by Molly E. Lee
“What is it then? Dine and Dash?” Wade eyed Dash as he made the horrible pun, but we laughed regardless.
“No,” Sadie said, her dark blond curls trembling from her giggles. “This is technically a business meeting. And our potential investor will be covering the provisions.”
I sat up a little straighter in my chair.
“See,” Rain whispered in my ear. “There was a good reason to put clothes on.”
I smirked. “That remains to be seen.” To me, there was never a good reason to put clothes on Rain, unless she directly expressed her wish of it. Then I did whatever she wanted. Which is how I ended up keeping the date we’d already planned with our newfound family.
“So,” Dash said, eyeing Sadie and then looking around the secluded room. “Where is this investor?”
“Yeah, did we scare him off already?” Wade asked. “He could at least have the decency to show up before he decides we’re a bunch of maniacs.”
“He won’t think that,” Sadie said, shaking her head as three waitresses came in and placed trays of appetizers in the center of the table. “He had to fly here, so I’m sure traveling has caused the delay.”
Wade scoffed, scooping up one of the fancy fried apps and shoveling it into his mouth. “Please,” he said between bites, “I could’ve flown to Florida and back by now.”
“Is that right?” a voice called from the doorway. A tall man with a five o’clock shadow, black hair, and eyes almost as blue as Rain’s unbuttoned his suit jacket as he took his designated seat at the head of the table. “Then Sadie hasn’t oversold your skills.”
The hostess lingered at his side, asking for not only his drink order but if he’d rather have something specially crafted by the chef to eat, or if she could take his jacket. He politely declined, thanking her for her concern. Once the hostess had left with a pout on her lips, Sadie rose from the table to give a friendly side hug to the man.
“Everyone, this is Casey Williams.” She gestured to him. “He helped me out on a case back in the Bahamas. He has his hand in several multi-billion dollar companies and is my go-to guy for all things business or money related.” She smiled at him. “It’s good to see you, Casey,” she said.
I watched Connell’s reaction, noticing the tick in his jaw despite Casey barely touching her.
“You as well,” Casey said. “Thank you for thinking of me in this new endeavor of yours.”
“Oh, it’s not mine,” she said, returning to her seat next to Connell. “It’s theirs. But I assure you, it’s brilliant.”
He grinned, but I could tell he was skeptical. The man screamed business, and smart business at that—his two-thousand-dollar suit easily attested that—but it was the sharp look in his eye that made me respect that he didn’t take just Sadie’s word into account. He’d set the stage, the beautiful table in the luxurious restaurant with the incredible food, and now it was our turn to impress him. The man had barely spoken more than a handful of words and I already liked him.
Now I had to hope he’d feel the same way about us.
“Sadie tells me you all have one hell of a show concept on your hands. I’m dying to hear more,” he said, taking his scotch from the hostess and giving her a polite smile as she asked him if he needed anything else . . . twice. Her cheeks flushed, and she nearly tripped out the door from looking back at him over her shoulder. At first I thought perhaps they knew each other—a fling from the past—but then, as it was hard for me to pitch my show between all three of our waitresses trying to get a question into Casey, I realized it must simply be a normality for him.
It was almost comical the way the fawned over him, and I wondered if it was because he clearly had money or that he looked something like Captain America? I wasn’t the best judge on what made a dude hot—Rain’s word, not mine—but I suppose if there was a gun to my head I could call him that. I definitely respected the man who was focused on the business at hand instead of the business vying for his attention in between serving the food and drinks.
Finally, after we all had explained our personal skills and how they were and would be utilized for the lost city site in particular, he nodded. He’d remained so silent and engaged through our pitch and our jokes—more aptly Wade’s jokes—that it was hard to tell if he was into the idea or not. Somewhere in the middle of the pitch I began getting my hopes up, as I wanted to get back to Paititi as quickly as possible. I didn’t know how much money Casey Williams had, but I dared to hope it was enough.
He rubbed the light stubble on his chin like he didn’t even realize he was doing it. His eyes were no longer present at the table, but I was sure he was surmising the risk verses the rewards of taking us on. It wouldn’t be cheap. I’d explained that point to him several times. He’d never flinched, hence the hope filling my chest.
“You all are something . . .” He trailed his finger over the line of his never once empty glass—waitresses and hostess alike wouldn’t allow it, and here I was with nothing but ice to keep me company. I chuckled to myself and smoothed my hand over the bare skin of Rain’s thigh that peeked from underneath her silk shorts. If Casey didn’t start talking, he would lose all my attention in five seconds. “You have something that has never been done before. A show with true grit. High stakes. And with factual knowledge to boot.” He leaned back in his chair and took a good long drink of scotch.
“Does that mean you want to be the official sponsor of the E.D.G.E. men?” Wade raised his glass, that crazy grin on his face.
Connell and Dash snorted, and I couldn’t resist, either. Wade’s humor would grow on him in time, if he chose to back us.
Casey glanced at Sadie, then around the table. “Depends,” he said, taking another drink.
I swear the room went silent as we held our breath. “On what?” I asked.
Casey cocked an eyebrow as he set his drink down. “Is there an initiation?”
Sadie clapped, the other girls followed, and the four of us left stared at him with incredulous looks on our faces.
I held my glass out to him. Dash, Connell, and Wade joined me. “There will be,” I said. “Let’s hope you can handle it.”
Casey sat up straighter, scooping the glass off the table. “I’m sure I’ll surprise you,” he said. “To the E.D.G.E.” He clinked his glass against ours, the sound as good as a signature on the contract of a lifetime.
“CAN YOU BELIEVE these precipitation readings?” Blake asked as she checked the data on the laptop and then stood to look at the sky. The sun was so bright she had to cover her eyes. “Do you think the lightning patterns will be similar to the last storm?”
“Could be,” I said, smiling at the excitement in her voice.
We had returned to the Amazon with the rest of the E.D.G.E. crew and had been working on site for two weeks. It was grueling, hard, sweltering, and sometimes terrifying work, but the time passed much easier this time around. We found a groove with one another—each person adapting to and accepting the others’ levels of expertise—and Blake was here. I swear I could do and handle absolutely anything as long as that woman was by my side.
“How long till the next one hits?” she asked.
“Around two hours,” I answered after glancing at my watch.
Blake kicked the ground next to where our tents were set up—the same place we had camped when it had just been the guys—and she clucked her tongue. “Wish it would hurry up and get here. I want to see if I’m right about the humidity levels having direct correlation with the strength and duration of the storm.”
I pressed my lips together to keep from laughing, clearing my throat as I pointed behind her. Her eyes widened and she slowly turned around.
“Sorry, Easton,” she said innocently as he looked at her with his arms crossed over his chest. Rain chuckled from his side. “Of course I don’t want you to have to stop working because of the storm . . .” Blake shrugged. “But it’s coming anyway. I’m allowed to be excited about it!”
Unable to co
ntain my laugh for a second longer, I stepped up to her side. “You are allowed. He knows that.”
Easton replaced his gruff look with a smirk. “We needed a break anyway,” he said, glancing at Rain. “But if we have two hours, let’s go back in for a bit. Take the break when the rain hits.”
Rain had just taken a seat next to their tent, already munching on a PowerBar. “Thanks, Blake.” Her tone was teasing, and Blake flashed her an innocent look.
“I don’t control these things you know!” she called out as the pair headed back to the marsh that would lead them into the newly claimed City of Gold.
“Yeah, but I think your husband does!” Rain joked over her shoulder. “Tell him we need a break from the rain!”
“It’s called the rainforest for a reason!” Blake shouted, and I wrapped my arms around her waist, tucking my head against her smooth neck.
The girls had found a rhythm even faster than I had with Easton, Wade, and Connell, and I suppose it shouldn’t have been that big of a surprise—they were always one step ahead of us. The relief from us guys was incredible because God knows what we would’ve done if they had ended up hating each other. It would’ve been a very different expedition, and not nearly as fun. Sure, we worked our asses off day in and out, had some minor on-site injuries, and were in a constant state of hunger, but it was more like a vacation than work. It felt like a family, even stronger than when we’d begun, and it made dealing with the dangers of the jungle that much easier.
“Wade, Connell,” Easton’s voice rang over the radio and I unhooked it from my belt to listen. I could see him and Rain entering the third level of the lost city. “Zeus says there will be a storm hitting us within two hours. That means I want you topside with half an hour to spare.”
“Copy,” Connell said. “Sadie, you hear that?”
“Yes,” she answered.
“Are you three not together?” Easton’s tone had a small sliver of panic creep in, something that happened whenever anyone went off book.
“Easy, man,” Connell said. “We discussed this. She entered the interior today. I’m not far behind her. Wade is holding the retrieval line just outside the structure.”
“And I feel like the world’s hottest mermaid walker.” Wade’s laugh took over the line for a few seconds and I shook my head. All the while the exchange was happening, Blake was watching the sky, her long brown hair pulled up into a tight knot, the white tank top she wore riding up just slightly above the hunter green shorts she’d bought to match the other girls. Her long legs had tanned from our hours spent in the sun, and they looked downright edible.
“Easton?” Sadie asked after Wade had finally let the line go quiet.
“Yes?”
“I’m inside, like Connell said. I swam down a long corridor that was flanked with rooms that appeared to be used for washing? I think. Not one hundred percent. Past that, there was a huge opening, almost like a ballroom, but you know, ancient.”
“Okay,” he said, dragging the word out.
I listened harder. Sadie’s tone had bordered on . . . giddy?
“And you know the room you found topside, the one with the gold you showed us when we first got here? What did you call that, again?”
“Yes. The keep. Why?”
“I don’t think that was the keep.”
“Why?”
“Because the room I’m floating in is about ten times its size . . .” The line went silent for so long I shook the radio to see if ours had died. Blake gripped my arm, leaning closer to the tiny speaker, as if that would make Sadie’s voice come back. “And it’s full.”
“Can you be more specific?” Easton asked, his breath catching between words.
“Gold, Easton. It’s piled high with the stuff. Different kinds, too, and jewels. And I can’t even begin to describe it. It’s like out of a book or movie or something I never thought I’d get to see . . . ever.”
“Looks like you’ll have to take some diving lessons from Aquaman, after all,” I said once she had finished. “There is no way you aren’t going to swim down there and see that now, Easton.”
“Damn straight,” Easton said. “Thank you, Sadie!”
“What about you, Dash?” Connell asked. “You want to finally take me up on the offer to learn? Seems like a tempting enough reason.”
“Hell. No.” I shook my head. He’d been badgering me about my aversion to deep-sea diving for weeks. “I’m a Midwestern boy through and through. I need the earth underneath my feet and the sky in eyesight at all times.”
“Suit yourself,” he said.
“You’re missing out,” Wade agreed. “It’s like another planet down here.”
“I’m fine with this one. Besides, you need me to watch the skies.”
“No we don’t. Blake could easily replace you,” Wade said, and my mouth dropped.
“Fuck you,” I said, though I knew it was true.
“All right,” Easton said, cutting the chatter. “Let’s finish strong. I’ll break out the whiskey when the rain starts.”
“That’s an order I can get behind,” Wade said.
“Copy,” Connell answered for him and Sadie.
“Copy,” I spoke for both Blake and myself.
Setting the radio down, I smirked at Blake. “Who would’ve thought we’d be here?”
She shook her head slowly. “I know. It’s amazing.” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “Thank you for bringing me here.” Her lips pressed against mine. “Thank you for this incredible life you’ve given me, Mr. Lexington.”
I snaked my hands down her back, and gripped a handful of her perfect ass, hefting her upward. She squealed but instantly wrapped her legs around my hips. “I would take you to the moon if I could, Mrs. Lexington.”
Kissing her deeply, I tightened my hold and started carefully walking us toward our tent. She jerked her mouth away from mine. “Dash!” she whisper-hissed. “We can’t!”
I scoffed at her, pushing the flap of our tent’s entry back and ducking us until we were inside. Dropping to my knees, I smoothed my hands over her ass, keeping her against me as I kissed up and down her neck.
“Seriously, babe.” She arched her head back, closing her eyes as I gently nipped against her collarbone. “Connell, Wade, and Sadie will be back soon.”
I pinned her with a gaze that easily screamed how little I cared about that. Turning, I quickly zipped up the tent, sealing us inside. Her eyes widened, and she bit down on her lip when I lowered her over the sleeping bags that had been our bed for weeks. She locked her ankles behind me, grinding against what had already grown hard in my shorts.
“Wait, Dash,” she said, her voice breathless as her eyes fluttered. “What if they hear us?”
I leaned back enough to arch an eyebrow at her. “Three of them are underwater and two of them are inside the lost City of Gold.”
She chuckled, and the vibrations did wonders to our current position.
“If you don’t want me right now, that’s different,” I said, pushing back a few strands of hair that had come lose from her knot. “But even if they were right outside, I don’t give a damn. I love you, Blake. We’re in the presence of an ancient city, and there is a tropical storm heading our way. And having you here, knowing that I get to experience all of this with you, makes me feel like the luckiest man on the planet. Keeping my hands to myself isn’t an option—unless you order me to.”
A small smile played on her lips, which were slightly swollen from my kiss. “Order you, huh?” She ran the tips of her fingers underneath the hem of my shirt and chills broke across my skin. “I could get into that.” She arched her hips upward, rolling the warmth I could feel through her shorts against my cock.
I growled, pressing into her as I worked my hand up her side to cup her breast. “Blake,” I warned. “Tell me now you want this before I combust.”
She bit my bottom lip. “I want you, Dash. Always.”
I didn’t need to be told twice. I slanted
my mouth over hers, stroking her tongue with mine until I left her gasping for breath. She frantically pulled down my shorts and briefs, and I didn’t waste any time unlacing either of our boots—just jerked her clothes down as far as I needed.
“Dash,” she gasped when I entered her and I groaned, realizing she was more than ready for me. “Oh God,” she said a little louder, and I couldn’t stop the grin on my face. I raised up slightly, enough to hold my hand over her mouth as I pumped inside her.
“Fuck,” I hissed as I felt her clenching around me already. “Blake—”
She covered my mouth with her hand and rocked underneath me, torturing me and consuming me at the same time. As we helped each other remain quiet, I slowed the pace, taking my time to feel every inch of her around me, and grazed my free hand up and down her soft skin.
God this woman—my wife—was perfect for me on every single level. We could work, we could play, we could love, and we could get lost to our passions anywhere, anytime. I didn’t know I could fall any more in love with her than I already was . . . but I did. Every. Damn. Day.
As she rolled her hips against me, I watched her come undone for the second time, her eyelids fluttering as she moaned into my hand. Nothing was as beautiful as watching her fall apart, and nothing felt as amazing as crashing over that edge with her.
Afterward, I released her mouth, soothing her lips with kisses as we caught our breath. Adjusting our position so Blake could rest her head on my chest, I softly ran my fingers through her hair until her breathing evened out so much that I knew she’d fallen asleep. Unable to blame her, I relished in the soothing moment before the storm.
Sounds of the rainforest filtered inside the tent, and knowing a new kind of storm was approaching—something we could both enjoy, appreciate, and study together—I couldn’t dream up a life more perfect. There wasn’t a better team, or better woman I’d want by my side as we took on new adventure after new adventure. And though Daniel was no longer our producer because he quit the studio, Casey had taken over funding for our storm-chasing show, too. So, the possibilities were now endless.
