"What're you thinking about?" she asked, as she crawled back into bed and snuggled up beside me.
"How much I love you," I answered honestly, slipping my arm around her to draw her in closer. I caught a whiff of her hair, fresh and clean and slightly floral. "How glad I am that I didn't let you slip away."
"Only took liver damage, a pill addiction, PTSD, and a life-threatening car crash that required weeks of physical therapy," she joked, but her arms tightened around me as well. "And mister, that's all the risks that I'll allow."
"From here on out, I'll wear a life vest and never go anywhere without a monitor," I promised. "Know anyone who's willing to take that job?"
"And now look what I've gotten myself into, watching over you," Linda sighed, leaning in and kissing my cheek. "I might as well have burdened myself with a kid."
I straightened up a little at that word choice. "How do you feel about children, by the way?" I asked curiously.
She turned and blinked up at me, big blue eyes that far outshone the diamond on her finger. "Seriously?"
"Seriously."
She stopped to consider the question. "I always liked kids, although I never really thought that I'd ever be in the right circumstances to have them," she admitted after a few seconds. "But I like the idea, and I do believe that I'd try my hardest to be as good of a parent as I can be."
I smiled down at her, as she considered this for another moment, and then nodded, confirming that she'd spoken the truth. "What about you?" she asked.
"Before, I don't think I would have trusted myself with kids," I said. "I couldn't even handle myself, much less anyone else. But now?" I ran my fingers down her upper arm, loving how the gentle touch made her shiver. "Now, it seems like it would be nice."
I started to reach for her, but she held up a finger in front of me, waggling it back and forth. "Don't go getting any ideas about making them right now," she warned me. "If we're going to have kids, we'll do it at the proper time."
"And what's that?"
"Married," she stated firmly, tapping me in the chest with that finger. "We're going to be married, and we will go on a very, very expensive honeymoon, on your private jet, and we are going to do all sorts of wonderful things that I never dreamed would ever happen to me. Live in foreign cities, explore great ancient locations, everything."
"I can do that," I allowed.
She kept up her frown for another minute before it was melted by the heat of the smile that replaced it. "And then," she finished, "maybe we can think about making a baby."
"Just one?"
"Or two. Maybe three, if they're both boys. I'd like to have a little girl."
"Or a third if they're both little girls," I countered. "I need a son, to carry on the Stone family line!"
She snorted. "You mean, to go into the military and shoot at people, risking death or grievous injury, or even long-term mental trauma."
"Right. It's traditional."
"I'll have to work on tearing down that tradition," she said, her finger still resting against my chest. Slowly, she spread it out until her full hand rested against one of my pectoral muscles, radiating heat into me, feeling the thumping of my heart as it strained with love to burst out of my ribs. "But that can come later."
"What are we going to do now?" I asked, even as my hands slid down over her soft skin, down to the firmness of her hips, guiding her onto me as she slid her knee across my upper thighs.
She smiled. "Love each other. No children, no fear from anything that happened to us in the past."
"I can do that."
I brought her towards me, kissed her, felt her sigh as she melted against me. There in my big bed, inside the house that belonged to my family, where I'd grown up, I loved this new woman who had come into my life. I gave myself over to her completely, felt her do the same to me. We came together with delight, two sparks that merged to become one flame, two halves of the same soul that had managed to find each other.
And in that moment, a crystal and gossamer moment that felt as fragile as the most delicate spun glass ornament, we were magical.
Epilogue
LINDA
*
"Are you sure that I'm allowed to come to this?" I asked Richard for the fifth time as I nervously smoothed the dress that fit snugly around me. I still felt a little strange putting on these new, tailored clothes, feeling how closely they hugged my skin. Richard assured me that I looked amazing in them, however, and I agreed with his assessment whenever I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
"Of course you're allowed – you're a part of us, now." Richard's voice was slightly muffled, coming from the other side of the half-closed bathroom door. "Or you will be, once we finally get this wedding to happen."
"Don't think that you can get out of it now," I warned him. "We've already started looking at places – and once we put a deposit down on a location, we're committed both to the spot and to a date! This whole thing is overwhelming to plan!"
Richard poked his head out from around the bathroom door, smiling gently at me. "I'm not backing out of anything," he said simply, his eyes drinking me in. "You look amazing, by the way."
"Damn right I do." I gave a little twirl, admiring how the skirt seemed to float around me. I did have to admit that my legs looked surprisingly great in the new outfit, I considered reluctantly. My old professional outfits hadn't done nearly as good a job of highlighting my slimness, instead of trying to hide it with intentional bagginess.
"You know, I remember you being a lot less arrogant when we first met, even when I asked you to marry me." Richard slipped out of the bathroom, stepping over to me and sliding his arms around my waist to draw me in close. "What happened to that woman that I fell in love with?"
I puckered my lips at him. "You're not in love with me?"
He laughed, drew me in for a kiss. "You know that I love you more than anything," he whispered.
"Well, I love you even more," I whispered back, kissing him again. Even now, more than a month after he first slid the glittering diamond onto my finger, I still felt the attraction towards him like a physical need, and he only had to put his hands on me to inflame me with urgency to have him, to touch him, to show him how much love I had to give him.
The kiss turned into another, this one stronger and more passionate. I felt that heat rising up in me, tempting me to let Richard peel this fancy new dress right off of me and take what lay beneath, but I managed to resist. "We can't get caught up in this," I pointed out to him. "We need to be at the restaurant in twenty minutes."
"I can do things with twenty minutes," he answered, grinning as his hands dipped beneath the hem of my dress to give me a preview of his intentions.
I wavered for a minute, but then gently pushed him away. "Later," I promised. "But this is my first chance to really make a good impression on your brothers as your fiancée. I don't want to screw this one up."
"Poor choice of words," he complained, but he stepped away from me and sat on the bench at the foot of his bed, tugging on his dress shoes. "But I think I can wait an hour or two longer to have you in bed with me."
We descended from his bedroom, out to the front of the house. Richard still didn't touch a drop of alcohol, but the car crash hadn't left him with a fear of driving. He'd ordered the latest BMW 7-Series, and I slid into the passenger side onto its leather seat. Already, the morning sun lent its heat to the leather beneath my thighs. Richard climbed into the driver's seat and started up the car with a push of a button.
We drove sedately into town, over to the brunch place that I'd selected. I chatted lightly with Richard as we drove, asking him little questions about Teddy's trip to London that had taken him away for the last few months. He'd only just arrived back in town a few days ago, hence why we'd planned this Stone monthly lunch – now with one more attendee, myself!
"I don't know why you're so nervous about this," Richard commented as we pulled up to the front of the restaurant. I still hadn't totally
adjusted to the idea of being wealthy; the little things like valet parking still seemed like an unnecessary expense, while Richard never gave them a second thought. "I'm marrying you, no matter what. My brothers will learn to live with you – there's no other choice for them."
"I'd rather not have to force the rest of your family into appreciating me," I countered as we stepped inside. "I want to win them over, not blackmail them!"
We were the first to arrive, and a smiling waitress led us over to our reserved table. Richard picked up the menu and perused it while I drummed my fingers on the table, trying to convince myself that I didn't need to order a mimosa to calm my nerves. Callie had texted me this morning to wish me luck, but a little part of me wished that she could be here in person, calming me down with that bubbly personality of hers, cracking a joke at just the right moment to ease the tension.
Teddy arrived next. I'd never met the middle Stone brother before, but I recognized him immediately as a relation to Richard. He stood perhaps a half inch shorter than my fiancé, less muscled, but with the same short haircut, the same strong jawline, the same glint of iron determination in his eyes. He spotted Richard, and his eyes moved over me coolly.
Richard and I both stood up to greet him, and we exchanged handshakes. "Good to meet you," he said, taking a seat at our table. "So you and Richard are engaged?"
I nodded, and gave him the story of how we met, how we came together, how we fell in love and realized that we needed each other. I realized that I was speaking a bit breathlessly, rushing my words, but I nervously wanted this man to like me. Richard, meanwhile, just leaned back in the booth, listening to my words but not contributing.
When I finished talking, Teddy nodded, but then turned his gaze to his brother. "And what do you have to say?" he asked.
Richard shrugged. "I think I'm finally finding the right balance of responsibility," he said simply. "Before, I ran myself ragged worrying about you and Seb, but I let myself go to shit as a consequence. Now, with someone watching over me," and he reached out to take my fingers, squeezing them tightly as they rested on top of the table, "I'm finally looking out for myself, as well."
Teddy looked at us for a long minute, not saying anything, unknown thoughts dancing around inside of his head. I could tell that he was thinking over every angle; Richard had told me that Teddy worked as an engineer, and I saw that logical brain at work. But finally, just as I felt about to explode with tension, his features softened.
"You two are definitely in love," he admitted. "And Richard, I don't think I've ever seen you look quite so... relaxed."
"I know where I want my future to go," Richard said simply, looking at me. I felt my breath catch in my throat, just hit by that radiating, overwhelming love that poured out of him. I squeezed his fingers back, and he smiled gently.
After a second, Teddy picked up his menu. "Well, I'm on board. Seb is probably going to throw a major bitch-fit, though. Any idea when he'll be getting here?"
"Not a clue," Richard admitted. "He went out for some party last night, and I haven't heard a peep from him since then. But while he's out, I do have another question for you."
Teddy looked up, as Richard gave my fingers another squeeze. We'd discussed this question before arriving, and I supported him. It was his choice, after all, and I trusted his judgment. I trusted him, plain and simple.
"Teddy, will you be my best man?" Richard asked.
Teddy hadn't been expecting that question. His eyes widened a little, and his mouth dropped open without producing any sound for a second. He looked between us, blinking, trying to rebalance to this new and unexpected inquiry.
"Of course I will!" he finally managed, swallowing but still looking surprised and caught off-guard. "Richard, I'm honored."
"Really? It's going to be a fair bit of work, lots of planning," Richard warned. "I picked you because you're great at that stuff, but I know that it's still a lot of investment, a lot of work that I'm asking you to take on..."
"You won't be working totally alone," I chimed in. "My best friend, Callie, is going to be the maid of honor, and she'll help out with a bunch of the details. We'll do as much as we can, too. Don't think that it's all on your shoulders."
Teddy held up his hand. "I'm sure that I can handle it." He laughed. "And besides, consider the alternative. Seb, as a wedding planner? Imagine the chaos."
"Speaking of whom..." Richard said, glancing up over his brother's shoulder towards the entrance to the restaurant.
I looked as well – and sure enough, there was Sebastian, making his way over to our table! He looked half asleep, still, and dropped down heavily into the fourth chair at our table. "Why do you plan these things so damn early?" he complained, without even a word of greeting to us.
"It's eleven thirty in the morning," Teddy sighed.
"Yeah, early. I only went to bed a few hours ago, and Tori practically carried me into her place to pass out." He looked around, brightening. "But I made your stupid lunch thing, so you can't get upset! What did I miss?"
Sebastian, of course, already knew all about my engagement to Richard. Even though he didn't spend much time in the mansion where he claimed to still live, he'd dropped by enough times to spot the massive diamond that now graced my finger. Uncertain about me at first, he changed his tune after I kept on cooking for him, leaving out meals that he scarfed down over the sink. The way to Sebastian's heart, it seems, is definitely through his stomach.
"You missed me asking Teddy to be my best man," Richard said.
I half-expected Sebastian to get upset at this news, annoyed that he'd been passed over for consideration. I needn't have worried, however. As soon as he heard this news, Seb threw his head back and laughed, pointing a finger across the table at Teddy.
"Hah!" he crowed. "That means that you get to handle doing all the work! Sucker!"
Teddy just rolled his eyes, looking over at me. "See what I mean?" he said in an aside that was fully audible to everyone at the table. "Seb and responsibility is like gasoline mixed with an open flame – a destructive idea that's going to end in someplace getting burned to the ground."
Seb just laughed again. "He's not wrong. Remember Dad's gazebo, when I tried to hold turtle races there?"
"What happened to the gazebo?" I asked, caught up in horrified momentum.
"Well, I wanted to have the turtles start off with a big bang, and since they're cold-blooded, I figured that they'd need to be kept nice and warm anyway, so that they'd race faster. More excitement. So I rigged up these jets that would shoot out flames over the track by spraying out gasoline." Seb shrugged. "I didn't calculate just how far the gas droplets would go, I guess."
"And you forgot about the very important detail of the gazebo being made of wood," Teddy added. "The thing was nothing but ashes by the time that the fire department arrived."
"Hell, if I could go back, though, I'd do it all over again," Seb declared. He waved at a passing waiter, asking for a mimosa. For some reason, this made me feel a little prouder of abstaining, as if Seb was the absolute base measurement of self-control. "Since that gazebo burned down, I've never had to take on responsibilities for anything – which includes this wedding! Teddy gets to do all the work, and I get to enjoy the party at the end."
The waiter came back with Seb's mimosa and to take the rest of our orders, and the conversation dropped for a couple minutes as we all picked up our menus and hastily decided on what we wanted to eat. We handed over the leather-bound menus and the waiter ducked away to put in our requests.
"And like I said, Teddy," I added once we'd settled back down. "Callie will help you out with all the planning."
Teddy nodded, picking up his glass of water. "I hope so. I have to admit that I don't know much about planning out weddings – it's not like I've been put in charge of planning one before."
"Knowing Teddy, the wedding's going to be on a strict schedule and with half the stuff controlled by robots," Seb cracked.
Teddy flick
ed an ice cube at his brother. "Better than anything that you can put together."
Richard's two younger brothers fell into bickering back and forth. I looked over at Richard, who met my gaze and smiled, rolling his eyes slightly. This friction between his brothers, it seemed, was a perennial part of joining the Stone family.
I didn't care. I loved Richard with all my heart, and I'd put up with other family members that were a million times worse than bickering Teddy and Sebastian. I loved him, and I wanted to take him, flaws and all, for the rest of my life. I was going to marry him, and even if the wedding turned out to be an absolute disaster, even if Teddy's plans all fell through and Seb repeated the past by setting the building on fire, I'd still consider that day, the day of my wedding, to be the happiest day of my life.
I still held Richard's fingers in my own, and I gave them one last squeeze. "I love you," I whispered over to him.
His smile lit up his whole face, helped by the glow of attraction in his eyes as he looked steadily back at me. "I love you too," he responded, and I knew that it was true.
And that moment, even as his brothers still bickered in the background, felt magical. My whole life had changed in the last few months, as I went from living alone to falling in love with this military veteran, and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. He had been damaged, but he was now repaired, and he belonged solely to me, just as I'd given myself over completely to him.
I couldn't wait to spend the rest of my life with him.
The End!
Still want a little more of Linda and Richard?
There are a few chapters that didn't make it into this book! Specifically, I ended up cutting out a section where Richard pulled out all the stops to take Linda on the best date of her life. A billion-dollar trust fund can buy a hell of an amazing date...
Instead of throwing that whole section out, however, I've converted it into a bonus story, available for free! All you need to do is sign up for my mailing list at the following link, and you can get a very sexy, intimate glance into Richard's best date ever...
For Love of Valor: A Bad Boy Military Romance Page 17
