by Susan Stoker
Taylor smiled, stretching up on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” Then he turned and went back into the kitchen, shooing Robert and Shane out of his domain.
“What was that about?” Eagle asked. He hadn’t gotten more than an arm’s length away from her as she’d made the rounds at the party.
Taylor put her arm around his waist. “Nothing. You’ve got some pretty amazing friends.”
“We have amazing friends,” he corrected.
Taylor beamed. “Yes, we do.”
It was one o’clock in the morning before the last person left Silverstone and Eagle could get Taylor alone. He loved how well she got along with everyone, but he badly needed her to himself. After learning what that bastard Williams had done over the last couple of months, he couldn’t think of anything other than holding her.
They’d commandeered an empty room at Silverstone so no one had to go out of their way to take them back to his apartment. He would’ve asked someone to drive them home if he’d had the slightest indication that Taylor wanted to leave, but she’d seemed content to climb into one of the full-size beds at the garage.
The second he got under the covers, she snuggled into his side, holding on to him as if she never wanted to let him go. They were skin to skin, nothing between them, and her warmth seeping into his side went a long way toward making him feel better.
He was also relieved he wouldn’t be charged for killing Williams, but even if he were sitting in a jail cell right now, he wouldn’t have done anything differently. He’d told Taylor he’d kill anyone who hurt her, and he hadn’t been lying. The thought of her being in the clutches of that madman was enough to make him paranoid about letting her out of his sight ever again.
“I’m okay,” Taylor said softly, obviously picking up on his unease.
Eagle did his best to relax his muscles. She was all right. She was safe in his arms.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you too.”
She looked up at him, and he saw her gaze go to the gash on his forehead.
“It’ll heal,” he said quickly. “Compared to all the other wounds I’ve gotten over the years, this one is nothing.”
“When I first saw you, you were literally covered in blood,” Taylor said softly.
“Head wounds bleed a lot,” he said. “I had to constantly wipe the blood from my eyes so I could see.”
Taylor nodded. Then she brought a hand up to his face and touched his stitches with a barely there caress. “It’s going to scar.”
“Probably,” Eagle said with a shrug. “Does that bother you?”
Taylor gave him a weird look that he couldn’t interpret. Then she came up on an elbow and hovered over him. “I hate that you were hurt because of me, but—”
“I wasn’t hurt because of you,” Eagle interrupted, not liking that she thought such a thing for even a second. “I was hurt because Brett Williams was a sick fuck who decided to take something that wasn’t his.”
Taylor gave him a small smile. “You didn’t let me finish,” she scolded.
“That’s because you were talking crazy,” he retorted.
“You’re bossy,” she informed him.
“Yup,” Eagle agreed.
She smiled, and he loved how relaxed she was around him.
“Anyway, what I was saying was that while I hate you were hurt in the first place, I’m also kind of glad.”
Eagle didn’t know where she was going with this line of thinking, but he didn’t take offense. He knew she’d have a good point—he just had to wait for her to make it.
Her free hand came up and once again traced the wound on his forehead. “You’re going to have a scar. On your face . . . where you can’t hide it.” Her gaze came to his, and he could see tears forming in her eyes. He opened his mouth to comfort her, to reassure her once again that he didn’t give a shit what he looked like, as long as she loved him. But she spoke first.
“I’ll be able to recognize you.”
The six words made Eagle’s throat close up with emotion.
“I’ll be able to tell at first glance who you are. That you’re my man. I won’t have to wait for you to call me Flower, or to give me some other clue. I can be like any other normal woman and know immediately that you’re mine.”
“Fuck,” Eagle whispered, not sure what else to say.
“I know that’s weird, and if you want to see a plastic surgeon to fix it, that’s okay.”
“No fucking way,” Eagle told her. “I’m going to wear this scar with pride.”
Taylor smiled again and rested her head back down on his shoulder. “Remember when we had that talk about kids, and I said I didn’t want any?”
“That’s not what you said,” Eagle told her. “You said that you didn’t think you’d make a good mother.”
“I can’t believe you remember exactly what I said,” she huffed.
Eagle smiled. “I remember everyone I’ve ever met or seen a picture of. Why wouldn’t I remember what you say?”
“True. Point made. But it’s annoying. If you’re always going to be reminding me of my exact words, that might not bode well for our relationship in the future.”
“Got it,” Eagle said, grinning. He could tell she wasn’t really pissed at him. She was kinda cute when she was ruffled. “Go on.”
“Right . . . I’ve thought about it a lot,” Taylor said.
“And what did you decide?” Eagle’s heart was beating faster, and he wasn’t sure why. Once again, he didn’t know where Taylor was going with this conversation, but he had a feeling whatever she said next was going to be life changing.
She lifted her head again. “I want them. With you, at least. You’ve helped me realize that part of my problem growing up was me. I should’ve been more open and honest with my friends and foster families. Should have communicated more. I took their confusion about my condition as them not liking me. I think if I’d just talked to them, tried to explain more clearly how my brain worked, maybe things would’ve been different.”
Eagle rolled, trapping Taylor under him. “Say it again,” he ordered, the emotion easy to hear in his voice.
She blushed, but shrugged. “I could see myself having children . . . as long as you were the father.”
“Yes!” he said, a little more forcefully than he’d meant to.
She grinned.
“Will you marry me?” he blurted.
Taylor blinked in surprise. “I didn’t tell you that to get you to propose,” she protested. “I just wanted you to know that I’d thought about it, and that you were right. Even if my kids have prosopagnosia, I’ll never give them up. I’ll teach them what it means and give them tricks to get through life.”
“Our kids,” Eagle corrected. “Even if our kids have prosopagnosia.”
Taylor licked her lips and stared up at him.
“I can’t imagine my life without you in it, and hearing those detectives talk about what Williams had in store for you made it crystal clear. I want to spend every day for the rest of my life with you. Taylor Cardin, will you marry me? Have babies with me? Beat me in pinball and keep me on my toes for the rest of our lives?”
“Yes.” Taylor nodded. “Yes! Of course I will!”
Eagle lowered his head and kissed her as fiercely as he had their first time. He couldn’t get enough of her. Wanted to show her how much he loved her. “I don’t have a condom,” he whispered, wanting desperately to plunge inside her and plant his seed in her womb. But she hadn’t said she was ready for children right that second, only that she wanted them at some point.
“I don’t care,” she panted, shifting her legs, opening herself to him.
“You aren’t on birth control,” Eagle reminded her.
“I know.”
Wanting to be clear, Eagle leaned down and kissed her, then lifted his head a fraction of an inch. His lips almost touched hers as he spoke. “If I fuck you now, I’m
going to do it bare. I have no idea where you are in your cycle, but I could get you pregnant.”
Taylor reached up and palmed the side of his face. “I know,” she repeated.
“Fuck,” Eagle growled, his excitement ramped up a thousandfold. He rose up on one hand and looked down between them. Her legs were spread wide around his hips, and his cock was as hard as he could ever remember it being.
He took hold of himself and brushed the tip of his weeping cock around her opening.
Taylor groaned. “Please, I need you.”
He couldn’t deny his Flower anything. Slowly, making sure she was truly ready for him, Eagle pushed inside her welcoming body.
When he was balls deep, she hooked her ankles around his ass and lifted her hips.
“Hold on,” he croaked.
He waited until Taylor nodded, then he proceeded to show her how much she meant to him. How much he loved her. How grateful he was that she was in his life.
And every time he bottomed out inside her, Eagle thought about how he could possibly get her pregnant. Right here, right now.
He hadn’t thought much about children, but suddenly he couldn’t think of anything else. He wanted a little girl with the same out-of-control curls as her mother’s. A little boy with her beautiful brown eyes.
Excitement almost overwhelmed him, and Eagle knew he was going to come faster than he wanted. The thought of his sperm filling her up made him even harder. The feel of her hot, wet walls tightening around his bare cock was something he’d never felt before, and it was fucking heaven.
“I’m going to come,” he warned, hating that he hadn’t made sure she was right there with him.
“Do it,” she encouraged, then she squeezed her inner muscles around him, hard.
That was all it took. Eagle let out a bellow he was sure everyone in the garage could hear, and then came. Emptying what seemed like gallons of come inside his woman.
As soon as he recovered, Eagle sat up so he was resting on his heels, not breaking their connection, pulling Taylor’s hips up and onto his thighs.
“Eagle!” she exclaimed in surprise.
“You didn’t come,” he informed her, although he was certain she was well aware.
“It’s okay,” she soothed.
“Nope. Not okay,” Eagle told her. “Just lie back and relax.”
His cock was still inside her body, even though he’d gone half-hard. She felt even hotter and wetter than before, and he knew it was because she was full of his come. He prayed that one of his sperm was able to make the journey to her womb, because he couldn’t wait to see her round with his child.
Holding on to her hip with one hand, he pressed his thumb against her clit with the other. She moaned as he began to play with her.
“That’s it,” he encouraged. “Let go, let me make you feel good.”
Taylor’s eyes were closed, and her mouth was open as she panted. She was so damn beautiful, Eagle had no idea how he’d gotten so lucky.
It didn’t take him long to push her over the edge. As her orgasm approached, she tried to shut her legs, but couldn’t. Eagle didn’t lighten his touch either. “Come for me, Flower,” he urged.
Within seconds, she’d tightened all her muscles and was thrown over the edge. Eagle felt some of their combined juices leaking out of her and smearing against his thighs. It only increased his enjoyment of the moment.
Sweat beaded on her temples as she thrashed in his grip, and Eagle finally relented, taking his thumb off her clit and holding her hips to him, making sure not to let his cock slip out of her core.
“Holy crap,” she mumbled, and Eagle smiled. Being careful not to lose her, he maneuvered them so they were lying flat on the bed once again.
“You’re still inside me,” she mumbled.
“Yup,” Eagle agreed. “I’ve never been able to do this before. I’ve always had to pull out and take care of the condom. I love being inside you.”
“I love you being inside me,” she admitted.
“You’ll marry me soon, right?” Eagle asked.
“What about your parents, and your brother?” Taylor asked, opening her eyes and looking up at him.
“They’ll be happy for me, but honestly, they aren’t really a part of my life. My family is here.”
“So maybe we can do it here? At Silverstone Towing?” Taylor asked uncertainly.
“Yes,” Eagle said immediately. “I can’t think of a better place to officially make you mine.”
“No one’s ever wanted me before,” Taylor said softly.
“I not only want you, I need you,” Eagle said. “And I know I didn’t ask properly with a ring and all that, but I’m gonna get you one soon.”
“It’s okay. Just don’t go overboard.”
Eagle grinned.
“Seriously. I can’t type with a big-ass ring on my finger. Besides, something big would attract attention, and you wouldn’t want me to get robbed, would you?”
“Shit,” Eagle said, “I hadn’t thought about that.”
Taylor giggled, and he felt his cock finally slip out of her body.
They both sighed at the loss.
Eagle moved them into a more comfortable position, with Taylor on her side in front of him. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her back against him. His cock nestled against the small of her back, and he couldn’t remember ever feeling more content.
“I promise, Flower, I’ll love you and our children so much, you’ll get annoyed with my hovering and overprotectiveness.”
“I’ll never get annoyed with that, especially when I’ve never had it.”
“Thank you for being strong. For not letting that asshole get you into his car.”
“Thank you for coming after me.”
“Always. I’ll always come for you,” Eagle vowed.
As he held his fiancée and listened to her breaths even out and get heavy, her body completely relaxed as she fell asleep, Eagle let out a long, slow breath. It was almost scary how much he loved the woman in his arms. No one would ever take her from him. She was his, just as he was hers.
He finally understood how Bull could put everything on the line for Skylar. He’d do anything for Taylor. Absolutely anything.
His mind wandered to Smoke and Gramps. He wanted them to find their own women to love. He was grateful they liked Taylor and that they’d protect her with their lives, but he wanted his friends to be as happy as he was right at this moment. Somewhere out there were women who could make their lives as wonderful as his . . . they just had to find them.
Epilogue
A mere month later, after Eagle and Taylor had gotten married and they’d announced that Taylor was pregnant, the team made the decision to go overseas and take care of a situation they’d been anxiously following for a while now. Everyone knew it was hard for Eagle to leave his newly pregnant wife, but this mission was important, and they needed all the manpower they could get.
Though Smoke was happy for Eagle and Taylor, he was itching to get to Africa. He’d been watching the situation with the extremist group Boko Haram closely.
In 2014, they’d kidnapped two hundred and seventy-six girls from a school, taking them into the Konduga area of the Sambisa Forest. They’d forced the non-Muslim girls to convert to Islam. Many of the captives had been forced into marriages with members of Boko Haram. Others had been taken into Chad and Cameroon. Some of the girls who’d briefly managed to escape had been returned to their captors and whipped.
The entire situation turned Smoke’s stomach. He hated everything about the repression of those young girls. They’d had their entire lives ahead of them, and while they’d been trying to better themselves, to learn all they could, they’d been stolen and repressed by adults who should’ve been celebrating their successes.
As of today, over a hundred of the girls in the original attack were still unaccounted for, something that haunted Smoke. He hated to think of those young women living lives that were forced upon them.
They may not be able to save those girls . . . but there was still a chance they could keep the same thing from happening to a new group of innocents.
They’d gotten reports a few weeks ago that Boko Haram had raided another school. This time in Askira, a town just south of Chibok, where the original group had been kidnapped. Seventy-two girls were taken this time, stolen away into the Nigerian forest. A lot fewer than in the previous attack, but as far as Smoke was concerned, that was seventy-two girls too many.
Boko Haram wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been back when the Chibok girls had been taken, but they obviously had a large enough following to once again steal innocent kids away from their homes and parents.
And this time, there was also an American woman among the missing. No one had heard from her or the students who’d been taken. At first, it had been hoped that she’d fled into the forest to hide when the school she’d been visiting was attacked. But after a day or two, it had become obvious she’d disappeared along with the girls.
Smoke was ready to go. To find Abubakar Shekau, the leader of Boko Haram, and get rid of him once and for all. It wasn’t just that he’d gone too far and abducted an American—it was also that he’d dared to steal away innocent schoolgirls for a second time. It was abhorrent, and everyone at Silverstone agreed he needed to be stopped. The man had been reported dead several times, yet he always seemed to pop up in propaganda videos, doing his best to incite his followers. It was assumed that he used body doubles to try to protect himself, but Smoke and his fellow Silverstone teammates knew they could find and kill him.
And hopefully along the way, they’d find the missing girls as well. And Molly Smith, if she was still alive.
This mission wouldn’t be as quick as many of their most recent ones had been. They could be gone for months; trying to find a single man in the African jungle wasn’t exactly easy, even if they had intel on the whereabouts of Boko Haram. So Smoke understood why Bull and Eagle had been putting the mission off. They didn’t want to leave their women, and Smoke couldn’t blame them.
