Embattled Ever After (Lost and Found Series Book 5)

by J. M. Madden

  Gabe took the offered seat and wondered what he should tell his boss. That he couldn’t sleep when he got off shift because he felt like there was more to do? Or that he couldn’t walk down the street without settling into the old head-on-a-swivel routine? Or that his girlfriend worried that he was going off the deep end because he refused to socialize. “I’m doing good, sir.”

  Duncan stared at him for a long minute, as if weighing his words. Gabe suddenly felt like he was sitting in the principal’s office again, about to get his ass reamed for pranking the substitute teacher. But there was also a sense of concern radiating from Duncan.

  “When I came back from Iraq,” he said, “I was out of it for a long time. Had a lot of injuries so they had to keep me unconscious for a while. Then I was in the hospital recovering for another six months. Something like that. So when I actually left the hospital, I’d had a chance to kind of get used to stateside again. Letting go of the weapons wasn’t an issue, and the nurses kept us on a schedule, to a certain extent. So when I walked out the door, or hobbled, I guess—the world wasn’t a total shock to me. I’d watched so much TV I’d gotten sick of it, so I had a better idea of the social climate. You haven’t had much of a chance to acclimate, yet. So I thought I’d see if you’d like a little guidance with that.”

  Gabe blinked, surprised at the man’s insight. But he really shouldn’t have been. Duncan Wilde was one of the most insightful men he’d ever encountered. Gabe knew he was struggling with the real world. So what could it hurt to hear the man out?

  “What do you suggest?”

  “I suggest you get out and do things, even though it makes you uncomfortable. I suggest you keep a schedule, but not a military schedule. You have the ability to take it a little easier now. Take Julie out for dinner and go shopping at Target when it’s not so busy. Get used to the world around you. It’s very different than living on base but if you give it time, it will get easier. And if it ever becomes overwhelming, you are always welcome to shelter here if you need to.”

  Gabe swallowed and shrugged a little. “I’ve been here a good bit already. I don’t mind graveyard shift and the off days. I think Julie is having to get used to it, but we’ll figure it out.”

  “Remember to keep her in the loop. If you’re having issues, you need to let her know. You get me? Julie has an excellent head on her shoulders and I have a feeling she would understand anything you’d tell her.”

  He was completely right. He and Julie were friends for a long time before they became lovers and he knew he could tell her anything he needed to. But in spite of his best efforts he’d already disappointed her. Though she said otherwise, he could see it in her eyes. “I’ll talk to her.”

  Duncan nodded, obviously expecting nothing less. “I’ll hold down the fort until afternoon shift gets here. Go home. Did you get her a good Christmas present?”

  Gabe winced. “Not really. It was kind of last minute. I’ve been distracted. She had to work Christmas Day so we’re celebrating next weekend when she has time off.”

  Duncan frowned at him, taking off his glasses. “Well, the stores are open. Why don’t you go remedy that since you have time? Is this your first Christmas together?”

  With a knot in his gut, he realized Duncan was right. Julie, his ever patient Julie, had always been there for him. After Butter, his swim buddy in the Teams, had committed suicide, he and Julie had been together almost constantly. When his leg had gotten obliterated, she’d been right there with him. He loved her more than anyone else on Earth and she understood him better than he could ever imagine anyone understanding him.

  Duncan was right. It was their first Christmas and he needed to find her a new Christmas present, something with meaning that would show her how he felt about her.

  Chapter Ten

  Alex smiled as she thought of Gabriel, the tall, dark, former SEAL leaving the office with determination shining in his eyes. Duncan had given him that motivation. Actually, Gabe had already had it, it just needed direction.

  It also told her something else important. Duncan was a bit of a romantic.

  She’d listened to him give his advice and been warmed by the caring she could hear in his voice. He’d told her on the way over that Gabriel was the newest hire, and that his girlfriend was concerned about his reintegration. But he hadn’t said that outright. Gabe was a smart guy. He knew he was having problems. And Duncan didn’t take the easy way out and throw Julie under the bus with her concerns. He’d gently guided Gabe into seeing what was before him.

  Alex hoped he found her something awesome for Christmas.

  She listened for movement from Duncan’s office, but he didn’t move. She heard him tapping on his computer and doing shuffling things, but he never left the cave. Alex forced herself to focus on the research paper in front of her.

  It was supposed to forward her career, but at the moment she had other things on her mind. She piddled around and poured out some theories and pontifications, but the whole time her attention was on the man in the other room. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer.

  Pushing to her feet she wandered over to the doorway. Duncan eventually looked up, wireless glasses perched on his strong nose. “Are you doing okay?” he asked her.

  Alex shrugged, slipping off her own glasses and tucking them in the V of her shirt. “I thought I would go scrape up some coffee. Want some?”

  Duncan nodded, already turning back to the computer screen. “I’d appreciate that, thank you. Black.”

  Alex frowned but turned away, wishing he’d offered to show her where it was. Well, maybe she’d find another way to distract him.

  She found the makings for coffee in the break room. There was a Keurig there, and she brewed up two steaming cups in no time, then she carried them back to the reception area. She sat her cup on Shannon’s desk, then she carried Duncan’s inside, setting it next to his computer. He barely glanced up, so Alex moved behind his chair to rub her hands over his shoulders. Duncan paused as she ran her fingers through his salt and pepper hair that was getting a little long in the back. “Your hair is surprisingly soft.”

  He snorted and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. “I think it’s because I’m in the hot tub so often, almost every night.”

  “Hmm… you’re probably right.”

  Alex ran her fingers through the hair at his temples, then back across his scalp. It was so thick. Much thicker than her own hair. And though Duncan was older, there was no sign of male-pattern baldness. He wasn’t even thinning.

  This man stirred her like no one else ever had. He worked out and had mouthwatering muscles beneath the sedate business outfit. There was an evenness to his features that made him incredibly handsome, his jaw square and his dark eyes deep set. Great genetics, all in all. And now, thinking back, she realized his parents were just as good looking, though obviously older.

  As she massaged the skin at the nape of his neck, her own body warmed. They had done incredible things last night. “Any adverse affects from your exertions last night?”

  He glanced at her again, eyebrow raised. “Actually, no. I’m a little achy, but I believe it was definitely caused by hitting the deck when that shotgun went off.”

  “Hmm… that’s good to know.” She paused, then moved her hands down his chest. “So there’s nothing to keep you from engaging in further exertions?”

  She felt his chest jerk with laughter. “No, nothing at all.”

  He pressed a couple of buttons on the keyboard before she spun his chair around. “I have to admit,” she told him, setting his glasses aside, “I was a little worried. I mean, it was more action than I’d seen in a long time and I thought I would be sore, but instead my libido has shifted into a higher gear. And I find myself craving you again. I waited as long as I could before I interrupted you.”

  Lines creased at the corners of his eyes as he smiled. “I’m always open to interruptions. What do you suggest we do about this craving?”

 
; Alex flicked her eyes around the office, debating options. “What would be easiest for you?”

  Duncan glanced around as well, then motioned to the desk. “This is about hip height to me.”

  She glanced at the massive desk and nodded. “It is indeed. Nobody is due into the office for a while, correct?”

  “Correct, but you should lock the office door just in case.”

  Alex walked across the room, excitement humming in her blood. As soon as he’d started to respond to her, her body had begun to warm. Duncan would have a creamy welcome when they got down to business.

  When she returned, Duncan had cleared what he could from his desk. The laptop had been put away as well as all of the writing materials. Wouldn’t do to get a pen in the ass.

  He glanced at the grin on her face, then paused to look at her more closely. “You are a gorgeous woman. You know that, right?”

  She’d heard it before, many times. But nobody had made her blush like Duncan did. She shook her head. “As long as I’m gorgeous to you, that’s all that matters.”

  Damn that sounded hokey and needy, but it was the truth. The feelings surging through her were new and very unique. No one else had ever made her feel the way Duncan did.

  He pointed a finger and she grabbed the throw blanket from the back of the small sofa, then laid it out on the desk. The sight of the planned indiscretion made her pulse race.

  Duncan turned her in his arms, removing the glasses from the V of her shirt and setting them on the shelf behind him. Then he cupped her face in his hands, rubbing a callused thumb over her cheekbone. “You’re making me behave badly.”

  Alex shook her head, smiling. “Not badly, just differently.”

  He kissed her smiling mouth, then, slowly but firmly. Alex leaned into his touch, knowing how fleeting their liaison could be. Her fingers ran down his chest, unfastening buttons as she went. When the shirt gaped open she ran her hands inside, over the tight swells of his pectorals and the abrasion of his chest hair. Then her hands wandered down his cobbled stomach to the belt of his pants. Duncan paused as her nimble fingers unfastened, unbuttoned and unzipped, then cradled him in her hand. He groaned against her mouth, one of his hands going down to still hers. “You’re not the only one feeling driven. Slow down a little.”

  Alex took a breath, still nibbling at his lips, but she rested her hands on his waist. “Okay. I can for a minute.”

  Duncan plucked at her blouse and started undoing her own buttons, but he made sure to tease her breasts as he did it. “That’s not fair,” she gasped.

  When he tossed her shirt away, then reached behind to unfasten her bra, a wave of arousal rolled through her and she shuddered. Plucking her nipples with his fingers, he kissed her again, tongue surging inside her mouth. They glided together for several long minutes before they both reached for more. Duncan pushed her jeans to the floor and she had to take a minute to kick off her boots. He rubbed her ass while she was bent to the side, and she took a moment to breathe a hot gust of air against his erection, which was trying to force itself through the restraint of his underwear. There was a wet spot at the top, and she wanted to linger, but he retaliated by running one of his own fingers down the crack of her ass, then deeper to the damp gusset of her panties.

  “And what is this?” he asked. Before she could answer he had slipped a finger beneath the edge of the elastic to play in her wetness.

  Alex moaned, caught off guard by how good that felt. He didn’t bother teasing her outer lips, just shoved deep into her depths. She gasped as he removed his finger, then shoved two back in. “Oh,” she cried, her pleasure spiking. But the position wasn’t ideal.

  Lifting her up, he pressed her ass against the edge of the desk, then guided her to lay back. At first, Alex felt a little exposed as he pushed her knees out, but then he touched her. No, he kissed her. She would realize later that Duncan sat down in his chair, then leaned forward to give her the most intimate of kisses. Alex’s head tossed on the edge of the blanket as he tongued the most sensitive part of her body, then again and again until she screamed out in pleasure. But he didn’t stop. He paused, letting her catch her breath for a moment, before reaching up to tweak her nipples and start the process over again. Alex cried out, writhing on the unyielding surface of the desk as he pressed kisses down her body, using teeth when she tried to wiggle away from him. Alex lost track of his touch for a moment, until she felt the head of his cock at the super-sensitized entrance of her body. The long, slow glide of him into her body set off a new chain reaction of sensation, her body at the edge of another orgasm.

  Duncan seemed to sense how close she was and set up a deep, lazy rhythm designed to prolong her pleasure. But his own body was pushing him as well. When the heavy slide began to speed up, she tightened her muscles around him, looking up into dark eyes hazed with as much pleasure as she was feeling. With one hand he thumbed her clit. The other gripped her hip to keep her tight against him as he surged into her.

  Then the movement reached a crescendo as they both hit the same peak. Duncan groaned, his weight settling against her hips as his body released into hers. The feel of him orgasming into her made Alex’s gaze turn dark, hazed with extreme pleasure.

  It took them several minutes to recover. Their bodies were beaded with sweat in spite of the coolness of the room.

  Alex held Duncan to her, his head resting against her breastbone. She slicked his hair back and let her legs relax, hanging off the edge of the desk. With a heavy sigh, he lifted his head enough to grin down at her.

  “Thank you for helping me christen my new desk. The last one I had would not have taken the abuse.”

  Alex grinned. “My pleasure, many times over.”

  Duncan grinned and for the first time she realized he had a slight dimple in his right cheek. She touched her finger to the spot, intrigued. “I didn’t know you had dimples.”

  Frowning, he shook his head. “Just one for some reason.”

  With a resigned sigh, he pulled slowly out of her body. Alex could immediately feel fluids seeping from her. Sitting upright, she slid off the desk.

  Duncan made a sight, glistening dick laying against his stomach as he slumped in the office chair. His hair was mussed, but the most important thing was his face. He looked more relaxed than she’d ever seen him.

  “I’m going to go clean up.” Bending down she grabbed her clothes, pressed a quick kiss to his soft lips and hustled into his private bathroom. She took care of business and cleaned up as well as she could without a shower, knowing his essence would entice her all day long. Her bra chafed deliciously against her skin and she knew she would need him again today.

  When she returned to the office, he had righted his desk. The throw blanket was tossed into a corner on the floor. He was just retrieving his laptop from a drawer when they heard a knock on his office door.

  They glanced at each other guiltily and Alex had a feeling her cheeks were pink. “I thought nobody was supposed to come in for hours.”

  Frowning fiercely, Duncan shrugged as he used the cane to limp to the door. Alex hurried to the little settee and sat down, crossing her legs just as Duncan unlocked and swung the door open. “Hey, John. Didn’t expect to see you today.”

  John Palmer rolled in, looking concerned and intrigued. When his eyes landed on Alex, understanding dawned and he grinned. “I’m sorry to interrupt you.” Then he looked back at Duncan and laughed, low and deep. “Hey buddy. Glad to see you’re taking such great care of our visitor.”

  Duncan scowled. “I figured you’d still be home celebrating with Shannon.”

  John rocked back on his wheels. “I thought I’d get in a quick workout before we go to the doctor. I’m a little stressed.”

  His dark gaze looked them both over, seeing more than they would ever admit to.

  “Hey, you do remember the meeting at the Harmony House later, right? You said you’d cover for me so I could go to Shannon’s appointment.”

  Duncan cursed
, shifting on his feet. “Damn! No, I’d forgotten. Glad you said something.”

  John nodded and pivoted on one wheel to leave. “Better check your gig line before you go,” he tossed over his shoulder. “Don’t want those vets harassing you. Later Doc.”

  Duncan looked dazed, then flustered as he looked down at himself. Alex giggled as he adjusted the line of his button-down shirt, re-tucking the tails. “He’s such a shit-stirrer,” he growled.

  “No, he’s just super observant,” she laughed. “He knew he’d caught us. Honestly, it could have been worse.”

  With a sigh, he turned to her. “Yeah, you’re probably right. He did have a legit reason to barge in, though. I promised him I would cover his meeting today at the local homeless shelter. It has a large population of vets and we try to go down once or twice a week to talk to them. Because of the holiday, I have a feeling we’ll have a room full. That is, if you’d like to join me.”

  She didn’t even hesitate. “I absolutely would. Are you sure they’ll be okay with me being there?”

  Duncan blinked, then waved a hand. “I think they’ll be fine. The fact that you’re a brat will carry a lot of weight.”

  She nodded. “Let me finish up, then. I’ll be ready to go when you are.”

  * * *

  Duncan felt incredibly confident as he walked into the shelter an hour later, and it was because of the woman walking beside him. She was stunningly gorgeous. She’d primped a little, slicking on fresh lipstick and straightening her hair. The glasses made her appear more mature, so she left them on. When he commented on them, she admitted she wore them almost all the time now, just because as a doctor she seemed to get a better response from both her patients and the hospital staff.

  And Duncan could believe that. A woman as gorgeous as she was probably tended to be dismissed because of her looks in whatever field she was in.

  He waved at Renita, the receptionist slash security guard for the dayshift. With a broad smile splitting her normally stern face, she waved him through. “Hey, Mr. Wilde. I thought Palmer was coming today?”