Embattled Ever After (Lost and Found Series Book 5)

by J. M. Madden

  Alexandra’s eyes were dazed, fuzzy with contentment, but she managed to give him a seductive smile. “I don’t know how you haven’t been snatched up yet. That was mind-blowing.”

  Duncan grinned, loving that he’d satisfied her so well. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

  He was surprised when she pushed him over and straddled his thighs. His dick seemed to know that release was mere inches away, but he waited to see what she would do.

  Leaning down, she took his mouth in a soft, lingering kiss, not seeming to care her essence lingered on his lips and chin. Instead, she angled her head further and deepened the kiss. The taste of her, the excitement, fed him like nothing else.

  Then she pulled away and began pressing kisses down his chin, down his neck to his chest. Duncan savored her soft, glancing touch. It had been a long time since he’d been taken care of this way.

  Eventually she bumped into the head of his cock, and he held his breath while he waited for her next move. She just continued kissing—down the length, around the crown, back up the underside. She handled him with care and firmness, and when she took him into her mouth he groaned. The hot, wet heat liquefied his bones, but he gave himself up to the experience. And what an experience it was. This woman knew how to give a blow-job.

  It seemed like just moments before he was at the edge of climax. He fisted his hands into her hair and gave her subtle suggestions, but overall just enjoyed the pleasure she was giving him. And when he came, he expected her to pull away but she just drank him down.

  Recovery from a ride like that didn’t come quickly, but when Alex rubbed her way back up his body, he had to open his eyes and look at her. “You are a great pain reliever. For a solid five minutes you give my brain something to do other than dwell on pain.”

  Grinning, she propped her chin on her stacked hands on his chest. “Good! Glad I could help.”

  Folding an arm under his head, Duncan tried to remember what he’d decided early this morning. Oh yeah, they weren’t good for each other. She was too damn young. It was hard to feel anything with conviction right this second, though. He still felt too satisfied.

  Her hands had begun to wander and he felt her fingers drift over his ribs, and the black ink tattoo there. There was a soldier’s cross, as well as a list of names.

  “Those are all guys I lost on my deployments,” he told her. “I’ll always remember their names, but I wanted something more of them. For them.”

  “I thought it was something like that. That’s a hell of a list.”

  Sighing, he looked at her. “We were in some very bad places.”

  “It’s a beautifully done piece.”

  Her face radiated compassion. Like she understood what he felt.

  “I keep a personal journal,” she murmured, “of people and cases that stand out in my career. It may be a little strange but I feel like it keeps me on my toes. Keeps me looking for things missed. Their lives meant something to me.”

  Duncan looked at her more sharply. “Yes. Most of those guys were less than twenty-two years old. Barely even had time to be men, but they meant something to me. They saved lives and they protected their country.”

  “Yes, they did.”

  It had been a long time since he’d been involved with anyone and his emotions felt scraped raw. Nothing he’d done or said or showed her had deterred her attention, and he was at a bit of a loss. For so long he’d been alone, and lonely, but unwilling to open himself up to anyone. Yes, he’d dated here and there, but they’d been easily forgotten.

  In his mind he kept ticking off points on why they couldn’t be together, but there weren’t that many. Maybe he should just enjoy the time he had with her.

  “I planned on going in to work for a while today,” he told her. “You can either join me or stay here. Or if you drop me off you can take my truck if you’d like to get out and do something.”

  She glanced at him as she sat up, and he was distracted by the long line of her graceful back. Her breasts were tipped up and beautiful and her long torso smooth.

  Her laugh focused his attention on her. “Sorry,” he told her with a grin. “I was distracted.”

  “I can tell. What I said was, if you don’t mind, I would love to come with you and see your company. And if you have room, I can do some computer work as well.”

  He nodded, sitting up and preparing to swing his legs out. “Of course. You will have my office at your disposal.”

  Then, biting the proverbial bullet, he hoisted his legs to the side of the bed. Yup. Blazing agony down the right side of his hips. He settled his feet to the floor and waited for it to settle to a dull throb.

  Light fingers brushed over the burn scars on his back and he paused, letting her explore. That’s right, she probably hadn’t seen these yet. “When the helicopter went down behind me,” he told her softly, “it blew me to the ground. I remember scorching pain, but not much after that. When I woke up several days later about fifty percent of my back had been burned, mostly around the edges of my flack jacket. That’s why it’s kind of smooth in the middle and rough at the outside. The metal plates in the jacket did their job but the fabric embedded itself in my skin.”

  He felt her fingers brush over the very center of his back, the clearest part of his skin, and wished he could give her that all over. Then her fingers drifted down over his hip scars. “They put pins into my pelvis to hold it together. But the last doctor’s visit he told me that the ball of my hip was degenerating from rubbing on the head of one of the screws.”

  She sighed behind him. “Which means going in and redoing the pins and probably a hip replacement.”

  He glanced at her again, impressed with her estimation. “That is completely correct. Full hip replacement suggested.”

  Duncan pushed to his feet, leaving her tender touch. He couldn’t resist turning to look at her though. Damn, she was a stunning woman. Her skin was so creamy white, just perfect, but her chest was still a little flushed from pleasure. “You’re welcome to join me in the shower.”

  She grinned and bounced across the mattress to him. “Thank you. I would love to.”

  Duncan regretted the invitation almost immediately. He usually sat down in the shower, on his custom built bench. If she was in there he wouldn’t feel comfortable while she stood over him. He’d just have to keep his feet today.

  Watching her hips sway into the bathroom, he wondered at the sense of contentment he felt. It seemed like she didn’t mind being here or anything she’d seen yet.

  The quick shower he’d planned on ending up taking a little longer than expected, but once again he found himself basking in her attention. She lathered him from head to foot, scratching itches he didn’t even realize he had. Then he did the same for her, exploring every peak and valley of her delectable body. They dried each other off and for the first time in a long time Duncan realized he wasn’t in a rush to get to work. He needed to go in, but it was the day after Christmas, after all. There was nothing urgent he needed to do. All of his people knew where they needed to be when and could call him any time.

  Actually…

  He glanced at the bedside table. No phone. “Back in a sec.”

  Though the house was cold he padded down the hallway looking for his phone. He found it in his pants pocket in the laundry room, and the battery was almost dead. There was a message from Julie. Please call me when you get a chance.

  Sent last night. Damn. He plugged his phone into a quick charger and headed back to get dressed. Alex had disappeared and he heard her rummaging in the closet of the room next door.

  Duncan pulled on a pair of boxer briefs and jeans, then grabbed a button-down shirt and a blue quarter zip from his closet. He found he was taking a little more care with his appearance than he normally did, and cursed. Since when had he ever primped for a woman?

  Once he was dressed he headed back out to the kitchen, and the phone on the charger. At least the battery wasn’t in the red anymore.

 
; He sent Julie a text to be sure she would be up, and she called him right back.

  “Hey, Mr. Wilde, sorry to bother you, but I wanted to talk about Gabriel for a minute.”

  “You’re not bothering me at all, Julie. Sorry I didn’t see your message sooner.”

  “It’s okay.” She took a heavy breath, like she was getting ready to run. “I think Gabe is having issues with civilian life.”

  Duncan had heard that sentiment before, many times actually, so he wasn’t really surprised. Gabriel Carter, his most recent hire, had just taken a medical discharge from the Navy a few months ago and they’d moved out here from Little Creek, Virginia. Gabe’s swim buddy Butter had committed suicide not long before that, and Duncan knew he’d been struggling, so the change of scenery had been good. He and Julie had both been struggling, because their friendship had gone three ways. They’d always been a trio, and there was a lot of guilt floating between them that they hadn’t seen Butter’s issues sooner. And, he thought there was probably a lot of guilt in the fact that they were first together some time ago, Julie and Gabe had broken up when Butter had thought he had feelings for Julie. The two of them had reunited in the aftermath of Butter’s suicide and were very much in love.

  Duncan wished he could just tell them to chill out and let things happen. Guilt didn’t do anyone any good. But he struggled with similar issues, so it was hard to preach to anybody else about the subject.

  “Okay, Julie. Is there anything in particular bothering him? Or just in general?”

  She sighed over the line. “Kind of just in general. Graveyard shift is good for him I think, but when he’s not on duty he paces and stews. He’ll sit in the chair with his hands on his knees and just not say anything until I say his name. Or if he can’t sleep, he’ll sit in the garage at his gun bench and just polish and oil everything in the safe over and over again.”

  Duncan frowned. He’d definitely heard worse. “I’ll talk to him today sometime. Maybe I’ll see him when I go in to the office this morning.”

  “Okay. Thank you so much. We have our Christmas planned for next weekend because of our schedules, but I can tell he doesn’t want to participate in any kind of celebration, even if it’s just the two of us.”

  “Okay, Julie. Let me see what I can dig out of him.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Wilde. I really do appreciate it.”

  “No problem.”

  The inability to integrate back into civilian life was a common issue, but one that needed to be dealt with sooner rather than later. He would head into the office and see if Gabe was there. If not, he’d track him down and have a word.

  While he waited for Alex to get dressed, he opened the door on the garage and used the remote start on the truck. That starter was one of the best things he’d ever spent his money on.

  While he waited for the truck to warm he grabbed a banana from the browning bunch and took a bite. He really did need to get a few groceries at some point.

  Alex came into the kitchen and he paused mid-chew, stunned at what a blow dryer and a little make-up did to her. Now, he liked the natural look as well as any man, but there was something about knowing a woman had taken care with her appearance just for you that made a man feel extraordinary. When she met his eyes, she knew he was affected and a slow smile spread across her dark pink lips. Then she crossed the kitchen to him and holding his gaze, leaned down to take a bite of the banana in his hand.

  Duncan swallowed, his dick warming with arousal.

  “Hmm… I usually like them a little more firm.” She winked at him audaciously, then headed out the door to the garage.

  Damn, but that woman was going to kill him. Ridiculously pleased though, he grinned and followed her out the door.

  Chapter Nine

  Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty.

  Gabe shifted the thirty-five pound barbell to his right hand and started counting again.

  There was a haze that he settled into. Lifting weights and counting didn’t require any special brain power or motivation, and he actually found himself ticking off the hours here. Julie… well, Julie probably wondered where he was. He hadn’t said much when he’d left. He couldn’t, the claustrophobia had been crushing.

  Living and working in Colorado had been an epic shift for him. Leaving the Navy SEALs had been hard, but when he’d met the guys at the Lost and Found company, he’d felt an immediate acceptance. In typical military fashion, he’d had to be the ‘new guy’ for a while. Until he’d proven himself with the other men, he’d be given the shit jobs and expected to excel.

  Which was why he was in the office alone, manning the silent phones and waiting for something to happen. It was the day after Christmas, though and not much was going to happen.

  Keeping one ear out for any phone calls that might come in, he’d started working out. Losing himself in the burn of muscles and gasping for oxygen, he let his mind drift.

  So lost in his reps, he didn’t see anyone else in the room until Duncan Wilde stepped in front of him. Gabe jerked, his dopamine addled brain ready to fight until he realized who it was. He dropped the weight to the padded floor.

  “Sir,” he gasped, dragging in oxygen.

  Duncan grinned at him. “Good burn?”

  Gabe blinked, then nodded his head. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry. I’ll get dressed.”

  Duncan waved a hand at him. “Don’t worry about it, Gabe. I’m going to go work for a while, catch up on a few things.” He held out a hand and Gabe realized a woman stood at the door. “This is Dr. Alex Hartfield. She’ll be working in the office with me for a while.”

  Gabe nodded a hello, a little shocked at the woman’s appearance. She was a knockout. Dark auburn hair curling around her shoulders, pretty green eyes behind square black glasses. He looked back at Duncan but he was looking at the woman as well, and Gabe had been attached long enough to know that look. That was the ‘I just want to look at you because you’re so beautiful’ look. He’d caught himself doing it with Julie more times than was probably acceptable. But he couldn’t help himself. And judging by Duncan’s look, he couldn’t either.

  As if suddenly realizing what he was doing, Duncan tapped his cane on the floor. “Anyway, I’ll be in my office. Alex will settle wherever she wants to work.”

  The woman smiled and shook her head. “I can work anywhere. Believe me. Just give me a place to park and I’ll make do.”

  They left the rec room. Gabe watched her as her gaze drifted over Duncan, watching for anything negative, but she just smiled more broadly as he crossed to her. And there was a light in her eyes that suggested she wanted more than just his attention. Eventually she turned and sauntered down the hallway, peering into offices as she went. Duncan limped along behind her, slender black cane swinging.

  Gabe had never seen Duncan with anyone before, so he was a little surprised. He’d heard some break room chatter about bringing her in for the Christmas Eve party, but he hadn’t listened too closely because he wasn’t attending.

  Turning back to his previous position he picked the dumbbell off the mat again and started working his lats. But he was a little distracted now. Dropping the weights back to the rack he took a swig from his water bottle, then moved to the treadmill. Might as well get it over with.

  A few months ago he’d been shot by one of his own teammates. The man hadn’t meant to shoot him of course, he’d just been a stupid kid still wet behind the ears. Unfortunately, that kid had cost him the use of his right leg. The gunshot wound had very nearly destroyed the leg and it was a miracle he could even jog on it now. He’d learned though, that the muscles needed to be worked and stretched all the time just to keep him at a decent mobility level. He just hated getting on the treadmill in front of people, because it showed them exactly what his weakness was.

  Three miles later, gasping in pain, he was still glancing out of the corner of his eye, as if expecting someone to interrupt him. Or maybe he was waiting for someone to interrupt him. Talking to Duncan f
or a few minutes sounded appealing. The man had experience out the ass, and maybe he could tell Gabe why he wasn’t settling in right.

  He made himself finish four miles in spite of the pain, then he headed to the showers to get cleaned up. When he came out he checked his cell phone. Julie had texted him and called. Damn. Maybe he would call her back in a little bit, before she headed to work at the hospital.

  Slipping the phone into his pocket he headed toward the front of the office. The redhead, Alex, sat at Shannon’s desk typing furiously on a MacAir and barely even glanced up when he passed. Duncan’s office door was open and as soon as Gabe peered around the corner Duncan waved him in.

  “Hey, buddy. Give that treadmill a good stretch?”

  Gabe grinned and nodded his head, wondering how Duncan had known he’d been on the machine. Had he come down and Gabe hadn’t even seen him? “I did. Only did four miles, though.” He massaged his right quad muscle, wondering if it would ever be as good as it had been before he’d been shot.

  Duncan rocked back in his chair, crossing his arms over his muscular chest. “Do you know how long it’s been since I had a good run? Probably… ten years, something like that. It’s been a while.”

  His dark eyes turned sad and Gabe suddenly felt guilty for exercising, and even guiltier for worrying about people seeing him. “Mr. Wilde, sir…”

  Duncan waved him off. “Don’t worry about it, Gabe. I let it go a long time ago.”

  He leaned forward in his chair and waved Gabe to the one opposite him. “Have a seat. How are you settling in?”