm down. I was glad Carter had him in his life. From the little my mother had told me about Carter back in the day, his Southern accent was thanks to being born and raised in Texas, and I loved how he’d named him after his hometown.
Satisfied with myself, and after swallowing every drop, he helped me stand and did what I had no clue I’d ever needed. He drew me into his arms and hugged me. Orgasm oxytocin was great. But Carter holding me like I was his whole world, well, it was a whole other level of amazing. This man could easily be more than just my world. He could be my entire universe.
“Oh, I heard that.” Diana leaned back in her chair across from me, the distance between where she was and my lap where I’d have preferred, entirely too far away. “The, uh, other thing.” What thing?
“Ah, yes. Carter’s use of cutlery is impressive. I thought he was good with a knife, but you should see what he can do with a fork.” Jack and his fucking timing.
She rested her hand on my leg, giving me a squeeze, somehow knowing I needed her to ground my thoughts before I lost myself to anger. Dallas was on the other side of her, and he lifted his head and licked her cheek. Jealous, boy? That her hand is on me, not you? I get it. Not missing a beat, Diana scratched behind his ears, giving us both the attention we needed.
Dallas yelped his thanks as my eyes fell back to where her hand rested on my jeaned thigh.
“Are these people famous or royal?” she asked, her curious beautiful blue eyes on me. Teddy was back behind the wheel now, pulling into the garage as I shared, “Billionaire family, and you know how billionaires are”—I grinned, unable to stop myself—“they tend to be a bit paranoid.” The smile that pulled from Diana was worth every ridiculous word.
Inside the main foyer, Diana did a three-sixty spin. All that was missing from her twirl was a skirt to hold on to. Or our daughter’s little palm tucked inside hers to share the view. What. The. Fuck. I rubbed my eyes, trying to will away the painful thought. And it was painful, because how in the world would I ever have a future with someone like her, knowing I could be the death of her and our future kids?
“You won’t be coming with me.” Her small, sad voice gutted me. “You’ll stay out and fight?” Before I could answer, she held up her hand. “I would never ask you to choose me over the country. Don’t worry.” Chills beat down my back. “The thing is,” I began, slowly meeting her eyes, “I’d choose you.”
“And, Carter,” she whispered, “I don’t want to talk down about the dead, but . . . Rebecca didn’t deserve you, but you deserve Diana.”
Opening my eyes and unfurling my hand, I rasped, “I forgive you.”
Intense emotions choked me up as I threw the ring over the ledge. A weight lifted from my chest as I added in a strained voice, “Goodbye, Rebecca.”
“I can’t wait to overindulge on that soon, too,” Diana teased, and Sydney grabbed hold of her chair, spinning her back toward the table to face the laptops. “We’re about to jump back on our call, and you’re distracting her.” Sydney flicked her wrist over her shoulder, letting me know to beat it. “Fine,” I grumbled, but now eating cake with Diana while naked was at the top of my one-day-we’ll-do-it list.
At the sound of the door opening, I turned to see Dallas creeping on me. I leaned forward and motioned for him to come in. He hurried over, planting his paws on my lap to lick my cheek, and seeing him gave me an idea. “I bet you’ve never taken a selfie before.” I opened the camera app and held the phone out. “How about we send your dad a picture?” Dallas nudged me in the face with his nose before I snapped a few photos of us together, including one where he’d had me laughing.
Closing my eyes, I whispered, “I do like your teammates, so I’d hate for you to have to do that because you’re tense. Plus, we need their help to find my colleagues, not to mention wrap up this case so we can have our shot at forever.” Shot at forever? Yeah, I said that, and his eyes narrowed on my mouth the moment those words dropped. Drawing his face back to mine, feeling his lips brush across my cheek in the process, I met his gaze as he rasped, “I’m too damn tense to be this close to you, because I want that shot now.”
Hot, bothered, and unsure how in the world I’d come down from this high without an orgasm, I picked up my phone to confirm if he’d deleted my selfies with Dallas.
My hand slipped to my mouth when I realized he hadn’t erased them from the phone. No, instead, he’d texted himself every single one.
“I didn’t know,” he said, his hoarse voice catching on a shuttered sob. “I didn’t know it could be like this.”
“To be honest, I was just checking on you.” He cleared his throat. “Per Diana’s instructions.” I gripped the chair arms at his words—at the hope he’d just given me. “She did, did she?” “Never thought my job would have me feeling like a kid stuck going back and forth between their parents.” A smile cut across his lips. “No offense.” “A little taken.”
“So, what am I telling her? That Dad is good? Not to worry?” Dad, huh? Thank God that, despite all of Diana’s father’s faults, she didn’t seem to have any underlying daddy issues. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that given our age gap.
“I don’t want to wait until the mission is over to tell you I love you.”
Eyes back on mine, he cradled my face in his hands. “I want a future with you, and a life of making memories together to form our past.” More tears slipped down his cheeks, and from such a strong, tough guy, it was just . . . God, my heart ached for him. “I want our kids to wake us up, bouncing on the bed. I want to cook breakfast together, and do all those normal things I never could do. I want that. All of that. With you.” He lowered his forehead to mine. “I don’t want time to slip by.”
“I don’t need more time to know what I want. I’ve been waiting thirteen years for you. I’ve been waiting for our time, and it’s now.”
