Chapter 16
The honeymoon lasted two weeks. He insisted on it.
“Surely you can spare two weeks from the precinct. Crime will still continue to prevail even if you are not here and I want to show you the world.”
They took long walks on Champs Elysée’s. He knew all the crevices and corners, having been there so many times. He acted as her guide, especially when he discovered that her only trip out of the country had been to Jamaica and Mexico.
They went to Tuscany, where he invested in a vineyard and spent two nights there, having cheese and wine. In Venice, they took rides on the gondola, skimming along the water with the colorful city before them.
In Paris, he took her shopping, ignoring her protests and bought her expensive scents and ridiculously priced clothing and had the packages sent to their hotel.
They took in Scotland, the craggy mountains and shimmering green land and stopped at pubs where he she found a love for their stout.
England was next and then Wales. Their final destination was Hawaii. They spent most of their time on Waikiki Beach, the white stretch of sand and blue water under a brilliant sun was the perfect end to their enchanted honeymoon.
He had procured a private villa and under the stars, with the water lapping against the sand, he made love to her, until she was crying in his arms.
He had shown her so much, given her so much and still it would never be enough. He had found her late in life when he had all but given up on love and romance. Now, she was his and he was going to lavish her with everything.
“We could extend the honeymoon.”
It was their last night on the island, and she was wrapped around him after a rather tumultuous lovemaking.
“You have a company to run.”
He shifted so that he could look at her beloved face. It still gave him a jolt to know she was his wife.
“The benefits of being CEO means I can take extended time.”
“Since I am not CEO and I have a job to go back to, the answer is regrettably no.” She eyed him for a minute. “You promised you would not interfere with my job.”
“I was not planning to.” He brushed back the hairs from her forehead. “You were shot and then knifed.”
“While under cover. I am riding a desk now.”
“I cannot lose you.”
“I could just easily die in an accident.”
“Don’t!” He closed his eyes briefly. “Please do not say that. I cannot…”
“I’m sorry, darling…,” he felt a jolt at the endearment. “What?”
“You’ve never said that to me before.”
“Darling?” She frowned at him. “Of course I have.”
“No,” he hauled her on top of him. “Say it again.”
“You’re weird.” She framed his face with her hands. “My darling husband.”
The kiss was potent and had them tumbling headlong into ecstasy.
*****
It was a delight getting to know her. The woman he was married to was unpredictable, moody and he loved her to pieces. She was also untidy and made no apologies for it. She was a workaholic, a stickler for the victims she stood for.
She would growl and complain about slapping on makeup and wearing fancy clothes, but at the end of it, she was there right beside him.
The week after the honeymoon, she came home while he was in the middle of setting their meals out on the balcony. He had left the office earlier than usual to instruct Mrs. Hanson, their housekeeper, on where to put things that had been shipped just this morning and was waiting for his wife’s reaction.
He had told her while she was on her way where they would be eating and heard her come into the bedroom and went straight to take a shower.
A smile touched his lips as he waited for her to come storming out and did not have long to wait. Not even bothering to dress, she grabbed a robe he had set out for her and came marching towards him, eyes flashing.
“They are all going back. Every last one of them.”
“Good evening to you, darling.” He said mildly, uncorking the bottle of Cabernet he had selected to go with their mushroom chicken. “And how was your day?”
He imagined he could see steam coming out of her ears as she continued to glare at him.
“This is not a joke. A closet full of fancy clothes? Silk sweaters? Designer trousers? I am a bloody cop. Jeans and a t-shirt and jacket and when the time is cold, flannel shirts do the trick. You are sending them back.”
“No, I’m not.” He twisted the cork out and poured the wine into the glasses. “You should put something more on, it’s quite nippy.”
She let out what he identified as a strangled growl, before turning on her heels and marching back inside. And wondered if he should go and get her bodily.
Deciding against it, he sat and waited for her to come back out. The love of his life was stubborn, but as he had discovered over the last three weeks – Good God! Was it just three weeks since they had exchanged vows? It felt as if they had been married for years.
He had discovered that she would blow off steam but never allow it to get out of control. They would argue, but it would only be for a few minutes.
Right on cue, she came out, bundled up in a brand coral pink sweatsuit and socks on her feet. Her hair was piled on top of her head and her face looked fresh and impossibly young.
“We’re not done talking about this.” She warned as she went to take her seat. Before she could do so, he snagged her hand and tumbled her into his lap.
“This is not going to make it better.” She muttered, but her tone lacked heat, and she was already wrapping her hands around his neck.
“If you love me, you will stop buying me so many things.”
He simply lifted a brow and had her rolling her eyes.
“Okay, I know how that sounds. Merrick, be reasonable. Where am I going to wear all of that to?”
“Work and whenever we go out to functions.” He skimmed his fingers over her skin made dewy by the special body wash he had bought her in Paris.
“I will not have the entire precinct sneering at me for wearing silk sweaters and hand tooled leather jackets and boots to work. I would die of mortification.”
He flicked a finger over the diamond ring she wore on a chain around her neck.
“That is different. It is worn under my shirt.” She sighed and shook her head. “All of this is going in one ear and coming out the other, isn’t it?”
“Something like that.” He smiled at her indulgently. “I like spoiling you. You told me you had to be contented with hand me downs when you were growing up and I would like to make up for it.”
“It doesn’t matter to me.”
“It does to me.” He told her firmly. “I love buying you things, let me.”
She gazed at his beloved face and felt her heart simply melting like wax against the sun. He spoiled her rotten. She was not a particularly good wife, or at least, that’s what she told herself. He made the effort to do things for her.
He would come home and set the dinner out and wait for her to come home. On weekends, he would let her sleep in and bring her breakfast in bed.
Never having anyone to take care of her before, it took some getting used to.
“Okay, fine.”
“Good!” Lifting her chin, he brushed her lips lightly with his and breathed her in. “How was your day, my love?”
That was another thing she was not used to either. Someone asking about her day and really wanting to listen.
“We caught a case.” She shifted to plates he had uncovered and started to feed them both. “A smuggling ring straight out of New York…” She tasted the chicken and closed her eyes in pleasure, before chewing.
She felt comfortable sitting on his lap – something else that surprised her. “A wife and husband, bilking people of their savings and smuggling drugs in birthday cakes. Quite a setup actually, but we caught a break.” She scooped up baby potatoes and absently fed it to him.
“Have they been detained?” He settled her closer to him, one hand wrapped around her waist as he picked up his glass and took a sip.
“Not yet.” She leaned into him and inhaled his masculine scent. “We are close. How about you? How was your day?”
He looked pleased that she had asked and knowing how business bored her, kept it simple.
“We’re still recovering from the incident.” They had talked about what led to their meeting each other and cleared the air between them.
“And Pharma Medical?” She asked quietly, referring to the other company involved. “I see they are blaming some of their top management people.”
“Throwing them under the bus.” He concluded grimly as he handed her a plump grape. “Harry Sylvan, the CEO is noted for doing that. They have been getting a lot of bad press since the incident.”
She titled her head to look at him. “Since I am beginning to know my husband, I sense a takeover coming on.”
His pleasure at her calling him her husband reflected on his attractive face and for just a few seconds he could not speak. His hands trembled and he had to take a breath or two to steady himself. “Think I should?”
She shrugged, noticing his reaction and feeling her heart responding. “What do I know? The CEO is rotten to the core, and they were shaken to the roots by what happened.” She lifted a hand to trail along his jaw. “Not like this CEO I am married to. And besides, don’t you already have a lot on your plate?”
“Not since I partially handed things over to Michael.”
“Oh yes. How is Maurice taking it?”
“Not well, but he knows that it is the right thing to do.” He continued to stroke her back. “I am not resigning any time soon, but Michael needs to be eased into the position. I want to travel with my wife.”
“Merrick…”
“I am not asking you to resign or anything like that. I just want us to spend as much time together as possible. A weekend at the place in Maui or the vineyard in Napa. Or a trip to Mexico.” His eyes smoldered as he stared at her.
“I want to cram in as much time as possible with each other. “You are sitting at a desk and for that I am grateful. But I need you baby. You are the heart and soul of me, and I want more than just a few hours in the evening. I need more than that.”
“You promised.”
He sighed. “I know I did, and I respect your need to work and be independent. It is just that, I love you so damn much, that I am jealous of the time you spend away from me.”
She understood because she felt the same way. In the past and for so many years, it had been the job for her, because she had nothing else. And being a cop had given her so much pride and fulfillment.
But now it was so different. She had been handed a gift, in the form of a wonderful man who loved her beyond measure, and it was something she was never going to take for granted.
Taking the glass from him, she put it away and cupped his face. “I love you.” She smiled when she felt him hardened beneath her and knew that dinner was at an end. “More than my life, more than anything in my life.
More than the job, because that is just what it is – a job. You are everything to me and I will think about scaling things way down. Because I want to spend time with my man, going places, enjoying the time we have together.” She bent her forehead to his and closed her eyes. “Make love to me Merrick, let me feel you deep inside me.”
It took that to shatter his control completely and had him complying and surrendering.
*****
“You look like the wife of a very wealthy man. Oh wait! You are the wife of a multi-billionaire. It begs the question, why are you still slumming at our lowly precinct.” Brad grinned and skipped out of the way before she could retaliate physically.
“Some of us have work to do.”
“Just thought I would come and check in. Nice threads.” He skimmed an admiring look over the gold silk sweater and leather boots where her feet were stacked on the desk as usual as she studied her board. “I am betting your husband picked out your clothes, you’re looking very sharp.”
“Are we here to discuss fashion or murder? It seems to me that one trumps the other.”
“I can do both.” Easing her feet off the desk, he sat on the edge and stared at her board. “You smell good too, new Parisian perfume?”
Ignoring him, she rose and went to stand in front of the board. She was not going out much these days, but her excellent observation skills were an added bonus.
“What do you see here?” She gestured to the photos stacked against each other.
“A family unit. Mother, father, sons.”
“Precisely,” She frowned at the blurry photos for a minute. “Irvin here,” She pointed to the photo. “He is the weak link. He has been brought in for questioning. I…,” her voice tailed off when she saw the man leaning against the doorframe.
“It’s my cue to leave.” Brad eased off the desk and nodded to his partner’s husband. “I will let you know when the suspect is brought in.”
“Detective.” His deep voice sent shimmers all the way down to her toes. The sight of him, tall and lean, looking immaculate in his dark blue suit and black cashmere overcoat made her want to jump him. It was slightly distressing how much power the man had over her.
“Do not tell me. You were in the neighborhood.” She went behind her desk to keep from following on her desire to melt against him. She was almost fifty-three, but that did not stop her from feeling like a schoolgirl every time she sees him.
“Something like that.” Warm gray eyes held hers captive. “I had some business in the downtown area and decided to kill two birds with one stone. That’s lunch?” He nodded to the Ramen noodles on her desk.
“Yes. So?”
He smiled at the defensive tone and walked forward. “It’s not filling.” Sitting on the edge of the desk, he tugged her so that she was standing between his thighs.
“The door is open.” She hissed, turning her head away so that his mouth grazed her cheek.
“We happen to be married.” He kept a firm hold on her when she tried to wriggle free.
“I have work to do.”
“So, do I. You did not ask me what the business was, that I had to take care of.”
“I suppose it’s buying up some unfortunate company.”
He grinned at her. “Not this time. I donated to the precinct, or rather the company did.” She gave him a suspicious look that had his smile widening.
“What sort of donation?”
“I believe you’ll find out soon enough.” As if on cue, her phone rang. “You want to get that.” He continued to hold her as she reached for the phone. It was an order from her commander to present herself in his office immediately.
“What have you done?”
“Nothing much.” Tipping her chin up, he gave her lips a bruising kiss. “I must be on my way. I love you.” His eyes darkened and he went in for a second kiss. “See you later. We have the medical association dinner this evening.”
“Great.”
He kissed away her frown and hopped off the desk. “Shall we?”
“You’re not holding my hand, so forget that.”
“I would never dream of it.” His expression was so bland and innocent, it tore a laugh out of her.
And even though she tried to avoid it, he still managed to hold her hand just before he hopped onto the elevator.
Shaking her head, she veered off to the commander’s office and was ushered right in. Brad was there as well, and the two men were beaming.
“What’s going on?” She asked puzzled.
“Your husband is a very generous man.” Commander Williams turned his desktop around to face her. “New and sophisticated software update to make our investigations a hell of a lot easier.”
“And more than that, excellent coffee in all the rooms. His own brand. I just had a taste of it in the squad room and I am never going back to the mud disguised as coffee we were accustomed to.” Brad lifted his brows at her. “You did not know.”
“Of course not.” She shook her head. “He’s sneaky like that.”
“He does not want it advertised at all.”
“Sounds like him.” She felt the love overwhelming and threatening to overflow.
“You got yourself a good man there, Sullivan.”
“I do. Please excuse me.” Turning out of the office, she dragged her phone out and made a call.
“Where are you?”
“Still in the parking lot. I had to make some calls. What is the matter?”
“Stay there. I am coming out.”
He was leaning against a sharp-looking Lamborghini, his coat flapping in the sharp February wind, the same wind ruffling his black hair threaded through with gray. His gray eyes examined her face as she came hurrying forward.
“Darling?”
Saying nothing, she stopped in front of him and fisted her hands on the lapels of his coat. Going on her toes, she crushed her mouth to his, knocking him back with the force of the passion in the kiss.
He was taken aback and for a few seconds could not react. When he started to slide his hands around her waist, she ended the kiss and danced away.
“What…”
“That is for being the best man in the known planet. And being a hell of a husband. I love you Merrick Pendergast.”
He watched dazedly as she turned to walk away.
“Wait…”
“Later. I have to run.”
It took him a full two minutes to peel himself off the car and to feel the control coming back. When he got behind the wheel, he had to wait until the trembling of his hands had subsided. Leaning back in the seat, he closed his eyes and laughed softly. He was never going to be bored married to her. God, he loved her so damn much!
*****
“You look absolutely ravishing. Perhaps we should skip this thing and stay home.”
“I would love to gleefully agree with you and take off this sorry excuse for a dress, but I am trying to be a better wife.” She told him dryly as she tugged at the bodice so that only half of her boobs were hanging out. “Seriously Merrick, I am a woman in my fifties and there is no need for advertising the package. I feel like a prostitute.”
Chuckling, he grabbed her around the waist and turned her to face him. “You look like a beautiful woman on the way to the ball.”
“I am not damned, Cinderella.” She grumbled, wrapping her hands around his neck.
“You have the precinct practically eating out of my hands with your very generous gifts. And what if I wanted to be the only cop there drinking excellent coffee?”
“I believe in spreading the good fortune around.” He brushed his lips against her glossy ones, surprised she had sprung for lipstick. “And you were complaining that people were crowding into your tiny office to get a taste.”
“Ah yes, I did say that.” Her expression turned dreamy. “I love you so damn much.”
His eyes darkened. “We could skip the function and stay home.”
She shook her head. “We have the rest of the night.” Going on her toes, she whispered something in his ear that had him jolting, his face turning a slight shade of red.
Clearing his throat, he dug his fingers into her waist. “Let’s go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we make it back, so that you can do…” He swallowed the lump in his throat and had her laughing. “You, wonderful and marvelous witch. My love, my heart, my soul.”
The end…