by Brynne Asher
And Ollie, a man I trusted, has been charged with so many counts of treason and terrorism, I’ve heard they had to put him in solitary. I don’t even want to think about the grave he’s dug himself.
And it’s been almost a week since we had to say goodbye to Red.
Even with all that, the world is lighter on my shoulders, though life couldn’t be more different. Bella’s name has been cleared. She has free roam of the earth, can live as she wishes, and has given the intelligence community her proper middle finger, wishing them a holiday in hell. Now, she can go or do whatever she wishes—but I’m the lucky asshole she chooses to be with.
Not sure how I ended up with the best parents, the smartest child, and the most beautiful and cunning woman, but I’m not questioning that shit. I’m fisting them in my greedy hands and never letting go.
It seems my selfish ways know no bounds because I can’t wait to see what my unknown caller might bring me. I put my phone to my ear as I make my way through the forest and vines on my way back to Whitetail where my family is waiting on me. “Carson.”
“How’s the gunshot wound?”
I pause but I don’t stop walking because the patio light is on at the enormous farmhouse, with a tall, thin silhouette waiting for me.
“Who’s this?” I ask even though I’m pretty sure I know.
He doesn’t elaborate but he does start talking. “You and your girlfriend’s mugs are everywhere, and not just the national news. You’ve made the BBC, Al Jazeera, and you’re even popping all over news outlets in Africa.”
I climb the hill, her light hair coming into view before her blue eyes. “I only have a few minutes. Why are you calling me at this time of night?”
He proves to be as weird as he was the night our paths crossed. “You’re famous and I can say I saw you in your underwear.”
The tips of Bella’s lips turn at the corners when I step out of the night. “It’s late. Get to it.”
“I need a favor.”
Bella holds her hand out for me. The moment we touch, my cock jerks to life. I don’t take my eyes off her as I continue with my unknown caller. “Don’t we all.”
“I’m making a move. Leaving the east coast for another position. Taking one of my cases with me. It’s going to take some…”
Bella leads me through the dark house. It’s late. Kids, babies, cats, cows, and assassins have been MIA for hours. I’ve been in Crew’s command room with Ozzy going over some technology. “Spit it out.”
“Ingenuity.”
We walk up the first flight of stairs to the second story where our room connects to Abbott’s. “Is that another word for illegal activities?”
I can almost hear him smile. “I would never.”
The door clicks behind me and Bella continues into the room and shuts another, closing us off from the bathroom. “Why do I not believe that?”
“I need some covert help.”
With her back to me, Bella unbuttons her shirt and shrugs it down her shoulders. “You must not’ve been paying attention at the academy. I’m CIA. I don’t work cases in the U.S.”
“You did last week.”
Bella pushes her tight-ass jeans down her legs and I can’t take my eyes off her ass cheeks peeking at me through black lace. They’re begging me to palm them and make them mine for however many hours I can stay awake. “Last week was different.”
“So is this.”
She turns to me and pops her bra. It lands on the floor and she comes to me. “I’ve got to go.”
“Look, I know you push the boundaries and since I don’t know the fucking meaning of boundaries, I thought we should become better acquainted. You can talk ‘til you’re blue about the rules and shit, but I have a case I think you’ll find interesting.”
My shirt hits the floor right before my jeans and boxers. A pair of panties is the only thing being worn in this room and I’m calling that a crime against humanity. It’s also time I got rid of Brax Cruz, Special Agent for the DEA, no matter how special he thinks he is or how curious I am about his lack of boundaries. Nothing is as important right now as the mostly-naked woman standing in front of me. “Let’s meet next week.”
“Cool.”
“Yeah,” I barely agree. “Cool. Call me when the sun is up.”
I don’t say goodbye. I hang up on my new friend and toss the phone on the bed. What he has to say might be interesting tomorrow but, right now, my cock is running the show.
Bella
After tossing his phone, Cole gives me a lazy smile. “For your information, when you suck me off, you’ll do it naked.”
I tip my head and smile at my tall, handsome, and very naked American. “So demanding. You act like you’re in charge of this or something.”
He tries to hide his smirk.
“Important call?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing is more important right now than your panties hitting the floor.”
He knows I want this as much as he does. I tuck my thumbs into the hips of my panties and inch them down until gravity takes over. Stepping out with one foot, I use the other to send them airborne.
My flying panties are no challenge for Cole’s quick reflexes. He never takes his eyes off mine as he reaches out and nabs them. But he does look down as he runs the thin silk through his fingers.
He gives me his eyes. “Wet.”
Not only did Cole teach me the intricacies of managing a complex case, he also taught me to be brave in the bedroom. And he’s right. I am wet. Because when I reach down to touch myself, my fingers slide easily through my sex.
Cole doesn’t take his eyes off my hand.
I circle my clit and force myself to take a deep breath.
The whole time, he doesn’t stop rubbing my panties between his thumb and fingers.
“Are you close?” he asks.
I bite my lip. I wasn’t, but I might be now.
“Spread your legs.”
Shit. I thought I was brave.
“Now,” he demands.
I shift my legs and feel the cool air hit my very warm body, but don’t stop circling.
“You’re so fucking beautiful. There are moments I can’t believe you’re here. For good.”
“I’m here,” I whisper on an exhale. “Forever.”
Not only am I here, I’m out in the open for all to know and see. I’m living free among society again. By necessity, I became accustomed to surviving on my own and being by myself.
I’m done with that lonely life and never want to experience it again. I’ll miss living in England, but it wouldn’t feel right any longer. Nothing feels right without Cole Carson.
My eyes fall shut and he bosses, “Don’t stop until you’re almost there.”
My lids are heavy when I open them.
“I want you needy and on the edge when you suck me off.”
I whimper and let my head fall back. I’m close and don’t want to stop.
The next thing I know, my hand is ripped from between my legs and Cole’s other arm circles my back. Our naked bodies are pressed tight and Cole is sucking my fingers that were between my legs.
He presses his hard cock to my belly and drags my fingers from his mouth with a pop before his lips land on mine.
By the time he ends the kiss, I’m breathless and rubbing my thighs together for relief.
“Love you, baby.”
His arm tightens around me when I lean into him more. “I love you, too, Cole.”
He smiles. “Okay. Now you can do whatever you want with my cock. He’s excited as hell.”
I shake my head but don’t waste any time dropping to my knees. He’s right. His cock is bobbing in front of me, long and hard and anxious.
I take him in my fist before running my tongue around his tip. He’s smooth yet salty from precum. When I draw him into my mouth, chills run down my spine, knowing this is mine forever. Cole is mine forever.
I suck him in as far as I can, hollowing my cheeks, and use my t
ongue. In and out and in and out.
“Sweetness.” Cole groans as he fists my hair. The sting at my roots make me suck harder and deeper and become wetter with need.
“Fuck,” he hisses.
I peek up from where I’m kneeling. As my eyes pass over every toned and cut muscle, from his cock to the tips of his shoulders, I finally find his eyes, which isn’t hard in the bright room.
Cole takes over and I’ve lost all purchase. Holding my head, he fucks my mouth, the tip of his cock touching the back of my throat with every thrust.
He stops unexpectedly and growls, “Don’t want to come in your mouth. From now on when I come, it’s only inside you with nothing between us.”
Cole pulls out of my mouth and I’m in his arms, my legs wrapped around his waist. When we make it to the bed, I’m on my back and he’s standing between my legs, wasting no time.
When he thrusts inside, all is right with my world.
But when he doesn’t move, I open my eyes and frown. “What are you doing?”
Looking down at our connection, his fingers start to play.
“Oh,” I whisper, remembering where we are, whose house we’re in, and that there’s only a bathroom between us and sweet, little Abbott.
“You like this?” Cole starts to move slowly as he works my clit.
I was close before and stopping was torture.
“Cole.”
“Shh, baby.”
I clamp my mouth shut and fist the sheets beneath me.
“But breathe,” he adds.
Oh, for the love.
Two more circles of his fingers partnered with the delicious slow movements from his cock, I tip over the edge.
And it’s all I can do not to wake the county.
I barely have a moment to catch my breath when Cole pulls out and flips me to my stomach. He kicks my legs apart and enters me from behind. I have to grip the bed to hold on. His fingers bite into my hips and ass, pulling me to him to meet his every thrust.
We haven’t had many moments like this since we’ve been back together. Cole has been careful with me after surgery but not tonight. Tonight, he lets go and takes me the way he’s meant to.
Solely.
Completely.
Making me his, the way he has since the first day we met.
And that will never change.
When he finally comes, my muscles are sore under his grasp and I’m sure I’ll be sensitive in other places too. His chest hits my back, pinning me to the bed, his breaths are so labored, I feel every move he makes.
He presses his lips to my forehead before they make their way to my mouth.
But what he says surprises me.
“It’s been a month.”
I open my eyes, seeing only him.
“Sorry?”
“Our bet,” he breathes and goes on, speaking uncharacteristically like a caveman. “One month. Fixed your shit. You marry me.”
It’s been six days since everything went down at the church. Devon had to have surgery to repair his shoulder but it was a clean exit wound and won’t do any lasting damage—nothing some physical therapy won’t fix.
My name has been exonerated by British Intelligence, the CIA, and the rest of the western world—thanks to an army of people at my back. Vauxhall has contacted me countless times and I refuse to respond. I have also been contacted by my father’s publisher, which I find interesting. I did take their call.
But for now, Vauxhall can kiss my free arse. Even though I haven’t officially shut that door yet, I want nothing to do with them for now. They put me through hell. I have a right to some time to figure out what I want.
We said goodbye to Devon at the airport today. It was an especially emotional moment for me. The last few weeks have been nothing short of a roller coaster from hell. I didn’t want Devon to leave. I spent every moment I could with him in the hospital and, after, when we squeezed him in here at Hotel Vega. Abbott slept on a pallet in our room and he took hers.
Family.
I was alone for too long.
Now I want nothing more than to be surrounded by the ones I love, whether I share their blood or not.
“I need you to say yes, Bella. If you don’t, I might lose my shit.”
A small smile plays on my lips. “Might?”
“Definitely. I will most certainly lose my bloody shit.”
My smile grows. “If you’re not going to use bloody so it sounds natural, please don’t use it at all. I’m embarrassed for you when you do that.”
My pet name is bitten out like a curse as he presses his still semi-hard cock into me. “Sweetness.”
“You won your bet fair and square, Cole Carson. I don’t renege on my agreements.”
His dark brows pinch. “That’s the lamest yes in the history of proposals.”
“I’m sorry. I don’t remember you proposing.”
He doesn’t try to hide his smile. “You got me there.”
“Of course I do.”
“It’s happening. You marrying me will be the fastest way to your visa,” he goes on. “How or where, I don’t give a shit. But it has to be soon. I’ve lived long enough without you.”
“I think I’ve lost my mind because this is strangely romantic.”
He grins. “Uncle Sam takes the Queen. I feel like singing God Bless America.”
I try not to laugh. “Please don’t.”
“Going to fuck you again to celebrate.”
I sigh, happily. “Please.”
“But I’ll clean you up and eat you first.”
I say nothing, but my expression says it all. I want that.
“Be right back, baby.”
He walks into the bathroom. I hear the water running for a moment before he returns where I’ve curled into myself on my side.
He tosses a wet rag down on the nightstand and sits next to me on the edge of the bed. Instead of cleaning me like he said he would, he grabs my hand.
A thin ring appears on my left ring finger.
There’s nothing astonishing or flamboyant about it. Its beauty is in its simplicity with a rather small, single round diamond perched in the middle. I’m sure there are a million in the world like it, but none of them were placed on my finger by Cole Carson.
“I dug and dug and dug. Finally found it in the rubble. Red gave this to my mom when she was eighteen.” His voice is low and gravelly, emotion lying thick below the surface. “Wish I could’ve had you since you were eighteen. No amount of time with you will be enough.”
My throat constricts and I climb to my knees next to him, holding my hand between us. I can’t stop looking at it.
“I don’t want to forget where I came from,” he goes on. “Spent years trying to and it worked out like shit for me. Be with me, Bella. Be the mom Abbott needs. Build a family with me, here in BFE, Virginia. I know I’m a selfish prick to ask you to start over in a new country, away from a job you love, your family—”
I have to choke down my tears to interrupt. “Yes. Yes to Abbott, yes to BFE, and bloody yes to never forgetting where we came from.” I press my lips to his. “Most of all, yes to you.”
He wraps his arms around me and twists, flopping us both on the bed. “Okay. Now I’ll eat you out.”
I laugh as I finger the new ring at the base of my finger. It doesn’t feel one bit foreign. Rather, it settles my heart.
As long as I’m with Cole, I’m home.
Chapter 46
Diversify
Two Months Later
Cole
I look through the house—literally through the house—since it’s nothing but studs, to find Bella and Abbott twirling in circles in what will be the new sunroom off the back.
Plans are coming along … fucking slow as hell.
At this point, if Jarvis finishes his Garage-Mahal and MacMansion before we can have a normal-ass house built, I won’t be surprised.
Bombs don’t exactly fit into the details of homeowners insurance. Normal pap
erwork turned into a ball of crimson duct tape. I thought we were going to end up being Crew and Addy’s weird-ass step kids who never move out.
But tomorrow, sheetrock.
You know teenage boys and wet dreams? Yeah, well that’s what sheetrock is to me right now.
I guess it makes me an official adult at the age of thirty-five.
“Daddy, let’s go see my room! I have my own bathroom!”
“What are you?” I ask. “Fifteen?”
She skips by me and tags my hand in the process, dragging me up the stairs. I won’t let her go by herself because of the lack of railings and walls and everything else to keep her safe. This place is a concussion waiting to happen.
“Not too long, love,” Bella calls from what will be the kitchen. “I have to be back for a meeting soon.”
Abbott pulls me into her room. Bella and I went round and round when we were designing the house. I wanted to stick with the budget we had from insurance. I’m no paid assassin with millions in the bank to build garages bigger than houses. But every time I went back to the plans, Bella was moving walls, adding a bathroom here, an extra closet there, and she’s basically salivating for a pantry like Keelie’s. She assured me we’ll need these upgrades when Abbott is a teenager and our sperm-egg raves start to multiply. She then straddled my lap and told me she wanted to contribute to the house. How she worked hard, did nothing fun, and was sitting on a mountain of cash.
I just don’t want to forget where I came from.
But if she wanted an extra bedroom, bath, bigger closets, and a pantry the size of a barn, who was my cock to disagree? Because when she straddles my lap, he makes all the decisions.
That’s why we’re on to bigger and way better things. But anything with Bella and Abbott is better.
Abbott tours me through the upstairs even though I know every square inch in my head—down to the light switches—before I carry her down to the main floor.
Bella beams. “It’s going to be beautiful.”
I smile back. “It’s also going to be soundproof. Let’s get you to your meeting.”
