The medics had left him unconscious long enough to clean and bandage his wound. She'd volunteered to administer the herbs that would restore his strength. She hoped that if she were the first person he saw when he woke up, it would soften his anger toward her.
Releasing a pent up breath, she opened the pouch of herbs and pinched a small amount between her thumb and forefinger. Gently, she parted his soft lips, and placed the substance on his tongue.
As soon as she did, he mumbled something she couldn’t make out. Within a few seconds his eyes opened, and focused on her.
“Did we get them?”
She laughed. “That's your first question?”
He nodded, looking as if he were greatly concerned about having caught the bad guys.
“Yes, we got them.” She touched the bandage on his shoulder gently, not wanting to cause him any pain. “And one of them got you.”
He sat up, wincing a bit. “Yeah, I gathered that much.”
She picked up the paper cup of water and the tablets off the metal table nearby. “Here, this should help with the pain.”
He took the offered items, downing the pills and following with a swig of water. “Thanks, Lieutenant.”
She smiled. He still referred to her by her title, but his tone had softened considerably since their last conversation. She figured now might be a good time to mount her apology efforts again.
“Listen, John, I just wanted to...”
He raised his hand, stopping her. “Apologize? You already did that.”
Her gaze dropped, and she waited for what would come next.
To her surprise, he reached out with his good arm, pulling her to sit on the gurney at his side. With his strong arm wrapped around her, she looked into his dark eyes, and saw her future.
“It's my turn to say I'm sorry,” he said, his voice as soft as a caress. “You offered an olive branch, and I was too stubborn to take it.”
She could feel a tear spilling down her cheek.
He chuckled. “I'd wipe it away, but my other arm's busted,” he joked. “I don't want to let you go.”
“Good, because I plan on holding on to you as well.” She tilted her head up, and their lips met. His kiss was as sweet as chocolate, and just as sinful. Her hand went to his cheek as the kiss deepened, sending her senses spiraling into a sea of delight. Hot, carnal memories of being beneath him rose inside her.
In front of them, someone cleared their throat.
Reluctantly, she pulled back, and saw Junjie standing there, looking amused.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he quipped, “ but the chopper's here.”
She stood, and helped John to do the same. “Alright, let's go.”
Hand in hand, they followed Junjie out of the MMU and into the cool night air.
Epilogue
John rolled over on a winter morning, emerging from a deep sleep to answer the call of nature. He moved slowly, so he wouldn't awaken Tatiana, and tiptoed out.
When he'd finished, he planned to sneak back into bed. Through the frost covered window, he caught a glimpse of the gray December day outside. Immediately he knew he had no desire to leave the house, or the bed for that matter.
He had just settled back under the covers with his beautiful lady when the jazz themed ringer of his cell phone pierced the silence.
A quick look at the screen told him it was Junjie. Knowing his buddy must have a pretty good reason to be calling him at 7 am on a Saturday, he answered the call. “Hello?”
“John, you gotta get down here, man. Lalah's in labor!”
So much for his plans to hide out in bed with Tatiana all day. The way J ran his words together let him know his friend was nervous. “Calm down, man. I'll get there as soon as I can.”
“You know the address, right?” J referred to the house he and Lalah had bought together in the spring.
“Yep. Be cool, J. I'm on my way.”
Disconnecting the call, he turned to wake Tatiana, but she was already looking at him with sleep hooded eyes. “What's going on?”
The sheets were pooled around her waist, revealing her naked torso. Tearing his eyes away from the tempting swell of her breasts, he informed her of the situation. Within twenty minutes, they were both dressed in their warm clothes and coats. Travel mugs of coffee in hand, he led her out to his car parked outside her townhouse.
As he cruised down I-95 toward Fayetteville, he wondered what he would find once he arrived at his friend's house. All the 'surprises' J and Lalah had saved for the birth were about to be revealed. He had a feeling things were going to get interesting, and he planned to make use of his camera phone to capture the event.
Tatiana dozed in the passenger seat most of the way. He glanced over at her lovely face every now and then, and thanked God for the joy and sweetness she brought to his life. The past few months with her made him wonder why he'd ever pushed her away.
Around 8:30, they arrived at the two story house in the Pine Forest neighborhood. Rousing Tatiana, he escorted her to the door, where a PHOENIX nurse let them in.
“Follow me, please.” The nurse then led them upstairs, to where Lalah was laboring in a bedroom.
Since PHOENIX didn't want to answer questions to a hospital about any odd features a baby might have, home births attended by PHOENIX midwives and nurses were the norm. The white scrub clad midwife was posted at the foot of the bed.
Lalah was lying in bed, the flowered bedspread over her midsection. Her long hair was in a disarray, some of it plastered to her sweat damp forehead. Junjie knelt on the floor next to the bed, clutching his fiancee's hand in both of his. To John's amusement, J looked just as sweaty as Lalah did.
John cleared his throat to make his presence known, and J looked back, sighing with relief.
Out of respect, they hung back, taking seats just outside the door of the bedroom. Holding Tatiana close, he waited patiently as time passed, listening to the sounds coming from the room.
A scream of absolute pain sliced the air.
Tatiana turned to him. “I told you we're not having any kids, right?”
He chuckled. “Yes, and I'm fine with that. Now that J's having a baby he and Lalah are retiring from PHOENIX.”
The midwife poked her head out into the hall. “The baby's here,” she announced. She was smiling, but there was something strange about it.
As he and Tatiana stepped into the room, he understood her expression.
Near the foot of the bed was a beautiful, chubby bronze baby. Dark curls were plastered to the infant's tiny head, and it wriggled and cried with vigor.
The baby was also hovering four feet off the carpeted floor.
With a look of pure shock, Junjie stammered, “It's a girl.”
An exhausted, but smiling Lalah sighed. “A girl.”
John looked at the midwife, a question in his eyes. She shrugged.
The baby was gorgeous, but taking in this scene made him perfectly fine with Ava being the only child in his life. Pulling Tatiana close with one arm, he took out his phone. “I've gotta get a picture of this!”
While he played photographer, he noticed Tatiana answering her own phone, the PHOENIX issued one. She stepped out of the room quietly to take the call. He could barely hear her muffled responses from the hallway.
As he congratulated his friends on their new bundle of floating joy, Tatiana poked her head around the door frame.
"Look's like Wyatt's finally cracked, and given up the name of his European contact." A sly smile came over her face. "How do you feel about Paris?"
John chuckled, shaking his head. He never knew when a call from PHOENIX would interrupt his life. He only knew he wanted to keep fighting the good fight.
Eyes on his girlfriend, he asked, "When do we leave?"
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A lifelong North Carolinian (except for 1 year and 8 months spent freezing her socks off in Alaska,) Alexandra Kane is a married mother of two. Writing has always been
a favorite activity of her, along with reading, sewing, scrapbooking and other crafts. She regularly attends the Romance Slam Jam conference (www.romanceslamjam.org), and is a member of the Beverly Jenkins Fan Club.
Email her at:
alexandrakane_1ATyahooDOTcom
A Note From the Author
Dear Reader:
What a ride, huh? I really hope you've enjoyed Embrace the Night. I fell in love with the characters, and I hope you did too. Life as a PHOENIX operative is anything but dull!
While the characters and events of this novel are fiction, the North Carolina Museum of History, and the artifacts described, are quite real. For more information on the museum, and the treasures you can view there, visit ncmuseumofhistory.org.
Remember, I love hearing from readers. Drop me a note at:
alexandrakane_1ATyahooDOTcom
and let me know what you thought of the book. Also, remember to like my page on Facebook.
I've got an idea for a third book in the series, but that all depends on you, the reader. So if you want to read Marcelo’s story, ask for it. The ball is in your court!
Best,
Alexandra
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