Contingency Plan (Blackbridge Security Book 3)

by Marie James

  He presses warm lips to my forehead before pulling back and walking away.

  I’m left, standing in his sterile kitchen, with my mouth hanging open. It feels like a millennium passes before my brain tells my feet to get moving. I run down the hall with every intention of finding him, jumping on his back, and demanding he never kiss me like that and walk away again, but he turns at the last minute, catching me in his arms.

  “The sex is better than just okay,” I say before lowering my mouth to his.

  He doesn’t let the kiss land, his head snapping back at the last minute.

  “Is this your final answer?”

  I grin wide.

  “Your heart—”

  “Is yours,” I assure him.

  And that’s all it takes for his mouth to connect with mine.

  Jumping in his arms was more than a literal leap. It’s a leap of faith. I’m putting the shattered parts of me, the pieces broken by more than just him in his hands to fix. I’m asking a lot, but he also promised a lot. I just know that Flynn Coleman is up for the task.

  Chapter 37

  Flynn

  I strip Remi on faith, faith that she won’t hurt me despite having hurt her, on faith that she feels the same way for me even though she hasn’t said the words.

  She’s offered me her heart and that’s exactly what I asked of her.

  “Clothes off,” she hisses when I lift her shirt and brush my lips on her abdomen, nearly losing myself at the sight of the butterfly dangling from her navel. Even during our separation, she had a part of me with her, the gift I gave her for her birthday.

  Would telling her I want my baby growing in here be too soon?

  I growl instead, pushing her bra up and over the swells of her breasts, my mouth finding one hardened nipple a second later.

  “Patience,” I whisper against her breastbone as my mouth seeks out the other nipple. “We have all day.”

  “The rest of our lives,” she whispers, and my heart swells in my fucking chest.

  I lift my head, looking down at her flushed cheeks and pouty lips.

  “I love you.” God, how amazing does it feel to say those words to her face.

  A soft hand cups the side of my face. “I love you, too.”

  My cock jerks, promising all the love he has as I lower my mouth to hers once again.

  “Gonna prove it every day, Remi.” I nip at her lips before letting my mouth roam down the column of her neck. Jesus, I want to taste every inch of her skin, embedded in my memory the scent of her, the way her muscles bunch and contract under my touch, the sounds she makes. All of it. I want it all. Today, tomorrow, fucking forever.

  “Flynn,” she pants when I lower the zipper at her waist. “Get naked.”

  “You first.”

  Her hips buck up, assisting my removal of her clothes, her hands working to pull her shirt and bra off.

  She’s a goddess, the epitome of perfection, the blush forming at the tops of her tits the most amazing thing I’ve ever laid my eyes on. My cock groans in relief when I lower my own zipper, the cotton of my boxer briefs wet near the tip.

  White, perfect teeth dig into her lower lip as her eyes watch me climb off the bed to strip down, and I pray she always looks at me with wonder and lust in her eyes. I know she’s going to turn me on with just a glance in my direction for eternity.

  “Like what you see?”

  “You cocky bastard,” she says with a chuckle. “Come here.”

  She holds her arms out, fingers crooking open and closed to urge me closer.

  My hand goes to my length, stroking it hard, threatening to force my eyes closed with the sheer pleasure of it.

  “Such a tease,” she whispers, but her eyes are locked on the movement of my hand.

  “Touch your pussy, Remi. I want to do what I should’ve done when I saw you like this the first time.” I inch closer, my hand squeezing the head of my cock to calm it down. “Open for me. Show me what’s mine.”

  Her legs fall open, and I moan at the slickened sight of her.

  “Ready for me? Jesus, baby. Touch it.”

  Her fingers run down her stomach, faster than I anticipate, and I chuckle at her eagerness. My knees hit the bed when her back arches with pleasure, and she moans the most perfect sound when I lower my mouth and replace her fingers with my tongue.

  Her fingers tangle in my hair, first trying to pull me away before she presses to keep me in place. I love the contradiction, love how she knows exactly what she wants but isn’t dedicated to how I give it to her.

  Finally making up her mind, she grips and pulls until I’m looking up at her.

  “Please.” Her brow furrows, mouth open when she swallows. “Please, Flynn.”

  “I’ve got you,” I promise as I climb fully on the bed and settle my body between her splayed thighs.

  We lock eyes as I line myself at her entrance.

  “Love you,” I moan, the words coming out a little broken as her body seizes the length of me.

  “Too,” she manages, the other words getting lost in the pleasure.

  Perfection. She’s everything I never knew to ask for, everything I could ever hope for.

  She clings to my back, hips rolling, fingers digging into my flesh when she comes, and it takes milliseconds for me to join her.

  Our lips fuse and by the time we’re breathless and I pull my head back, our bodies are ready again. I take her, make love to her over and over and over, not climbing out of the bed to shower until our stomachs are growling and we feel weak with the threat of dehydration.

  “About work,” I begin when it looks like we may be taking a break long enough to eat something.

  The sun has set, darkness filling the air outside the condo.

  “No,” she says, her head shaking back and forth. “I don’t even want to think about it right now.”

  I frown, pulling bread from the cabinet. I don’t keep much food in the house. I’m the worst cook in the world and eat out nine times out of ten. Hell, I’m hardly ever home, opting to hang out at the office more times than not.

  “We’re going to have to talk about it. We also need to discuss your living arrangements.” A frown mars her pretty face before I can continue to speak. “I meant what I said about you staying here.”

  She gives me a weak smile. “You have no furniture in that extra room.”

  “And I also told you I love you, and that grants you access to my bed.”

  “I’m not going to live off of another person. I’ve spent my whole life relying on my parents. I’m not here because I’m searching for a place to stay.”

  “And I’m not going to wake every morning without you in my arms.” She huffs, but I can tell by the lightness filling her features that she wants exactly that as well. “If you don’t want to stay here with me, that’s fine. I’ll go where you go.”

  She cocks her hip out, right eyebrow raising. “To the Riverview Motel?”

  “Absolutely not. That area of town is dangerous. I’d never be able to fall asleep.”

  “I don’t want to use you. I don’t want to make you feel like you’re being used.”

  I ignore the possibility that it may be a jab for my past actions. If we’re going to move past it, we have to let it lie.

  “I don’t see it that way at all. I plan to spend the rest of my life with you, Remi. I want to start that journey now, today. We have too much time wasted between us. I don’t want to miss another second with you.”

  She hums, and I don’t know if it’s in approval or in doubt.

  “What?”

  I step closer to her, armed and ready to defend how I feel and what I want if she starts to backpedal. She said those words to me as well, and I plan to hold her to them.

  “You were always so serious when we were in New York. I could never read you. Now you’re saying all these things, and—”

  “I’m speaking the truth.”

  “Why now?” She brushes her hand down my bare chest be
fore toying with the waistband of my sweats.

  I capture her hand, resting it over my heart. It takes the sight of her to get me revved up, and as much as I want to spread her out and spend the rest of the night between her legs, conversations like this are just as important.

  “Look at me.” Dark eyelashes flutter before her brilliant green eyes focus on mine. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have walked away from you. What I felt for you terrified me. If I’m being honest, it still does. I haven’t had to worry about anyone but myself my entire life. When I left New York, I tried to convince myself that touching you was the mistake, and it took so long for me to get my head out of my ass to realize that what we shared, the potential of what we can have going forward, could never be a mistake. Leaving, walking away from you was the problem, not how I feel.”

  “Flynn.” I press my fingers to her lips.

  “Listen to me. I know it’s all words, and like you said earlier, you don’t need my flowery words, but I’m going to prove to you how I feel. I don’t want you at a motel or some shitty apartment. I don’t want you out of my sight. If I could get away with it, I’d bring you to the office and keep you hidden from the guys just so you’re there when I’m missing you.” I palm the side of her face, letting a rogue tear catch on the side of my hand. “Having you here is entirely selfish, not wanting you to struggle with life is selfish. I need to see, to spend time with you. To know that you’re going to be here or close when I get off work. I wouldn’t be doing it entirely for you. The favor isn’t for you. I’m asking for me.”

  “To move in,” she clarifies. “You’re asking me to move in here?”

  I nod, words getting stuck in my throat.

  “Because you love me.”

  “Because I love you.”

  “I can still work?”

  “Whatever makes you happy.”

  “And I can pay bills.”

  My jaw clenches. “Sure.”

  “I’m not a charity case.”

  “You’re the love of my life.” She offers me a small smile. “I need you with me.”

  “I want to be here. I want the things you want.”

  “I need you to be sure.”

  She blinks up at me. “I’m sure.”

  “Seal it with a kiss?”

  When her lips meet mine, the food on the counter is forgotten as I carry her back down the hall to our bed.

  Chapter 38

  Remington

  “It’s going to be weird.”

  “It won’t. I promise.” Flynn squeezes my hand as we climb onto the elevator to go up to the Blackbridge Security offices. “We’re only going to be here for a few minutes.”

  “You’re going to have to go back to work eventually.”

  “Deacon told me to take as much time as I need.”

  “We haven’t left your condo for a week.”

  “Our condo,” he corrects. “And until now, I haven’t heard a single complaint from you.”

  Who knew that once we had everything settled between us that it would be impossible to keep our hands off each other? The only reason we poked our heads out today is because we’ve been summoned by his boss. Apparently, the man is demanding proof of life because Flynn never stays away from work as long as he has.

  “The last time I was here I made an ass of myself,” I mutter, the elevator doors opening up in front of us.

  “Believe me, the assholes that work here are Team Remi all the way.”

  “You sound a little bitter.”

  “Just stay away from Brooks and Finnegan.”

  “I do love an accent.”

  He stops cold, smacking my ass with an open palm. “I have an accent, you brat.”

  I squeal, cheeks heating with embarrassment when I notice the same woman who I forced to chase me through the office weeks ago sitting behind her desk with a wide smile on her face.

  “Pam, this is Remington Blair, my fiancée.”

  Her smile grows as I hold my hand out. “He has insisted we get married, but the man hasn’t actually asked yet.”

  Her hand is soft and motherly as she takes mine, clasping it between her own.

  “Can’t wait for the wedding, dear.”

  Flynn chuckles when I huff in mock irritation. If the rest of our lives are going to look anything like the last week has, then sign me up. It’s been absolute bliss. We’ve held each other, made love countless times. We whisper our secrets, hopes, and fears in the darkness tangled up in each other. We make promises we can’t wait to keep. This man is my forever.

  “Deacon here?” Flynn asks as we begin to walk away.

  “He’s in with Wren.”

  I owe Wren a thank you even though I’ve never actually met the man. Flynn told me the BBS computer tech was the one who texted me the address to his condo. I don’t know where we’d be right now if that night hadn’t happened.

  “Ignore the bird,” Flynn whispers when we step closer to an open door.

  A man I know is Deacon Black, turns as we approach, showcasing a vibrant smile on his handsome face.

  “Remington? I’m Deacon. Lovely to meet you.” I shake his hand then follow Flynn when he walks further into the office.

  A computer system so complicated greets me when I walk in the room. A smiling man with shaggy hair and a grin sits at the desk.

  “Damn, son. I’d chase this one, too.”

  My head whips around to see a beautiful African grey parrot bobbing its head as it walks across a rod on the other side of the room.

  “Hey, sexy bitch. Wanna fuck?”

  My eyes widen. Deacon curses under his breath, and Flynn begins to walk across the room. Our clasped hands keep him from getting to the bird.

  “Wanna fight, big man?” the bird squawks. “Come to Daddy.”

  Wings spread as the bird mocks aggression, but the cackle slipping past his beak betrays him.

  “You don’t want none of this.”

  “Wren,” Deacon hisses. “We talked about this.”

  “Oh, the poor thing,” I say, taking a few steps and getting a closer look. “What happened to his tail feathers?”

  “The devil cat!” the bird screeches, going a little crazy and jumping from one perch to the next. “I’m a victim! Help me! Help me!”

  “Victim my ass,” Flynn mutters.

  A laugh bubbles out of my throat at the scene in front of me.

  “My girlfriend’s cat got a hold of him,” Wren explains. “But in defense of Simon, Puff Daddy shit on his head.”

  I cover my mouth, a gasp and laugh making an embarrassing combination.

  Flynn pulls our combined hands up to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the back of my hand.

  “It’s nice to finally meet you.” Wren holds his hand out for me to shake.

  “Thank you for the text message.”

  He winks, earning a growl from Flynn. These guys are all flirts around here. “My pleasure.”

  “Where’s Ignacio? I kind of owe him a thanks for the kick in the ass.”

  Flynn explained to me that Ignacio was the first one to tell him to get his head out of his ass when he came back to St. Louis in a foul mood. He was having Wren look for me, but the computer guy was having problems since I didn’t take any of the electronics I previously had when I left.

  “Ig has gone back home,” Wren says. “His granddad had a stroke and they don’t know if he’s going to make it.”

  I cover my mouth once again. It’s horrible to hear. I don’t know Ignacio well, but I wouldn’t wish the loss of a loved one on anybody.

  “Speaking of…” Wren says when his phone rings. “What’s up, man? We were just talking about you.”

  “I need everything you can find on Tinley Holland.” Ignacio’s familiar voice fills the room around us.

  Wren moves, his fingers working over the keys.

  “We should go,” Flynn says near my ear, but I’m grounded in place from the desperation in Ignacio’s voice.

  Wren reads off her na
me, social, address. He even gives bits and pieces of her education and work history.

  “And that’s it?”

  “She has a son, almost thirteen years old, named Alex.”

  “Is that his full name?” Ignacio’s voice is low and filled with something I don’t recognize.

  “Alejandro Cooper Holland,” Wren recites from the information in front of him.

  A choking sound comes through the phone, and Flynn’s hand grips mine even harder.

  “Hey, isn’t your middle name Alejandro?”

  The lines goes dead before Ignacio answers.

  “Holy shit,” Deacon mutters.

  “Do we need to gear up?” Flynn asks.

  Deacon shakes his head. “He’ll call us if he needs us. Right now, it’s a personal situation.”

  Flynn doesn’t say another word as he leads me out of Wren’s office. He walks us right back to the elevator without so much as looking in the direction of his office, and I’m left wondering what could happen to make a woman keep a child a secret.

  I’m not one to pass blame or point fingers, but Ignacio may not be the man these guys think he is.

  THE END

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