A

by Anne Leigh

  His voice finally broke, and I felt the salty warm tears fall from his face to my mouth, “I was caught up in that explosion… That’s why my legs are damaged. Why I go to Lauren. But what I didn’t know at that time was that my son was there, too. With his nanny. And I’d heard that Caterina was there too although there was no official confirmation about that.”

  His chest shook and my heart splintered into pieces for him. I couldn’t say anything. I could not imagine the horrors that he went through.

  The physical pain of his body being damaged and burned.

  The emotional pain of knowing that his son was in there.

  The mental anguish of losing the extension of him.

  “No one knew Ryder was my son...only my three closest friends and my S.O,” he said, my heart further breaking at his words. “But your father, Athena – he made it possible for me to see Ryder. He was also assigned in Colombia. I don’t know how he knew. Maybe he put the pieces together or maybe my S.O. told him. But Joseph was there and he knew what to do.”

  There was no coming back from this.

  Now that I’ve glimpsed at the pain and darkness that ate at him, I knew for certain that I’d always love this man.

  This strong, broken man.

  “I owe your father my life…” he whispered, the tears quietly flowing from his eyes. “Because when I couldn’t stand on my own feet to hold my son, he brought my son to me so I could say goodbye.”

  “When your free hand connects back on the handle, feel your arms fall away from your body.” His words were strong and his cobalt eyes were stern yet his touch was gentle on my shoulders. “Relax so that your elbows don’t tighten up.”

  “Yes Master.” I put my right hand up in salute. Webb’s been fussing about the rope for a about twenty minutes now. He’s already checked the grommets where the rope attaches to the handle at least twice. I had no doubt that he also had a background check done on our boat driver, Tommy, to ensure that he was qualified.

  Tommy, a salt-and-pepper haired, brown-eyed gentleman who couldn’t be more than fifty, was all smiles as he answered Webb’s questions. It was only until Liam intervened with a, “Jeeyzus, Dub-ya, is Tommy on the FBI’s hit list?” that Webb backed off. By back off I meant still asking all the questions, but he spread it out more during the conversation.

  “I just want you safe, babe,” he intoned, his muscular arms wrapping around my head as he pressed a soft kiss to my hair.

  I leaned my head to his chest and said, “I know…I know how to swim and I’ve listened to what Tommy and you have been saying this whole time. Raise my right hand up to stop, thumbs down to slow down, put my palms up and together for okay.”

  I gestured the hand signals for left turn, right turn, cut motor, back to dock, and Webb’s grin turned bigger.

  Sometimes I think he doesn’t regard how much I listen.

  “See? I’m all ears when you’re talking,” I teased, my hand falling to his back and I felt his strength even from back there. There wasn’t a single soft spot on his body. I know because I’ve been intimate with him many, many times. Even his legs that were damaged from the explosion weren’t soft. Sure they were scarred, but that didn’t mean they were weak. In fact, the opposite was true. I loved feeling the rough, tensile scars because they were viable symbols of how he’d been broken, but managed to pick up the pieces and form another whole, better version of himself.

  He turned his head to talk to Liam. “What’s the weather report for today?”

  Liam’s eyes rolled and I giggled. “I’m surprised you didn’t check that first thing this morning.”

  Webb responded, “I was busy.”

  He was. Pleasuring me before I woke up kept him busy these days.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Liam mocked, the sun glistening off his hard chest. There was a convention of hard bodies and right now, they were all here in the California Delta. Denton and Mario, both shirtless, both wearing swim trunks, were already out in the water, flirting and doing cannonballs with Dyan and three other girls they’d met an hour ago.

  Webb put his arm out and pushed Liam, “I was, you goof. Tony had emailed me a couple of things and since I was already up, I was sifting through them.”

  Liam did another dramatic eye roll, this time a huge smirk graced his features, “Whatever.”

  “Did you check the weather?” Webb asked again. His other arm wrapped tight around my shoulders. I’d always wanted to water ski so when Denton invited us for a weekend getaway to Isleton, I said yes and Webb had no choice but to follow. Well, he had a choice. He didn’t want me overexerting after my injuries and he’d catalogued the dangers of water sports, but two blowjobs later, he’d said yes. It wasn’t fair to him, but he was too busy being uptight with me that I had opted to seduce him with my feminine wiles and here we were.

  Liam looked up at the blue, cloudless sky amid the vistas of vine-covered trees, “According to the meteorology report, there are no impending thunderstorms, the winds will remain calm, and any signs of the weather becoming inclement will happen after Athena is safely on land. And not a minute sooner.”

  My shoulder shook with laughter.

  A head smack flew in the air and Liam feigned pain, “Ouch, that motherfuckin’ hurt.”

  I pressed my hand to Webb’s hard abs and slapped him. “You know he’s telling the truth. You’re being overprotective with me.”

  His blue eyes landed on mine and my thighs clenched, darn it, why does he always have to look so good? His dark hair was wet from the water and his chest had a smattering of water drops that I wanted to lick dry.

  He lowered his head, placed his hand on my chin, and said, “I’ll always be overprotective of you, sunshine.”

  “You said you were okay with it,” I returned, my breath hitched because he was so close and if we were alone, I had no doubts that I’d end up pinned against the wall while his leg muscles did the work of carrying me while he thrust inside of me.

  “I was…I am,” he answered, ignoring Liam’s presence and the buzz of activity around us. “I just want you all in one piece.”

  I put on a serious face, trying to tamper the mix of excitement and fear running through my veins. I wasn’t a prolific swimmer, but I knew how to swim and I wasn’t going to try any stunts that would qualify me for an extreme water sports event anytime soon. “I’ll be okay. Tommy is an experienced boat operator and you’re an excellent spotter, you’ll be there to anticipate the danger and let me know if there’s anything wrong so I can avoid it.”

  “Yeah…” he said, his eyes conveying trust. He’d removed his sunglasses a few minutes ago so he could check if my skis had any cracks in them.

  “Do you trust me?” I asked, looking into his eyes while I clasped his hands.

  He nodded, “Yes.”

  “Then trust that I will be okay. That I’ll let you know as soon as I feel that something’s wrong. I’ve never done this before, but I’ve always wished to do this. I know how to swim and I’m okay with skiing on snow. This is a little different but it’s still skiing. And on water.” I said, then pointing to my skis, “They’re great skis that you’ve helped me pick.”

  My hands felt the life jacket that housed my swimsuit-clad body, “And I also have this life jacket that’s an extra arm for safety. I’m really looking forward to this.”

  He gave me a small smile and raised his head, letting me know that he understood. After what happened to me, Webb hasn’t left my side. Or if he did, he made sure that Liam was only a few feet away. His overprotectiveness was through the roof and it was nagging at me but in a way that I understood. I understood because he loved me. I understood because he didn’t want me in harm’s way. I understood because of his past and the way it had affected his view of the future. But understanding him didn’t mean that I was going to stop living.

  My neck turned towards Liam’s direction, “Liam.”

  He was only a few feet away and with his impecabble ex-Marine background, I’m su
re he heard every word I said.

  “Yes ma’am,” he said, a huge smile on his face. One day he’d meet a woman who’d make him fall to his knees and I hoped Webb would be there to see it, just to, you know, make fun of him, too.

  “How many times have you jumped from a plane?” I asked, my eyes on Liam, my hands in Webb’s grasp.

  “A lot.” His face broke out in a huge smile. “More than two dozen’s worth, I believe.”

  “Hmm…interesting.” I said, then turning my eyes on Webb, “How about you, Hulk? How many times have you jumped out of a helicopter or a plane or any type of military aircraft?”

  As a Navy SEAL, he’d probably have had to do it a lot of times. I’d seen American Sniper and Act of Valor, those men did a lot of scary, mind-boggling things.

  Webb’s mouth turned up on one side, “Point taken, babe.”

  My eyebrows lifted, “What’s my point?”

  In a clear, direct voice he answered, “That you’ll be safe.”

  “Darn right I will be.” I grabbed his hands so that we could jump on the boat where Tommy had been waiting for at least twenty minutes. Liam was going to stay on land so he could watch for any signs of trouble.

  I waved to my friends and they waved back.

  Denton and Mario had already been competing in doing a few tricks in the water. They were fun to watch. Especially when they had their butts handed to them. Mario cursed a lot in Spanish that had Webb laughing uncontrollably. Webb had translated some of them for me and some, he couldn’t because he couldn’t find the appropriate words in English to describe them. Most of them were centered around his mother and I doubted he uttered those words in front of his mom. Denton didn’t cuss a lot, but he always punched his hands through the water which I think wasted a lot of energy but oh well, they were having fun. Dyan hadn’t been in the water much; she just laid out on a long chair so she could tan. She was already tanned, I guess she wanted a darker tan.

  Webb held my hand and carried my skis as we walked the short distance to the boat.

  He still hadn’t answered my question.

  “How many times have you jumped from the sky?”

  He was quiet for a second then as he hoisted me up to get on the boat, he said, “I stopped counting after thirty five, babe.”

  Thirty five? That’s a heck of lot of sky-diving, free-falling, and parachuting.

  “Were you scared? Like ever?” I waited to ask until Webb had given Tommy the signal to go. I couldn’t ski in the shallow end so we had to go further up and out so I could start off in the deeper waters.

  He shrugged his shoulders, “No. I know I have the skills and training for it, and I have the best equipment to keep me safe so no, I wasn’t scared. Ever.”

  The noise coming from the boat’s engine was loud on my ears so I leaned closer to Webb, “Are you ever scared?”

  He lifted his head and looked as if he was pondering the question in his brain.

  I guess a man like him didn’t have the same triggers for the fight or flight instinct as the rest of us. I liked to experience new things, but heck, I drew the line at high altitudes. Anything above 30,000 feet was scary to me. When I ride in an airplane, I never go into the logistics of what would happen if we crashed. There was only one logical conclusion: I would die because my body wouldn’t be able to handle the shock and the impact of the crash.

  Webb, on the other hand, could probably calculate the time he would fall and lessen his risk. I wasn’t sure, but that was just the type of man he was. He always saw the possibility, the 0.0001 percent of the reaction that his actions could cause. That’s why it took him a long time to act on his attraction to me. Because he saw all sides of the situation while I focused on one aspect of it.

  I didn’t think he heard me so I let the cool breeze of the water soothe my nerves as I started to think of jumping in the water, carrying my skis. It would be easier to put them on while they were wet. I was readying my mind and body to be still and welcome the new experience. I loved that Webb was here with me as I went through this. His presence calmed me and invigorated me at the same time.

  A hand pressed behind my back and I felt his lips touch my ears.

  “Yes babe. I do get scared.”

  Oh. So he heard me then.

  My eyes fell on my black and white skis with a huge ski producer logo and the sidewinder bindings with a smaller heel cup than what I was used to. I’d tried it on earlier and the boot was really soft and it made it really comfortable to wear.

  His lips were mere inches from my right ear and his arms was secure on my shoulders. Amid the whirring sounds coming off the boat, screams from people having fun by the docks, and the chatter coming from Tommy’s radio, I heard him loud and clear.

  “You.” A sigh escaped his mouth and then he said, “Losing you – that’s what scares me.”

  “Have you recovered from Athena’s wipeout?” Denton asked as he called the server for a refill.

  Webb, whose arms were around my shoulder, shook his head. “Nope.”

  “He’ll be having nightmares about it.” Liam, wearing a broad grin on his face, piped in. “If you hear someone screaming tonight, just go check W’s room.”

  Dyan whose face was half-baked from the sun said, “You guys, can you be nice to Webb? Thank God he was there or Athena would’ve drowned.”

  I wouldn’t have. I had my senses knocked out of me when I lost my balance, but I was quickly regaining it and getting a bearing on the situation when I felt muscular arms reaching under my arms and pulling me above water.

  Webb was silent, contemplative, the differing pressures he was exerting on my shoulders making me realize that he was now in relaxation mode.

  “He’s my superman,” I said, while reaching for the nachos on his plate. We were all gathered around a booth at this local pub and my friends were roasting Webb on his reaction when I miscalculated a turn and fell in the water.

  “He’s super alright.” Liam pretended to look at his watch. “But he’s getting old. He should have been able to cover the water in half the time that he did.”

  Webb raised a middle finger and chomped on a chip. Liam was chiding his friend because I’d never seen a human being swim that fast to get to me. Well, I’d never almost drowned but still. All I remembered was seeing a big bird heading my way and I got distracted, I let go of the rope for less than a second but it caused me to lose my balance.

  “Next time, A, screw the bird. Pay attention to where you’re going,” Dyan teased. She was the first to reach me as soon as the boat docked and her eyes were teary. I knew she was really concerned with what happened to me. Having said that, it was also hard to take her seriously when she looked like a half-baked Cheeto.

  “Are you okay, babe?” Webb has asked me for the fifth time since he helped me get out of the water. He’d checked my body for any visible signs of injuries and when he found none, he still wanted me to get checked at the hospital.

  “I’m okay,” I said softly to him, leaning against his navy blue shirt that complimented his eyes. “Dy’s right though. Next time, I should pay more attention to where I’m going instead of the birds flying in the sky.”

  He smirked and said in a low voice, “There’s only one bird you should be paying attention to. And it’s in my pants.”

  I giggled loudly because it was, to date, the corniest of his jokes.

  Yes, that’s right. Webb makes jokes now. As a matter of fact, he made jokes so often about the smallest things that when he didn’t, it made me think that something was wrong.

  He’d come a long way.

  We both have.

  Before, he never joined me and my friends when we ate.

  Now, he often joined us and get this, he even laughed at my friends’ ribbing.

  Before, you’d have to pay a hundred to see him smile.

  Now, I’d still pay a hundred to keep that smile on his face.

  My friends have gravitated towards Webb in a more friendly manner
after my kidnapping attempt. And in return, Webb has seen to it that they were clued in on what was happening with me. It was really nice to see him and the people who were important to me get along so well.

  “Where’s Mario?” Liam asked as Denton passed him the bread basket. If there was one thing I wanted to give this restaurant a five-star for, it would be for their sumptious bread that tasted like butter and herbs rolled into one happy carb.

  “He’s busy.” Denton’s eyebrows raised and he gave Liam a weird look.

  “Hmp.” Dyan’s lips stretched and it must hurt for her to do that because that part of her face got crisply toasted by the sun. “Busy humping.”

  Denton burst into a hearty laugh. “Yeah, he is.”

  “Geez, why didn’t you say it in the first place?” Dyan’s lips pursed, “It’s not like there are virgin ears around.”

  I joined Denton’s laughter because Dyan was as loud as she was frank. There were no in-betweens with her. It was one of the reasons why I loved her so much. She made mincemeat out of men, but she never minced with her words. She just told it like it is.

  Webb drank his beer and his hand moved around my neck, giving me a soft massage. I could tell he was still tense from what had happened earlier, but he was loosening up. I could only imagine what he felt when he saw me skiing behind the boat and then a second later, I was gone.

  He’d held me for a long time once we were on the boat. He never said a word. As if he just wanted to feel me, that I was there safe with him.