Chapter Twenty #3
Of greater concern was her eardrum damage, the damn kill book, and loving Quaid – there she admitted the L word in her head. It was going to take the lawyers five years to write the pre-nup agreement because…
God.
Her stomach seized.
She did not want to be the beneficiary of billions of dollars or any of the businesses. She’d lived on the street as a child, studied deviant behavior, followed the law, and killed a man. She had no business with any responsibility for the money, the businesses, or the people.
Quaid might gripe, but he respected the hotels and QM, their employees, their purpose – that’s how he rolled.
The money didn’t hurt, and he used it with wide discretion – like paying off her student loans.
Christ! That had started the mother of all arguments.
Some of her habits from college were going to need to be put away.
“If you fold any further into yourself, you’ll fall off the stool.”
His quiet voice always struck her heart with such intensity. Her breath evaporated between inhale-exhale.
He came further into the room, pulled over his own stool, and grabbed a cracker. “What are you doing up?”
“Contemplating why this house doesn’t have a bridge troll.”
He stared at her. “Must be the hour. I couldn’t have heard you right.”
“How about a moat or a guard dog? One puny human out doing rounds in a rough and tumble world that’s dangerous as fuck…what were you thinking?”
He smirked, tipping the glass toward him to check its contents. “What are you drinking?”
“Chocolate milk. Straight. I love you.”
He jerked in his chair. “Well, that’s good to know.” He palmed her neck and pulled her close for a soft kiss. He kept his hand on her neck, the belonging shaking her foundation. He lifted her chocolate milk and stole a sip.
She whispered against his neck. “Don’t you dare leave me any of your money.”
He spit a portion of the milk on the counter. That she was willing to let him get away with pilfering any of her chocolate milk spoke to the depth of her attachment to him.
“That statement sounds familiar. I do believe I’ve said the same thing to my grandfather and Elizabeth.”
“Did it work?”
“No.”
“Dammit.”
“Face it, Lani. I love you, too, and will never leave you to be vulnerable again.”
“I need a picture of us for my desk. My rose looks lonely.”
He grinned like a fool. “I can make that happen. Does the frame need a pocket for your gun, too?”
She shoved a shoulder against him. “Laugh it up, fuzzball. Conceal one of your handy dandy spy tools in it.”
“Very James Bond of me. I’ll get on it.”
“I killed him.”
He accepted the switch from play to serious without a twitch. “Yes, you did.”
“He wanted me to, and it’s still in my head. He knew that would happen, didn’t he?”
“Yes, given who he was, I’d say he calculated it as a final revenge. I remember the ones I’ve killed. It’s part of how we keep our humanity and stay on the right side of the line between fighting violence and being the violence.”
“I need a new primary weapon. I’m going to retire my current one.”
He studied her face, eyes neutral. “The memory is in your head, not in your gun.”
“Still. I don’t want to use it anymore.”
“Tinkerton has a source. We can talk to her tomorrow.”
“Your armory expert has a source for everything. Is she hoarding nuclear weapons in that cavern she calls the vault?”
“Probably. I haven’t asked. What I don’t know can’t kill me.”
It was her turn to study him, although she was pretty sure her face wasn’t blank. “I’m so glad you retired PQ.”
“PQ?”
“Playboy Quaid. I like this guy so much better.” She slipped a hand on his leg and leaned to kiss his mouth in a slow, intentions-obvious way. “Take me to bed, Q. I’m done here.”
He grinned and helped her off the stool. “Much better activity than graham crackers and milk.”
“Marginally.” She wrapped her hand around his and followed him up the stairs.
“You wound me, Wildcat.”
“I’ll kiss it and make it better. Do you remember that six months I said?”
“Yeah.”
“I might not need that long.”
He squeezed her hand. In their room, she fell on the bed with him on top of her. “I forgot to mention I had to cancel my ENT appointment today, but I’ll make a new one, in case Cait complains to you.” She leaned and kissed her way along his jaw, then down his neck.
“Okay…” He shifted, tipping her head to look her in the eyes. “Is this a problem? Anything to worry about?”
She slid her hands under his T-shirt seeking skin and heart. “No, assessing the healing and my hearing. I forgot to tell you. I’m sorry.”
He shucked off his shirt and helped her out of her middle-of-the-night outfit. “Later, Lani. We’ll talk about this later.”
She kissed his lips, and let love fill every part of her heart and soul.
This man. The sighs, the kisses, his hands and mouth against sensitive skin roared heat through her.
Right person. Right time. He would always be the one who made everything better.
QM International Communication Check: 02:00:00 PST 1/8 San Diego HQ. Personnel status: Normal. No active threats. ?
THE END