Undercover Agent

by Slade, Heather

  36

  Emerson

  “It’s okay, Mom, I really didn’t expect you and Dad to come down tomorrow.” I was watching the snow plow clear my street out of my kitchen window; I couldn’t imagine how much harder it would be for them to plow in a city like Boston. Newport was tiny by comparison in both size and population.

  “We’ll make it up to you next week, sweetheart. Your dad and I are both so proud of you.”

  “It’s just an associate professorship, Mom.” She said something I couldn’t understand. “You’re breaking up.”

  “Sorry, honey, I had my hand over the phone. Your dad wants to talk to you.”

  “Hey, Emme…” I heard my dad say as a car pulled up in front of my building. It looked a lot like the Jaguar Tommy had told me he’d borrowed from Angel. In fact, it was the same one. I was sure of it. What was he doing back here?

  “Emme?”

  “Sorry, Dad. I need to call you back.” I ended the call and watched as the two front doors and one in the back opened. I held my breath when I saw Simon get out of the passenger side. My eyes filled with tears when I saw Lynx get out of the driver’s side.

  He looked up, and I raised my hand, not knowing if he could see me or not. I dropped my phone on the counter when he raised his in answer.

  I pulled the sash of the robe that covered my flannel pajamas tighter and looked down at the bunny slippers I’d worn last night, mostly for Eleanor’s and Elizabeth’s sake. It wasn’t the sexiest look, but I didn’t have time to worry about that.

  Racing down the hallway, I opened the door and stuck my head into the guest room. “Bridget,” I whispered, hoping I could wake her without doing the same with the twins.

  She opened her eyes and sat up.

  “Simon is here,” I whispered. “With Lynx.”

  “Oh my God.” She threw the covers off and got out of bed. At least we were both equally unsexy looking since she’d borrowed one of my other pairs of flannel pj’s. “We’ll get the girls up and get out of here as fast as we can.”

  “No, I mean, don’t feel like you have to hurry.”

  She smiled at me. “Right. We won’t hurry. In fact, I think we’ll hang out here with you all day. You won’t mind that, right?”

  I was about to tell her to shut up when I heard a knock at my door and froze.

  “Go,” Bridget said, pushing me out of the doorway and toward the front door.

  I wiped my sweaty hands on my pajama bottoms and took a deep breath, wishing I’d brushed my teeth again after I drank a cup of coffee. When I stopped walking, Bridget gave me another push.

  I put my hand on the doorknob and slowly turned it. I couldn’t speak when I saw Lynx standing on the other side.

  “Emerson,” he said, opening it the rest of the way, pushing inside, and wrapping his arms around my waist. He leaned down and rested his forehead against mine. “Do you have any idea how happy I am to see you?”

  “What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy that you’re here. It’s just that I haven’t heard from you since you left. I mean, I know about your brother, so I understand—”

  At the same time Lynx grasped the back of my neck with his hands, his lips covered mine in a kiss.

  I felt two people brush past us. If they said anything, I didn’t hear it. All I could hear was the blood pumping in my body as my heart beat out of my chest.

  Lynx’s tongue thrust into my mouth and wound around mine. I tightened my grasp around his neck, never wanting to let go.

  I lost track of time while Lynx pressed harder into our kiss, running his hands over my body. I gasped when he covered my breasts with his hands. I tried to break our kiss to look around for Bridget and her family, but he brought one hand back to my neck and held me in place.

  “Thanks for the ride,” I heard Simon say.

  “Welcome,” Lynx answered, briefly breaking our kiss only to dive right back in when we heard my front door open and then, several seconds later, close behind my friend, his cousin, and their family.

  Lynx lifted me into his arms. “Bedroom?”

  “That way,” I said, pointing down the hall.

  He stalked there, holding my body close to his and then set me on my feet.

  When I started to untie the sash of my robe, he stopped me. “I’ll do it,” he growled.

  Within seconds, I stood before him naked and watched as he removed his clothes. He pushed me onto the bed, shackling my hands above my head with one hand while he crushed my mouth with his.

  I couldn’t stop myself from bucking beneath him.

  “Hold still,” he said, covering my body with his and then dipping his head to my straining nipple. The sharp sting of his bite fed my arousal to the point where I thrashed beneath him. I could feel his steely erection slide between my slick folds. I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked my ankles.

  Slowly, he eased into my wetness, only picking up his pace when he was in as far as he could go. He reared back and thrust in again, pounding into me in a rhythm I had come to crave.

  He drove into me again and again with heavy grunts of exertion. I tightened my thighs as his shaft jerked against my body’s small contractions, clutching his amazing cock.

  “Yes, now, now…” I cried, my nails digging into the flesh of his back.

  “Fucking, yes, Emerson. Now!” he demanded, surging into me harder, faster, deeper.

  I felt myself coming apart beneath him, my orgasm only intensifying when I felt him come inside me. He wrapped his arm around the back of my knee, opening me wider as he continued to surge inside me.

  “I can’t get enough of you,” he groaned. Just when I thought he’d stop and roll his body next to mine, he roared back with an unexpected urgency. “Fuck,” he cried out again, and I could feel him emptying still more inside me.

  I started to move, but Lynx latched onto my butt, holding me against him.

  “I’m not letting you go, Emerson. Not ever.”

  “I don’t want you to.”

  He pulled back and looked into my eyes, his big hand still clenching my bottom. “I love you,” he said, his green eyes piercing mine. “You’re mine, now and forever.”

  “I love you too, Lynx.”

  “Say it again,” he growled.

  “I love you, Lynx.”

  “Now say the rest.”

  “I want you to fuck me senseless.”

  He smiled. “Not exactly what I was looking for, but I’ll take it.”

  “I’m yours, Lynx, and you’re mine. Now and forever.”

  —:—

  “I should call Bridget and apologize. I didn’t even say goodbye. Or thank her,” I said hours later when I rolled out of bed. Every inch, every muscle of my body ached from being sucked, laved, kneaded, fucked, but mainly and mostly—loved.

  Instead of getting up to look for my phone, I watched Lynx pad his way to the bathroom, remembering how I’d ogled his ass the morning I passed him as he went into my building and I went out. It was so much better than with clothes covering it.

  He turned around and smiled, holding his hand out to me. “Shower with me,” he said, and I smiled back.

  “I think we should take a bath instead.” I led him down the hallway to the guest bath and pushed the door open. The claw-foot tub had been the main reason I’d rented the apartment, even though at the time, I wondered if I’d ever use it.

  —:—

  “How long can you stay?” I asked him as we sat at the dining room table and nibbled leftover Brazilian food Bridget and I had brought back with us last night.

  “About that…”

  I raised my eyes and looked into his.

  “There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”

  “Okay,” I murmured, dreading whatever it was he was about to say.

  “I’m leaving MI6.”

  “Oh.”

  He reached over and put his hand on mine. “I want you to know that I made the decision to do so several days ago
.”

  I was almost afraid to breathe. What did this mean? I had no idea.

  “I’m sure you’re aware that my brother was injured during the op in which Saint and Dr. Benjamin were extracted.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t know what details you’ve been made aware of…”

  “None, really,” I murmured.

  “There was a chance he might not regain use of his right hand and arm.”

  I gasped, and he squeezed my fingers.

  “He doesn’t have full mobility yet, but he’s very close, and while my leaving MI6 won’t mean I’ll avoid being in situations where my life might be threatened or I’ll face certain danger, what I do know is that when I’m not working, I want to spend every moment possible with you, Emerson.”

  I kept my gaze focused on him but wasn’t sure what to say.

  He took a deep breath. “When I am working, I want the ability to choose what missions I’ll accept.” He scrubbed his face with his hand. “I wish you’d say something, my darling.”

  “I want to spend every moment with you too.”

  He smiled, and the tension around his eyes melted away. “I’m very happy to hear that.”

  “What will you do?”

  “I’ve been extended an offer from the firm where Keon is a partner.”

  I’d just been offered an associate professorship, but at that moment, I realized that if I had to move to Texas to be with Lynx, I would. “Where will you live?” I asked.

  “Wherever you do.”

  My eyes opened wide. “What do you mean?”

  “Boston. Here. Cape Cod. Timbuktu. It doesn’t matter where we live, Emerson. As long as we’re together, that’s all I care about.”

  “You said you were extended an offer…”

  “I haven’t given MI6 my final resignation yet.”

  “Why not?”

  He cupped my cheek with his hand. “I had to talk to you first. Make sure you…”

  I covered his hand with mine. “Make sure I…what?”

  “Felt the same way about me as I feel about you.”

  “You know I do.”

  “Yes. I do.”

  “So what will you do now?”

  Lynx stood so abruptly it startled me. He reached under me, and suddenly, I was in his arms. “I’m going to fuck you senseless,” he said right before his mouth captured mine.

  Epilogue

  Lynx

  Three Years Later

  When I came out of the kitchen door and stood on the back porch, I could see my wife and her parents sitting on the sand. Our two-year-old son, Finn Arlo—his middle name, for my father—sat between his grandparents. Emerson held our one-year-old daughter, Charlie Annaliese—her middle name, for my mother—on her lap. From where I stood, I could see the baby rubbing her mum’s belly, endlessly chattering at her brother or sister, who would arrive in the fall.

  My cousin Simon and his family were scheduled to arrive this afternoon, as was my brother. We might even see Saint, Angel, and Typhon before the Fourth of July holiday weekend was over.

  I looked out at Cape Cod Bay and thought back to the summer when I imagined this could one day be my life, afraid to speak the words aloud even to myself, and now, here I was, my every dream realized.

  My beautiful Emerson insisted she loved being pregnant as much as she loved being a mother. She still taught at the War College, but more and more, she gave up her lectures in Newport, and offered them online instead.

  Last night, as we laid on the hanging daybed on the back porch, we agreed that our third child would be named for her father and brother regardless of whether the baby was a boy or a girl. The spelling would vary, as would the middle name. I’d made the offer when Finn was born, but my lovingly sensitive wife said she wasn’t ready to bestow that particular name.

  I’d learned straight away, when I was an undercover MI6 agent and she an international policy writer, that in most matters, my wife was far smarter and quite a bit more capable than I—with the exception of cooking, which I was happy to take on, particularly since I’d given up most missions in favor of becoming the U.S. Chief Operating Officer of the Invincible Intelligence and Security Group. Rile was my European counterpart, and Typhon was in charge of Asian operations.

  We’d grown from the original four, plus me, to a total of twenty-five agents who operated all over the world.

  I watched as Emerson handed baby Charlie to her grandmother and walked in my direction.

  “Everything okay?” she asked, wrapping her arms around my waist. I kissed the top of her head, where the scar from her staples only showed when her hair was wet.

  “Everything is perfect,” I murmured, moving her hair so I could nip the soft skin on her neck.

  “Are you sure you won’t mind my parents keeping Finn and Charlie here with them next week?”

  “Are you sure you won’t mind?” I rested my hand on her belly, loving that being pregnant didn’t stop her from wearing a bikini, or better yet, walk naked as often as privacy would allow.

  “We need to find a bigger house,” she said, tapping her lower lip with her fingertips.

  We’d given up the apartment in Boston when we were pregnant with our first child. Two apartments, actually, since Rashid and David were fully ensconced in Emerson’s.

  We had a house in Newport, but our family was quickly outgrowing it. Next week, we would decide whether to sell it and buy a bigger place there or choose another city entirely. Honestly, I didn’t care where we lived. All that mattered to me was that Emerson was happy.

  “I should get Charlie,” she said, watching as her parents stood to come up to the house. “She’s probably hungry.”

  I checked the time. Finn was likely ready for a nap as well.

  “I’d like to talk to the two of you for a minute,” said Rick.

  Rebecca handed Charlie to Emerson and took Finn’s hand, leading him inside.

  “Wait!” Emerson cried, and Finn came running back.

  “Love you, Mum,” he said in words that only my wife and I understood. When she knelt down, Finn put his arms around her and Charlie and gave them both a kiss.

  “I bet your grandmum will read you a story if you ask nicely,” she said before he ran back to Rebecca and put his tiny hand in hers. I couldn’t imagine a better life for our children, and was thankful for the amount of time Emerson’s parents spent with our family.

  Emerson sat down at the patio table and got Charlie settled on her breast. It was a sight I would never tire of.

  Rick motioned for me to take a seat before he did the same. He folded his hands and rested them on the table.

  “Your mother and I have given this a lot of thought, and we’ve decided to downsize.”

  “What does that mean?” Emerson asked.

  He pulled what looked like a real estate flier from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to his daughter.

  “You’re buying the house next door?” she gasped. “But…why?” Her eyes met mine, and I recognized her silent pleas.

  “Rick,” I began, but before I could say another word, he held up his hand.

  “We want our grandchildren to be as close as possible, year-round, and I can’t think of a better place to grow up than on the bay.”

  “You want us to buy this house?” she asked him, but then looked at me. “Can we afford it? I mean, I know we can afford it, but, Dad, you’re kind of putting us on the spot. We need to talk this over, and—”

  “Emme, the house is already yours. Yours and Lynx’s if you both want it. Your mother and I signed the quitclaim deed this morning.” He pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ll give you two some time to talk it over.”

  “What do you think?” she murmured.

  “It’s where our life together truly began.”

  “I never dreamed this would be our life.”

  I leaned over and kissed my beloved daughter’s tiny hand, and then kissed my beloved wife. “I did.”


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  at the first book in

  Heather Slade’s newest series,

  The Invincibles,

  Decked

  Decked

  As I drove home from the airport after my flight back from London, something on the side of the road caught my eye. What the hell was that? Couldn’t be a deer, not in these parts. It wasn’t big enough to be a cow, unless it was a damn skinny one.

  I stopped the truck and climbed out, at first thinking it might be a mannequin someone had tossed by the road, until it started to moan.

  “What in the—” I rushed over and saw it was a woman. It was dark, and she was on her side, but I didn’t recognize her. She was pretty enough that if she was from around here, I sure as hell would’ve.

  “Don’t move,” I said when the woman tried to sit up. I leaned down farther and eased my hand under her head. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “I have to go,” she cried, trying again to move. “He’ll kill me.”

  “Who’s gonna kill you?”

  “My…”

  That was the last word the woman said before she first lost consciousness and then died with her head resting on Decker’s hand.

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  Decked

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