Dead are Forgotten

by Morgan Kelley

  So much for the ‘Bro Code’.

  Besides, he was worried about him.

  “Let’s talk,” he stated. “Ginny, no one comes in.”

  “Aye, aye, Captain,” she said, as she finished signing papers.

  Elizabeth didn’t like the look on her husband’s face. Ethan, while he could get stressed, never looked it. He was more a ‘blank canvas’ kind of guy.

  He could play poker with the best of them. If he didn’t want you reading him, you couldn’t.

  Now…

  Yeah, he looked worried, and that freaked her the hell out. Something bad was coming.

  She could feel it.

  There was a storm brewing, and Elizabeth didn’t want to get caught in the wake.

  “Ethan?”

  He gave her a kiss on the cheek as she approached him, and then he gave her a shove into his office.

  They had to talk.

  “Oh, and, Ginny, call her team and get them ready. She’s going to need them.”

  The woman saluted him.

  “On it boss. I’ll call them up. Do you want me to find an ME?” she asked.

  Ginny had gotten his message via her tablet that Chris was taking some time off.

  “Uh, I’m using Chris,” Elizabeth stated. “Whatever is happening, I’m not using some other ME.”

  She couldn't make herself clearer. There would be mutiny if they tried. This was non-negotiable for her.

  “Yeah, about that,” Ethan said, closing the door between them and his secretary.

  “We have an issue.”

  Oh crap.

  They had an issue?

  She hoped Gabe hadn’t called her off the hunt for O’Banion. Going into his office to make his life hell would be exhausting.

  “What kind, and how big of a problem?”

  “Big.”

  That was the last thing she wanted to hear. That couldn’t be good.

  The shit was coming.

  There was no doubt who it was going to hit full force too. She was doomed.

  This was one meeting she knew she didn’t want to be part of today.

  She could feel it.

  Chapter Two

  Ivan Bennet’s

  Home

  T hey had been back in Washington DC for only a few hours. They drove all-night, simply because Ivan wanted to get Blue into his bed, so he could be beside her. There was an urgency about it since his parents made them stay in separate rooms.

  He’d tried to convince them that he was an adult, and they could sleep in the same room, but it hadn’t worked.

  Ivan had to withstand his father’s looks, and even an uncomfortable conversation with him that entailed a condom, a banana, and more awkwardness than anyone should be forced to endure.

  He got it.

  His old man was trying to make a point.

  Only, it hadn’t worked. Maybe for the first three days, but after that, it was a free-for-all.

  You couldn’t keep a Marine down.

  Literally.

  When the need to have his woman arose, he was a man on a mission. While he wasn’t a saint, sneaking into her room to fool around, he’d gotten tired of getting caught.

  So, he cut their stay there short, and Ivan made the trek and brought Blue home.

  To his home.

  For some reason, he didn’t think he could face Blue at her place. It was still startling, even after two weeks of spending all that time together, to know she was wealthy.

  Loaded.

  Rich.

  In a way, it emasculated him.

  He’d been brought up that the man worked, bled, sweat, and took care of his woman, and here, his woman…

  Yeah, that was a tough one to swallow.

  So, he brought her to his home, carried her in when she fell asleep before they got there, and tucked her into his bed so she’d wake beside him.

  Now, he was watching her.

  Sunday, he was returning to protection detail, watching Elizabeth, and Blue would be back to work on Monday unless they had a case.

  Until then, he had plans.

  They involved Blue.

  Him.

  Bed.

  Nothing was going to keep this Marine from christening that bed, the floor, his shower, and even his kitchen counter.

  When he had a plan, he followed through, and his plan entailed taking Blue on one hell of a sexual mission.

  He couldn’t help it.

  Ivan wanted her.

  When she rolled over, her red hair mussed up, he couldn’t help but smile. She was his.

  All.

  Freaking.

  His.

  He was madly in love with her, and he desperately wanted to marry Blue, but Ivan knew that he had to meet her family first.

  That was the last obstacle.

  It was all that stood between them and their happily ever after.

  It shouldn’t be hard.

  Right?

  He had been a freaking combat Marine, saw battle, and nearly died during an explosion. You’d think meeting her family would be a cakewalk.

  Well, it wasn’t.

  It was the scariest thing he’d ever faced in all of his life, and that was saying a lot.

  With meeting them, he had the most to lose.

  Her.

  Their future.

  His heart.

  Ivan was terrified they’d tell her he was a loser and to dump his ass. Worse, he was afraid she’d listen, and he’d lose his heart again. He’d already been betrayed before by a woman, and as strong as he was, his guard was down, and he was unprotected.

  Everything was riding on that dinner.

  And he knew it.

  “Bluebell,” he said, giving her kisses on the neck to wake her up. He picked that name for her after they snuck out and made crazy, wild love in a field of those flowers. She’d been wearing a shirt that exact color, and it stole his breath.

  No, he’d never forget it.

  Ever.

  He’d lost his whole self to her that day, in the sunshine, under that tree, and forever. In that moment, he knew the truth. She’d been meant to be his.

  Always.

  “Mmmmm,” she said, rolling onto his body and opening her blue eyes.

  The sexy sweep of her lashes, framing the gorgeous color of her eyes made his heart skip the second she focused on him. Blue Garrick was gorgeous.

  And in his bed?

  Yeah.

  She was so damn hot.

  “How did I get in here?” she asked, trying to get her bearings. “Are we at a hotel?” she asked. “Did we stop sometime last night?”

  “We didn’t stop. We made it to my house, and you looked so sweet, I couldn’t wake you.”

  “That doesn’t explain how…”

  “Well, my sexy color fell asleep on the way home, and I couldn’t dump you at your place, so I kidnapped you and kept you here with me.”

  And now his bed would smell like her.

  At least he’d have that.

  If this went bad, he’d have a lingering reminder as he licked his wounds. Ivan knew deep down he shouldn’t be so negative, but Blue was from a wealthy family, and she had no business being with him.

  Guys like him didn’t get debutants who became doctors and then got bored. He wasn’t an idiot.

  This was destined to go to shit.

  Like everything he touched.

  At the farm, it had been easy to see her as his as she helped his mother hang laundry, or he chased her through a field of flowers.

  They were back in the real world now.

  This was where they had to figure out how to make this work. He worked long shitty hours, following Elizabeth around as he wore a bull’s-eye for her.

  Blue was an agent, and it was her job to draw. She only went out in the field when Elizabeth asked her to help out. Ivan knew they wouldn’t get lucky and spend time together.

  He wasn’t a fool.

  This was going to be hard.

 
; “Well, my sexy bodyguard, I don’t mind being kidnapped. You can do it whenever,” she said, straddling his hips. “There’s no one I’d rather be a captive with than you.”

  Ivan stared up at her, and he’d never seen a more beautiful woman.

  “Well, if I can’t see your body, how can I protect it?” he asked, giving her a hint as to what he really wanted.

  Her.

  Naked.

  In his bed.

  She found that funny. Her Marine was sexy when he was being himself. Blue could get accustomed to this every day of her life.

  Him.

  She wanted to be with him.

  “I can help you there,” she offered, pulling off her shirt. Beneath, there was some lacy number that had pretty delicate bows.

  It turned his blood to lava and made his body throb with need.

  God!

  He craved her.

  “You’ll always be my pin-up girl, Blue. You’ll always be part of me.”

  Her heart skipped.

  “I love you. You’ll always be my soldier,” she promised. Blue could see storms in his eyes, and that didn’t bode well for what was coming.

  Ivan was a thinker.

  He didn’t go with his gut.

  Instead, he only made a move after he’d thought it out, figured out what could go wrong, and then expected the worst.

  Sadly, he’d been conditioned by life to do that.

  With Blue, she went with her gut, always on a whim, and she was the eternal optimist. It only went to hell if you thought it would. She was lucky.

  After all, she’d found him.

  “Well, since I technically did just get home last night, how about you welcome me?”

  Oh, she could do that.

  Willingly.

  Tugging him up, they were chest to chest, and mouth to mouth. Blue didn’t hesitate to find that little piece of heaven when she kissed him.

  There was the tangle of tongues, the mating of mouth, and it was enough to pull a low, deep moan from Ivan’s chest.

  That sound made her wet.

  Only her Ivan could do that to her.

  Blue couldn't help it. Whenever she was in his arms, against his body, or kissing him…she forgot everything but him. There was only this sexy ex-soldier on her mind.

  They were good together.

  “God! I can’t get enough of you,” he said, as she pulled his shirt from his body so her bare skin would touch his.

  That kiss of flesh against flesh was erotic.

  Her mouth found his broad shoulders, and she left bites and kisses across one and to the other. He was rock-hard and throbbing against her body.

  Yeah, morning sex with this man was the best thing ever. It had been hard to be in a different room while at his parent’s house, but she understood. His father was old-fashioned, and he expected them to be married.

  That alone made her heart thunder.

  She’d love to marry him.

  Blue would be so proud to be his wife and that would be the pinnacle of her life—if he ever caught up to her.

  She was there.

  Clearly, he was not.

  As she drove him wild with her mouth, his body shook in anticipation.

  “Blue, honey,” he muttered as she traversed down his body, across his abs, and to the top of his pants.

  “Soldier, I’m going to rock your world. Oh, look! You’re standing at attention for me. Oohrah, Marine.”

  Yes, yes, he was.

  Ivan knew that would never change. This woman called to something so deeply ingrained in him, that he didn’t think he’d ever be free of her.

  He wanted her.

  Daily.

  Blue flicked open his pants, yanked him from his boxers, and took him in her mouth.

  He dropped back to stare at his ceiling as she gave him one hell of a blowjob.

  “JESUS!”

  She did something so wild and wicked that his hips came off the bed, and he nearly came. When she didn’t let up, he assumed that had been her plan.

  Then, the unthinkable happened.

  Her phone rang.

  Christ.

  The universe hated him.

  “It’s work. Take a message for me. I’m a little busy,” she said, only stopping to speak, and then going right back to her task at hand.

  What choice did he have?

  It looked like he was going to play secretary to his girlfriend while getting a blowjob.

  Whatever.

  It worked for him.

  “Agent Blue Garrick’s phone,” he said, watching his dick slide in and out of her warm mouth. It wasn’t easy to stay cognizant of the conversation.

  After all, he was a man.

  He listened.

  He swallowed.

  “I’ll tell her,” he said, as she cupped his balls and gave them a squeeze.

  He nearly came all over again, and he knew that had been her plan.

  His girl was wicked. It appeared that someone had been researching some shit online.

  And he was damn glad.

  “Yes, I’ll tell her. Bye,” he said, dropping the phone onto the bed and dragging her up his body to hold her.

  “Case?” she asked, as he rolled putting her beneath him. It was clear that she’d made him crazy with the tricks she’d picked up along the way.

  Blue liked to learn.

  Ivan was fun to study, practice on, and then give him the works in bed.

  “Yes, but I have to have you, Blue. Give me ten minutes,” he begged.

  That she could do.

  “Hurry,” she said, as he was pulling her pants off as he left nips and kisses across her breasts.

  Her man could multi-task.

  Hallelujah.

  “Ivan! HURRY!”

  “I’ll get you to work,” he reassured. “You won’t be late, and no one will be any the wiser that you’ve been with me.”

  Alarms went off in her head.

  Blue, while socially awkward, was smart.

  That sounded way off base.

  She stopped him.

  “What?”

  “What what?” he asked.

  “What did you mean by that?”

  He lifted a brow.

  “I don’t care about work, Ivan. I want you to hurry because I need to feel you in me. I don’t care who knows we were having sex. I’ll wear a sign for you.”

  His heart quaked.

  There was that love and adoration.

  There was that connection that he always wanted. Here was the only woman he ever wanted to call his name, to sleep in his bed, and to hold his heart in her hand.

  Here was his beautiful color.

  His Blue.

  “Whatever my lady wants, she’ll get,” he said, tugging her panties off and finding his way down her body.

  With teeth and tongue, he tore her control to shreds.

  Ivan drove her up, over, and into the cascading pleasure. The entire time, it was his name on her lips as she had the delicious orgasm.

  Ivan couldn’t wait.

  Sliding up her body, he placed himself between her legs and slid home.

  They both moaned as he found his way into the wetness he craved more than his next breath.

  “So good,” he muttered. “My girl,” he vowed, knowing he could never lose her.

  He’d lose himself.

  He’d die.

  “Hurry,” she begged, staring up at him as he began driving himself into her.

  They both said nothing more.

  Nothing was needed.

  Instead, they stared into each other’s eyes and that was more than enough for both of them.

  Blue saw love.

  Ivan saw adoration.

  They made a whole person when they came together as one.

  “So close,” Blue whispered, her body tingling with what was to come.

  “Me too,” he hissed, his body getting ready to betray him. Blue was tight, and her body was getting ready to take his for one hell
of a fall.

  He could tell.

  “Ivan!” she gasped, as she took the tumble again, but this time, she wasn’t alone.

  He fell too.

  With her.

  In her.

  Forever.

  Silence fell around them, but her whole world tilted as Ivan rolled, taking his girl with him.

  “Mmmmm, that was amazing, Ivan,” she whispered, trying to focus through the pleasure.

  He was glad.

  Ivan wanted that and so much more for her.

  “That is something I can get used to,” he said, as she nuzzled against him.

  Blue didn’t say anything.

  She wanted to, but she didn’t want to push him. She knew what she wanted, and it was him.

  Only him.

  Ivan was a little agitated that she didn’t offer the sentiment back to him. He’d made that comment waiting for her to say something—anything to him. He wanted to be with Blue nonstop, and maybe she could move in with him.

  He’d make sure she was so happy.

  Ivan would die to give her anything she wanted. Blue was his woman, and he’d sacrifice it all.

  “What did work want?” she asked, sensing that he was getting cranky. His whole body vibrated with tension.

  If anything, he was predictable.

  “You have a case. The bosses want you to head in. There’s a body.”

  She sat up and shook out her hair.

  “Blue.”

  “What?” she asked.

  How did he ask her?

  How did he come out and tell her that he wanted her to never leave his bed?

  “I’ll drive you to the office,” he offered, chickening out. It wasn’t like him, but he didn’t want to be rebuked.

  Honestly, he wouldn’t recover.

  “Okay,” she said, smiling brightly. “I have appropriate clothes in my bag. My gun and badge, too, so we don’t have to swing by my place.”

  Thank God for that.

  He smiled.

  Only, he wasn’t feeling it. What he wanted to do was put a few holes in the walls. What he wanted to do was never let her leave his side.

  “I can call a cab if you don’t want to drive me,” she offered, noticing the storms rolling back into his eyes. Ivan was overthinking something.

  She’d bet on it.

  “I’m taking my girl to work. You’re never calling a cab. What kind of man does that?”

  She gave him a kiss. His tone said it all. Ivan was ready to blow, but she didn’t know why.