Wicked Intentions (Steele Secrurity Book 4) (10 page)

“So, almost another year of you being away, traveling and training,” Heather replied.

“That was my original plan, to make the Army my career and see how far I can go with it. Heather, if you want me to take a normal Army job and settle at one base so we can be together, I’ll do it. Nothing is as important to me as you are.”

“No, I can’t let you do that. It wouldn’t be fair, Brax. Of course, I want to be with you, but I haven’t seen your eyes light up when we’ve talked about the future for so long. But that spark was there just now when you were describing the path you want to take. I’ve also decided what I want to do, what I want to be.”

“What do you want to be?”

“A nurse. I want to help others. Being there for them when they need help the most, being able to help them, that makes me happy. It makes me feel like my life means something. I’ve applied to UT for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.”

“So four years?”

“Yeah, but I’ll be able to travel to see you on the weekends, holidays, and breaks. Or you can come here. During the summer, I’ll live wherever you’re stationed, unless you’re out of the country. We can make it work, Braxton. Don’t give up on us.”

“I’ll never give up on us, baby. I’m all for your plan, I think it’s a great idea. You’ll be a wonderful nurse, and the patients will be lucky to have you. I guess that homeschooling our guidance counselor insisted on at the end of your pregnancy really paid off, didn’t it?”

“Yes, I’m so glad she didn’t let me get away with not finishing just because I was trying to be lazy,” Heather chuckled. “I’m really excited about going back to school.”

“So am I.”

“You’re going back to school?” Heather asked excitedly.

“I guess I left that part out. When I left for basic training, I admit I thought that was my only option at having any kind of future. But once it started, I realized it’s much more than a last resort. This can be my career, a way for me to make a difference and leave my mark. With what I want to get out of it, I need a college degree, so I’ve decided to go for Criminal Justice.”

“I’m so proud of you, Braxton.”

“I love you, Heather. So damn much. It’s always been you—it’s only ever been you.”

She moved to sit in his lap, and his arms curved lovingly around her. With one arm around his neck and the other hand resting on his chest, she felt his heart racing under her touch. “I love you, Brax. Only you—forever. And I’ve missed you more than you can imagine.”

He watched with hooded eyes as she leaned forward and crushed her lips to his. Her hands roamed across his body. Her fingers felt each bump and ridge of his finely developed muscles. The intensity of the kiss she initiated increased markedly, conveying her need for him just as when they’d been together before their worlds crashed and burned. But in the ashes, they found the embers of a love that, once fanned, would again become white-hot and uncontainable.

He weaved his fingers through her hair, removing his lips from hers only for the split second it took to tilt her head to deepen the kiss. His tongue caressed her lips before forcing them to part. He claimed her mouth, matching and exceeding her tenacity and vigor while savoring the sweet essence that belonged only to Heather.

She broke off the kiss first but kept her lips a breath away from his. “Braxton, it’s time to re-consummate our marriage.”

“If that’s what my wife wants, how can I deny her?”

Holding her securely in his arms, Braxton rose from the couch and carried her to their bedroom. Placed her on their bed. And showed her in every way that their marriage couldn’t be bound by any type of measurement known to man. With their lips joined, he told her no amount of time would lessen his devotion. With their eyes locked, he promised his loyalty wouldn’t wane with the distance between them. With their bodies joined as one, he vowed his love couldn’t be measured because there was nothing that compared to its vastness.

T
he first day
off after a long stretch of twelve-hour work days didn’t allow much downtime. After her intense workout first thing in the morning, she spent the rest of her day off running errands. By the time she’d had her car serviced, her hair styled, and bought groceries, she was ready to collapse on the couch and pass out in front of the television. Staying on high alert and diligently watching her surroundings every second, thanks to her would-be stalker, had only added to her fatigue.

Once she was hidden behind her garage door, she released a sigh of relief. She loaded her arms with the plastic grocery bags to avoid making a second trip and managed to unlock the door. She released a loud grunt of frustration when she finally reached the table and let the bags slide off of her arms. She inhaled a deep, calming breath, closed her eyes, and slowly released it as her chin dropped to her chest.

“I know you’re in here. You’re not fooling me, so don’t even try to hide. You have about two seconds to show yourself.” Her voice held conviction and authority as she issued her directive.

Her unannounced visitor stepped out of the darkened living room and into the kitchen directly behind her. His thick arms slid around her waist, and she willingly stepped into his embrace. “How do you always know when I’m here? I can’t ever surprise you.”

“I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you,” she teased.

“I’ve missed you so much. It’s been too long since the last time I saw you.” Rebel placed a kiss just below her ear, then let his lips and tongue glide down her neck.

“Mmm,” she purred and her skin prickled with yearning. “I completely agree. Even though it was technically just a few weeks ago. The last time my week off came up in the rotation.”

“A few weeks is weeks too long, Heather. I’ll help you put away the groceries, and then we’re spending the next several hours in the bed.”

“You know I love it when you get all demanding on me. Well, demanding in the bedroom, anyway.”

Rebel chuckled softly against her neck. “Yeah, I know. If I tried to tell you what to do in the kitchen, I’d end up with a butcher’s knife thrown at my head.”

“You know me entirely too well, Brax.” She turned in his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. “I’m so glad you’re here. But since you’re early, I have a feeling it’s because someone has been following me.”

One side of Rebel’s lips quirked upward, and he shook his head lightly from side to side. “You already knew?”

“Of course, I knew. How long have we been married? You know, I have learned a thing or two from you over the last fourteen years.”

“You’ve been watching me, huh?”

“I watch your every move, babe,” she confirmed.

He bowed his head and captured her lips with his. A warm, welcome kiss quickly turned into a passionate, uncompromising need to consume her, reclaim her as his. Using one arm to clear the way, he easily lifted her with the other and placed her on the table directly in front of him. He gently pushed her shoulders until she lay flat on the table. His fingers gripped the sides of her yoga pants and began inching them over her hips.

“Did you forget about the groceries?” Her words reminded him, but the inflection of the desire in her voice told him her mind was on something else.

“Nope, not at all. I’m starving. I was actually hoping there would be some whipped cream in here I can use,” he murmured seductively.

“If I’d known you’d be here when I got home, I would’ve picked some up.”

“It’s not a big deal. I’m still going to eat my dessert without it,” he promised.

Her appreciative moan became louder as he lowered his head between her legs and his mouth covered her. His tongue darted out, laving her with its warmth. The intense pleasure caused her torso to contract and curl upward toward him, her fingers gripped his arms, and her legs fell farther apart. He curved his arms under her legs and pulled her closer to him before voraciously feasting on her again. He felt all of her muscles tense then relax with release, finishing what he’d started when his name left her lips on a guttural scream.

“Damn, baby, you have missed me,” Heather praised through heavy breaths.

“I miss you that much and more every day, Heather.”

“I know,” she replied softly. “I miss you too. So much.”

“You know how we can permanently fix this problem,” he reminded her as he lifted her from the table.

“I know exactly how to fix it.” She gave her standard reply. “We can move your stuff out of that crappy little apartment and into our home where you belong.”

“Let me take you to our bed and see if I can convince you to move to Miami with me.”

“Fine by me. As long as you know I’ll be trying to convince you to stay in Houston with me.”

“You are so stubborn,” he chuckled as he sat her on the edge of the bed.

His fingers skimmed across her chest as he removed her shirt. The sight of her pebbled nipples through her lacy bra made him want to rush through the motions, but the limited time he had to spend with her forced him to take it slowly. He purposely brushed the pads of his thumbs across her nipples as he moved to remove her bra. When she arched her back, forcing her breasts into his palms, he paused his movements for a moment to enjoy the scene just a little longer.

When she reached for him, the sensation of her fingertips against the sensitive skin of his lower abdomen was all it took for her to completely own him. In a flash, she had removed all of his clothes, and they stood bare in front of each other. When she wrapped her hand around him, she began stroking up and down his hardened silky smoothness. He gritted his teeth, leaned his head back with his eyes closed, and savored her touch.

The moment her lips touched his hardened cock, his eyes flew open and his head jerked back upright. Then her mouth covered him, his fingers gripped her hair, and his hips bucked involuntarily when he hit the back of her throat. When she began moving her mouth and hand in tandem, he was sure he’d died and gone to heaven.

“Fuck me,” he muttered under his breath.

Pausing briefly, she looked up at him through her lashes and grinned devilishly. “That’s my plan, babe.”

“It’s time. Right now,” he demanded.

Effortlessly, Rebel lifted her from her position kneeling in front of him to instantly lying supine on the bed beneath him. One swift move had him buried so deeply inside her there was no way to tell where he ended and she began. His hips surged forward, his back arched, and she writhed underneath him in sheer pleasure. Her fingers dug into his back as she lifted her hips and eagerly met each wave.

“You feel so damn good. I can’t get enough of you,” he murmured.

He spoke in clipped statements, driving into her with each one.

“I’d love to keep you right here.”

“In this bed.”

“Underneath me.”

“Riding me.”

“Down on all fours.”

“Screaming my name.”

“Over and over.”

“All damn night.”

His thrusts became more forceful with each one. The way her fingernails clawed at his back as she repeatedly rode the waves of ecstasy only drove him into more of a frenzy. He became intoxicated on the sweet scent of her arousal that hung in the air. With their bodies slick from sweat and breathless from exertion, they reached the summit of pleasure together.

Rebel rolled over to his side, swiveling Heather to face him as he moved. “Is this where you try to convince me to move back to Houston permanently?”

She gave him a small smile, but he detected a sense of sadness in it. “If I honestly asked you to stay here with me for good, would you?”

“Yes,” he answered immediately.

“No hesitation?”

“None. I’d be here with you in a split second.”

“Why now?”

“It’s not something new, babe. You’ve always loved your independence. Maybe because you didn’t have a lot of choice during all the years I was in the service. While I was on assignments all over the world, you built a life and friends here, so I understood when you didn’t want to just up and leave it when we started the business in Miami. You’re the one who suggested our current arrangement, but if you need more of me, all you have to do is say the word, and I’m here. I always need more of you.”

“You’re right, I did suggest this setup, with one of us traveling to the other so we could spend time together and still have our careers, our friends, our lives. But now I feel like we’re missing out on a life we can build together,” she admitted.

“So it’s my turn to ask you. Why now?”

Her eyes flicked back and forth between his, telling him she was searching for the words to convey what had shaken her independent resolve.

“One of my patients recently really got to me. She was younger than me, only twenty-nine, and she had stage four breast cancer. Her biggest regret was putting so much focus on her career that she gave up the man who was her one true love. He’d wanted to get married, have kids, move to the country where they’d only have each other, no neighbors. He wanted them to build a life where their relationship was their main focus. She died without ever knowing what that life would’ve been like. All she knew was her job and the few friends who stayed by her side until the end.

“I feel like our time to have that kind of relationship is slipping through our fingers. And it’s not even like sand where we can hold on to some part of it. It’s more like trying to hold on to flowing water. Brax, I love you, I’ve always loved you, and I want a real life with you now. But I feel guilty because that would take you away from your friends, your brothers, and the commitments you’ve made to them and the business.”

“You are my commitment, Heather. First and foremost, above anything else. You’re my wife, and I love you more than anything and anyone else. I’ve been temporarily reactivated as an operator, so right now it’s out of my hands because of national security. But when this case is over, I’m all yours.”

“Can we start a family then?” She blurted the question out before she could stop herself, but she had an intense need to know if he was on the same page with her. She could no longer deny the two things she wanted most were to have her husband and to have a family.

“I’d love nothing more than to make a family and a full life with you, wifey.”

It had always been her touch that drove him, her kiss that fueled him, and her love that invigorated him. They drifted off to sleep wrapped in each other’s arms, their legs intertwined and hearts full. They’d spent long stretches of time and distance apart, but their reunions had always made up for it. This time was no different, even though it was under different circumstances.

T
he streams
of light filtering in through the blinds woke Heather from a deep sleep. She reached across the bed for Rebel but found only a cold, empty space. At first, she questioned if she’d dreamed the whole thing. He’d been on her mind so strongly, and so often, she could barely make a move without thinking of him. She rolled over and grabbed his pillow, hugging it closely to her, and his scent enveloped her.

A dip in the mattress beside her startled her, and she jolted up on one elbow. “Braxton,” she sighed with relief. “You’re really here. It wasn’t all a dream.”

He smiled lovingly at her. “Well, I don’t know if you’re dreaming about me, but I am really here. It wasn’t a dream when I ravaged your body last night. And it won’t be a dream when I do it again in the shower after breakfast. Or later today in the car. Or tonight, somewhere else in the house that’s to remain a surprise.

“But first, here’s your coffee. Breakfast is almost ready. Get up and come eat,” he demanded playfully and smacked her bare ass.

As he moved toward the door, she replied softly. “You said you’d give up everything to move here with me.”

He stopped and turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, his eyes locked on to hers. She held her breath until he replied. “I did, and you know I meant it.”

The look of pure, unabashed love that emanated from his eyes was solely for her. She’d never doubted him or his devotion to her, and she knew he’d never give her a reason to. “Thank you, Braxton. I’m so excited and so ready to start this new chapter of our lives together. I can’t wait.”

“Neither can breakfast. Come eat while it’s hot.”

He winked and continued back to the kitchen. She retrieved his shirt from the floor and pulled it over her head. With her steaming coffee in hand, she quickly followed him and sat at the table. She glanced around the kitchen and noticed the groceries from the night before were missing.

“You put the groceries away for me?”

“Yeah, I got back up after you fell asleep last night and put everything away so it wouldn’t spoil.” He set her plate full of her favorite breakfast foods down in front of her.

“This looks delicious. Thank you. I love having you home. You spoil me.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

“Speaking of, you distracted me last night, and I didn’t get a chance to interrogate you about why you’re here early. It has something to do with the guy who’s been following me, doesn’t it?”

She watched as he took a bite of his bacon and intentionally held her gaze as he chewed, deciding what information to share and what to hold.

“Don’t do that, Braxton,” she warned.

“Do what?”

“Withhold information from me.”

His smile crawled slowly across his handsome face. “I would never do that, babe. I was just testing your skills, making sure you’re still quick on the uptake.”

“You can quit stalling now, too.”

He threw his head back and roared with laughter. “There’s my girl. I’m afraid I’ve taught you a little too much over the years. By the way, Liz is with us, and she’s still waiting for Shadow to teach her all of his secret spy tricks. Don’t let her know that you’re trained, or she’ll never leave you alone.”

“I can’t wait to meet Liz.” Heather beamed. “Actually, I can’t wait to meet all of the ladies. So who’s the guy following me?”

While they ate breakfast together, Rebel briefed Heather on the recent events that prompted his early return to Texas. She already knew much about the case the team had been working and why Turan had wanted to kill Rebel. During their many phone conversations, he’d kept her apprised of how the case was unfolding. When he reached the part about the picture of her being sent to him, Heather nodded in understanding.