by Dawson, Zoe
When he pulled the door open, Aiden stood there, a bottle in his hands. “If Mohammad won’t come to the mountain…”
“Come in, Aiden,” Jared said.
He entered the apartment and headed to the kitchen. “This is twenty-year-old scotch. I’ve been saving it. Now seemed a good time since I heard what happened.” He searched until he found two glasses. “Women and their drama. I’m sorry you got caught up in it.”
“I’m not.”
“Ah, that’s how it is. You can’t stop being a hero, can you?”
“I’m not the hero, Aiden. You are.”
“Yeah, I think they pinned medals on both of our chests, my friend.”
Jared walked over to the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. Daisy snuffled around Aiden’s legs and he bent down and ruffled her fur. “A basset. She’s cute.”
“She is.” And he’d had no idea what a comfort it would be to have her in his life.
He poured the scotch in both glasses and nudged one toward Jared. Jared picked it up. Aiden looked at the bottle. “Scotch is a spirit that distills the essence of a place into a bottle. Smoke from a peat-fired flame and clear, cold water mingle to give the drink its distinct flavor. Scotch can only come from Scotland, in the same way that Tequila can only come from parts of Mexico.” He held his glass up. “To women, they make life interesting. And, to the Corps. Semper fi!”
“Semper fi!” Jared said as he downed the liquor. The rich, bold flavor burned a wonderful, stinging path over his tongue and down his throat, settling into a nice glow in his stomach, but it didn’t fill the aching hole there.
“So let’s just talk about that. About you being a hero.”
Jared sighed and looked away, guilt twisting in his gut. The horror of that day making his mouth go dry. “Men died because of me.”
Aiden came out from behind the bar. He grabbed the back of Jared’s neck in a tight grip. His eyes were fierce and filled with conviction. “Men lived because of you! Your response to the threat was instantaneous. You saw them before anyone did. It minimized casualties and saved several vehicles. You fought fiercely and decisively, never wavering. Several times you killed insurgents who were a trigger pull from killing me. Maybe you don’t remember, but I do. I would have carried you twenty miles. Whatever it took.”
Jared’s throat constricted. “You saved my life. I don’t know how I can ever repay you for what you did for me. But if you ever need anything. Anything at all, Aiden. I’m here, man. I’m always here.” He met Aiden’s blue eyes filled with shared duty, honor and a deep friendship that could only come from men who had served together on the battlefield.
His grip tightened on Jared’s neck. “I’m here for you, too, Jared. We can’t predict everything that will happen. We can only plan contingencies and your contingencies saved a lot of Marines that day. I owe my life to you, so don’t you let Harper talk you into anymore of her crazy schemes. She’s suffering the consequences of her actions. She won’t soon forget them, I think.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yes, I’m sorry for you. I hope things work out.”
“Thank you, Aiden.” After he was gone, Jared grabbed the bottle and headed to the couch. Aiden had given him a measure of peace. That day would always be remembered for the brave men they’d lost. But, now, it was time to let it go and move on. He closed his eyes, the pain of losing Poe washing over him like a devastating avalanche. He poured one drink after another until he drank himself to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Mrs. Craig had been right. St. Mark’s offered her a very nice package, but, although she would have loved to stay and do surgery, her passion had always been in not only treating dogs, but rescuing them.
As soon as the ink was dry on her acceptance letter and she’d received her bonus check, she wired the money to her mother, who could then pay off the rest of her house. It now belonged to her free and clear.
She wasn’t really sure what to do with herself for the rest of the day. There were no more rehearsals to worry about, no mugger, or threatening letters to deal with. That, unfortunately, left her plenty of time to think.
And there hadn’t been a waking moment when she hadn’t missed Jared. He had said he loved her, and she was inclined to believe that it was true. She’d projected her own shit onto him. Slapped him with her baggage.
Her stomach hadn’t subsided, so she decided that a quick appointment with her doctor would be a good idea.
After her doctor’s appointment, they took blood and indicated they would run some routine tests and call her with the results in a day or two.
As she left the doctor’s office her cell phone sounded off with her ‘there’s a zombie on your lawn’ ringtone. Looking down, she saw it was from Callie. Her anger at her friends had dissipated, and she missed them too much to stay mad. It was time to let it go.
“Hello.”
“Poe. I was running past this warehouse over on Bell Street and I think I heard some noises. Sounded like puppies.”
“Puppies, really? Have you seen a stray female?”
“No, but I heard them distinctly. Can you come down here and help me check it out?”
“Sure, I’m on my way.”
When she arrived at the address Callie sent her, she called her name, but there was no answer.
She walked around to the front and called out again, and finally heard a muffled voice. She stepped closer, listening. There was a thumping sound and she jumped. Giving her pulse time to settle, she took another step forward.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, she focused on the light above the door. The eerie mercury illumination was mottled by moths fluttering around it.
And she could hear the song of crickets that cut off when she opened the door, the squeak loud in the dusk.
Her heart jammed in her throat and tension gripped her. She opened the door, the eerie luminescence from the light casting an indistinct shadow beside her as she stepped into the vast, corrugated steel structure. Into near darkness. But the darkness was incomplete.
The office had been installed next to the front corner of the rectangular structure, and behind that was a deep, U-shaped space that looked like a shop. A single row of fluorescent lights threw an ineffective swatch of illumination at the darkness, the heavy shadows in the rest of the building swallowing it up. There was something unnerving about the silence and shadows, something that kicked off a renewed frenzy in Poe’s chest, and she hesitated. She told herself it was probably because of the mugging. But with Jared’s training, she felt like she could take on anything.
Then she heard it, and it raised the hair on the back of her neck. A deep groan and a shuffling gait.
“Callie?” she squeaked.
Another low moan, and in the dim light, forms lurched towards her.
She backed up, and as her back hit the steel wall, five forms came into view and a scream lodged in her throat.
“Braaaaaaains,” came the low growl.
“Zombies!” Poe blurted.
The door flew open and Jared strode in with Daisy baying up a storm. With one hand he cocked his paint gun, aimed, and fired. The first zombie was hit, and crumpled into an icky green goo-covered heap. The second went down, and then the third. By then they were on Jared, and he had to fight them off using exactly the self-defense moves he’d shown her.
Poe stood there transfixed as music started to play. Then she grabbed her stomach as laughter doubled her over. I Need a Hero?
“Poe!” He slid the gun across the floor and she stopped it with her foot, picked it up and nailed the remaining zombies.
Jared turned towards her as she lowered the gun. He looked so damn good, and she absolutely knew, then and there, that she’d been a fool.
All he’d done was protect her, and in the end, he’d even saved her from herself.
She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck.
“My G.Z.K.” Love welled for all of them, an
d she realized again that she couldn’t live without them. Not one of ‘em. Her trust hadn’t been broken, it had only been walled up behind all her other shit. She let go of those feelings and embraced the trust she had for her wonderful friends.
“My one and only Poe. I love you.”
“Psst, tell him you love him, too!”
Poe looked down at Harper lying in icky green goo, her teeth a rotten mess when she grinned. “Even dead, you’re meddling.”
“That would technically be ‘undead’ dead,” Owen said dryly.
Drew laughed.
“Oh, just kiss him,” Brooke muttered.
“Yes, please do!” Callie added, “so we can get cleaned up and all go have dinner. P.S.” she whispered. “We missed you so much.”
Poe rolled her eyes and looked back at Jared. “Are you sure you want to sign up for this lunacy? I’m afraid I come with a lot of baggage.”
“That works just fine for me. I have some really strong, broad shoulders.”
“I love you, Jared. So much.”
Jared bent down and picked her up. “Go get cleaned up, you five, and meet us in an hour and a half at Harper’s penthouse.”
“It won’t take us that long,” Harper said sitting up. “My cook staff should have it ready in less time. Make sure to bring bathing suits. We’re eating by the pool.”
Jared looked deeply into Poe’s eyes, his intent quite clear.
“Oh, but Ms. Sinclair, it will take us that long.”
“Oh,” Brooke said snickering, nudging Callie, who joined in.
Jared didn’t pay them any heed as he carried her out of the warehouse to his truck and tucked her inside.
“Take me home, Jared.”
“Yours or mine?”
“It doesn’t matter. Wherever you are is home.”
He yelled for Daisy and she bayed as she ran from the warehouse and tried to jump into the truck. Jared helped her in with an indulgent look.
She slipped her hand in his and his hold tightened on her almost convulsively. Home sounded so good to her. It made her want to sink down into its comfort and safety and never come out, but an interlude with Jared would be enough for now. She missed her friends.
It made her want him so much, she ached with it.
“Yeah,” he said, his voice gruff. “Let’s go home.”
Back at his apartment, after carrying her all the way from his truck in those strong, protective arms of his, Poe knew that this warrior would never smother her. Daisy followed after them, but got more interested in her food bowl than in them.
She wanted to sink into the moment and have it last a lifetime. This heady, almost euphoric, need-filled, anticipatory moment, where nothing mattered but their desire for each other. And any other conversation but that of lips and hands and bodies was just moot.
She knew him in that soul-deep way that allowed her to recognize who he was and accept him, and he did the same. From the beginning, he’d accepted her exactly as she was, crazy clothes, hair, shoes, and dogs.
“You realize this deal includes two of the most mischievous dogs on the planet. Are you prepared to have your underwear used as chew toys and, on occasion, footballs?”
“Yes, I accept that.”
“There could be more midnight Beethoven.”
“Bring it on.”
She was his and there was only joy as they smiled at each other.
He brushed her hands aside and undressed her. If he had any inkling of what was going on in her mind, his expression didn’t reveal it. Instead, he seemed much in the same place that she was, unhurried, enjoying the moment, wanting to, for once, not go at each other like starved animals. She tugged his shirt off, slowly slid off his pants. He pulled her close, liking how her bare skin felt pressed up against his own, suddenly in no hurry.
“I like the Rambo outfit. I’ve got a French Maid one. Maybe sometime we could…”
He groaned and kissed her along the side of her jaw, down along her neck, across her collarbone.
“That’s some sexy clavicle,” he said.
Poe laughed, then sighed, tipped her head back, and moaned softly as he made a slow exploration that trailed around her breasts, with brief stops to pay particular attention to her hard, aching nipples, before slipping lower. But when he reached her hipbone, she tugged him back up and began an exploration of her own.
“God, I missed you, Jared,” she said softly. That intense stare of his made her knees weak. She couldn’t resist her own trail of lingering kisses. She gasped and paused at his shoulder. “You got a tattoo! Aww, a raven holding a daisy.”
“My girls.”
“I love it,” she said with a smile. Kissing the tattoo, she continued on with her exploration. When she reached his hip, he tugged her down on the bed, but she pushed him onto his back and went right back to exploring.
“Just let me,” she said, shooting him a quick smile. He was hot and smooth, and she used her tongue and mouth and lips on him.
“Sweet geezus,” he whispered, followed by a long, slow growl as he pumped and groaned while she brought him close to the edge.
She would have taken him over, but he nudged her away, protected her, grinning when she pouted.
“Come here,” he murmured, helping her slide her weight up over him, then slowly easing her down onto him. Their sighs of pleasure matched. “Ah, darlin’ you are so beautiful.”
And there was that thick accent telling her Jared had lost his mind completely. Her hair tickled her cheeks as he cupped the back of her neck and drew her down to his mouth.
And she flipped him, laughing into his startled mouth and indrawn breath.
“I love you, Jared,” she whispered between scattered kisses. “Love you, love you, love you.”
“You’re killing me, Poe,” he said softly. Her heart caught in her chest at his broken voice. He kissed her and entered her deeply as she lifted up and wrapped her legs around his hips.
And he held her gaze, in between long, slow kisses, moving inside her, feeling her match his steady rhythm as easily as if they had done this forever. He finally slid his arm beneath her, tilted her hips up for that extra bit, so he could sink a tiny bit deeper, reach that spot he knew how to reach, the one that made her gasp and tighten around him almost convulsively. The one he knew would take them both over the edge. But he held her there, for that one moment out of time, and looked into her eyes, “Poe…”
And she lost complete focus at his hoarsely uttered whisper, urging him on, trusting him with everything. He thrust into her again, a fragmented groan shuddering from him. Dragging his mouth away from hers, he buried his face against the curve of her neck, a hard, wild urgency claiming him, incinerating the last of his restraint.
And then there was no holding back for either of them as they exchanged the pieces of their souls for each to take and hold dear. Raw and desperate, the tremors started deep inside her, the pleasure racing out in waves of hard sensation. He went over the top, riding the surge of her ecstasy to match his own.
When they showed up at Harper’s, she hugged each one of her friends and sank down into the love and joy of sharing her life with them.
As she watched Drew push his fiancé into the pool, only to get pushed in by Owen, then Owen by Harper. Then Callie had her revenge. Jared just picked her up and jumped in with her in his arms, concluding the game with all of them splashing around like a bunch of kids.
Epilogue
“So, I don’t know if I should trust you on a picnic. Especially when I only count one horse.”
Jared looked at Poe perched on the bottom rail of the corral fence while she watched him saddle and bridle his horse and smiled. She looked ravishing in a pair of jeans shorts, a white crocheted top and brown and cream cowboy boots on her feet. Her dark hair was covered by a straw hat with a brown leather band. “Aw, shucks, darlin’ I don’t have no ulterior motives.”
“Don’t listen to him, little lady.”
“Hello, Roy! You go
t some advice for me? I think he wants to teach me how to kiss, Texas style with our cowboy hats on. What do you think?”
His father was completely besotted with her and he’d even taken to The Terrible Two. In fact, he was like an indulgent grandpappy with those two mischief-makers. He, of course, got along great with Daisy, her being a hound dog and all. He would never forget when his dad had gotten his first look at Poe with her blue-streaked hair and her lucky bat earrings.
He’d leaned over to Jared and whispered, “Are them’s skulls on her skirt?”
Jared had grinned and said, “Yup.”
His father frowned and said, “That must be some kinda New York City thang.”
Jared had just replied, “No, Dad, that’s just a Poe thang.”
But now it was time to advise Poe about her first-ever time on a horse. “I just think it would be better if the first time you’re on a horse, it’s with me. We’ll have to sit real close-like to keep you from fallin’ off,” Jared said, winking at his father.
“I don’t know…” Poe frowned. “That sounds pretty suspicious to me.”
His father laughed. “If you find yourself in a hole, son, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.”
Poe broke out into deep peals of laughter. Yup, it was still at the top of Jared’s list. Edgar and Allan were just as fearless with horses and steers as they were comfortable with muggers and rats in New York City. At this moment, Allan sat on top of the saddle, cocking his head at Jared. Edgar reclined on the ground, his head bobbing as he watched a butterfly flutter over near a buttercup. Daisy was sprawled in the sun as happy as a hound dog could be.
Her cell chimed out her snappy zombie song and she answered. Her face drained of all color. “Thank you, Dr. Mitchell.”
“Poe, what is it?” Jared said, jumping over the fence and easing her down.
He and his father led her over to a bale of hay, and she plopped down.
“That was my doctor. She’s been trying to reach me for a few days, and I’ve been so distracted with packing and the trip. I kept forgetting to call her back for two days.”
His heart hung suspended. “Tell me you’re not sick.”
