Breathless: A Stalwart Security Series Military Romance: (Follow-up to The Alpha Company Women Series)

by Beth Abbott

  “But Danny killed Jesus Vega outside Gregor’s house this morning.” JT pointed out. “I saw his ID myself.”

  “Exactly.” Tuck grinned. “There are no more Vegas or Castilles left. It’s finally over.”

  Gregor sat back down, his legs suddenly too weak to hold him up.

  All the fear and the worry of the last week finally seemed to be evaporating around him, as everyone absorbed this last piece of good news.

  This extraordinary group of individuals who had come together as a family, were now free to live their lives normally, without looking over their shoulders.

  And it looked like they considered Gregor and Tulli, his kids and her sisters part of that family now, as well.

  Gregor shook his head, trying to work out how he’d ever come to deserve such riches.

  He’d had money all his adult life, but even if he lost every penny right that second, he would still consider himself richer than he’d ever been.

  He glanced across the room to where Joel was still entertaining Mischa, seemingly oblivious to the fact that he’d saved so many lives.

  The boy was a bona fide hero, as much as any of the Alpha Stalwart men in the room.

  Gregor excused himself from Tulli and stepped the few paces towards Tuck.

  “I want to do something for Joel to thank him for his bravery today.” He said quietly. “I’m thinking of setting up a trust fund for him, to make sure he and his family never want for anything in their lives.”

  Tuck stared at Gregor for a moment before he started to smile.

  “Candy and I were thinking of something similar.” Tuck admitted. “If it hadn’t been for Joel, they would all have perished in the explosion.”

  Gregor shuddered at the thought.

  “Have a think of something we can do that will help Charlie’s family, and we’ll talk about it in detail in a few days.” Gregor nodded. “I’ll have my legal team set aside ten for the time being, if you think that will be enough.”

  “Million?” Tuck almost choked.

  “Of course.” Gregor frowned. “Not enough?”

  Tuck smiled at Gregor and shook his head.

  “Gregor, ten million will be more than enough.” Tuck reassured him. “We’ll talk about it with Charlie in a few days, but I’m sure we’ll come up with the best way to take care of them.”

  Gregor made his way back to Tulli and sat back down next to her.

  As Tulli slipped her hand into his, and leaned her head on his shoulder, he glanced across the room to see Mischa staring at him.

  Gregor didn’t think she’d ever so much as made eye contact with him before.

  Without warning, her lips turned up and she smiled at him.

  It took a second for the shock to wear off, and for him to return the smile.

  Mischa looked between him and Tulli before returning her gaze to his.

  Briefly, she nodded her head before turning away, almost as though she was giving him her seal of approval.

  Gregor’s heart couldn’t have been fuller.

  Maybe things were going to turn out better than they’d ever dared hope…

  Chapter 50 – Tulli – 3 months later

  Tulli’s rise to consciousness started at her middle, as it often did these days, with the soft caress of skin on skin. Seconds later she became aware of the familiar warmth at her back, and before her eyes even opened, her lips were turning up into a smile.

  Lips teasing their way across her shoulder made the hairs on the back of her arms stand on end, and the warmth of Gregor’s breath on her neck sent a shudder that travelled right to her core.

  “Good morning, Mrs Diminov.” Gregor’s whisper gave her chills.

  Tulli wriggled around until she was facing him.

  “Good morning, Mr Diminov.” She smiled, leaning forward to plant a soft kiss on his lips.

  “What time is it?” She asked, not really ready to get up yet.

  Gregor glanced at his watch.

  “Almost nine o’clock.”

  “Shoot!” Tulli went to sit up, pulling the sheet up to cover her nakedness. “I overslept! I have to get breakfast ready.”

  Gregor grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.

  “Oh, no you don’t.” He smiled. “It’s Christmas, and there’s nobody here but us.”

  Tulli’s eyes widened in remembrance.

  They’d visited Charlie’s parents with Lara and Mischa the night before, only to discover that a plan had been hatched to give them the house to themselves this morning as a kind of belated wedding present and Christmas present combined.

  “We’re alone!” She grinned.

  “Happy two-week anniversary.” Gregor wrapped her in his arms, pulling her closer.

  “Two weeks? Has it been that long already?” She frowned. “You must be getting bored of me already.”

  “Nuh-uh. Not yet.” Gregor shook his head. “I think complacency is supposed to kick in first, around about week five. I think boredom kicks in at about week seven.”

  “Oh, that’s a relief.” Tulli snuggled back down. “So, what’s at week two?”

  “Umm, I think the manual said that week two is supposed to be morning sex and walks in the park.” She could see Gregor trying to keep his face serious, but it was obviously a struggle.

  “What if you don’t live near a park?” Tulli looked up at him innocently.

  “Well… I guess we could just have morning sex twice, to make up for the lack of a walk.” Gregor suggested. “Or, maybe just once, but extremely vigorously, if you want to burn the same number of calories.”

  Tulli frowned.

  “I don’t think morning sex should be vigorous.” She said thoughtfully. “It should be slow and sensual, especially if you don’t have to get up early.”

  Gregor couldn’t help but smile now.

  “Is that an observation or a suggestion?” He asked.

  “Umm… both?” Tulli’s eyes were that lightest grey, like a fluffy summer cloud, that told him she was happy and teasing.

  “I think I could give ‘slow and sensual’ a try.” He bent his head to kiss her, their lips meeting softly at first, but quickly lighting a flame. Tulli ran her hands up Gregor’s chest, teasing the faint dusting of dark hair, before sliding them up around his neck.

  Linking her fingers together behind his head, she rolled onto her back, bringing him with her easily.

  Kissing Gregor had been the first pleasure she’d known following her kidnap ordeal in Colombia. Now it was more than a pleasure. It was the one true connection between them that she held dearest in her heart.

  Gregor had learned Tulli’s every mood and emotion over the last three months, and for each, he had a kiss.

  There was the kiss for when she was happy, and another for when she was sad. There was the kiss for when she woke up having a nightmare, and another for when Mischa achieved a new milestone, and Tulli got overwhelmed with emotion.

  But the kisses when they made love? They were her favourites.

  As she pulled him down on top of her, Gregor deepened the kiss, his tongue demanding access, and teasing hers into responding.

  His hand caressed her cheek, before slowly sliding down her throat, the tips of his fingers skimming across the swell of her breasts.

  When she shuddered with pleasure, she could feel Gregor’s lips break into a smile, even though they were still kissing. He loved the way she responded to his touch, and even though she couldn’t have helped it if she tried, Tulli was glad it gave him so much satisfaction.

  Gregor tore his lips away from hers reluctantly, but only so he could skim them down to her breast, where he could tease her by licking her flesh and blowing cold air on it, making her nipple even harder than it already was.

  Tulli groaned in frustration, and the cold air changed to warm as Gregor let out a satisfied laugh.

  Then the humour vanished, as he took her swollen nub into his mouth and sucked hard, lifting her breast higher, so he could torment it w
ith his teeth.

  Tulli arched her back, pushing herself into him, as her fingers skimmed his shoulders, her nails causing that bit of friction that made him shudder in response.

  The pressure of his sucking was creating a counterpoint, tugging at her core, and she was starting to ache with the need to be touched there, to be filled.

  Gregor wasn’t ready to be rushed though, taking her ‘slow and sensual’ suggestion to extremes. When he finished suckling her right breast, he simply moved to the left, nibbling and teasing the nipple until she was sure she could come from the sensation alone.

  Just when Tulli thought she couldn’t take any more, Gregor must have sensed her agitation, as he threw the sheets back and nudged her legs apart, moving between them so he could kiss down her body.

  The first time they’d made love in daylight, Tulli had been tempted to cover her face with a pillow, just to stop Gregor seeing how red her face was from the embarrassment.

  Now, thanks to his gentle encouragement, and how much he’d focussed on building her self-confidence in her body, she lifted her head, and watched him place kisses over her stomach, and down over her mound.

  The second he placed his hands on her thighs to spread them wider, she could feel herself clench in anticipation, the realisation that she was already getting wet for him a welcome thought.

  It had been so important for Gregor to know how much she wanted him those first few times, as he’d been petrified that he was pushing her too far out of her comfort zone.

  When he slid a long finger inside her channel and found her ready for him, she smiled as he lifted his head to look at her, the happiness evident in his eyes.

  He lowered his head and touched his tongue to her opening, not entering her, but licking and teasing her before pulling his finger out and licking her juices from it.

  Ok, that part still made her blush a little, but Gregor seemed to enjoy that as much as anything, so she found it hard to raise an objection.

  Using his fingers, he separated her labia, and rubbed gently around her entrance, never allowing his fingers to get close to penetrating her again.

  His tongue kept licking a path up the inside of her lower lips, skimming her clit but never applying enough pressure to give her any satisfaction.

  As she tried to stop her breathing from becoming ragged, Tulli wondered if Gregor was as much of a tease and a torment in his business dealings, because if he applied the same level of expertise in the boardroom as he did in the bedroom, then it was no wonder that he was a billionaire already!

  She ran her fingers through his silky hair, trying to be patient as he teased her to the point of torment. There was absolutely no point in trying to rush Gregor. He simply wouldn’t allow it.

  Which was good. And bad. And so good!

  As though her thoughts were transmitting to him telepathically, he seemed to take pity on her, and Tully felt the first touch of his lips on her clit.

  She lifted her hips off the bed to encourage him, but Gregor wasn’t going to be rushed, and simply used the additional space to slide two fingers inside her.

  Damn it, now she was being tormented twice over.

  Every movement of his fingers, every glide of his tongue over her bud left her panting harder. She just needed that little bit more, that intimacy that you sometimes couldn’t get from a tongue or fingers.

  “Gregor.” She moaned, tugging at his shoulders. “I need you.”

  Thank God her man didn’t need telling twice!

  Gregor kissed his way up her stomach, only momentarily pausing to appreciate her breasts.

  He paused, hovering over her as he lined his shaft up at her opening, and Tulli licked her lips in anticipation.

  As Gregor leaned down to claim her mouth, he pushed inside her slowly, not stopping until he was buried as deep as he could go, and Tulli’s eyelids fell shut as she savoured the sensations.

  Gregor held himself perfectly still, their lips and tongues the only parts of their bodies still moving as he propped himself above her on his elbows.

  When he eventually allowed them both to come up for air, he pulled out slightly, only to surge home even deeper, if that was even possible.

  As his pelvic bone rubbed on her clit, Tulli moaned into Gregor’s mouth, her inner muscles starting to clamp down on him of their own volition.

  Gregor slid out and back in again, repeating the movement, applying just that extra bit of pressure on her clit with every stroke.

  Every nerve ending in Tulli’s body was firing up, from the inside out, and when Gregor lowered himself slightly, and she felt the rub of his chest on her nipples, Tulli felt the spark at her core ignite, and the wildfire of her orgasm seemed to explode and rush through her like an inferno.

  Gregor’s moan as her muscles clenched around him was as erotic a sound as she’d ever heard, and as he thrust two, three more times into her, she felt him swell as his own orgasm exploded through him with a tremor that would have registered on the Richter scale.

  Hearts pounding and breath panting, they clung to each other as their combined orgasms left them rocking against each other, neither wanting to pull away or let go.

  Eventually, Gregor collapsed beside her, and Tulli rolled into him so she could wrap her arms around him for long minutes as their breathing returned to normal.

  Her whole body was alive and burning, and yet sated and glowing at the same time.

  “I think ‘slow’ and ‘sensual’ could fast become my two favourite words.” Gregor whispered, kissing the tip of her nose.

  “Really?” She grinned. “Because I always thought ‘bacon’ and ‘pancakes’ were your two favourite words.”

  “True.” Gregor conceded. “Ok, they can be my second favourite words!”

  Tulli smacked him playfully with a pillow before he pulled her into a hug.

  “What time are we supposed to be at Tuck’s place this afternoon?” Tulli asked.

  “Sophia insisted on driving us, as our designated driver, so we can have a glass of wine with dinner.” Gregor smiled. “She said she’d be here by two o’clock at the latest.”

  “Then we have plenty of time for a nap, before we flip a coin and decide to go for that walk or round two.” Tulli smiled into his chest.

  “Excellent idea, Mrs Diminov.”

  Tulli’s eyes closed, and within seconds she must have slept, because the next thing she knew, she could hear Gregor singing in the shower.

  She was just about to get up and join him, when he walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his hips.

  “Spoilsport!” She pouted. “I was just going to come and wash your hard to reach places.”

  Gregor grinned.

  “Sadly, the time for that has gone.” He sighed. “I just had a call from Charlie telling me that his mom is insisting we join them for lunch. I didn’t have the heart to say no.”

  Tulli shrugged.

  “It will be nice to spend some time with my sisters today.” She admitted. “It will make me feel better about leaving them at home when we go to Tuck’s later. Mischa is doing so well, but she’s not quite ready for an Alpha-Stalwart Christmas just yet.”

  “Well, you’d better rouse yourself then.” Gregor grinned. “Lunch is going to be on the table in thirty minutes.”

  Tulli’s eyes widened.

  “And you didn’t think to wake me earlier?” She gasped, jumping out of bed.

  “Nope.” Gregor grinned. “Because if I had, I may not have gotten to watch you running around naked, like I am now.”

  Tulli scowled at him as she rushed for the bathroom and kicked the door shut behind her.

  Who’d have thought her lovely billionaire would have such a naughty side to him!

  She grinned as she switched the shower on.

  Not that she was complaining…!

  Epilogue - Tulli

  The rest of Christmas day passed in a blur.

  The lunch with the Lamar family had been a wonderful affair, with delic
ious food, and genuinely pleasant company.

  Since they’d allowed Gregor to buy them a property just half a mile from where his own house was being rebuilt, Tulli had become close friends with Charlie’s mom as the couple had stepped in to help care for Mischa for a few hours a day, so she could spend time with Joel. Charlie’s dad was now well-recovered, and having Joel and Mischa around, was a good way to keep him busy, without overstretching him.

  The two families had exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, so all that was left for them to do was to eat and watch Joel and Mischa kid around. From the silence and screaming fits of a few months ago, this loud excitable childlike version of her sister was a huge departure, and nobody could be sure if Mischa would ever move beyond this childlike state she’d reverted to.

  But if the place she’d reached was one of happiness, especially with her best friend Joel always at her side, should they push for more, when it could come with all those horrendous memories?

  As for Charlie and Lara, after the Lucky Vega fiasco, and Charlie thinking Lara had died, Lara had been left with little opportunity to avoid the guy as he became her own personal shadow.

  Thankfully, though, as Tulli had predicted, her sister was more than interested in Charlie, and it just took plenty of patience and TLC from Charlie to break down all of Lara’s barriers.

  Tulli had the feeling it was only going to be a matter of time before wedding bells would be ringing for them as well.

  “What are you thinking?” Gregor’s quiet voice brought her out of her thoughts.

  “I was just thinking that after Sophia and Alex marry, Charlie and Lara will be the next ones.” Tulli smiled as she leaned against her husband’s shoulder, watching his daughter show off her engagement ring.

  The room seemed to be filled with loving couples, screaming kids, and new babies. Babies everywhere you looked!

  Only poor Aisha was still pregnant, and she looked about ready to pop! Bella, Suzy, Abbey, and Sara were all carrying around new-borns, and they were so gorgeous.