Epilogue
Shadow glared at the flowers on the small dining room table he’d bought so he and Brinley didn’t have to eat while sitting on the couch anymore.
There were a lot of changes that had been made since moving her into his apartment.
The first was—they were no longer in his apartment.
It was immediately obvious they’d needed more space.
She had a lot of stuff, and he’d been more than willing to find a bigger rental.
Zero had told him there was a vacant three-bedroom place in his complex, so Shadow didn’t hesitate to contact the rental agency and claim it. He didn’t care that he’d lost money by breaking his lease early on his own place in the process.
His plan was to move Brinley into the new space after she’d fully healed, but she’d gotten so excited over the idea of having a dedicated sewing room and a guest space, he’d agreed to move up the timetable.
But he’d absolutely refused to let her lift even one finger during the moving process.
He’d still thought it was too soon, that she needed to concentrate on healing and not bossing everyone around as they moved her things into the new apartment.
But it was more than obvious that she was happy about the new chapter in their lives…
and honestly, it seemed the move gave her something to concentrate on other than her aches and pains and the memory of what she’d endured.
Interestingly enough, Zero and Brinley were already becoming closer…
at least, as close as the other man could be with anyone outside the team.
Zero was seriously detached with most people, and while he hadn’t changed that much, he was checking on Brinley constantly since they’d moved into his building three days ago.
A week had passed since her release from the hospital, and she was healing remarkably well.
Her bruises were fading, but they were now that sickly green and yellow color.
Shadow hated seeing the actual finger marks on her throat from where Louis had tried to strangle her.
But she was up and moving, her pain had largely faded, and she was insisting on getting back to work.
Shadow had to go back to work today, and he was dreading it.
He’d gotten very used to hanging out with Brinley, talking with her about nothing and everything.
His opinion that she was the strongest woman he’d ever met hadn’t changed.
In light of everything that had happened to her, and what she’d done to survive, that belief was only stronger.
“What did those flowers ever do to you to make you glare so hatefully?”
Turning, Shadow watched Brinley enter the room. She was wearing one of his gray Army T-shirts and a pair of black leggings. He loved seeing her in his clothes—it was a guy thing—and was happy to see her moving even easier this morning than just the day before.
“Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out how I feel about Natasha sending them to you.”
“I thought it was sweet. She feels guilty that Tamika impersonated her, and that I got hurt in the process. They’re a nice apology for something she didn’t even need to apologize for in the first place, because she had nothing to do with it.”
Natasha Blue had heard what happened to Brinley—as had most of the pageant community—what one of her fellow contestants had done, and she’d been suitably horrified.
She’d sent flowers after getting their address from one of Brinley’s current clients, to let her know she was sorry and that she hoped she felt better soon.
In fact, so many people had sent flowers that her room in the hospital was overrun. Clients, Cypress, people she didn’t even know personally in the pageant circles. Brinley had asked the nurses to distribute them to others in the hospital who didn’t have as much support.
“Come on, let’s make breakfast so you can be all fueled up and ready for your day.”
Shadow let her lead him into the kitchen, but as soon as they got there, he backed her up against the counter and put his hands on either side of her, trapping her in place.
“How do you feel this morning?”
“Fine. Good.”
“Pain?”
“Around a two. Maybe even less.”
They did this every day, several times a day. Shadow insisted she tell him how she was feeling and rate her pain level. He was pleased it seemed as if she was truly almost healed, but he couldn’t help picturing her as she was when they’d found her. How bruised and battered she’d been.
Every time he thought of the story Brinley had recounted in the hospital, Shadow wished Tamika and Louis were alive so he could kill them himself.
But he saw the SWAT footage from that day at the motel, which Tex had sent to Zamora.
Saw the couple firing from the door briefly before their bodies were riddled with bullets. He’d have to be satisfied with that.
“Are you looking forward to getting back to work?”
“No. I like hanging out with you all day. Being with you.”
Brinley laughed. “You’re bored out of your mind. Admit it.”
He was, but Shadow would never admit it, not even under the threat of torture.
And he didn’t have to; Brinley knew anyway.
She could read him so easily, and honestly, Shadow loved that.
Loved being so close to someone else they could almost read each other’s minds.
He hadn’t told her the things he’d felt deep inside when she’d been taken, and when she’d been strangled.
He was still coming to terms with the fact that he’d experienced those things with her, seemingly across space and time.
“Cypress is coming over later, right?”
“Yeah. She finished up her most recent research project and has the day off. She said she’d come over and help me organize my sewing room.”
Shadow was relieved. He loved Brinley beyond measure, but his idea of a good time was not stacking and labeling swaths and swaths of material.
Then Brinley shocked him by pulling up his T-shirt and slipping her hand underneath. Her flattened palm snaked up his chest and she curled her fingers, digging her nails lightly into his skin.
His cock immediately responded. He hadn’t thought about sex in the last week. All he’d been worried about was Brinley’s health.
“I sent an email to Dr. Price yesterday to ask her about sex. If it was okay.”
When she didn’t continue, Shadow couldn’t stop himself from asking, “And?”
Brinley smirked. “And she said that as long as I wasn’t in pain, I was good to resume any and all sexual activities.”
Shadow was torn. On the one hand, it felt as if it was still too early.
She still had a black eye, her lip was still swollen, and there were those damn marks on her neck.
But on the other hand, he desperately wanted to make long, slow, passionate love to Brinley to show her how much he adored her, how beautiful she was to him.
“Are you sure?”
“Very. I was thinking tonight after you got home from work, we could take a shower together and go to bed early.”
But now that he’d started thinking about being inside her, Shadow was positive he wouldn’t make it through the entire day. “I’m thinking now is better,” he countered, taking a hold of her hand and pulling her behind him toward their bedroom.
She giggled. “Dash! You have to go to work.”
“I’ll be late.”
“You can’t be late on your first day back. Zamora will have a coronary!”
“I can, and no he won’t.” Shadow stopped abruptly, catching Brinley before she ran into him.
He put his arms around her and made sure they were touching from hips to chest. So she could feel how hard he was for her.
“I’m not waiting another second to make love to the most beautiful, strong, kind, compassionate, and kick-ass woman in the world.
My woman. I love you, Brinley, and I need you. ”
“I need you too,” she admitted without hesitation.
Her smile was huge on her face, her cheeks flushed with arousal. She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him, then pulled back, grabbed his hand this time, and led the rest of the way to the bedroom.
Shadow had no doubt Zamora wouldn’t be happy about his late arrival to the base, but at the moment, he didn’t care. All that mattered was the woman whose ass he couldn’t take his gaze off as they entered their room.
Like his mother said…life was short. So damn short, and he intended to make the most out of every moment he could get with this woman. He’d almost lost her, and he’d never let a day go by without making sure she knew down to her very soul how much she meant to him.
* * *
Brinley was sore, but for a different reason than for most of the last week. Both she and Dash had been impatient and ravenous for each other. As it turned out, he wasn’t as late as either of them expected him to be, because the second they’d gotten naked, things had moved quickly between them.
He’d taken her hard and fast, and it was glorious. Making love to him after everything that had happened felt different. More intense. And throughout it all, he’d stared into her eyes and told her how much he loved her. How proud he was of her. How beautiful she was.
And Brinley believed him. She no longer heard the painful words her own family had slung at her for so long. With Dash, she felt beautiful. It was there in his eyes for her to see. His devotion. Love. Pride.
She had everything she’d ever dreamed about, and she was excited for this next chapter of their lives.
“You have that goofy look on your face again. Do you need a pain pill?”
Brinley laughed at Cypress’s question. “No. I’m good. Really good. I was just thinking about Dash.”
Her best friend rolled her eyes. “Of course you were. My bestie, from virgin to sex fiend. I love that for you.”
Brinley was happy…but not so selfish that she couldn’t see that her best friend wasn’t.
“Are you really okay with me moving out? Because something’s bothering you, and if it’s me, please tell me.
I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you. Just because I’ve moved in with Dash doesn’t mean we won’t hang out all the time. ”