“We may never know that, Tasha. But I think that Lincoln will find that the Willets had a website they used to troll for business. Doesn’t matter. They’re dead or in jail and their ill-gotten gains have been seized by the authorities.”
“What about Blaine?”
“I see a conviction for insurance fraud in his future, maybe even incitement to murder. I’m afraid your ex will do time.”
“Good. But if he ordered Nancy Callahan killed, he ought to get life.”
“Sorry. Out of my hands. We dealt harshly with those wolverines this afternoon, and someone will be keeping an eye on the other pair, but mortals we leave to the authorities.” His voice was harsh against her scalp.
“Did I thank you for getting my darling back?”
“You did. But no thanks are needed. Becky is my daughter too.” He kissed her. “Do you forgive me for letting her get snatched?”
“No blame,” she said. “Only thankfulness.”
He kissed her again. “Shall we go to bed early like the girls?”
“I’m exhausted,” she admitted. “Antsy but exhausted.”
He released her and went to the mini bar. “Let’s split the bottle of champagne and celebrate.”
She fetched glasses from the dresser.
* * *
“It doesn’t seem real,” Tasha said as she turned out the bathroom lights and got into their bed. Her anxieties had returned while she was cleaning up.
Harrison looked up from his book and offered her his arms for reassurance. “What doesn’t?” His smile turned into a leer. “That’s a very pretty nightgown, Mrs. D’Angelo.
“Everything.” She nestled against his chest. “Going to dinner as if nothing had happened. Walking through Tomorrowland as if Becky hadn’t been kidnapped.” Her trembling started up again.
“Acting normal is the best thing for the girls,” he reminded her. “Becky remembers nothing but eating lunch and waking up in the van. Quincy knows her sister was snatched, but she’ll forget about it if we do not keep talking about it.”
“Even though we just went over everything, I keep thinking about all the awful things that might have happened,” she confessed.
He hugged her hard. “That’s natural. But we got her back fast. Nothing terrible happened.”
“Except that you killed a person!”
“Do you care?”
“No. They stole my child.” She felt fierce and vengeful.
“Mostly we must kill the rogues,” he said. “Nothing else to be done really.”
“Still. How do you feel about it?”
“Not the first time I’ve had to eliminate a target.” He leaned his head against hers. “I’m not about to start fretting because I took out a career criminal who had endangered my child.”
“She’s not really yours,” murmured Tasha. Because that was the point.
“Yes, she is. I fell in love with her first.”
Did that mean he was in love with her? “Really?”
“She’s easy to love. Just like her mom.”
“Would you really have paid ransom to get her back?”
“In a heartbeat. Of course, I would still have taken the kidnappers out.” He kissed the side of her head. “She’s my daughter, Tasha. I meant it when I told her I was marrying you both. If that jerk you were married to doesn’t object, I want to adopt her.”
“He’ll object. But he’ll be in prison.” It was a very satisfying thought.
“We’ll worry about that when we get there.” His mouth sought her ear and traced the rim with a tender tongue.
“Are we just going to have sex as if nothing happened?”
“I intend to make love to my wife,” he said. “And celebrate that our family is safe. But if you don’t want to, I guess we could wrestle instead.”
She giggled. “Fuck or fight, is that it?”
“Pretty much. I want to raze mountains and punch holes in the walls. But I can’t. Making love to you seems like my best option. But if you’re not in the mood, I can go swim laps or something.”
“Pool’s closed.”
“Yeah?” He slipped his hand into the low bodice of her nightgown. “Did you put this on just to tease me?”
“No. Yes. I don’t know.”
He took her full weight gladly. His thumb flicked across her nipple. “You’re jumpy. Let’s burn off the touchiness with passion.”
“Sex isn’t a cure-all.”
“No? I think making love might be.” He bent his head and took as much of her other breast into his mouth as he could. He swept leisurely circles around the areola with his tongue while his thumb pulsed with the same rhythm on the other nipple. Urgency seized her. She writhed in his arms.
“Atta girl.”
Tasha swung onto his legs facing his chest. He grasped the hem of her nightie and pulled it over her head. She put her hands behind her head and thrust her bosom out. His palms hefted the solid weight of her soft globes. “Did I ever tell you how lovely your breasts are?”
“I don’t think so. They’re a bit big.”
He squeezed carefully. “Nope. Just right. Lovely. Soft. Responsive.” He swept his thumbs across the taut tips. His cock was a hard pole against her mound. “Let me.” He lifted her by her buttocks and brought her hard against him so her clit rubbed against his shaft.
Her legs spread wider and her whole sex enveloped his cock. She was slick, because when he rubbed her up and down from head to base, her pussy made a liquid noise. “Hmm,” he growled.
Deep inside her, tiny muscles contracted in a rhythmic pulse. It was far too soon, but he wanted to be inside her. She came up on her knees as if she was as desperate as he felt. She positioned herself. Harrison scooched down the bed to help her get the angle right. “Let’s see if we can make this last.”
She rose and fell as his hands forcibly slowed her. “Easy, darling,” he crooned.
But Tasha didn’t want to wait. Her body was damp and his hands slipped. She began to canter. He bucked beneath her. Her whole body wound tighter and tighter. Her thighs were trembling as the spasms began and spread outward.
Her convulsions squeezed Harrison’s cock. He thrust upward one last time, flooded her and collapsed. She relaxed completely against his sweaty chest and lay still. He held her and enjoyed the scent of their arousal and their lovemaking. Aftershocks pulsed through her body as he stroked her. He felt peaceful and loved. Yet even this closeness was not enough.
“I love you,” she whispered to his neck.
Did she? The words were easy to say. But Tasha had not said them earlier when he had bared his soul. He wanted to wake her up and get it settled, but she had relaxed into a satisfied doze. Did he want to risk losing the afterglow?
The marriage of mutual convenience he had proposed now seemed like the plan of some callow youth. Tasha was the other half of his soul. His fated mate. His cowardice in not claiming her as his phoenix bride seemed inexplicable. As soon as he could, he would offer her the egg of immortality. Of course, there was no saying that she would accept his gift.
She had made it plain that she didn’t think much of shifters. Being targeted by those rogue wolverines probably hadn’t made her change her mind. Yet she said she loved him and maybe she did.
Did she realize that Quincy was a phoenix and would have her first shift at puberty? She loved her brother, who was for absolutely certain a bearshifter. It would be hard if she refused the gift of immortality. Not that it was true immortality. Phoenixes could regenerate and they enjoyed longer lives than ordinary mortals. But he had never heard of one doing it to escape old age.
He fell asleep holding his destined bride against his heart. Their bodies pulsing together in a synchronized rhythm.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
The egg was still hot but its month was nearly over. After that he would have to fetch a fresh piece of lava. But in the month since he and Tasha had returned from their honeymoon they had both been too busy to discuss phoenixes. Or
maybe he was too afraid she would say no.
Tasha had been openly dumbfounded by his rented house. He had bought the furniture of the previous tenants, sight unseen, and lived with it for four years. Tasha had wandered through the shabby rooms in disbelief. And then set about turning his house into a home.
Her own comfortable navy leather couch had replaced the threadbare oatmeal sectional in the living room. She had hung pictures and filled the house with plants. Her grandmother’s dining table and chairs had turned the empty dining room into a beautiful room where they gathered every evening.
Tasha had been working two full-time jobs redecorating the house and fulfilling her contract with her employers. Three jobs, if you included child care. Just because she made mothering look easy, did not mean it was. He knew that getting the girls to help with every aspect of housekeeping from dusting to cooking took longer and was harder than doing it all herself.
It hadn’t helped that two weeks ago he had been assigned a mission. Ever since he had been working straight through to train Lambda Team to retrieve a downed helicopter containing top secret data in its black box. Command wanted that data badly. But the original scheme had been as full of holes as Swiss cheese. It had taken the first week just to hammer out a different mode of attack. But now Lambda was in the field executing their mission and he had his weekend free and a plan.
The girls kneecapped him as he walked into the house. He hoisted them both into his arms and returned their damp kisses. Tasha ambled out of the laundry room. “You’re early.”
He bent to kiss her. “Yup. I’m done for the day – for the weekend.”
“It’s nice to have you home before the girls are in bed.”
“That’s how it is sometimes. You knew that going in.” Had she changed her mind about their marriage? His long and irregular hours had been hard on all four of them. But in Special Forces missions took priority over everything.
She laughed. “The beds arrived today. Finally.”
Becky and Quincy squirmed in his arms. “The men set them up wrong and we had to help,” Quincy told him.
He raised his brows at Tasha who grinned. “The instructions were a little sketchy, but the guys finally assembled two carriages and mounted them over the mattresses and box springs.”
“We helped,” declared Becky.
Tasha laughed and he guessed exactly how helpful the two four-year-olds had been.
“Let’s go see.” He put his daughters down.
The spare room had been given a coat of pale pink paint to replace the odd green it had been. The gray metal bunkbed that the girls had been sleeping on was gone. In its place were the two gauzy Disney princess carriages they had bought in Disneyland. They loomed in the tiny room.
“I didn’t think they would be so big,” Tasha said.
He had known. But had decided that the girls should have their hearts’ desire. They wouldn’t be four forever. “Do you like them?” he asked the girls.
“We can be princesses,” Becky shouted.
On cue the doorbell rang. “Drat,” said Tasha. “What else is being delivered?”
“Shall we all go?” Harrison said. His surprise was here.
The three of them trailed after him, Tasha worrying about what she had forgotten and the girls telling him that they were going to wear their new Disney pajamas to sleep in their carriages.
He opened the door and stepped back. An officer was expected to think on his feet. Becky and Quincy whooped and hollered. Meemaw and Poppy seemed as excited to see them.
“What a wonderful surprise,” faltered Tasha. “You are a surprise?”
“We are.” George scooped up Quincy in one arm and carried their suitcase with his other hand.
“Did you know?” mouthed Tasha at Harrison.
“I have three days off,” he told her. “I thought that if my folks looked after the girls, you would be willing to go out of town for a little vacation.”
She looked taken aback. But Caroline swept her into a hug. “You and Harrison need some time alone – like any couple. The girls will be perfectly safe with George and me.”
“Of course they will.” She still sounded flustered. “But I’m not prepared for company. The guest room is full of boxes.”
“What guest room?” demanded Harrison.
Caroline laughed. “Your office is getting a makeover, Harry. Tasha has decided that with the addition of a sofa bed it can do double duty.”
Harrison exchanged glances with his father. It was clearly time to take charge. “Mom and Dad can sleep in our room while we are in Santa Fe.”
He needed to get Tasha somewhere they could take phoenix together. The little pouch Grant had given him had been burning a hole in his thigh for weeks.
“I thought we were going to pick out drapes this weekend?” Tasha objected. But she was laughing so hard she could barely get her the words out.
He had forgotten completely about the curtains. He agreed that the saggy hardware and beige fabric in their bedroom was barely functional and not at all attractive. Of course, Tasha did not know that she was turning down a chance at immortality.
“I suppose we could look at swatches next weekend,” she continued still laughing. “Girls, would you like to spend the weekend with Meemaw and Poppy?”
“Yes!”
* * *
It was beyond pretty here in the hills above Santa Fe. The sunset had turned the bushes and trees every color of red and gold. They were sitting on the dining porch which overlooked a canyon. Far below the plateau that their hotel was built on, tumbled rocks showed where a river had once run. Patches of green among the stones suggested it still did when the rains were heavy enough.
“This was a good idea,” Tasha told Harrison. “We do need some alone time. I am tired of painting and cleaning.” She gazed around at the old adobe hacienda that had been turned into a hotel. They had their own little cottage in the grounds. “This is a lovely place.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
“It’s a treat not to eat my own cooking,” she said.
“When I have an assignment, my time is not my own.” He looked anxious.
“I knew that going in,” she hurried to reassure him. “And I can always order pizza if I don’t feel like being a good mom.”
He patted her hand where his ring sparkled in the soft lamp light. “You are always a good mom. Pizza occasionally won’t do the girls any harm. How’s your fish?”
“Perfect.” It was true. Her brook trout had been caught that afternoon and was pan-fried to golden deliciousness. The tacos and salad that rounded out her plate were also good.
“I have some news for you.”
“Good news or bad? Spit it out, D’Angelo.”
“Blaine has been charged in Nancy Callahan’s death. Apparently, his family has cut him loose. No bail. No fancy lawyer. Lincoln thinks there’s an excellent chance that he will get life.”
“Good.” She felt fierce. Blaine had earned whatever happened to him.
Harrison looked amused. “Remind me not to hurt your babies.”
She showed him her teeth. “Damned straight.”
“I thought you might have felt bad for him.”
“Nope.” She ate another bite of fish. “Blaine is nothing to me or Becky anymore. She has a new father.”
He raised his glass to her. “I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will.” She suddenly remembered her news. “Did I tell you that the girls have places at the Redwood Academy? They start next week.”
“You hadn’t mentioned it. That’s fantastic news. I don’t know how you managed it. I understand that Redwood has a waiting list a mile long.”
“Quincy was already on it.”
He swallowed. “Stephanie.” He couldn’t finish.
It was her turn to pat his hand. “She was your wife and Quincy’s mom,” she said. “It’s okay to talk about her. And lucky for us she registered Quincy at birth. They slipped Tasha in as a
sort of honorary twin when I waved Col. D’Angelo’s name around.”
“Huh.”
“Do you know this is our first date?” she continued.
“Is it?”
“Yup.”
“I’ll have to do better.”
She remembered what Caroline had said about Harrison being good at the little things that added up to romance in the long run. An impromptu getaway that she hadn’t had to lift a finger to organize was romantic and not so little.
After supper they strolled together through the manicured grounds toward their little cottage. A gentle breeze blew. High in the hills, the evenings cooled off nicely.
Harrison took her hand. “Have I told you that I love you?” he asked softly.
“Not in so many words,” she admitted.
“Well, I do, little bit. I want us to have a real marriage.”
“Hard to be more real than raising kids.”
“That’s so. But when I asked you to marry me, I wasn’t very romantic, was I?”
“Nope. Not romantic at all. But I forgive you.”
“Good.” He hugged her hard. “I guess I was afraid to love you in case I lost you.”
Which made about as much sense as wishing the sky wasn’t blue. “How’s that working out for you?”
He laughed. “You are too lovable for me not to love you. Tasha, darling, you are my fate.”
“Yeah?”
“Absolutely and forever.” It was a vow.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning I want you to consider becoming a phoenix.”
The part of her that had resented not being asked, was suddenly overwhelmed by the part that did not want to swallow a burning ember. She gulped. “I don’t know. We seem to be doing fine as we are.”
“If you become my phoenix bride, we will be linked mentally as well as emotionally. You will have the power of flight. The ability to control fire. And we can fly together joined mind to mind.” His breathing was suddenly ragged.
She patted his arm. His muscles were rigid. He really cared about her answer. “What do I have to do?”
Phoenix Aflame (Alpha Phoenix Book 2) Page 21
