ASHFORD (Gray Wolf Security #5) (16 page)

Ash

Rose was sitting up in her hospital bed when I walked into the room. Her eye lit up when she saw me.

“Hey!”

“Looks like you’ve had a few visitors,” I said, gesturing to the many vases of flowers and teddy bears scattered around the room.

“Kirkland brought the roses. Donovan the carnations. And Joss brought the teddy bears.”

“What did David bring?”

She gestured to a box of chocolates. “I’m not sure they’ll let me have solid food yet, but his heart was in the right place.”

I held up my hands. “I’m afraid I’m empty handed.”

“No. You brought the most important thing. You.”

I smiled, as I bent to kiss her forehead. “We miss you at the compound.”

“I hope so. If you didn’t, I would wonder if you really wanted me there.”

“We need you there.” I settled in a chair beside the bed and took her hand. “How are you?”

She shrugged. “They say I can leave in a couple of days.”

“Good. We have one of the guest rooms set up for you. David’s already claimed the first shift, promising to bring you eggs and bacon and fresh squeezed orange juice. And Kirkland wants to make jambalaya for you.”

She groaned. “Don’t let him make it too spicy.”

“I’ll tell him, but you know Kirkland.”

“I do. That’s why I said that.”

We talked a little more, mostly about mundane things. Then, in the middle of a sentence, she asked, “Tell me about Mina.”

My eyebrows rose. “What about her?”

“You’re in love with her.”

“I am.”

“What do you plan to do about it?”

“I don’t know, Mother. What do you think I should do?” I asked, teasing. Sort of.

“You should make that girl an honest woman.”

I smiled. “Don’t you think it’s a little early for that?”

“Do you love her?”

“I do.”

“Do you want to be a father to that child?”

“I do.”

“Then make it right.”

“Yes, Mother.”

She slapped my hand. “Quit being impertinent.”

I laughed, but it was a laugh that was a little weak on amusement. My heart hurt when I looked at her. I brushed my finger against the bruises on her face.

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“We made them pay.”

“I know. I saw it on the news.”

It had dominated the news for several days. Three cops were killed and four injured while serving a warrant on a home that was later revealed to belong to the Bazarov Cartel. The people of Los Angeles were characteristically unmoved by the whole thing. And there were no questions, not even when it was revealed that operatives from Gray Wolf Security had been on the premises at the time of the incident.

“I told you not to do that.”

“They had Mina.”

She nodded. “Then you did the right thing. But the next time I tell you not to do something…”

I smiled. “Yes, Mother.”

She patted my face lightly. “You’re a good man, Ashford Grayson.”

***

Six Weeks Later

I lay in bed, my laptop on as I tried to catch up on paperwork I’d been putting off for far too long. Mina came into the room, her delicate nightgown swaying around her hips in a way that made me want to forget paperwork.

“Is he asleep?”

She nodded. “Out like a light. If only it was that easy every night.”

“He’s a good kid.”

“Yes, but he’s beginning to think sleep is a punishment. I have no idea why, but it’s such a struggle to get him to go down every night.”

“He just doesn’t want to miss anything.”

“Yes, well, there are a few things Mommy would rather not miss out on either.”

She crawled onto the bed, moving over my body as she leaned in for a kiss. I buried my fingers in her hair and tugged her closer, shoving the laptop aside as I turned into her. She sighed, returning my kiss as if she’d been waiting for it all day.

Maybe she had.

“Do you think he likes his new nursery?”

She smiled. “He’s only four months old, Ash. He doesn’t care where we put him down to sleep.”

We’d spent two weeks painting and fixing up the guest room for Ford. It was a baseball theme with a mural on one wall and a baseball print sheet in his crib. It’d been my idea, and it came out twice as good as I thought it would.

“The next one can be ballerinas.”

“What makes you think the next one will be a girl? What makes you think there’ll be a next one?”

“There’s always a next one.”

She laughed even as I moved in for another kiss. She groaned, the sound vibrating against my lips. I tugged her close, sliding my hand over her upper thigh. I loved the way her body molded itself against mine whenever we lay like this; I loved the way she fit against me. I was pretty sure I would never stop wanting her, wanting to feel her like this.

I pulled back so that I could look at her face. She had a new scar above her right eye, but I thought it made her look even more beautiful than before. I kissed it, and she turned her head, still self-conscious about it.

“You’re beautiful,” I said.

“I’m damaged.”

“Aren’t we all?”

“I don’t mind your damage.”

“And I don’t mind yours.”

I buried my face against her throat, kissing her neck before moving my way down. She sighed as I tugged at the top of her nightie, pulling it aside so that I could play with the perfect nub of her nipple. She ran her hands over my hair, a sigh slipping from between her lips.

“Do you ever get tired of my touch?”

She brushed her fingers over my face. “How could I when it always feels like the first time?”

I groaned again, kissing her deeply, sliding inside of her mouth in a preview of the pleasures that would come next. Then I began to work my way down her body again. I left the nightgown in place, running my hands over its silky material, nibbling at her nipples and her ribs, touching her everywhere I knew would drive her out of her mind. And then I nibbled some more, finding new places. There were always new places, places that made her cry out, the sound that I loved so desperately. I dreamed about it, thought about it when I should be working. I couldn’t get enough of her. I knew I would never get enough.

She lifted her hips as I gripped her panties, tugging them away from her hips. And then I was nibbling at her inner thighs, teasing her with little puffs of breath against the most delicate places. When I spread her lips open, she rotated her hips again, begging me to come inside, begging me to give her the pleasure that she knew was coming.

I ran my tongue along her lips, brushing against her clit. Again she rotated her hips, trying to get me to touch her more. And then I slipped my fingers inside of her and she was gone, gripping the sheets beneath her, writhing against me as if she was already losing control.

I loved the way she moved, loved the sounds that came out of her mouth.

But this time she didn’t just lay still. She sat up and tugged me close to her, kissing me before I could do anything more. Then she was taking control, shoving me back against the mattress. She kissed her way down my chest, hesitating over the bright red scar that was the graze of a bullet I took during our fight with the Bazarov Cartel. She always hesitated there, always touched that spot, as though she was trying to make it all better.

Then she moved down my body, peppering my chest with kisses, running her tongue around the outer rim of my navel. Then she was lower, tugging at my shorts, pulling my cock out to greet the world. She didn’t often touch me. I never asked, afraid that it would rip a scab off of an old wound, but I suspected it had something to do with her life before she came here. So when she did touch me, it was a rare treat.

She stroked my cock, moving her hand slowly along the length of me even as she continued to pepper my belly with kisses. She moved lower and I…I tried not to get my hopes up. But when she took my head into her mouth, I thought I might jump off the bed in joy.

I didn’t…and it was so good! I wanted her. I couldn’t breathe, I wanted her so badly. But I let her explore, let her tongue dance around my glans, let her hot mouth slide down my shaft, and cried out when she relaxed her throat and took more of me than she should have been capable of.

Heaven. It was absolute heaven.

I buried my fingers in her hair, encouraging her. She made these little humming sounds that vibrated through my length, driving me even closer to the edge of that cliff. She was enjoying herself. I saw her reach down and touch her clit, saw her trying to keep up with me. Mutual pleasure. There was nothing better.

Except…

I finally couldn’t take any more. I tugged at her arms, pulling her up onto my lap. We kissed for a long moment, and then I pulled at her hips, pulling her up onto to me. My cock slid inside of her, and it was as if a bomb went off in my nervous system. I couldn’t believe how incredible it felt each and every time. I sat up and wrapped my arms around her, moving my thighs just enough to encourage her to move quickly, to take my cock as deep inside of her as she could.

“I love you,” she whispered against my mouth, just before she began to lose control of her breaths. And then the little pant I knew by now signaled her end began to slip from between her lips. I touched her, ran my hands under her nightgown, and pulled her tight against me. I held her ass and encouraged her to please herself, to bring herself to an orgasm. I loved watching the pleasure on her face, loved seeing how much my touch did for her. I wanted her to come on me, on my cock; I wanted to know I could give her the same that she easily gave to me.

When her orgasm hit, she tightened her thighs, holding me deep and still inside of her. She leaned her head back, her hair tickling my thighs, a moan that could only be the cry of love slipping from between her lips. I buried my mouth against her throat and felt the vibration as it rocked through her, waiting.

When it passed, I rolled her over, pulled her thighs high over my hips, and began to rock slowly. I wanted to go slow and enjoy every second of this moment in our lives. But I couldn’t quite hold onto the control necessary to do that. In seconds I was thrusting hard against her and she was encouraging me, rocking her own hips against mine. We moved together in a rhythm that could only take us to one conclusion. She came again as I delivered my own load, filling her with a piece of myself I could never get back.

We lay there for a little while, holding each other, buried against each other. The box was under my pillow. I hadn’t meant to do it quite like this, but the moment just seemed perfect.

“I love you,” I whispered as I tugged it out.

“I love you, too.”

I leaned over a little and opened the box. She gasped when she saw what it was.

“Marry me, Mina. I want us to be a family.”

Tears filled her eyes.

“We already are,” she said.

Ash

Laughter danced around me. I held the baby high in my arms, listening to him babble as he played with the wooden truck Kirkland had given him. Christmas had always been a happy time in the Grayson household. I was glad to see that it was again.

Mina was in the kitchen helping Rose tear the meat off of the ham bone, putting away the leftovers from the feast towards which we’d all contributed. The ham was my contribution and the bone would make a lovely pea soup later in the week. Joss contributed a carrot cake. David and Ricki brought the salad and Kirkland spicy potatoes that were almost too hot to eat. Rose was the practical one, making corn on the cob and the best homemade bread I’d ever tasted.

I could hear Rose telling Mina that she didn’t have to help with the chores, especially today of all days. Who does chores on their wedding day? But the wedding was hours ago, and this was Mina’s home now. It was her responsibility. Besides, that’s what Mina did. She couldn’t sit around and see a task that needed completing and not get up to do it.

Ricki, on the other hand, was perfectly content to sit on one of the long couches with her feet on a stack of pillows. But one couldn’t blame her since she was three days overdue. That baby had decided he didn’t want to meet the world just yet.

David was fussing over her, driving her over the wall with all the things he wanted to do. She had the most presents under the tree this morning. Even McKelty didn’t get as much as she did. They were an equal division of baby gifts and gifts meant just for her. She smiled and laughed over the first half dozen, but after that, it simply got embarrassing.

But who could blame David for being so excited?

Aidan was five months now. She was babbling almost as much as Ford. The two of them were complete opposites in looks. Ford was dark where Aidan was light. Ford was husky where Aidan was tiny, almost petite if a baby could be petite. Ford was noisy, always talking and carrying on. Aidan was quieter, though just as curious about the way sounds came out of her mouth. And they were both equally loved by their parents and aunts and uncles. They came in second on the present count this morning.

Joss was watching the children, a blissful smile brightening her eyes. From time to time she’d look down at the shiny new wedding band on her finger. She’d finally consented to doing the deed with Carrington, surprising everyone when she announced their nuptials would be taking place that morning at the justice of peace. But Mina couldn’t have that.

“We already have a wedding planned. You have to join us.”

So it was a double wedding, quietly performed at the Catholic Church downtown just after dawn this morning. It drove McKelty nearly insane to have to wait that long to see what Santa brought her, but she did seem pleased to watch her Daddy make a firm commitment to Joss.

“Does this mean you’ll never go away?” she’d asked when it was all over.

“Oh, darling, I never was going to go away,” Joss assured her.

I wondered if the double ceremony made Mabel and Kirkland rethink their decision to hide their nuptials. Everyone was shocked to discover that they’d married back in February, just weeks into their relationship. Mabel said she’d wanted to wait to make sure things worked out. Kirkland said it was because she couldn’t shake the guilt that came from her childhood, a religious childhood that still played with her moral compass. Mabel grew up in a traditional, Mormon family, and she still believed in some of their teachings even if she didn’t attend church anymore. Whatever their reasons, everyone was thrilled for them.

Especially now. Mabel’s pregnancy was just beginning to show. Kirkland was over the moon, reduced to the fussy, obsessive husband he used to make fun of during his playboy days. It was…strange. Nice. But strange.

We’d all changed. There was no denying it. Even Donovan.

He and Kate were struggling to get pregnant, but it didn’t seem to have made them bitter or any less in love. You could see it when you looked at them, the love they had for each other would survive any obstacle fate or God or whatever they believed in threw their way.

Of all of us, they were the ones who would be sitting on the front porch, hand in hand, seventy years from now.

Mina came over and handed me a glass of champagne. I kissed her temple.

“I love you, Mrs. Grayson.”

She looked up at me, a warm smile on her lips.

“I love you, Mr. Grayson.”

Emily and Jack came through the door, a stack of presents in their arms. Emily had recovered nicely from her bullet wounds. The doctors said she might have a little pain on rainy days, but something like that would never hold Emily Warren back.

She came over and dropped a kiss on my jaw.

“I have a case I want to talk to you about later,” she said.

“It’s Christmas, Emily,” Mina said. “And our wedding day.”

“I know. Bad timing. But the bad guys don’t really honor things like holidays.”

“Business, babe,” I said.

She shook her head, sliding the baby out of my hands. “One of these days, we’ll trade in the guns and the bad guys for something better.”

“Like what?”

She looked around the room at the children and the pregnant bellies. “A daycare?”

She was laughing before I could crack a smile. She knew that was never going to happen. Security was who I was. It was who Kirkland and Donovan and Joss were. We would always live this life and do what we knew was right. We would always rescue people. And the people who loved us would always understand that.

I hoped.

Family. Either you understood or you found a way to live with it. That’s what family was all about.

And that’s what we were now. For better or for worse.

###

If you haven't read the first book of the GRAY WOLF SECURITY series, you can get it here:
DONOVAN
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It's FREE with Kindle Unlimited.

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