Nobody's Dream (93 page)

If her restaurant was successful, maybe they could talk about building their dream home in the mountains closer to Breckenridge. And if anything intruded on their commitment to each other, they would talk it over and re-evaluate their goals. Bottom line, they would be together.

He looked down at the puppy fast asleep in his arms. Maybe this furbaby would slow down the ticking of her biological clock, too. She’d spent so much time helping Karla and Adam with the triplets that he was sure she’d want to start a family right away—with or without a marriage ceremony.

“Oh, Adam, look! One of the puppies has latched onto your pants leg. I think she likes you.” Karla giggled and reached down to extricate the puppy and in its exuberance, it whined and licked at her face.

Marc grinned. “Looks like you’re only going to have one left, Luke and Cassie.”

Cassie glanced around the room and saw which ones had been claimed. “That leaves Suyana.”

Luke seemed surprised. “You named them already?”

“Not all of them. Just that one, oddly enough.” She reached down to pick up the still-sleeping one. Her cheeks were brown with black spots under her eyes, brown streaks above her eyes looking like bushy brows, and gray everywhere except each of her brown paws. “I guess it was meant to be. Suyana means ‘to hope’ in Quechua.” She met Luke’s gaze and smiled.

“Chance and Hope, huh? Sounds like we got to keep the best of the bunch, darlin’.”

He kissed her on the top of her head before announcing, “Now I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think we should head outside to potty the puppies and take care of them before we dig in on this feast. I’m starving and all that good food you all made is awfully tempting.”

“Sounds like I’m just in time.” In the doorway stood Grant. He hadn’t noticed her come in but had the feeling she’d been watching over the room for a while now. She’d long ago appointed herself as the guardian of the veterans in this room, anyway. But her protective net included their loved ones as well.

Cassie crossed the room to her, although not quite as enthusiastically as she had greeted some of the others. Did the Domme intimidate her? Did she know Grant’s role in the Masters at Arms Club now?

“Grant, we have found homes for all the puppies but if you want one, Luke and I could share Suyana.”

Grant stared at the puppy a long moment, but didn’t reach out to touch it. She finally shook her head. “No, that’s okay. With my travel schedule and running the club now, I wouldn’t be able to give the little fella enough attention.”

Dark circles under her eyes made Marc wonder if taking on running the club was more than she could juggle. He hadn’t been to the club in over a month—each of the owners tried to stop by at least that often. Distance and children and other priorities made it difficult, but they wouldn’t abandon the place. Grant had found a number of kinksters to help with the programming and the community in Denver needed a safe place to play. It also had become a hangout for other military men and women, who apparently had been drawn to it because the owners were all veterans.

But he had run into her at Gunnar’s dungeon, which was closer to Aspen Corners than was the club in Denver. Angelina’s little cottage didn’t have any place they could set up a playroom. Not that he didn’t find ways to explore kink with her. Her kitchen alone had a treasure trove of pervertibles.

Grant and Gunnar had been working together on something covert that had involved a number of flights to Pakistan this summer. Patrick seemed to be involved on a regular basis now, as well. Marc had never asked Gunnar and Patrick for details about their trip to Pakistan last May. He had been too focused on winning Angelina back and uncovering what he hoped was the last piece of the puzzle that was his elusive past.

As Marc surveyed the room, he thanked God for these people. His family of choice. No matter what, they had each other’s backs and could pretty much handle anything life threw at them, as long as they stuck together.

Before they went outside, there was one bit of unfinished business. “Adam and Karla, you haven’t named your puppy yet.”

Karla glanced over at Adam who was changing Kate’s diaper. He asked, “Boy or girl?”

Karla started to look at the puppy in her hands but Cassie answered. “Oh, I just assumed a girl, but it’s a boy.”

They shared a look that told Marc they were remembering when Paxton had been born. Adam cleared his throat. “Kitten, you have any ideas?”

“I’m tapped out after naming all these babies.” She grinned.

Adam then turned to his granddaughter. “Marisol, what do you think?”

She placed her puppy in Savannah’s arms and, with a serious face, crossed the room to inspect the dog. After a moment, she turned to Adam and pronounced him, “Hero. Because he’s yours, Grandpa, and you’re an American hero like my daddy.”

To say Adam was poleaxed was an understatement. When he finally spoke, his voice was gravelly with emotion. “Thanks, pun’kin. Hero it is.”

What an honor. And fitting. Adam had seen this ragtag bunch through the bowels of hell and brought them home. Not just in Fallujah either. Both before and after. And he’d nearly died trying to save Marc’s brother, Gino. The man had been there for every single one of the people in this room probably and at least a dozen times for Marc.

Despite suffering great losses in his life, Adam never became bitter or lost his compassion for others. Sometimes he could be a little clueless, like when he let Karla get away last year. But, hell, the man soon figured out how much he needed her—and a lot faster than Marc had with Angelina.

Marc cleared his throat. “I’ll second that. Perfect name for the puppy, too.”

He heard several sniffles in the room, not sure if all of them were from the girls. Damián cleared his throat. “Marisol, we have a few other heroes in this room. Wilson, Grant, and Marc all saved my life in Fallujah.”

With a trembling lip, the little girl turned to each of them. “I want to be like you when I grow up. I want to be a Marine.”

Damián had to be proud of his little warrior, and scared shitless at the same time. Remembering how Marc had had to help Damián keep Marisol from going out to save her
Maman
left a lump in his throat too big to allow him to speak. She would do the Marine Corps proud.

But the only woman Marine in the room did respond. Grant entered the room, joining the group she often stayed aloof from. She walked over to Marisol before dropping down to one knee and meeting her eye to eye.

“You can be anything you want to be, Marisol. If you decide to be a Marine, you come to me any time you have a question or concern. Just be true to who you are and give it your best, no matter what.”

*     *     *

Luke leaned over at the table to whisper in Cassie’s ear. “Darlin’, if you really want me to try some Shibari ties on you, we can start tonight out at the studio after everyone either goes home or to bed.”

She grew serious. “Kitty explained to me why everyone was so surprised at my wanting to try it.”

Darn. If she knew it had anything to do with BDSM, she probably wouldn’t want to give it a chance.

Cassie smiled. “She also told me how free she felt when bound. So I would like to try it, if you will start slow. I really like that photo of the woman with her toes, feet, and ankles bound.”

Was that arousal in her dilated pupils?
Hot damn!
This party might go on for a few more hours, but as soon as they could be alone, he intended to follow through.

“My little lady continues to be full of surprises.”

“I do not wish for you to become bored with me.” She smiled, but he noticed some anxiety.

Luke leaned over to kiss her cheek and whispered, “I could never tire of you, Cassie.”

“How about a toast to the newlyweds?” Luke turned as Marc stood and held his glass of sweet tea in front of him before addressing those gathered around the table. They had set up some planks over sawhorses in the front yard for a table big enough to hold their entire extended family. The blue-checked tablecloth reminded him of the many times Momma had prepared picnics for him and Dad, sometimes at parks and other times right in the backyard.

“Luke and Cassie, I hope I’m quoting Lao Tzu correctly here. ‘To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.’ I have watched the two of you grow strong in each other’s love this summer and I know that as you go through life you will have the courage and conviction to face anything life throws at you.”

Everyone at the table raised a glass and shouted, “Hear, hear!”

He hoped they didn’t expect him to make a speech because getting up in front of people to convey such heartfelt emotions would be damned-near impossible no matter how much he loved and trusted them. Then Cassie stood.

“I wish to thank you all for enfolding me into your family—and for loving and supporting my husband over the years.”

Tears stung his eyes, and he reached for her hand to give it a squeeze.

“I have learned that, with Luke by my side, anything is possible because his patience and love will see me through whatever life throws at us.”

Tears shimmered in her eyes, too, and she bent to kiss him.
Damn
. He couldn’t sit here and stay quiet another minute.

He stood and held up his glass, as well. He had to clear the frog from his throat before he could speak. He looked at her, and her alone. “Cassie, darlin’, our lives collided in many unexpected ways, but I think we both know there have been a number of forces—seen and unseen—at work to help us reach this point.” He didn’t care how she came into his life, he was just thankful she had. “Thank you for letting me be the man you put your faith and trust in. If I ever do anything to shatter either, well, there is a table full of D—”
Hell, don’t call them Doms!
“—men here who will kick my ass six ways from Sunday.” He felt the tears roll down his face, but didn’t give a shit. One thing he’d learned was that life didn’t always go as planned. “They not only have my back, but they have yours, too. If anything ever happens to separate me from you in this life, you just know they are going to be there for you. You can trust every one of them.”
Aw, hell.
Why’d he go maudlin like that on their wedding celebration day?

Cassie wrapped her arms around him and sniffled. “Nothing can break this bond we share, not even death. You and I will be together forever. But Goddess has shared with me images of us on this plane old and gray with many great-grandchildren surrounding us. She might not have the location right—I definitely envisioned us up on the mountain where my cabin once stood—but I know She plans to let us make up for the many sorrows in our lives by allowing us many years to be together.

He cupped her chin and held her as he lowered his mouth to hers for the first of at least a gazillion more kisses he planned to share in this lifetime. When they ended the kiss, their friends broke out in cheers and applause.

“I’ll love you forever, Sweet Pea.”

*     *     *

By the time the party guests left and the chores were finished, it was nearly eight o’clock. Cassie had visited with Adam and Kitty a while in the house, but Luke had gone ahead of her to the studio. Chance was curled on the floor at Adam’s feet while Hero chewed at the leg of his jeans. They might want to try to break that habit. Perhaps Cassie could have a talk with the little guy and see what they might use as a substitute for Adam’s pants legs.

Anxious to join Luke, after helping to prepare the babies for bed while Kitty pumped her breasts, Cassie jumped at Kitty’s first yawn. “I’ll leave you all alone now, Kitty. Help yourself to anything you two need. Luke and I will be back in the morning to have breakfast with you.”

Kitty reached out and took her hand. “This has been the most fun we’ve had in months. Thanks for having us out here. This is such a wonderful place.”

Cassie nodded. “It
is
very special.”

“You and Luke make it that way. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you two found each other. Seeing you today was proof of how right you are for each other. I’m so happy for you, Cassie.”

She smiled. “Kitty, I did not think love was possible for me, but he did not give up. And now I think he has a surprise for me, so I should join him.”

“Oh, I like the sound of that! Go! We’ll be fine!”

After kissing Kitty on the cheek and saying goodnight to Adam, she left the house and nearly danced down the lane to the studio. Her heart was filled with both anticipation and excitement.

Inside, she found the only light shining on a worktable, spotlighting a bundle of bright yellow rope. Her heart skipped a beat. She remembered the photo in the book and hoped he was going to use that rope on her.

“I missed you.” She jumped at his voice and turned to find him standing shirtless near the bed. Shadows and light played off his pectorals and she could not resist walking over to him and placing a kiss to one, while playfully flicking her tongue against the hard peak.

He wrapped his arms around her waist. “Keep that up, and you’re not going to get tied up tonight.”

She smiled and met his gaze. “I was hoping that rope was for me. I am ready when you are!”

Luke took her hand and led her toward the table. “Remove your clothes. Everything.”

Her heart beat in double time. “I thought you were going to just bind my feet.”

“I am. But I like looking at you naked.” He grinned and winked.

She removed everything quickly, rather than doing a slow tease. She wanted to try this as soon as possible. Without warning, he placed his hands around her waist and lifted her to the table. “Sit there.”

The table was cold against her bottom, but she did as instructed and watched him return to the bed to retrieve several pillows. Laying them on the end of the table, he cupped the back of her head and neck and lowered her to them. “Now, tent your knees.”

She followed his instructions, placing her hand on her belly when it erupted in butterflies. Nerves. She did not know why she was nervous. Maybe excited was a more accurate term.