by J. M. Madden
Palmer rolled into the room with her son on his lap. Drew concentrated on holding a little gray cat in his arms and didn’t look up until they stopped at the couch.
“Mom, look! Guess what her name is? Gray Cat. This is John’s cat but he said I could hold her.”
Shannon grinned as she looked at the man over Drew’s head. “He said the cat was his, huh?”
Palmer winked at her.
Ember urged her son down. “Let me see.”
The kitten didn’t care who held her and loved being the center of attention. She was bigger than kitten size but not quite full grown. “Gray Cat, huh?”
Shannon directed a raised-eyebrow look at the Grinch, who scowled. “What? She likes her name. It’s easy to remember.”
Drew looked at John and nodded his dark head. “That’s what I would have named her, too.”
They all laughed.
Ember appreciated being included in such a great group of people. Zeke joked around with his buddies and seemed more relaxed than ever. When Shannon stepped away to greet someone at the door, Ember walked across to Zeke. He was talking to a more mature, muscular man with short gray hair near the fireplace.
“Ember, this is Duncan Wilde. The man who create LNF.”
Ember shook the man’s hand, excited to meet him. “Zeke has said wonderful things about you and the company. What a wonderful environment you’ve created.” She made a motion at the men standing and sitting around them, laughing and joking.
Duncan looked around with a nod, but seemed a little sad. “It was needed. It’s very nice to meet you as well, Ember.”
When they walked out John and Shannon’s door that night, she felt very content and more secure in her relationship with Zeke. He’d taken a chance by bringing her to the party. She kind of felt it had been a test to see how she reacted to the men and their injuries. Or something. She wasn’t sure exactly.
Zeke carried a snoozing Drew out to the truck and buckled him into the seat. Ember’s throat tightened with emotion as she watched the big man manipulate the straps carefully over her son. Then he held the door open for her to climb in. She slid across the seat but turned to face him. Zeke climbed in and started the truck, letting it warm.
“I wanted you to know,” she whispered, “that I loved meeting the people you work with.”
He smiled at her. “They’re more than just p-p-people I work with. They’re my friends and family.”
“I can see that,” she nodded. “You’re lucky to have that with your actual family so far away.”
He nodded and scraped his hand through his hair. “I need to go back to see them. It’s just hard being under sc-ru-ru-ru…they watch me like a hawk. And it makes me more nervous.”
She raised a brow. “You may have to tell them that.”
He frowned, adjusting the heater vents. He pulled a post-it note pad and pen from the dash cubby. “It’s easier just not to deal with it, sometimes.”
“Granted, but it’s your family. Whether you like it or not.”
He scribbled a note on the post-it sheet and dug his wallet from his back pocket. She watched him place the note in the center of the fold, on top of a stack of older notes. He glanced up at her and shrugged. “I have to keep track of words that give me trouble. When I go to my counseling sessions, we go over the words. Most of the time I can see them and hear them in my brain perfectly, know what they mean, I just can’t spit it out.”
“Wow. Do the doctors know why not?”
He shrugged and put his wallet away. “Something got screwed up in my brain.”
Shifting into gear, he pulled away from he house. Ember stretched the seat belt across her body and snicked it shut. “Shannon is awesome. And John is hilarious. They suit each other very well.”
Zeke shook his head, laughing. “They haven’t been a c-couple very long. John was a…n-not very happy guy a few months ago, but Shannon has really ch-chilled him out.”
“They just needed to find each other.”
“Apparently.”
The drive back to Ember’s apartment was quiet and companionable. Zeke parked and carried Drew inside for her. They pulled his boots and jacket off, then she directed him to just lay the child in his bed. It was a little early for bedtime, but he was obviously worn out. Too many hours chasing Gray Cat.
Ember thought they were just going to relax, but when Zeke came out of Drew’s bedroom, he made his excuses and headed to the door. Ember was a little hurt. They’d just had a wonderful afternoon, and she’d been looking forward to an even better evening, but apparently not.
Zeke pressed a lingering kiss to her lips and backed through the doorway. “I’ll call you.”
Ember waved a hand, at a loss as to what she’d done to chase him off so fast.
Well, I was pretty clingy. But then, he had been too. He’d never let go of her until Chad had asked to talk. Maybe he just had to regroup and figure some things out.
*****
Shannon sighed happily as she crawled into bed that night. The party had gone wonderfully. No stress, just a group of friends getting together to celebrate the holiday.
John’s wheels squeaked into the room. “Everything’s locked up. That damn cat was curled up in the hallway closet, underneath a coat. I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t see her tail sticking out.”
“Probably recovering after all the excitement,” she laughed. Rolling up onto her side, she watched as he undressed. “Ember’s little boy carried her around for hours.”
John nodded and rolled into the bathroom.
“What did you think of Ember?” he called out.
“I think she was very nice. Calm and put together. It was her father who gave her those bruises.”
John backed into the doorway enough to see her. “Are you serious?”
She nodded. “She filed charges, though, and he’s going to get the counseling that he needs. He was a Marine in Vietnam.”
John scowled and disappeared into the bathroom again. She heard water running and splashing in the sink, and her body began to warm. He would be crawling in beside her in a minute, and she could do with him as she pleased.
He rolled into the room and hoisted himself up into the bed. Shannon had offered to get a lower bed when he moved in, but he’d refused. She was glad, because it allowed her to watch the interplay of his substantial six-pack every night as he came to her.
She shifted over to give him room to stretch, then curled in against him with her hand over his belly.
“Zeke will watch over her now.”
She nodded against him. “Did you see them looking at each other? It was almost electric. And she only had eyes for him.”
John’s long arm coasted down her side beneath the comforter. “And he looked like he couldn’t believe she was with him. I think the big man has fallen.”
“Hard,” she whispered. Her hand slipped down past his waist, but he stopped her.
“Hold on. I have one more gift for you to open.”
Shannon peered up at his face in the dim light. “You already got me too many things.”
John snorted. “I didn’t get you shit. Just trinket things because I didn’t know what else to get you.”
“But I loved them. You got my favorite perfume, and I love the purse.”
She felt him reaching at the side of the bed. He pulled out a little folded packet and held it out to her. Shannon sat up, crossing her legs, hooking the comforter around her shoulders. “What is it?”
He shoved it at her. “Just open it.”
Shannon couldn’t make sense of what it was at first. “Plane tickets?”
John rolled up onto his side, propping his head with his hand.
“To Cancun?” she gasped. She reread the papers over again, unable to contain a squeal. “Are you serious? A beach in the wintertime? Oh, John.”
She bumped her head on his hard chin when she pounced on him, but she didn’t care. He shifted to his back as she peppered him with kisses
and straddled his hips.
“I guess you like the idea, huh?” he chuckled beneath her.
Shannon paused long enough to look him in the eyes. “I love the idea. And I love you. More and more every day. Thank you.”
She rocked her hips against his length and was rewarded when he went hard beneath her. “When do we leave?” she whispered.
“Uh, next week.”
“Mm, just enough time,” she gasped as she guided him inside.
*****
Saturday Ember took Drew to Ms. Miller’s house and headed into work early. It was a busy day. Deliveries were coming in and the crowds were out with the after-Christmas returns and sales. She hadn’t heard from her dad, so she assumed he wouldn’t be in yet. Which was fine. He had stuff to work through, too.
Two of the afternoon shift girls called off. Ember sighed as she listened to the second girl, Brandy, cry about her broken down car. “If you get it fixed, come in. We’re slammed.”
She hung up on a sniffle. She had no time for their crap.
The grill was packed, with a thirty minute wait for a table. Ember worked harder than she had in a long time to keep things running smoothly, but she did try to step back and manage more. The wait staff seemed to appreciate the guidance, which surprised her.
At six o’clock, her dad walked in from the back. Ember whooped, joined by the rest of the staff, when they realized who was pulling the bar apron around his hips. Her father waved, a little embarrassed, but smiling nonetheless. She couldn’t resist walking behind the bar and giving him a big, smooching kiss on the cheek. “So glad to see you, Dad.”
“You know, I’m glad to be here. I thought you would be busy tonight.”
He settled back into his rhythm quickly, pulling beers from the tap and chatting it up with every soldier that took the time to talk to him.
Ember watched the clock hands anxiously. Seven o’clock approached, and she watched the door as much as she could. But no dirty blond head appeared towering over the others. None of the other guys showed either. She owed them beer, so it was curious that they didn’t appear.
As eight o’clock rolled past, she lost hope that they were coming. She checked her phone for the millionth time and found a text message.
Grill was jam packed, so we headed to Chad’s. You be home later?
Yes! By 10.
See you there.
Ember was relieved they’d at least been here. She should have left word with the hostess to get them in, but in the rush it hadn’t even entered her mind.
She left the grill in her father’s hands and climbed in her cold car for the fifteen minute drive home. Zeke climbed out of his truck and met her at the sidewalk when she got home, warming her from the inside out. Snow swirled around them as he pulled her into his arms for a desperate kiss.
Ember looked up at him in concern when he eventually pulled away. “Are you okay?”
He nodded and walked with her to retrieve Drew. The boy was asleep on Erin’s couch, but woke when they shook him.
“Hey, Zeke.”
“Hey, buddy.”
As Zeke steadied him, Ember slid the boy’s coat on, fastening the hood over his head. Snow boots next. The big man then lifted him into his arms.
“Thanks, Erin.”
Ember rushed ahead to open the door for her boys. Zeke kicked off his shoes when he came in, then padded through the apartment to Drew’s room, and they reversed the process. While Zeke steadied him, Ember took off his coat and boots.
Drew’s eyes never opened the entire time, but he did smile when they tucked him into bed, pulling the covers up to his chin. “Night, guys.”
Ember laughed. He was already out.
She returned to the living room to take off her coat, and draped Zeke’s over the chair. “I’m sorry it was so crowded tonight. If I had known you were there I would have tried to get you in.”
He shrugged as he settled on the couch, his look somber. “I don’t know that we could have come in anyway. Diego saw the people inside and damn near had an anxiety attack right there at your front door.”
Ember cringed, feeling bad for the Hispanic man. He’d been a real sweetheart when he’d helped her move in. “That must be so hard.”
Zeke turned up his hands. “For the most part you get used to it. People stare at me all the time. Diego’s going to take a while though. He was shot by an Afghani policeman he was training. One of our allies. In a group of people.”
“No way. Seriously?”
Zeke nodded.
That just seemed so wrong. And sad. Disheartening.
Ember leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. Even though it was cool in the apartment, his burning warmth seeped into her. “You feel so good to me,” she sighed. She tightened her arm across his lean middle.
Zeke pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Hey, I, uh, need to go away for a few days.”
She pulled back enough to look at him. “Okay…For work?”
He frowned. “Kind of, yes.”
She felt like he was hiding something, but she didn’t know what. “Okay. I’ll be here when you get back. Can you call me?”
He shook his head. “At least not for a couple days. I will when I can.”
“Is it dangerous?”
His look darkened and he squeezed her hand. “Yes, but I p-p-promise I will do my best to stay safe.”
That sounded true enough, but even if he was lying did she have the right to call him on it? They were sleeping together, but he hadn’t even hinted at anything more permanent. Ember knew she was in love, but she had a feeling if she told him it would spook him.
“You do that,” she murmured, leaning into him tighter.
Zeke kissed the top of her head. Ember turned her face up and he pressed his lips to hers. She opened her mouth to his seeking tongue and was swept away by the desperation and need she felt in his movements. Pushing from the couch, he tugged her to stand, then swung her up into his arms to carry her to the bedroom.
Ember felt cherished. And feminine. Protected. He was so obviously male, layered with muscle, and he felt like her champion, her hero.
When he dropped her feet to the floor, he started working on her clothes. He didn’t move fast enough, so she stripped her jeans and long-sleeved shirt away, tossing them to the corner. He stripped himself down and pressed her to the mattress, climbing between her thighs. Ember moaned as he slid against her heat.
“I need in you.”
She widened the cradle of her hips and tilted up, reaching down with one hand to guide him into her body. Though he hadn’t worked her like he normally did, she was still ready, because she’d been thinking of loving him for hours. As soon as he had texted her at the grill, she’d hoped this was how her night would end. She squeezed along his length.
As he began to lunge into her, she felt complete. This was where she was supposed to be and Zeke was the one she was supposed to be with.
All of the trials of their lives narrowed down to just his body gliding into hers, the desperation feeding their movements. They were both running toward that pinnacle of pleasure.
She found hers first, the head of his heavy cock gliding over the bundle of nerves to the front of her pelvic bone. As she bit into his neck and arched beneath him, crying out, Zeke lifted her hips in his hands, stroking her all the harder in the pursuit of his own pleasure.
Ember was lost in a daze of sublime sensation, quaking with aftershocks. “I love you,” she sighed.
Zeke stalled out above her, quivering. “W-what?”
Hell. She hadn’t meant to say it out loud, but now that she had… “I love you.”
The echo of her words still hung in the air when he ejaculated. A long, loud groan poured from his throat as his body climaxed above her, shoving himself as deep as he could go inside her. Ember felt every jet of release deep in her womb, and her body quaked with another release in reaction. She gasped, trying to drag oxygen i
nto her shuddering body.
“Oh, fuck,” he sagged into her, but tried to brace the bulk of his weight with his elbows.
Ember wriggled beneath him, loving the contact. “You’re not too heavy.”
He relaxed a little bit, but not all the way. Leaning over onto one side, he looked at her in the dim light from the bathroom. “D-did you m-m-mean it?”
She smiled at the nerves she heard in his deep voice. “I did.”
“Tell me again,” he demanded.
Zeke held her all through the night, only moving enough to love her again, before asking her to tell him again. If Ember had been a less strong woman, she’d be worried that he wasn’t reciprocating the sentiment. But she understood that it would take a while to reset the belief that he was unlovable because of his scars. When he woke her the next time, she rolled him to his back and proceeded to kiss her way across every scar on his head, then she moved down the breadth of his body.
Just before she drifted off to sleep in the early hours of the morning, he stroked his hand over her hair. “Thank you, Ember.”
Chapter Nine
Zeke crept out early the next morning, before either Drew or Ember had woken. As he sat in his truck, waiting for the damn thing to warm up, he shook his head. Who would have ever thought he’d be in this predicament.
Ember could, quite literally, drop him to his knees. If she looked at him with those soulful, dark chocolate eyes, he’d do anything for her. And tell her anything. That was why he had to get out of the apartment. If he didn’t, he was going to beg her to go to the hospital with him in the morning. That wouldn’t be fair to her.
Zeke prided himself on being self-sufficient. Chad had called him pussy-whipped. Maybe he was, hell. He just wanted her beside him. End of story.
When he got home, he crashed. He was scheduled for surgery at seven am, so the longer he could sleep up until that time, the better.
Chad picked him up at four am the next morning, looking bleary eyed but solid. He grinned at Zeke, and shook his head. “What the hell are we going to do when you get all purty?”
Shaking his head, he snorted. “I have a l-l-long ways to go until then.”
