The Culmination (14 page)

I take a deep breath.

I feel him crawling on top of me to mount me—his fingers enter me again—and, then, oh boy, yep, there’s no mistaking what’s just happened. He’s in. Yup. No doubt about it—the man just staked his flag in my moon. How do I know this to be true, one might wonder, given my lack of experience with this particular sex act? Oh, I dunno. Maybe because both my eyeballs just popped out of my head and rolled onto the floor. Holy What The Fuck Is Happening To Me, Batman, my husband’s got a big dick. I’ve never completely grasped the full extent of that fact until just now.

Jonas moans loudly, clearly enjoying whatever sensation my very tight ass is providing him, and, although I’m not yet sure if my body’s completely on board or not, the sound of his unadulterated pleasure makes my body spasm from a whole new set of muscles.

“Okay?” he asks, gasping. He’s moving gently, but I’m still feeling every inch of him.

My reply is nonverbal. I clutch the bed cover, trying to decide if I’m experiencing something good or bad. Oh man, this is a whole new sensation.

He shifts slightly, and his erection suddenly finds my G-spot from an angle I’ve never experienced before.

I cry out.

“Am I hurting you?” he chokes out.

“No,” I gasp. “Good. Oh my God.
Good
.”

He reaches around to fondle my more traditional lady parts, and Holy Taboo, Batman, that does the trick. After a few minutes of dual stimulation, I climax with the most intense orgasm of my entire life, just like he promised. My body explodes in multiple places, all at once, and so intensely, I can’t decide if I’m experiencing unparalleled ecstasy or being dragged like a dead cat through the seventh circle of hell. This sensation is inhumane is what it is. Cruel. Cataclysmic. Fucking amazing. I’m so overwhelmed, I burst into tears.

Jonas pulls out of me. “Did I hurt you?” His voice is ragged.

I shake my head and slur something that sounds like, “Beans.”

He kneels next to me on the bed, concerned. “Why are you crying?”

I’m nonverbal again. I shake my head. I don’t know why the hell I’m crying, so how can I explain it to him?

“Sarah, talk to me. Are you crying from pleasure or pain?”

I turn my head to look at him, resting my drunken cheek on the pillow. I nod.

“Good or bad?”

I smile through my tears. “
Good
.”

He hoots at the ceiling. “Fuck yeah.”

“Get yours,” I choke out. “Bring it home.”

“Oh, I already got mine, baby, and then some—right along with you.” He laughs. “When you came, you squeezed my dick so fucking tight, it almost shot off and rocketed right out your mouth.”

“
Jonas
!”

He laughs hysterically.

“Jeez. Even for you, that was pretty crass
.
” I roll my eyes.
“
Just ’cause a girl lets you fuck her up the ass doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be treated like a lady.”

He sighs happily and flops onto the bed next to me. “Good times in Rio were had by all.” There’s a long pause. “Jesus, I’m drunk.” He looks at me with half-mast eyes and puckers his lips at me like he’s a blowfish kissing me through the air. “Sarah,” he whispers. He puckers again. “My precious baby. Me. Drunk.” There’s another long pause—so long, in fact, I’m not sure if he’s passed out or if he’s just thinking deep, drunken thoughts. A long minute passes. Well, hmm. It seems like the party’s over. Okay. He must have passed out. Well, then. That was interesting. I close my eyes. It’s been nice knowing ya. Nighty-night.

“And guess what
else
I am?” he suddenly says, as if there’s been no pause whatsoever in our conversation.

I open my eyes and look at him with sleepy eyes.

“Guess what
else
I am, My Magnificent Sarah.” He flashes me a toothy smile.

“Um.” I twist my mouth. “What else besides what?”

“Besides drunk.”

“Oh. Gorgeous?”

“Well, yeah. That goes without saying. I’m Jonas Fucking Faraday. Women beg me to fuck them because I’ve got sad eyes and luscious lips and because I’m a fucking woman wizard.” He puckers again. “But guess what
else
?”

“Silly?”

“Never.”

“Creepy?”

“Always. But what
else,
My Beautiful Intake Agent?”

I smile broadly. He only calls me that when he’s drunk, which he so rarely is. “Intense?”

“You’re a terrible guesser. You’re really starting to annoy me, you know that?”

I shrug. “Well, jeez, hell if I know—oh, wait, I know.
Drunk
!”

He exhales, annoyed. “That was the first thing I said, you big dummy—the question was what
else,
numnuts.”

I burst out laughing and so does he.

“You’re not supposed to call your wife
numnuts
, Jonas. That’s what a guy should call, like, a fraternity brother.”

“I wasn’t in a fraternity.”

“Okay, then your brother.”

“Yeah, Josh was in a fraternity. He knows how to make friends and get people to like him.”

I laugh. “No. I mean, you should call your
brother
numnuts, not your wife—and, by the way, you know how to make friends and get people to like you, too.”

“No, I don’t. The only person I could ever get to like me was you, numnuts.”

“You’re totally missing my point here—which is this: you should call your brother numnuts, not your wife.”

“Jesus, woman. Don’t mention my brother when I’m trying to get my fuck on. Talk about a boner-killer.”

“What the fuck! You just went on and on about how your brother knows how to make friends.”

“I did?”

“Yeah, numnuts, you did.”

“Oh.”

We laugh like little kids for several minutes, calling each other “numnuts” over and over. Who knows if we’re actually funny, but right now we both think we’re freaking hilarious. After we’ve finally calmed down, there’s another long silence. More deep thoughts, I presume. I throw my arm over his broad chest and close my eyes. Oh, how I love my hunky-monkey-drunky husband with the big ol’ dick. I sigh happily. I hope my butt doesn’t hurt too much in the morning—but if it does, it was well worth it. Nighty-night.

“You know what I am?” Jonas says out of nowhere.

I open my eyes as best I can. “Drunk?”

“That is correct. But what
else
am I?”

“Dude. Just tell me already.”

He sits up and grins down at me. “I’m
hungry
.”

Before I can even process what he means by that statement, he turns my limp body onto my back, spreads my thighs wide and begins licking me voraciously... for, oh, a solid forty-five seconds... until, suddenly, with a loud gorilla-grunt, he heaves his drunken body next to mine on the bed and promptly passes out.

Chapter 15

Jonas

A nurse comes into the room. “Mr. Faraday?”

I’ve got my fingers interlaced with Sarah’s, my forehead resting on the bed next to her. I don’t look up.

“Mr. Faraday?” the nurse whispers again. “Mrs. Cruz was asking for a turn with her.”

There’s only one visitor at a time allowed in the SICU, no exceptions. And even though I know it’s only fair to let Gloria have a little time with her unconscious daughter now and again, I want my baby all to myself. I’ve been with Sarah almost constantly over the past two days, holding her hand, whispering to her, stroking her cheek, only ceding my spot next to her bed for a couple hours here or there to give Gloria or Kat a turn with her. And during those times, I’ve headed straight to the NICU to visit my babies. I haven’t eaten a proper meal or slept more than fifteen minutes at a time during the past two days.

“Don’t leave me,” I whisper softly to Sarah, stroking her cheek with my free hand. It’s the same thing I’ve said to her over and over again for the past two days. I keep thinking maybe the sound of my voice will lure her back to me, perhaps giving her a lifeline to latch onto in the dark, the way it seemed to do yesterday when she ever so briefly opened her eyes and looked right at me.

“I love you, Sarah,” I whisper. “I’m right here waiting for you, baby. Please, please come back to me.” I stroke her cheek again.

“Should I tell Mrs. Cruz now’s not a good time?” the nurse asks, her eyebrows furrowed with concern.

I lean down and press a gentle kiss to Sarah’s lips. She doesn’t even stir. “No, it’s okay,” I say. “I’ll go check on the babies again. Gloria can come in.”

In the waiting room, I’m surprised to find Henn and his girlfriend, Hannah, sitting next to Josh and Kat. Henn stands and opens his arms like he’s going to hug me.

“Hey, Jonas. I’m so sorry, man.”

My body surges with sudden adrenaline. “Henn, come with me,” I say abruptly, and march down the hall. There’s an empty examination room and I duck inside quickly. I whirl around to face him. “What do we know?” I bark.

“About?” Henn asks.

“Has there been any activity at all?”

“Oh. You mean with The Club. Um. No. I’ve been monitoring things like camo on a redneck, man, just like I keep telling you every single time we talk, and there’s still no sign of anything.” He shrugs. “But that’s not why I came. Hannah and I are just here to show our support—”

“A billion-dollar organization’s not gonna just vanish into thin air,” I say, grabbing at my hair. “You and I both know they’re gonna rise up again like a phoenix, and we’ve got to be ready to take them out when they do.”

Henn shakes his head. “The minute I see anything that looks even the slightest bit hinky, I’ll let you know, boss. I’ve been checking in with Agent Eric in Washington, too, and he says the same thing—”

“We need to take pre-emptive action. If there are even
embers
left, we need to piss all over them and snuff them out.”

“Hey, guys.” It’s Josh, entering the examination room. His voice is strained. “What’s going on, Jonas?” He walks into the room and stands right next to me, his body language tight.

I grit my teeth. “I’m talking to Henn.”

“About The Club?”

I don’t reply.

“Jonas is a bit
concerned
,” Henn says.

Josh glares at me. “That’s the last thing you should be thinking about right now, bro.”

“Oh, really?” I shout, instantly at full volume. “What should I be thinking about, Josh? About the fact that I’m teetering on the edge of total and complete
obliteration
and there’s nothing I can fucking do about it?”

Josh exhales. “Jonas, I know this is stressful, but you’ve got plenty on your plate right now without adding to your stress by freaking out about—”

I lunge at him and push on his chest forcefully. He stumbles back, totally blindsided. I advance on him again, intending to... I don’t know what. Pummel him? Beat the shit out of him? All I know is I want to smash someone or something, and kicking Josh’s condescending ass would really fit the bill.

“What the fuck?” Josh says, incredulous.

I advance again, but Josh quickly gathers himself and shoves me back. Hard.

Just as we begin to scuffle, Henn wedges himself between the two of us, putting out his arms. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” he shouts, his eyes wide. “What the fuck is this?
Magic Mike
on ’roids?”

My pulse is pounding in my ears.

“Don’t fucking touch me again,” Josh says, his eyes blazing. “Or I swear to God, I’ll break your pretty face.” He sets his jaw.

I know I’ve crossed a line by attacking Josh—I’ve never done anything even remotely like that before—but I can’t bring myself to back down. I glare at him, puffing my chest and flexing my arms.

“Dudes, this is so fucking cliché right now,” Henn says. “‘Oh, gee, look at us. We’re two ridiculously good-looking guys with muscles. We lose our shit and fuck each other up when we get stressed out. Yay! Look at us! We’re so
alpha
!” He shakes his head. “How about, for once, the tortured heroes with demons do something
unexpected
like, oh, I dunno, act like rational adults? Wouldn’t that be fucking
crazy-pants
?”

Josh and I mutually glare at Henn for a long beat—but then Josh breaks down and laughs, which totally pisses me off.

“Look at me! I’m so alpha!” Josh says, mimicking Henn and waving his arms. He laughs again. “I’m a tortured hero. Waaah!”

“I know, right?” Henn says, chuckling. “Look at my big muscles! Aren’t they big? I’m so tough. I’m so sexy. I behave horribly because of my emotional baggage, but everyone forgives me because I’m so damned good-looking. Waah!”

Josh and Henn share a good laugh together for a solid two minutes. When Henn finally notices I’m not even close to joining in, he addresses me earnestly. “Jonas, dude. I’m monitoring the situation, I promise. There’s nothing to be done right now, even if we wanted to do it. Because there’s no one to target
.
If something comes up—anything at all—I promise you’ll be the first to know. And if any action is needed, whatever it is, I’m totally in. No hesitation whatsoever.”

“See, bro?” Josh says. “Listen to the fucking genius. No nervous breakdown required. At least not yet.”

I don’t reply.

Josh exhales. “Are you done acting like an idiot now? At least for a little while? Because I need to know if I can turn my back on you without getting tackled.”

I wait a long beat before speaking. “No, I’m not done acting like an idiot—and I definitely wouldn’t turn my back if I were you.”

Josh smiles and flips me off.

I return the gesture.

“You guys are Neanderthals,” Henn says, shaking his head.

“Aren’t we, though?” Josh says. “Blame Jonas. He’s the one who can’t formulate a sentence when he gets upset. I’m highly evolved compared to him.”

My eyes are suddenly burning. I wipe them.

Josh looks sympathetic. “Oh, fuck. Bro, listen to me. This is more than any sane man could handle, okay? And since you’re not completely sane, God only knows how you’re handling this at all. But you’ve got to get a grip, man. Seriously. Pull your shit together.”

“I think I’m losing my fucking mind.” I wipe my eyes again. I’ve got a massive lump in my throat.