65. Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter sixty-five
Adair
Peter went still the second our lips touched, but the moment I went to pull away, he wrapped his arms around me and held me close. “Not hating this at all. You just surprised the hell out of me.”
I looked up into his eyes, trying to figure out his thoughts. “Good or bad surprise?”
“Fantastic. Scary as hell, but very good.”
“I’m not going to be mad if you do or don’t kiss me back… even if I’d really like you to. I need to feel something real. But I know I sprung all this on you and—”
He cut off my words by kissing me and then smirked after leaning back. “Connor called me out on this tonight.”
Now it was my turn to be surprised. “Oh? He knew I was going to drink a little too much and kiss you?”
Peter shook his head as another nervous chuckle came out. “No. He clocked how I’d gotten attached to you… and in more than a professional sense.”
I sighed and shifted how I was sitting so I could lean my head on his shoulder more easily. “I meant what I said. I want to do more than live, and you have helped me start to step out from the shadows.”
“I… I was just—”
“Please don’t say you were just doing your job. I might have to get mad at you.”
He grinned sheepishly. “No. I was doing what anyone should have done for you. What Derek had been doing for you.”
“You aren’t replacing Derek. I care for you, Peter Grant.”
A smile crossed his face as he caressed my cheek, making my skin tingle at the contact. “I care very much for you as well, Adair Vaux. No matter how fast or slow you want to take this, I’m here.”
Then he shifted, took my head in his hands, and kissed me again.
This time softly, languidly. With each press of Peter’s lips against mine, one sharp fragment of my heart softened.
When I pulled back to look into his eyes again, he tipped us over so we were lying on our side, where we snuggled close and stared at each other, as if taking in each other’s features for the first time.
Right now, it was just us, and I wanted to cherish it for as long as possible.
Lifting a hand, I slowly traced the outline of his face, around his eyes, along his brow, and down his cheek to where his full beard was trimmed short.
Derek never had a beard, claiming he didn’t want to irritate my skin, and while I could see his point, I found myself loving how it felt to run my fingers through the short, coarse hair.
Peter’s eyes closed, and he let out a content sigh, melting a little more into the pillow when I started gently massaging his scalp. “You’re going to make me fall asleep if you keep doing that.”
I grinned, feeling drowsy myself. “Then let’s go to sleep.”
He pulled me close, kissing the top of my head. “Good night, Hummingbird.”
A smile crossed my face at the use of my code name. “Good night, Shield.”
As we laid there, he held me close, the same as it had been the last several nights, but it was different now. I swore right before I fell asleep that I heard him say, “Thank you for trusting me with your heart… I promise to keep it safe.”
A pounding headache woke me the next morning, and when I gingerly opened my eyes, Peter was already awake, staring at the ceiling. His jaw was clenched slightly.
What happened now?
“Good morning, Peter.”
His attention snapped to me, eyes wide as he scanned my face. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
“Other than the throbbing pain in my head, I can't complain too much.”
He let out a relieved sigh as he tucked a hair behind my ear. “Not too surprised by the headache, but glad everything else is okay.” There was a hesitation in Peter’s voice as he continued to study me.
He’s probably overthinking what happened last night.
In one motion, I reached up, pulled his face closer to mine, and kissed his cheek.
“Since I can almost see puffs of smoke coming out of your ears from thinking so hard, let me put you out of your misery. Yes, I remember everything that happened last night. Yes, I meant what I said. No, I have no regrets about saying any of it or kissing you. Do you?”
Peter shook his head and leaned into my touch. “Not at all.”
“Good. Will you relax now?”
He chuckled and nodded. “Yeah.”
I shifted so I was lying on my side, facing him. “So, I suppose the million-dollar question is, ‘now what?’ right?”
A smile appeared on his face as he looked at me.
“We do what we have been doing. I still have your back. I’m still here for you as a friend, as a bodyguard, and now as whatever else we want to call this.
” He let out a tense breath. “Do you want to tell people or keep it quiet while we figure it out? I don’t want to rush you, but I also don’t want to make you think I’m not all in with us. ”
Us.
The single word put a smile on my face. I was part of an us again.
So many people would likely give me shit for moving on ‘too fast’ or accusing me of dishonoring Derek’s memory.
That was on them. They didn’t know my history or what Derek and I had promised each other.
I was honoring him by finding happiness.
They all could follow Derek’s murderer off the cliff he dragged the love of my life over if they wanted to tell me I was wrong.
I traced the tension line in his furrowed brow. “What will make you more comfortable? You work here. I’m just a friend of the family. There are fewer repercussions, so to speak, for me.”
Peter slid down, sinking his head into his pillow again. “As Connor pointed out last night, I’m not the first guy to fall for the woman he was protecting.” He chuckled. “Hell, Lukas was the first one here to do it.”
“Who else has?” My curiosity was running wild.
“Connor and Gage. Ryan, too, but sort of on a technicality. He had been covering Lianne and Ben’s office, and Ellen works there, too. So, while he wasn’t guarding her specifically, he wasn't not guarding her, either.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “You’ve now joined quite the elite group. Nice.”
A small smile appeared on his face. “I suppose I have.”
I reached for his hand and wove our fingers together. “So, can we have sushi for our first official date?”
His eyes went wide again. “What?”
“You said you’d never had it but always wanted to try it. I think it’s a perfect option for our first date, unless you want to do something else?” A thought popped into my head. “Oh shit. Did you want to ask me?”
Peter chuckled and kissed the back of my hand. “You are adorable and thoughtful and wonderful. I’m in awe and a little stunned right now.”
“Why? I didn’t do anything impressive.”
He shook his head. “You’ve been awake for a grand total of maybe three minutes with what has to be one hell of a hangover, and you’ve already figured what I was worked up over, calmed me down, and asked me out on a date.”
I shrugged. “Don’t worry about the hangover. I’ve had way worse, and for far more unpleasant reasons.”
“Will you ever tell me what happened while you were in hiding? I’m not asking for anything today, just curious.”
After taking a breath and letting out slowly, I nodded. “One day. There’s a lot to unpack. It’s not that I don’t want to share it, but—”
“You don’t owe me an explanation for the timing.” Peter cut me off. “I respect how you’ve survived walking through hell.”
“Thank you.” The words almost didn’t come out for all the emotions that suddenly rushed over me. Derek had been the exact same way after we’d reconnected.
The first several months together involved us filling in each other on what had happened since my attempted murder and getting to know each other again.
We’d both worried the feelings we’d had for each other would have changed too much, but it was like Derek and I hadn’t been apart for a single day.
And we truly cherished the time we had. Like I cherished my time with Peter.
He was the person I needed and wanted by my side.
I sat up, wincing as the pain throbbed harder for a moment, before standing up. “Let’s get dressed and head to the kitchen to see how rough Jess, Ellen, and Lianne are. I can’t be the only one sporting the headache.”
Peter smirked and nodded. “Right behind you.”
When I walked out of the bathroom, Peter was standing there holding a bottle of an electrolyte drink and a bottle of painkillers. “Take this. Please.”
I complied, reveling in being taken care of.
Again, it was nothing he’d never done before, but it felt more today.
After swallowing down the meds, I reached up on my toes and kissed Peter.
His arm wrapped around my waist, and I rested my head on his shoulder, soaking up how good it felt to be held in his arms.
Without another word, we left the room and headed to the kitchen. Quinn was smirking at Jess, who looked rough with her bleary eyes and her head in her hands. Ellen was sitting up, looking in much better shape.
“Well, you’re walking under your own power. That’s good.”
I chuckled at Ben’s comment, noticing he was already pouring a mug of coffee. “I am.”
“You want anything in your coffee?” He glanced at me as he reached for the door to the refrigerator.
“Any flavored creamer. I’m not picky.”
“You should try the cookie butter one. It’s freaking amazing.”
My attention snapped to Lianne as she practically skipped into the kitchen, looking bright-eyed and completely well-rested.
Jess groaned as she looked over. “How in the hell are you not dying right now? You had more shots than I did.”
“I used the anti-hangover kit Ben had prepped and waiting for me. I have a meeting to get to.” She kissed him on the cheek, grabbed a banana, and breezed out of the room.
We all watched her leave and then looked over at Ben. I walked over to collect my mug of coffee. “Want to share with the rest of us what that kit entails?”
He let out a sigh and looked around before nodding.
“Fine, but only if you promise not to harass Doc about it. It's not exactly public knowledge that Lynette is making sure I know everything possible to be the husband to Lianne and partner for my Don. As you all know, Li is not one to shirk her duties. We also know there are no days off for Dons. Lynette filled me in on things she and Doc had put together for George to keep him upright and going. After some discussion, we made another version for Lianne. To over-simplify, it’s a specialized bag of saline.” He leaned against the counter.
“That being said, Li doesn’t want to put herself in a situation where she needs it.
It took both Lynette and I to convince my amazing wife to take a few hours off, and when she actually did, we were elated. ”
Jess looked at him. “Which is why she kicked out Ryan and Lukas?”
He nodded. “Yep. She didn’t want them making comments or talking her out of it.”
“Lukas wouldn’t say a damn thing unless he wanted to get all kinds of shit from me.” There was fire in Quinn’s eyes as she stared at her brother-in-law.
Ben let out a sigh. “You know that, and I know that, but we also know how Lianne is.”
I was halfway through my mug of coffee and a cupcake when Avery strolled in.
“Peter, your presence is being requested in the war room. I’ve got Adair.”
He nodded, gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, and headed out.
Knowing Avery was going to want to discuss last night’s events, I didn't want to be in the kitchen when she dove in. “So, where do you want to hang out?”
She narrowed her eyes slightly. “You want to go back to your room?”
“Yes, please.”
Once there, I curled up on the bed, leaning against the headboard, and Avery settled into the chair next to me. “You look happier this morning. Lighter.”
I smiled. “I feel happier and lighter.”
“Want to talk about it?”
A chuckle came out. There it is. “Sure, but it stays between you and me for now. We’re still figuring out some of the details.”
Excitement sparkled in Avery’s eyes. “We?”
I laughed at how warm my face suddenly felt. “Yeah. I’m part of a we now.”
She nodded knowingly and leaned back in her chair. “Who made the first move?”
“Me. Honestly, I don’t think he ever would, out of respect and an overabundance of caution.” I shook my head. “That man is so confident and yet so skittish.”
Avery nodded again. “I haven’t worked with Peter a lot, but he reminds me of Nash, Ryan, and Lukas. They want to do the right thing and keep their people safe, to the point of missing what’s happening right in front of them.”
I let out a soft laugh. “Yeah, that makes sense for Lukas. Well, from what I knew of him. He’s clearly come a long way from the stubborn little shadow trying to get his brother to listen to him.”
We sat in silence for a bit before Avery sat up in her chair again. “What’s next, then? Now that you’re back and coming out of hiding?”
All I could do was stare at her. “I…” I blew out a breath, buzzing my lips as my mind raced.
“I don’t have a damn clue.” With everything I’d inherited from my parents and Uncle Kobe, I was financially set and didn’t have to seek out a job.
Hell, I didn’t have to look for somewhere to live.
I just had to decide which house I wanted to use.
I shook my head in disbelief. “My entire life has been flipped upside down and shook up so many times in the past several months… and the past several years. I haven’t had the luxury of options.
I’ve only ever had one: stay hidden to stay alive. ”
Avery reached over and rubbed my shoulder. “You don’t have to hide anymore. I know it’s going to take a long time to trust everyone here, if you even get to that point, but don’t doubt for a moment how willing and ready Lianne, Lynette, and the crew are to go to war for you.”
An incredulous laugh came out. “If you say so.”
Deadly determination flared up in Avery’s eyes.
“Don’t underestimate Lianne. She may have been quiet when you had to step away temporarily, but don’t mistake that silence as a weakness or timidness.
Lianne is a fierce woman who is only one or two more attacks away from showing everyone in this city who the fuck she is and who the fuck the Agostis are.
” A wry smile appeared on Avery’s face. “It is going to be scary as fuck the day she snaps, but it will be an honor to do her bidding.”
Chills ran down my spine. Avery had been an intimidating force when we were first working together, but the woman before me now was a lethal sleeper agent waiting for her trigger phrase.