Avenger (Impossible #3) (13 page)

In the time that we had been here, Sean and I had fallen in love with our life in Indianola.  Neither of us had ever known anything but the bustle of city life.  Living here was so… peaceful.  I had been turning something over in my mind for days now, and I finally plucked up the courage to ask Sean about it.

“Why don’t we stay?”  I asked, rolling over on the bed so that I was facing him.  He caught up a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers absently.

“What?”  He asked, clearly lost in his own thoughts.

“Why don’t we stay here?”  I repeated.  “I like Indianola.  It has everything we need, and the people are friendly.  I could get a job in De Moines and commute.”

Hope welled within me as I realized that Sean looked intrigued rather than taken aback.  “And what would I do?”  He asked.

“Well, you’re getting to be a pretty good cook.  And you’re tidier than most men.  You could be my house-husband.”  I was teasing, but we both froze at the mention of the word “husband.”  We had talked about a future together, but we hadn’t discussed marriage.

Sean moved past the awkward moment smoothly.  “So you want me to stay home and do your bidding, then?”  He asked, a dangerous, sexy edge to his voice.  “I think we both know that that’s not the way things work around here.  Don’t we?”

I bit my lip.  “Hmmm.  I suppose I could allow you to have a profession.  You know, just something small to occupy your time when I’m not around.”

He growled and pressed his weight against me, flipping me onto my back and settling his body over mine.  His hands were around my wrists, pinning them against the pillow above my head.  “Now sub,” he said, his voice low and rumbling.  “I’m going to be merciful and give you a chance to reconsider your response.”

“Well, yes.  On second thought, I think that you’d be better off at home.  We wouldn’t want to put too much strain on you.  You’re so delicate.  I would worry about you.”  I smiled up at him sweetly.

He grinned back at me, but there was a decidedly dangerous edge to his smile.  “I’m pleased to see that I haven’t stamped all the disobedience out of you.  I do enjoy our lessons.”

“I enjoy them too,” I agreed.  “It seems I know just how to play you to get what I want.”

His grip tightened around my wrists with almost bruising force, and he reached between our bodies with one hand to pinch my nipple sharply, twisting it.  I cried out at the pain.  It was harsher than what I had expected.  He rolled my hardened bud deftly between his fingers, soothing the sting to a dull, burning ache that made my sex pulse to life.  My breathing turned shallow as I stared up into the twin dark flames of his stunning green eyes.

“Back to basics today, then,” he said calmly.  “It seems that we have forgotten who is in control.”

He took my body roughly, possessing me completely with each harsh touch and demanding word.  By the time he was finished with me, I was a quivering mess.  He had made his point well and thoroughly.  And I had loved every second of it.  My body was draped across his as I slowly came down from my high.

“I love it when you make love to me by fucking me,” I sighed happily.  He chuckled.

“That is an interesting yet accurate way of putting it.”  He kissed the top of my head affectionately.  We lay in silence for long moments, our hands lightly tracing the contours of one another’s bodies.  It was as though we were addicted to one another.  And Sean was a drug that I never wanted to quit.

Eventually, Sean idly picked up our earlier conversation.  “I think I’ll start my own carpentry business,” he said.  “If that’s okay with you, ma’am,” he amended hastily.  I smiled, refusing to rise to his bait.

I propped myself up on one elbow so that I could see his face.  “I think that’s a great idea,” I said seriously.  “I would love to see some of your work.”

He beamed at me.  “I’d like that.  And yes, I think we should stay in Indianola.  The people are great, and we’ll have an excuse to see Clayton outside of official FBI business when he comes home to visit his parents.  Besides,” his eyes twinkled, “it’s a great place to raise a family.”

My jaw dropped at the astounding words that he delivered so casually.  Before I could begin to formulate a response, he sat up abruptly, pulling me up with him.  He seated me on the edge of the bed while he got up to retrieve something from his sock drawer.

“What are you doing?”  I asked, puzzled.  When he turned back to me, he was hiding something in his closed fist.  “What’s in your hand?”  I was getting slightly nervous.  What devious plans did he have in store for me now?

He pressed his finger to my lips, silencing me.  “It’s my turn to ask a question,” he said softly.  My breath caught in my throat as he dropped to one knee before me.  The circle of precious metal that he held between his thumb and forefinger glinted in the light.  I was suddenly grateful that I was sitting down, because there was no way that my knees would have supported me in that moment.

“Dr. Claudia Ellers,” his delicious, lilting voice caressed my name in that way that made me melt.  My attention snapped from the ring in his hand to his eyes.  They were burning into mine, and the love and longing that I saw there took my breath away.

“You have given me a life that I never dreamed I would have.  Would you do me the honor of sharing it with me?”

I was overwhelmed with emotion, and I couldn’t seem to get any words out through the lump in my throat.

“Marry me, Claudia.”  It wasn’t a question.

“Yes!”  I gasped out.  “Yes!”  Tears of joy wet streamed down my face as I held out my left hand.  He slipped the ring onto it, and it fit perfectly.  It was a simple gold band adorned with a single diamond.  It was simple and classic.

Sean brushed his thumb against the physical sign of his devotion to me.  And my acceptance demonstrated my own devotion to him.  “I know it’s not much,” he said, “but it was my mother’s.”

“It’s perfect, Sean.  I love it.”  A wide grin broke out on my face as joy enveloped me.  “I love you so much.”

He stood quickly and pulled me up into his arms, holding me against his perfect, hard body.  “I love you too.”  He returned my smile.  “Are you tired of hearing that yet?”

“Not even remotely.”  And I knew that I never would tire of it.

Sean bent down and pressed his lips against mine.  The kiss was slow and tender at first, but it quickly became more intense as our hunger for one another was once again enflamed.  His tongue demanded that I give him my mouth, and I ceded it to him willingly.  He was everything that I needed, everything that I had never even known that I wanted.  He had come into my life and changed it irrevocably, ruthlessly tearing down my protective walls and building me back up from the inside out.  And somehow, I had done the same for him.  We had healed each other, had set each other free from the weight of our pasts.  Now we were finally in control of our own destinies.

And the first choice that I made with my newfound freedom was to spend the rest of my life in the arms of Sean Reynolds.

The End

Thank you so much to my wonderful readers!  You have made Sean and Claudia’s journey all the more special to me through your support.  Love y’all!
xxx

Also by Julia Sykes

The
Impossible
Series
Monster
Traitor
Avenger

Dark Grove Plantation
Stories
Awakened
Taken
Broken

Dark Grove Plantation (The Complete Collection)

The
Dark Submission
Series
Switched
Dangerous Desires
Bratting
Secret Submissive
(Coming Soon!)

The
Captured by the Billionaire
Series
Pursued
Captured
Teased
Bound
Tested
Collared

Captured by the Billionaire (The Complete Series)

Torn: Caught between the Billionaires
Book 1: Lucas
Book 2: Jonathan
Book 3: The Choice
Book 4: Consequences

Torn: Caught between the Billionaires (The Complete Series)