They rented beach cruisers and rode to Marina del Rey and back. They hiked on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, taking in fantastic views of the entire LA basin, Santa Monica Bay, and Catalina. They talked about everything but the future, lounged and ate and made love, and generally lived in a dream. It was everything their time in Montana hadn’t been. Relaxed, easy, fun.
They even met her parents for a slightly-awkward-but-mostly-friendly dinner.
One evening, Todd surprised Lindsey by propping himself up naked in her bed wearing reading glasses and holding a book.
She came out of the bathroom and laughed.
“Still think a naked man reading is the sexiest thing ever?” he asked.
“I think you’re the sexiest thing ever.” She’d carefully removed his glasses, stripped off her pajamas, and ridden him until he couldn’t see straight.
He couldn’t remember ever being happier than he’d been this week. And it was coming to an end far too quickly.
On Saturday evening, his last night before an early flight home, they stood at the edge of the water watching the sun disappear below the horizon. Overhead, clouds and contrails slowly turned brilliant orange against a fading blue sky.
Returning his attention to the amazing woman in his arms, he stroked her precious face and met her gaze, his heart twisting in on itself. “I don’t know how to leave you.”
“Well, good. Because I’m not sure how to let you go.” She sighed and chewed her lower lip. “This long-distance thing is going to be hard.”
More like hell. “It doesn’t have to be.”
She pulled back, her brow creased. “What do you mean?”
“There might be an opportunity for me to move to LA soon.” His blood quickened at the thought. “If I found a place not too far away, we could do this right, take our time. You know, be a normal couple. Date.”
“You would leave your friends? Virginia? Just like that?”
He laughed at her surprise. “Yeah, I would. Though the job would still be with Steele, and Jason. But even if it weren’t…” He kissed her, wishing they were back at her apartment already so he could do more. “I’m not trying to rush you into anything permanent, but I’m all in, sweetheart. The only guaranteed time we have is right now, and I don’t want to waste a second of it. My heart is with you.”
She looked at him through her lashes with a sheepish smile. “I was actually going to start looking at moving to Virginia.”
“You were?” He couldn’t hide his shock. “But this is your home. Your family is here. Your business is here.” The fact that she’d be willing to give up everything she’d ever known to be with him meant…everything. “You love it here.”
“I do, but I also love you.” Her fingers caressed the back of his neck. “I can visit LA when I need to. You, I want to see every day.” She tilted her head, her gaze turned inward. “I’d obviously have to come up with a plan and have everything figured out. But I know what I want.” She bit her lower lip. “When I thought you were…” She looked away.
“Hey, Linds, hey,” Todd whispered, pulling her easily into his arms. “It’s okay. I’m right here.” The only place he wanted to be. “We’re both here. We’re both fine.”
Actually probably a little messed up. Therapy was probably in order for both of them. But they were alive.
She nodded and took a long, shaky breath, running her hands through his hair. “None of this matters without you anymore. I want us to be together, whatever it takes.”
“Works for me.”
Her watery laugh made his heart lighter. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little scared, but I’m braver now than I was before I met you, before...all the stuff with Megan.”
“You were always brave.” How did she not see it? “You’d just never been tested before.”
Her lips were sweet and soft as they settled against his. “Thank you.”
“For what?” he asked.
“For seeing things in me that I don’t see in myself.”
“That goes both ways,” he said, stealing another taste of her mouth.
“Let’s go home.” She ran a finger down his chest to his waistband. “I have a few more experiments in mind before you leave.”
His pulse raced. Her touch instantly flipped every switch to on. “Just one question.”
She lifted a brow and looked up. “What’s that?”
“Am I still your end-of-the-world pick?”
“Always.”
Her immediate, unequivocal response buoyed him, and a grin took over his face as he looked around. “Over all these buff volleyball players and runners and—” he pointed to a dark-haired thirty-something sitting shirtless on a towel with a laptop and phone balanced on his lap “—that guy?”
Her laughter sparkled like sea spray in the sun. “Todd?”
“What?”
“Come home with me.”
On a Saturday afternoon in late March, Lindsey picked up Todd at LAX and drove him straight to her home. The last six months had been filled with monthly reunions on alternating coasts, nightly video calls, and thousands of text messages, while Todd and Jason worked with Kurt on a plan for a West Coast office trial run.
They were still a month out from relocating, and Todd’s plan was to spend a few days looking for a place of his own.
His hand didn’t leave her thigh the entire way home, and by the time they walked through the front door of her apartment, she was going to combust if she didn’t get him naked.
The second the door shut behind them, he was on her, kissing her lips, her neck, pushing up her shirt and tugging off her bra. When his hot mouth closed around her nipple, she cried out, overwhelmed by a flood of pleasure and desire. “Todd, now.”
“Mmm-hmm.” He unbuttoned her pants and pushed them and her underwear as far down her legs as he could reach without releasing her breast. Once she kicked off her flip-flops, he used his foot to get her jeans all the way down and off, while his hands roamed her body, lighting her on fire.
Desperate now, she fumbled with the zipper on his khakis.
With a noise of protest, he broke free and undid the fastenings, shoving the pants to his ankles.
He hit her with a hotter-than-hell kiss and slid his hand between her thighs. “God, I’ve missed you.”
She shivered as his intimate touch set every nerve in her body quivering, eager for him to fill her. “I missed you too.” Somehow, it got worse every time. “And I’m ready.” She wrapped her leg around his hip.
“Right here?”
“Yes.” She was tall enough that the angle worked without his having to hold her up. And she couldn’t wait another goddamned second. Thanks to birth control pills and clean bills of health, they didn’t even need to find a condom.
Body trembling, Todd slid inside her, going maddeningly slow to give her body time to adjust after four weeks apart.
They both groaned with the pleasure, the rightness of it. He felt so good she could’ve cried.
Then he started moving inside her and the feeling intensified, sharpened to a single point, her body thrumming with every stroke, nerves stretched taut. Harsh panting and moans filled the air as he thrust harder, the door rattling at her back. She would’ve laughed at the thought of a neighbor passing by if she hadn’t been drowning in ecstasy.
Without warning, she shattered, her body and breath suspended in a bubble of euphoria.
Todd plunged deep several more times, prolonging her stay in heaven as he too took his pleasure with a rumble of satisfaction deep in his chest.
For several minutes afterwards, they just stood there, entangled, catching their breath, his head resting against the door, their cheeks stuck together with sweat.
“Jesus,” he said, lifting his head to kiss her sweetly. “That was…”
“New.” Another experiment she wouldn’t mind repeating.
He laughed. “I was going to say incredible. Hot as fuck. Something we should definitely do again someday,
but right now my legs are about to give out.” He brushed his lips across hers as he pulled out, leaving her body throbbing and already aching for more.
“I wish you never had to leave,” she said, still breathless.
“I know. This long-distance thing is killing me too.” He stroked her face and stepped back to pull up his pants. “Just one more month.”
She got dressed, skipping the bra, as he righted his own clothing. “I’m not just talking about you being in Virginia.”
His eyebrows rose and his gorgeous blue eyes lit with hope. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” She ran her hands over his chest, annoyed that he’d never removed his shirt. She’d remedy that later. “Move in with me.”
He stilled.
“Or let’s look for a new place together. My lease is up at the end of May, and we’ll probably need more room if we’re going to combine our stuff.”
He stared at her so long, she started to worry. Then he lifted his hand and trailed a finger down her cheek. “Are you sure?”
“I’ve never been more sure in my life, Todd. I love you.”
His smile was glorious. Like the sun breaking through the clouds. “I love you too.” He hugged her tightly and kissed her hard on the mouth, still smiling when he broke away. “I’m in.”
Thank God. She was ready. She’d been ready for months. Her old-fashioned parents weren’t fully onboard with the idea of her “living in sin” yet—even though they both really liked Todd—but how could they understand the bond she and Todd had forged under fire? A bond that had only grown stronger with time.
They couldn’t. And so they’d just have to deal with her choice. Her life. “You sure Jason won’t be upset?”
“Nah,” Todd said. “We weren’t going to live together, and I think he may have met someone last time we came out.”
“Really? Who?”
“I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything, it’s just a vibe I got.”
“That’d be great.” Once both men moved to LA, it would be nice if she and Todd could hang out with Jason without making him feel like a third wheel.
“Hey, will you do something for me?” Todd asked.
“Anything.”
“Ooh, anything.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Watch out. I might take advantage.”
“You’d better.”
He chuckled and shook his head slowly, sobering. “I’m the luckiest guy I know.”
Sometimes the things he said made her insides positively glow. “What’s the favor?” She sidled close enough to catch of whiff of his alluring aftershave.
He took her hands in his. “I don’t want to be your end-of-the-world pick anymore.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
“Because—” he smiled and gave her a quick kiss “—I want to be your choice every day, good or bad. I want to be the one you turn to all the time, not just when things fall apart. Your…always pick, I guess. Like you are for me.”
“You are.” This man… God. Could she love him more? “You already are.”
“Then marry me? Please.”
Her heart rose into her throat and she jolted. “What?” He’d agreed to move in, but a small part of her had expected him to keep an escape hatch, just in case. At least for a few more months.
His jubilant expression faltered. “Lindsey, I love you. That hasn’t wavered since the moment I figured it out. If anything, I love you more every second. I don’t just want to live with you, I want to be your husband.”
The word husband made her stomach do flips. She hadn’t dared dream he’d be ready this soon.
“I want the world to know we’re tied together, committed to each other. I want you to know it. Not like a chain, not a burden.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Like a… Something good. I don’t know, a…” He took a deep breath and shook his head, cheeks bright red. “Fuck.”
He was so adorable and handsome, and adorably, handsomely flustered, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes.” She tugged him closer and kissed him. “Yes yes yes yes yes.”
“You will?” His face lit.
She was still nodding when he wrapped her in his arms and kissed the breath right out of her.
When they came up for air, he searched her face, smoothing back her hair. “You’re sure? You don’t need more data?”
This silly man. “There’ll never be enough. But I don’t need it anyway.” She smiled and cradled the face of the man she loved more than life. “This time I’m following my heart.”
THANK YOU
Thank you for reading BLIND TRUST! I hope you enjoyed Todd and Lindsey’s adventure. To be among the first to hear when Jason Chin’s book releases, sign up for my newsletter at gwenhernandez.com/newsletter. You’ll also receive short stories, exclusive giveaways, and sneak peeks at future books.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are so many people who helped bring this book to fruition. Always Rachel Grant, for insightful comments, brainstorming, and friendship. Jayci Lee for moral support, socially distanced backyard chats, and early feedback.
Thanks to Eve Kincaid for being generally awesome, and for her help with the criminal and legal aspects of the book. And to Serena Bell for all the video chats and reminding me that I’ve done this before.
My husband and kids deserve my gratitude for being supportive of my career zigs and zags from day one. Love you! Extra shout-out to my son for help with the backpacking and camping details. Enjoy the adventures, Taz!
My dad, aka World’s Best Nurse, has been my go-to for medical help since my first skinned knee, but now my questions are more interesting. xoxoxo
To Zoe, my sweet golden retriever, who’s been sleeping by my feet since I started writing almost 12 years ago.
And, most of all, thank you, Awesome Reader, for spending a few hours of your time with me!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Growing up, Gwen Hernandez wasn’t brave enough to share the stories in her head with other kids, but they usually involved intrigue and romance. She was raised in the Army and Navy, and married an Air Force engineer, so it’s natural that her Men of Steele series features military heroes and heroines who must overcome danger to find true love.
In her free time, she likes to travel, read, jog, flail on a yoga mat, and explore southern California, where she currently lives with her husband and a lazy golden retriever. Find her online at gwenhernandez.com.
BOOKS BY GWEN HERNANDEZ
MEN OF STEELE: These security specialists will steal your heart.
Blind Fury
Blind Ambition
Blindsided
Running Blind
Blind Justice
Blind Trust
BLIND TRUST
ISBN: 978-0991607358
Copyright © 2020 by Gwen Hernandez
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the author is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from this book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the author at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
First edition: October 2020
This book was written and formatted in Scrivener.
www.gwenhernandez.com
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Blind Trust: A Military Romantic Suspense (Men of Steele Book 6) Page 24
