Wherever It Leads (44 page)

“I still feel terrible you lost Mandla.”

He leans back on the sofa, putting some distance between us. He studies me in his way. “I think my mother would approve.”

“Do you really?”

“Uh huh. She would’ve wanted me to do what’s right for family, for the one I love. And I did that. So, by all accounts, this was the right thing to do—losing Mandla or not.”

I shouldn’t smile, but I do. “I love you.”

“I know.”

I roll my eyes, making him laugh.

“What other questions do you have before I take you into my bedroom and ravage you?”

“Just one more,” I say, my body humming at his words. I have to ask the one question left so it’s out of the way. Because it’s worrying me like crazy. “Are you going to be in any trouble for this?”

“I don’t think so. I could be thrown in prison, but I think the government is probably going to spin it like they did some big, grand thing getting your brother back. When in reality, they did nothing but throw up roadblocks. If they try to arrest me, they’ll look like complete assholes. That’s what my attorney says, anyway. Once the media gets wind of this, we’ll know for sure. Probably morning.”

“What if they do?” I bite my bottom lip instinctively. His thumb catches it, pulling it away from my teeth.

“Then they do. And I bail out and fight it and I’ll win. I always win, rudo.”

“You won me,” I whisper.

“I better have. Is that all of your questions?” He swivels his hips, his rock hard cock brushing against my leg.

“Nope. One more,” I say breathlessly.

“Make it quick,” he groans.

“What’s
rudo
mean? The truth, Fent.”

“Love. It means love.” He kisses me reverently, his lips searing mine. “I’ve always known you were my rudo, or going to be, anyway.”

My cheeks ache from the wide smile on my face, but it disappears as he rubs his cock against my leg again.

“Anymore questions?” he asks, his eyes darkening.

I gulp. “That’s all.”

He lifts me in one fluid motion and sets off towards his bedroom. I pull his head to mine and run my tongue over his bottom lip. He growls in response, squeezing the back of my thighs as we enter the room. We’re to the bed in a couple of seconds and I’m on my back, his body on top of mine, his breath hot against my mouth.

“This is where you belong,” he whispers.

“Well, mostly. If your cock was inside me, it would be perfect.”

Through the moonlight streaming in from the pulled back curtains, I can see him shaking his head. “Never a dull moment with you.”

“I don’t like dull. I like . . . hard.” I palm his cock through his pants. “That kind of hard.”

His mouth meets mine, our tongues winding together, and I relax completely in his arms.

T
he blinds didn’t get pulled last night. Or earlier this morning, I suppose. So when the sun breaks through the windows, it awakens me.

Fenton’s arm is curled around my hip, his body pressed against my back. It’s the most heavenly way to wake up, wound around him and enveloped in him in every way. I lie there awhile, soaking in the feeling of waking up for the first time in months and not having a tick of anxiety sitting in my gut.

I gently, so as not to wake up Sleeping Beauty, slip off the side of the bed. I’m naked, too exhausted after making love not more than a few hours ago to get up and find something to wear. I pad across the room and into the closet and find a heavy black robe of Fenton’s to put on. I close the curtains so he can rest before heading into the kitchen.

After making a cup of coffee, I grab my phone and head onto the deck. The sea breeze dances over me, the salty air the perfect accompaniment to a perfect morning. I kick back and take it all in before calling my parents’ house.

“Hi, Brynne!” my mom answers. I can hear her smile through the line. “Where did you go? Brady said you and Presley took off to meet a friend, but that had to be late, sweetheart.”

“It was pretty late,” I laugh. “But I’m fine. How are you guys? How’s my big brother?”

“We’re great. He’s getting a quick check-up this morning and then has a few appointments with the FBI. They want to debrief him some more, but he didn’t want them coming here. The media has been outside for a few hours now. It’s crazy.”

“Don’t let them onto the lawn, Mom.”

She laughs. “I know. Your father has already taken care of it. They’re on the sidewalk, which we have no control of. But we’re going to make a family statement later and then ask for privacy.”

“Sounds good.”

“Are you coming by today?”

“I’d like to. I don’t want to overwhelm Brady though, you know?”

“I’ll see how he’s doing when he and your father get home. He was great this morning though. A little scuffed and a little jumpy, but he seems so good, Brynne. It’s so, so nice to have him here. To see him in his room, even if he was on the floor,” she laughs. “To make him breakfast and see his stuff all over the place. He wants to go to his apartment tonight,” she sighs.

I can hear the sniffle in her voice, the gratitude she feels having her family together again. My heart swells, knowing I have the man I love to thank for that. I can never repay him.

“Call me when they get back. I’m going to call work now and try to get off. I’m supposed to work today.”

“For the first time ever, you’re going to hear me say this—don’t work,” she laughs. “I want things to get back to normal. Go back to school. Focus on that now. If you lose your job, your dad will pay your rent. It’ll be fine. I just want . . . I want everyone happy right now and I want my kids all at my house today. Call me crazy or call me greedy but I do. I need it.”

“Okay, Mom,” I smile. “I’ll call in again. You twisted my arm.”

“Good girl. I’m making a bunch of food today because I expect we’ll have visitors whether we like it or not.”

“Relax! I’ll come and help you.”

“No, no, you won’t. This is my job. This is what moms do and what I’ve been dreaming of doing for a long time now. But Brynne? I have one question for you?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you with Fenton?”

I bite my lip, unsure as to what her reaction is going to be. “Yeah. I am.”

“Bring him with you today, sweetheart. Okay?”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m absolutely sure. I don’t know what he is to you officially, but he’s a friend of the family at the very least.”

I hesitate and then make a decision. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do this. “I love him, Mom.”

She doesn’t say anything for a minute. “If that’s the case,” she says finally, “he’s family and I fully expect him here this afternoon unless he has . . . other things.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t,” I whisper, afraid to even think about that.

“We will pray that he doesn’t,” she says, understanding my fear. “Call me later and let me know. I love you.”

“I love you, Mom.”

When I click the phone off, I hear the door opening behind me. I don’t move, just wait on him to come up behind me.

His hands land on my shoulders and I see the cuffs of a grey robe just like the one I’m wearing on his wrists.

“I like having you out here when I wake up,” he says, his voice heavy from sleep.

“I like waking up and coming out here.”

“We should make this happen more often.”

“Well, my mom just told me to quit my job. So if Presley kicks me out, I’ll be looking for a place to crash,” I joke.

He laughs, coming around and sitting in the chair beside me. We both gaze across the water, watching the waves roll in and out. We are silent for a long while and I wonder what he’s thinking.

“Can I ask you something?” he finally says.

“Sure.”

“What would you say if I asked you to take a few weeks off with me.”

“For what?” I ask, twisting in my chair to face him. He tilts his head and watches me.

“After this whole thing is settled, I want to get away.”

“And go where?”

He shrugs like he’s not thought about it. “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?”

I shrug too. “You sprang this on me. I don’t have a ready-made answer.”

“Let’s just get a boat and go.”

“Are you serious?” I smile.

He nods slowly, a grin slipping across his face like he’s becoming more sure of the idea as the moments pass. “Yeah, actually. I am.” He leans up, the robe slipping and showing a lot of his chest. It’s hard not to be distracted. “Let’s just go. I’ll get a boat and a captain and we can just float away. Eat. Sleep. Fuck. Swim.” His eyes dance like a little boy on Christmas morning. “Come on. Let’s do it.”

“Fenton,” I start, sitting up myself. “I have school. I’m supposed to go back in a month.”

“Think about everything that’s happened, Brynne. With Brady, with me, with . . . life. Everything can be over in a minute. Everything can change. What happens if you never enjoy it?”

“I have to graduate at some point. I’ve already taken a semester off and now I have to basically quit my job. They’ll probably fire me today if I don’t quit anyway. I’m not a stellar employee,” I laugh.

“Fine. Skip a semester and I’ll pay you full-time wages to go with me.”

“We are not back to this again!”

He grins. “It worked for me before.”

“No, that part of it almost got you thrown out.”

“You were always going to go,” he teases.

“I really wasn’t.”

He rolls his eyes. “You’re so full of shit.”

I can’t help but laugh, my heart light with playful Fenton back. “Full of shit or not, I don’t really think I can.”

“Please?”

“Can we talk about it later?”

He shrugs and I can tell he’s disappointed. His shoulders fall forward and his gaze drifts to the sea.

What would happen if I didn’t go back to school? He’s right, I know that. Life is so damn unpredictable. What would happen if something happened to me tomorrow? What would be more important—that I had another history course under my belt or that I spent a month at sea with Fenton?

“Hey, Fent,” I say, licking my lips nervously. I’m not sure this is the right answer, but my heart says it is and I know now, one-hundred percent, that’s the one thing I should trust.

“Yeah?” He draws his gaze towards me and sighs.

“Let’s do it.”

“Let’s do what?”

I groan, standing, trying not to trip over the length of the robe, and straddle him on the chair. I maneuver so that his robe drapes off the sides and my pussy is sitting on top of his cock. It springs to life, thickening under my body. I smile. “Let’s go drifting away.”

“You mean . . .” He grabs my hips, his fingers searing my skin, and I move myself over him.

“Yeah. I mean. Let’s get a boat and a skipper or whatever you call it and go see shit.”

“Language, rudo.”

“Exactly. It’s just language,” I tease. “But I’m going to wear bikinis, so if that’s going to be an issue . . .”

His eyes light up again and my heart dances. I lift up on my toes and he grabs his cock and guides it into me. I sit down, the fullness taking my breath away.

“I’ll get a female captain,” he says roughly, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

“You do that,” I breathe.

I begin to move, my clit rubbing against his hardness, and his gaze doesn’t bend from mine. It’s different this time, in the bright sunlight. Besides a couple of cotton robes, there’s nothing between us. And it’s never felt better.