Chapter 20
Chapter twenty
Cursing, Sabrina pushed the button again, but the damn thing refused to open. Huffing out a frustrated breath, she shoved her hair out of her face and decided to call out for help.
Until she saw Rocco Ferrante crawling toward the SUV. Face bloody, eyes oozing hate and locked on her like a bogey from hell.
“Shit,” she hissed and began tugging on the seat belt. Hard, desperate yanks. Beyond frantic. “C’mon, please…”
Her gaze darted out the broken window again and terror trickled through her veins. Ferrante still had the machine gun, and he was lifting it up. Aiming it at her.
This is it. I’m trapped. About to be shredded by a hail of bullets.
Tears filled her eyes and her mind went to the one thing that would give her comfort in her final few moments on earth. Jayson.
Picturing his beautiful hazel eyes, remembering how they turned golden when he looked at her with desire, made her heart clench.
That little scar between his brows, his cozy dad cardigan sweater that smelled fresh and soapy like him, the way he made her feel like the only woman in the room. She was going to miss him so damn much.
Squeezing her eyes shut, she tensed, waiting.
Pop!
She flinched. But there was no pain. Why was there no pain?
Her eyes snapped open. Ferrante lay on the sandy ground, not moving. Blood oozing from his body.
As if her mind had conjured him, Jayson appeared. Limping toward her as fast as possible, he called her name, “Sabrina!”
“Jayson!” Relief swept through her, and she didn’t know whether to burst into tears or kiss him. “I’m stuck.”
And then he was there, plucking a knife from his boot and sawing through the lap belt. “Hang on, Sunflower. I’ve got you.” The restraint severed and he caught her in his arms, pulling her free of the SUV.
“Ohmygod, I thought I was going to die.” She decided to cry and kiss him. Tears streamed down her face as she pressed her lips against his. “You saved my life. Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me,” he rasped, cupping her face, hazel eyes searching hers. “Of course I’m going to save the woman I’ve fallen in love with.”
Her lips parted. “Y-you’ve fallen in love with me?”
“Why do you sound so surprised? From the first moment we met, I knew there was something special about you.”
“You mean when I played my music too loud?” she teased, sniffling.
“I mean when I first looked into your golden-brown eyes and saw a new future. One where I wasn’t grumpy and alone. A future with you. If you want me—”
“I do! I want you so much!”
A smile curved his mouth and he lowered his face, sealing their words with a kiss. It cut short when she heard running boots and then an SUV skidding to a stop nearby. Brand, Chaz and Lex raced up to them, and Corey and Wes hopped out of the car.
“Holy shit!” Chaz exclaimed. “You’re alive, Knight!”
“I’m alive,” he confirmed. Weary and a little beat up, but still breathing.
“Are you guys alright?” Brand asked.
“Her hand needs attention,” Jayson stated.
“On it.” Wes pulled a med kit from his backpack.
“You were limping,” Sabrina pointed out. “What happened?”
“It’s just a graze.”
“From a bullet?” she practically screeched. “Wes, please check his leg first.”
“Sabrina—” Jayson started to argue, but she refused to back down.
“Jayson, sit down so he can fix you up,” she ordered, refusing to relent. Her man would be taken care of first, and there was no point debating the issue.
“Yes, ma’am.” She helped him hobble over and sit down on a nearby boulder, while Wes cut a slit up Jayson’s torn cargo pants to reveal a nasty bullet graze. “See, it’s not that bad.”
“It’s not that good, either.” She hated seeing his blood, knowing he’d been hurt. But, they’d been lucky and they’d survived.
“My head hurts worse.”
Her eyes widened. “What’s wrong with your head?”
“Bumped it.”
“On what?”
“The ground.” The wryness in his voice didn’t ease her worry.
“Oh, my God. How bad?” She circled around him, and when she parted his hair, he flinched. “You’re bleeding here, too. You could have a concussion.”
“I’ll check it out,” Wes assured her.
“Thank you.” She reached for Jayson’s hand with her uninjured one and threaded her fingers through his. “I need you to be okay,” she whispered. Fierce, yet frightened. If anything happened to him, she’d never get over it.
“I’m okay, Sunflower.” He gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. “Let me see your hand.”
Now that all the heart-stopping action was over, she’d noticed its dull throbbing again. Carefully extending it, she tried not to wince at how terrible it looked. Dried, crusty blood. Her index finger didn’t look bad at all, but her pinkie nail was completely gone.
He gently touched her wrist. “I’m so sorry he hurt you.”
“He can’t hurt any of us ever again,” she whispered.
“She’s right,” Brandon said. “The Ferrante empire is officially over.”
“Thank fuck.” Chaz looked over at Lex. “Christ Almighty, that was some incredible flying, Battle.” He slapped the pilot on his back as the others all expressed their praise.
“Not my best landing.” Lex gave them a sheepish grin. “But, on the bright side, I managed not to land on Jayson.”
“And I appreciate that, Battle,” Jayson responded. He turned his attention to Chaz. “Thanks for cutting me loose in time.”
“No problem.”
Wes wrapped Jayson’s leg then attended to Sabrina’s hand, cleaning and bandaging it. “It’ll be good as new before you know it.”
“Thank you.” She looked at each man on Jayson’s team, her chest tightening with gratitude. “Thank you so very much.”
It took less than ten little words to make six of the biggest, toughest, most alpha men she’d ever met blush. They were absolutely adorable, and she couldn’t have adored them more.
It had been a long-ass day, and the team decided to spend the night in Las Vegas and fly home early the next morning.
They chose a popular hotel with excellent security, and nowhere near The Starlight Hotel. Everyone went straight to their rooms to clean up and crash. Sabrina insisted on sharing a room with Jayson, and he’d gladly agreed.
They stripped out of their filthy, torn clothes, and Jayson pulled her into his arms, kissing her passionately.
The feel of her naked body pressing eagerly against his was enough to make him crazy.
Forcing himself to step away, he flipped the shower on, took her hand and led her beneath the edge of the spray.
“Careful not to get your hand wet,” he murmured.
“And you watch your leg and head.”
He chuckled. “We’re a mess.”
“A big, still breathing, beautiful mess,” she concluded. When he tried to release her hand, she caught it, pressing it to her chest. “When I was down in that bunker, strapped to the table—”
“Sabrina.” He hated hearing how she’d been hurt. Vulnerable. In the hands of a madman like Rocco Ferrante.
“I pictured you.” His heart swelled with love. “We were walking through a field of sunflowers, and you told me everything was going to be alright.”
“I will always come for you. Protect you. Cherish you.”
“My fierce protector.” Her pretty honeycomb eyes searched his face. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I’m the lucky one, Sunflower.” He laid a hand against her face while his other stayed pressed against her beating heart.
“You showed me what it feels like to love and be loved. Until you, I thought I was destined to die alone in my recliner, grouchy and miserable. But you brought hope and sunshine back into my life. Thank you for that. Thank you so damn much.”
The smile she gave him lit his soul.
“I’m going to plant you a whole field of sunflowers,” he promised.
“Just love me, Jayson.” She turned her face into his palm and kissed it.
“Always,” he swore, capturing her mouth in a long, passionate kiss that left them both gasping in the steamy air.
As much as he wanted to scoop her up and get busy beneath the showerhead, he knew they should save it until they got out. The dad in him didn’t want to soak their fresh bandages. Besides, they had a huge king-size bed waiting for them to destroy. And he planned to absolutely wreck it with her.
But that didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy their shower together. They soaped up with washcloths and carefully wiped away all the dirt and dried blood from each other. There were quite a few places that didn’t hurt, and they made sure to stroke and rub those spots until they were squeaky clean.
After spending an inordinate amount of time with his hand between Sabrina’s legs, fingering her into a full, body-shuddering orgasm, she screamed his name and collapsed in his arms. So limp and boneless, he pulled back in concern.
“Okay?”
Trembles rocked through her frame. “I think I just blacked out. My soul literally left my body. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel and met my ancestors.”
He chuckled, lifting her into his arms, and carried her dripping, satiated body into the bedroom. “I’m not done with you or your ancestors,” he promised huskily.
Very carefully, he laid her out on the bed then came down, covering her with his heat. And there was no doubt about it—he was hotter than a furnace for her. So fucking hard and eager to slip inside her. To feel her pussy tighten and spasm around him until they both lost every last shred of control.
Reaching for the condom he’d left on the bed, he quickly rolled it on and settled back down between her luscious thighs.
“Please,” she murmured, writhing beneath him. “Fill me up, Jayson.”
He notched the wide head of his cock at her slick entrance then slammed home.
She arched up with a moan, meeting his thrusts.
Their skin, wet from the shower, made their bodies slide and glide.
So sexy. Caught in a raw and relentless rhythm, he grazed her neck with his teeth.
Marking her. Desperate to make her come again, to feel her melt beneath him in pleasure, he reached down and rubbed her clit with firm circles.
“Ohhhh…” Her legs wrapped around him and her inner muscles squeezed hard.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Sabrina,” he rasped. He would make her body rise and fall like the fucking Roman Empire. “Now, come for me.”
She gasped his name then splintered with a cry.
“Good, good girl.” He kissed her deeply as her pussy spasmed around his cock. Adjusting her hips, he sank deeper and began to move faster. Harder. His powerful orgasm nearly knocked him senseless, and he came with a deep groan, stiffening above her in ecstasy as he emptied every last drop.
Collapsing, but catching his weight on his forearms, he pressed a soft, lingering kiss to her neck.
“I love you…” The words came out rough. So earnest. He dragged his stubbled cheek against her silky one.
Meeting her pretty eyes, seeing how his words made them light up, he kissed her hard, still buried deep inside her. He was home.
When they finally broke apart, breathing heavily, she touched his face. “I love you, too.”
A couple in love and in Las Vegas could lead to any number of things. Way too much fun. Drunken mistakes. Regrets. Affairs. Unbelievable moments. Sometimes, even marriage.
Jayson and Sabrina decided their Vegas memories would include the latter.
A few minutes before midnight, surrounded by the Motley Crew—with their significant others, Emma and Brett on video calls—Jayson and Sabrina exchanged vows in the hotel’s wedding chapel.
Standing beneath an arch woven with fake white roses and satin ribbons, they promised to love and cherish each other for the rest of their lives.
Simple and sweet. Him wearing a plaid shirt and worn denim and her in leggings and wrapped up in his warm cardigan.
Because, of course, it had been in his go bag, and she was stealing it.
Sabrina wisely decided to tell her father later. She wasn’t exactly sure how Special Agent in Charge Daniel Ross would feel about their spur of the moment decision, so she figured it would be best to cross that bridge later.
After making love earlier, they’d talked about their future.
And it all led to the same place—them living together in Cielo Springs and loving each other fiercely.
Sabrina had no problem leaving her job and D.C.
behind. She’d miss her dad, but they could talk every single day and visit several times a year.
The one thing she knew for sure? Jayson belonged to her, and she belonged to him.
When they’d knocked on Brand, Chaz, Wes, Corey and Lex’s doors, the guys had initially been surprised. More so because it was so late. Not because Jayson and Sabrina told them they loved each other and were eloping.
“That’s just how we do it around here,” Brand said. The ceremony was over and they’d gathered in the hotel’s trendy bar to celebrate. “Once we find the perfect woman, there’s no need to wait.”
“When you know, you fucking know,” Chaz said, and everyone raised a glass of champagne. “To Jayson and his bride! Congratulations!”
“Congratulations!” Everyone echoed.
It’s never too late to find the one, Sabrina thought, sipping her champagne and looking up at her husband.
He made her insanely happy, and he was gifting her a daughter, too.
At this point in her life, she never thought she’d be able to say that—that she could be a mother.
Granted, Emma might only be considered a stepdaughter to some, but to Sabrina, she would be like her very own flesh and blood.
An extension of the love she shared with Jayson.
Heart full to the point of bursting, she tilted her head back and Jayson captured her lips in a kiss full of love and promise.