He started with her hands and before Trent, Whitney had never had anyone do that to her. He slid his silky fingertips up her arms and rhythmically squeezed her shoulders. Whitney felt the stress from the past two weeks seep away as Trent’s thumbs worked the top of her spine.
She rolled her neck around as Trent removed her nightgown. He moved those strong thumbs down to the small of her back and hooked his fingers around her hips. He flipped Whitney over and moved back up to her shoulders.
He sat on his knees, next to her, being careful of Whitney’s injured wrist. He sensually dug in and caressed her tense shoulders with his strong hands. He worked his way down, tracing his lips over her breasts and stomach.
He kissed her on the belly button and grabbed her leg. Trent massaged her calf before moving to her thigh as Whitney shuddered and clenched the comforter. The pain seemed miles away as Whitney floated on a bed of ecstasy.
Trent carefully moved himself over and spread Whitney’s thighs. The familiar feeling of being one with her man returned. Trent slowly worked his way in and started at a slow and sensual pace. She closed her eyes and thought about how right everything was again.
Trent continued with slow, precise strokes and went easy on Whitney because of her healing wounds. The two lovers climaxed together and Whitney grabbed him by the ears and pulled him in for a deep kiss. “I love you.”
Trent said, “I love you more.”
“No way.” She snuggled up next to him and laid her arm on his chest.
Trent said, “So, it seems like we are going to need to move into a new house if we’re going to have a family. I’ve been checking out some places in Pennsburgh since that’s where we talked about having the office too.”
Whitney kissed his bicep. “Look at you taking the lead again. Does anything look good and cheap?”
Trent said, “Why would we want something cheap?”
She picked her head up. “Because if we aren’t making any money and I am pregnant, at some point I wouldn’t be able to make money anyway. I’m just scared about how much this is going to cost and if things don’t work out with Aaric, I don’t want it to affect me and my sister.”
Trent put his finger over her rambling lips. He gripped the back of her head and pulled her closer and kissed her nose. “Slow down and relax. I’m pretty scared to go into the kind of debt we’re talking about but when Aaric and I went through estimates of revenue, we were extremely conservative. He knows he’s not getting paid overnight and that it’s a long term investment both ways, so the early repayment period is pretty lenient.”
She put her ear back on his chest and could hear his heart thumping. “Sounds like you have everything worked out then. We still should find a house first. We can’t put that off because if we start with the agency, we’ll never get back to finding a house.”
Trent said, “That’s fine with me. I’m just glad to have you back. I’m ecstatic that you are pregnant. Wait, you are sure it’s mine, right?”
Whitney slapped him on the chest. “I don’t know actually. I think it might be yours. Not really sure. Maybe we should have a Maury episode to make sure you are the father. Jerk.”
Trent pulled Whitney on top of him. “You know I’m kidding. I know I’m all the man you can handle.”
Whitney chuckled. “I love that you even said that with an arrogant accent. You always know just what to say.”
The reunited couple made love again and passed out in their own bed for the first time in months. Whitney slept with a smile on her face.
“RING.
RING.”
Whitney jumped out of bed and tried to remember where her phone was. She found the black pants she had been wearing the previous night and pulled the phone out of the pocket.
“Hello,” she managed to squeak out.
A female voice came through from the other side. “Hi, my name is Mary Edgings and I just wanted to thank you.”
Whitney tried to think of who Mary Edgings could be and why she was calling this early.
The woman continued, “I am Robbie’s mother.”
Those words served better than a pot of premium Colombian coffee and opened her eyes wide.
Mary said, “I can’t believe that I got to see my son, even if he was still in a coma. I hope I’m not calling too early but I have some wonderful news for you. Robbie came out of the coma in the middle of the night. I would be honored if you would come see us so we can really thank you in person.”
“It would be me who would be honored. I…I’m so happy to hear he’s out of the coma. I remember the hospital and we will be there as soon as we can.” Hearing this made Whitney even prouder than busting the kidnapper.
16
Whitney’s heart raced as the elevator stopped at the thirteenth floor. She didn’t like the ominous floor number as she and Trent walked down the hallway and stopped to see which way to go.
“Three thirty to room three sixty down here.” Whitney pointed to a hallway on the right.
“You’re digging your nails into my palm again,” Trent said.
“Sorry, sorry. I’m just a little…no I’m really nervous.”
Trent said, “You’ll be fine. Here we are.” He guided Whitney into a room, which held a woman and Robbie.
Robbie was sitting up in bed without any machines hooked up to him. He seemed alert as he raised his chin to greet Whitney and Trent.
The woman with black hair streaked heavily with gray jumped out of the chair and hugged Whitney.
She whispered in her ear, “Thank you for not only saving his life, but saving mine. Too bad you couldn’t have come along sooner and saved my husband, but that wasn’t up to you. Thank you.”
Mary went over and hugged Trent. “Thank you too, sir. I owe you both a great debt of gratitude.” She turned to her son. “Sorry, I’ve been ignoring this guy here. You know these guys, right, Robbie?”
The boy spoke in the same cranky voice as he did in Dreamland. “Thank you guys. People have told me a lot and I remember some things. I really thought you were out to get me.”
His voice didn’t annoy her now. Whitney said, “We understand, Robbie. All that’s important now is that you are back with your mom.” She asked Mary, “Did they say when he could get out of here?”
Mary lowered her head. “That’s the good news and the bad news.”
Trent asked, “What do you mean?”
Mary said, “The doctors said that he might be able to leave in a few weeks, but I’ve been so down and out lately that I had to sell everything I have. I don’t really have anywhere to take him and I don’t have a job to give him the financial support he needs.”
Whitney looked at Trent with heartbreak in her eyes. She couldn’t believe that Mary would finally get her son back and not be able to take care of him. She rubbed her belly and her heart started to buzz.
“How long does your lease run on the house we are in right now?” Whitney asked Trent.
Trent said, “Next May.”
“What if we find a new place to live and since that lease can’t be broken, why don’t we let our new friends stay there?”
A gasp of elation came out of Mary. “I don’t think I could let you do that. I could never repay you for something like that.”
Trent objected, “Are you sure we can afford that with all that’s going on, honey?”
“Of course. We’ll figure something out.”
Robbie said, “What about my book deal, mom?”
Mary looked at Trent and Whitney. “Right. He does have a book deal coming up that will give us a way to pay you back if Robbie is willing to do that?”
Robbie smiled, “After everything you’ve ever done for me, mom, I can finally do something for you. Of course I’ll share my book money.”
The teenager was the complete opposite in attitude from the kid in the video game land. He was completely respectful and likable.
An older man with graying hair slowly walked into the room. He stared at Mary
and she returned the gaze. The man lowered his head. “Sorry. For everything.”
Robbie said, “Dad? Is that you?”
The man turned to his son, tears streaming down his red cheeks. “It’s me buddy.” He trembled as he spoke.
He walked over to his son and gave him a hug. “I love you, buddy.”
Whitney poked Trent and whispered, “Maybe we should leave.”
Mary must’ve heard her and said, “Wait a moment. George. This is Whitney and Trent. They are responsible for rescuing our son from that lunatic.”
He came over to greet them. “George Edgings. I can thank you two enough.” He shook Trent’s hand and then moved to Whitney. She shook his hand and could almost feel the love of his son through his pulsing palm.
George turned to Mary. “I have a lot I need to say to you.”
Mary walked up to him and hugged her estranged husband. “We can talk later. Let’s talk to Robbie now.”
Trent tapped Whitney on the shoulder and broke her stare. She said, “Right.” She turned to the Edgings family. “We’ll see you soon.”
They all thanked her again in one form or another and the couple slipped out of the hospital room.
On the way home, Whitney said, “So I know that wasn’t the smartest financial move of all time, but we have to help them.”
Trent said, “You know I love charity more than anyone, but right now is a mess. I hope his book advance is a nice chunk of change.”
“Yeah but even then, they are going to need a lot of money for his care. He’s out of the coma, but he’s not anywhere near healthy. He’s going to need constant care. They still can’t figure out how people entered his body by grabbing onto him.”
Trent said, “And I doubt they ever will. As for money, maybe I could take on some private work while we build the agency and you have this baby. I don’t know, I could even pick up some security shifts for big events in the city. Maybe I should go back to the Pennsburgh force while we do this to keep some steady money coming in.”
“Could you do that while we move into a new house and try to get the agency going?”
Trent answered, “I could maybe do it after we get moved into a new house. Why is life so hard? I was just celebrating about seeing you again and now back to real life.”
“I agree. Being a grown-up sucks. We don’t sound like two people who are about to be parents.”
They both laughed and Trent said, “We’re going to be just fine. Wish I was more like Aaric so we wouldn’t have to worry about these things.”
“Don’t say that. I don’t care about money. That should be the last thing you are worried about.”
“Why? Are you some kind of secret billionaire or something?”
Whitney giggled. “No, silly boy, because we will always figure something out. We figured out how to take down Benno Dante when so many people failed before us. We figured out how to stop an international weapons-for-money ring involving the Vice President that nobody else could.”
Trent added, “You’re making some good points here.”
“And I’m not finished. When you were kidnapped and it was up to just a little girl, I figured out how to get you back and bring that weirdo to justice.”
Trent added, “Not to mention probably saving Robbie. I would have left him there and he probably would have died. I was pretty emotional and he was being such a punk ass about everything. But you stayed with him and made sure that maniac didn’t steal him back.”
“I was shocked when I saw that helicopter coming down and I lost it when the wrecking ball dropped out of it. I had to light those guys up. I probably could have killed them too.”
Trent said, “You can’t think like that. I only wish I had been there to see it all happen. I will admit it’s kind of strange watching you morph into a dragon. I just got used to seeing Darominius do it, but not my wife.”
They drove for another hour and a half and finally made it back to Pennsburgh. Trent pulled into the small driveway and they got out of the car. Whitney noticed something hanging out of the mailbox. It had a golden glitter to it that caught her eye.
Whitney pulled out the rolled-up piece of white paper that had been sprinkled in gold dust. She tried to blow it off, but the crushed gold wouldn’t budge. She unrolled the paper and the writing was upside down so she turned it over.
A job well done, yes once again,
Now to relax, before the next mission,
A group of friends requests your time,
Those library steps, you must climb,
And walk those legs to the shelf you know,
Off to your other home is where you’ll go.
17
Trent and Whitney went behind the magical bookshelf at the Granny Larson Library. Her ghostly friend, Richard, was waiting in the small, dark area for them. He silently led them as they walked around the corner and saw the glowing vortex hanging in mid-air.
Trent dove into the swirling mass of numbers and letters with streaks of different colored lights bouncing around the circular image. Whitney jumped shoulder first into the portal and the immense pressure hit her as she slid downward.
The speed increased down the slide and she splashed into the emerald waters. She kicked and paddled to get to the top and after emerging, gasped for some sweet air. Trent helped pull her into the golden boat and Richard attached the onboard motor.
They calmly careened down the waterway with houses on either side.
“I’m mad at you guys, you know.” Whitney said to Richard.
“I had a feeling you would be a bit upset, but allow all of us to explain that once we get to the castle. It is wonderful to have you back in Soro Exxo,” Richard told her.
They cruised up to the steep incline and Richard hit the button to transform the steps. The staircase emerged with a loud thud and Trent helped Whitney out of the boat. They walked up to the door and Richard punched in the code to open the door.
The trio walked into the foyer and got on the hover pad. The initial speed jolted Whitney but she maintained her balance as they sped down the long hallway with old works of art and wallPads and streaming monitors.
The hover pad came to a gradual stop and the passengers got off and walked into the dining room. She put on her mean face as she entered the room.
The fluorescent-glowing ghosts sat around the table. Roland sat at the head of the table with Raquel to his right and Ruth-Ann and Richard to the left of their father. Whitney sat next to Raquel and Trent took a seat next to her.
Raquel said, “It is so great to see you again.”
Whitney said, “I wish I could say the same. Thanks for letting my husband get kidnapped on our honeymoon and then sending me on a crazy adventure without any help with the ghosts.”
Roland spoke in a calming tone. “After all we have done for you, do you think we would just let something like that happen if we could have prevented it?”
Whitney grudgingly shook her shoulders. “I guess not. But when I was being attacked by dark spirits, I was hoping you would show up to have my back.”
Ruth-Ann said, “The rules are different for the dark spirits or they break them. We cannot come and start a supernatural war on the earth’s surface for obvious reasons. You have to believe that we can see into the future for some things, but the man who kidnapped Trent acted impulsively and struck quickly.”
Raquel said, “We have helped you in every way we could. We asked Darominius to stay with you the entire time and we asked our Wiccan friends to come and alleviate the pressure from you. There wasn’t much more we could do. However, you can take solace in knowing that you fought through all that hardship all by yourself. You don’t need to rely on anyone anymore.”
Richard said, “It would appear that we are going to need your help soon. So now other people are relying on you.”
Whitney smirked. “So you won’t help me when I need it most, but now you want me to help you? I don’t know about that.”
Roland said,
“I understand the frustration and in all the excitement, we forgot to congratulate the two of you.”
The other family members joined in and congratulated the expecting couple.
“Thank you,” Trent said and blushed.
Richard chuckled. “Oh, you do talk again. I thought something happened to your tongue.”
Trent said, “Nothing wrong with the tongue. I just don’t know what to say when I’m here. I’m just trying to soak it all in.”
A flying tray zoomed into the room and hovered over the middle of the table.
Richard said, “Water.”
Raquel ordered, “Iced Tea.”
Roland said, “Lager.”
Ruth-Ann said, “Nothing, thank you.”
The family looked at Trent and Whitney. Raquel asked, “Do either of you want to order a drink?”
“OK, I’ll have an iced tea too.”
The hovering tray spoke. “OK, I’ll have does not compute.”
Richard said, “Just face the tray and say Iced Tea.”
Whitney followed his instructions and looked at Trent.
He said slowly, “Iced tea.”
Whitney smiled, never having had a drink order taken by a floating tray before. The silver rectangle zipped out of the room and down the hallway.
Richard said, “See mom, I told you she wouldn’t want to help us out in the next adventure. I guess she doesn’t want to go to space.”
“Go to space? What? What do you mean go to space?”
Raquel said, “You know it has been hinted at before, but if matters proceed at the rate that we expect, someone is going to try to invade Soro Exxo. Our planet shield is made of a secretive substance that no one has the technology to break. Unfortunately, someone is close to developing a way to break our shield.”
Roland said, “Nothing is set in stone. This matter could not even be an issue after you have the baby, but better odds have it as a high possibility. We would be sending you and Trent into interstellar space to break up the operation.”
The Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventure 3 Book Bundle Page 36
