Chapter 24 #3
“Not even close. Just me letting you know what my intentions are. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Make a family. Live happily ever after. My mom is gonna want the big-shindig wedding. She had a blast planning Natalie’s, and I know she’ll be honored if you let her help plan ours.
She loves you already. You won her over with that first phone call I made, updating her on what was going on.
And you’re going to be an amazing mother.
But you need to get your career figured out first. And mine isn’t exactly calm and easy at the moment.
We’ll play things by ear. But one day soon, I’ll pull out a big-ass ring and ask you to be my wife. To let me be your husband.”
Amanda had a huge grin on her face that she couldn’t hold back. “And when that day comes, I’ll gladly say yes. I love you so much, it’s almost scary.”
“I completely agree. But there’s something so…beautiful in that terror, isn’t there? Knowing you have someone who will be by your side no matter what?”
“Absolutely. Nash?”
“Yeah, Rebel?”
“Is it weird to say I’m glad I was kidnapped?”
“Yes.”
“Nash! No, it isn’t.”
“You asked, I answered. Never be glad for that. But you can be glad we met. You can be glad circumstances led me to you, or you to me, but you can’t be glad you were kidnapped.
I firmly believe we would’ve managed to meet some other way.
We’re both here in Norfolk, it would’ve happened eventually.
And when it did, I also believe we would’ve clicked just as fast as we did down in Guyana. ”
“You really think that?”
“Yes. Now, how about I go find a nurse and see where your discharge papers are? I’m sure you’re ready to get the hell out of here, and Rain is more than ready for you to come home. He’s a damn bed hog, and neither of us have been sleeping well since you’ve been gone.”
“One thing before you go.”
“Yeah?”
“I talked to the doctor…and he said that I was cleared for sex whenever I felt up to it.”
Nash stared at her with a look so hot, it was all Amanda could do to hold his gaze.
“And I’m thinking we never got that hot night we were planning after the bar.”
“You remember that?” Nash asked.
“Bits and pieces. I remember I was drunk, and you were excited about having drunk sex.”
“Fuck,” Nash said, shifting in his seat and reaching down to adjust his cock in his pants.
“So…no alcohol for me for a while, doctor’s orders, but I want the rest. I want to experience Nash in all his controlling, dominating glory, where all I have to do is relax and enjoy. But maybe we can have slow, gentle sex and work up to the other stuff.”
“Now I’m really going to go and find a nurse,” Nash muttered as he stood.
Amanda could see his erection in his pants, and she giggled. “Maybe you shouldn’t go walking the halls with that going on,” she said, gesturing toward his crotch with a nod of her head.
Nash leaned over her and kissed her hard. “Love you, woman. Thank you for being strong. For holding on. For coming back to me.”
“Love you too.”
Not a day would go by from here on out that Amanda didn’t tell this man how much he meant to her. They’d almost lost each other, and she didn’t want to have any regrets when it came to him.
She lay back on the pillows and smiled as he strode out of the room. She was more than ready to tackle the rest of her life, as long as Nash was by her side. It wouldn’t be easy, life never was, but as partners, they could make it through anything.
It had been two months since Mandy returned home from the rehab center. Two months since she’d sobbed on his shoulder upon realizing there was a surprise “welcome home” party waiting for her when she got to his apartment.
And Buck didn’t take one day of those two months for granted. He and the rest of the Night Stalkers were headed out on a mission the day after next, and he dreaded it like he never had before.
Buck understood it was because he was still feeling overly protective of Mandy.
Though he didn’t really have a reason to feel that way.
She was now working at her sub job every day, and loving it.
Rain was content to stay in the apartment during the day and soak up all the attention he could get when Mandy got home.
They’d decided not to make him an emotional support dog in any kind of official way.
After his difficult start in life, he deserved to be lazy, and to sleep his days away while Mandy worked.
There was no danger lurking around the corner. No worry about the rebels down in South America wanting revenge, since the only reason they’d targeted Mandy in the first place was because they’d been paid to do so.
The colonel had been able to put off any deployment until Mandy had fully recovered. The break had also given Laryn time to finish retrofitting the chopper for Casper. But there was no reason for them to delay any longer. There was a job to do, and the Night Stalkers were needed.
They were knee deep in preparations for deployment, so by the time he got home from work, it was after eight o’clock. He’d communicated with Mandy throughout the day, letting her know he’d be late and not to worry about making him something to eat, since Obi-Wan had ordered takeout for the team.
He was more than ready to turn off work for the moment when he walked in the door.
“Mandy?” he called out, the second he stepped inside.
“In here!” she returned, her voice coming from their bedroom.
Rain was sitting in the foyer waiting for him, as he always was—it was amazing how the dog had the innate ability to know when he or Mandy would be arriving—and after receiving his pat on the head, he trotted over to his bed in the living area and did a few circles before lying down.
Buck walked into the bedroom—and stopped in his tracks.
Mandy was on the bed wearing a tight white tank top and a pair of bikini panties, just like the first night they’d ever spent together.
She had a huge grin on her face, her hair was mussed—still a little short, from where it had been shaved off for surgery, and where the rest had been cut to more closely match the shorn side, but growing in fast—and her cheeks were flushed.
She was holding a glass that was half full of a light yellow liquid. It sloshed around precariously as she threw her arms out and said, “Welcome home, honey!”
It was more than obvious she’d been drinking for a while, and was now drunk.
“What’re you doing?” he asked, striding forward and taking the glass out of her hand before she spilled it. He sniffed and realized it was a lemon drop, a potent blend of vodka, lemon juice, triple sec, and simple syrup.
She climbed to her knees and shuffled toward the edge of the mattress. When she was close enough, she put her hands on Buck’s shoulders and said, “It’s time. Drunk sex, baby!”
And just like that, Buck was hard as a fucking rock. His woman was sexy as all get out, and obviously more than ready for the night of fun they’d missed out on all those months ago.
Now that her hands were free, Mandy reached for the hem of her tank and pulled it over her head. She was still grinning like a loon, now kneeling on the mattress in nothing but her panties.
Buck’s gaze took her in greedily. His little rebel was everything he hadn’t known he’d wanted or needed in his life, and he literally couldn’t imagine her not being in it anymore.
It felt as if he’d known her forever. The things they’d been through had been harrowing and horrible, but she’d proven time and time again how fucking strong she was.
“Well?” she taunted. “What you standin’ there for?”
Her words were all he needed to shake himself out of his stupor. Buck quickly undressed, leaving his work clothes and boots in a heap on the floor, not giving them a second thought as he reached for the woman he loved.
Mandy giggled, and the sound reverberated deep in his soul. He’d almost lost this. Lost her. He’d spend the rest of his life making sure she knew how much he loved her. How important she was to him.
But for now, the only thing on his mind was seeing how many times he could make her orgasm before she begged him to fuck her.
Turns out, the answer to that was just once. She was begging for his cock even before he’d coaxed that first orgasm out of her. She was still a happy drunk, giggling and laughing between her moans. Telling him how much she loved him, loved what he was doing to her, loved how his hands felt.
Her words were as much a turn-on as her body, and Buck found himself smiling as he physically shifted her around on the bed into different positions as he saw fit.
In her inebriation, she was pliant and receptive to anything and everything.
She was his match. In every way. And Buck was thankful all over again that she was there.
Alive and well. In his apartment. In his bed. His.
They made love for hours, resting between orgasms, cuddling and laughing. Eventually her buzz wore off, and she lost the silliness she’d had while drunk, and their lovemaking got more intense. Slower. More meaningful.
The last time he took her, she was on her back, her legs wrapped around his hips, eyes locked onto his own. It was more intimate than anything they’d done that night.
“I love you,” she told him, as he slowly rocked inside her.
“I love you too,” he returned, his voice cracking with emotion.
As he held her in his arms afterward, their heart rates slowly going back to normal, Buck sighed in contentment.
He’d rolled them until she was lying bonelessly on top of him, her head on his chest, his cock still inside her warm, wet body.
Nothing had felt more right than having her in his arms, her soft breaths drifting over his naked chest.
He was going to miss this when he was deployed. Miss her. But she’d be okay. His Rebel was strong. Tough. And she’d stay busy with her kids at school and with finishing her certification.
“I’m proud of you,” she whispered. “And I’m so lucky you’re mine.”
He was hers. She owned him, body and soul. And he wasn’t ashamed to admit that. Not to himself, his friends, the Army, the world. He’d do anything for the woman in his arms. Anything.
Buck opened his mouth to tell her just that, but a soft snore interrupted him.
He grinned. His Mandy. She could fall asleep practically anywhere, and within seconds. It was impressive, actually.
Making a mental note to tell her all the things rolling around in his head in the morning…well, later that morning, since it was well after midnight—he’d never hold back his thoughts about her ever again, not after almost missing his first chance to tell her how much he loved her—Buck relaxed.
The last thing he thought before falling asleep was how happy he was. How even when life was hard, with a woman like Mandy at his side, it was easy.