Reclaimed (Hostage Rescue Team Series Book 10) (27 page)

But now she realized that by pulling away from Adam before, she’d made them both miserable. She refused to make that same mistake again.

Though it went against her ingrained instinct to withdraw and curl into herself, she rolled over to face him and moved straight into his waiting arms.

And the instant they closed around her, she felt safe again.

****

Adam bit back a groan of sheer relief and gratitude when Summer reached for him rather than pull away. That single gesture hit him right in the heart and meant more to him than she’d ever know, because he’d been bracing for her to push him away again.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, one hand cradling the back of her head as she tucked her face into his chest, her fingers digging into his skin. It felt so good to feel her arms around him, to know that she needed and trusted him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, sighed deeply. That must have been one hell of a nightmare if it had woken her from a dead sleep, and he could imagine all too well what it had been about.

“I got you,” he murmured against her hair, holding her tight. God, he wished he could make this all go away for her.

He hated that she’d been through all this, that she’d been scared and cold and fearing for her life, wondering if she’d ever get out alive. There was still a faint tinge of gasoline beneath the scent of her shampoo, reminding him of how close she’d come to dying. It made him want to crush her to him and never let her go.

He’d fucking
loathed
leaving her earlier, had rushed back here as soon as he could. Thank God they hadn’t been called out for the op. That was the only reason he’d been allowed to leave.

In response she pulled in a deep, shuddering breath, and let it out slowly. Her body remained tense against his, but at least he didn’t think it was because she couldn’t bear his touch. She’d come to him willingly, needing comfort. He’d give her all that and more, whatever she needed.

To his relief she burrowed in closer yet, hooking one leg over his, as though she couldn’t get close enough. The unspoken trust and need for comfort turned his heart over and brought all his protectiveness to the surface.

“It’s okay now,” he whispered, smoothing his hand over her hair. He’d never forget the sight of her in that fucking cage, or the look of pure terror on her face when that fire had started right in front of her.

Her fingers flexed against his chest, restless, edgy. “When did you get back?” she asked, her voice rough and groggy with sleep.

“About an hour ago.” He’d left the operations center as soon as he could, after finishing up the most critical reports and meetings. The other guys were still there but DeLuca had let him go early so he could get back to Summer. It was already one in the morning now.

“Didn’t even hear you come in,” she murmured.

Taya had told him Summer had taken the sleeping pills, so he wasn’t surprised she sounded so groggy. “You were fast asleep when I got here.” He’d slid in beside her, careful not to wake her, and just stared at her in the faint light seeping in from around the edges of the blackout blinds covering the windows. She’d slept peacefully until now.

She sighed and relaxed, her body melting against his. God, it felt so damn good to hold her this way. The only thing better would be to peel his shirt off her so she was naked. He was already hard against her abdomen, but sex had to be the last thing on her mind at the moment so maybe it was better this way.

He was just thankful that the feel of his erection against her stomach didn’t make her pull away. Whenever they did have sex again, he didn’t want it to be because she was looking to escape the fear and trauma. He wanted it to be because she couldn’t bear to be without him a moment longer, the way he wanted her.

“Glad you’re here,” she mumbled, her heart still racing against his.

“Me too.” He stroked her hair again, savoring the feel of her, wanting to calm her, make her feel secure again.

During the meetings he’d heard details from her boss about what happened during their captivity that would give him plenty of sleepless nights for the next while. Apparently Summer had somehow managed to disarm one of the captors and then killed him with his own weapon before turning it on Hadad. If not for the vest he’d been wearing, she would have killed him before Adam and his team had burst in.

Dammit, he wished he could have protected her from all that.

He was worried as hell about her mental and emotional state, considering what she’d already been through. But then he thought about that video message she’d put together and he was amazed by her resilience all over again.

Did she realize how strong she truly was? How brave and incredible she was, to come up with all that under that sort of stress? He wasn’t going to bring all that up now though. Not when he knew she needed sleep, and time to deal with everything.

“Think you can go back to sleep now?” he whispered instead.

She nodded against him, stifled a yawn, and settled into a more comfortable position. “I want to go home,” she murmured a moment later against his chest.

“I know. I’ll get you out of here as soon as I can tomorrow.” Just as soon as he could get clearance to leave and find them a flight, they were out of here.

She shook her head. “No, with you. And I mean I want to go to
our
home,” she stressed, tilting her head back to look up at him in the dimness.

A sweet, sharp pain pierced him at her words. He’d been waiting, hoping for this for so long now, waiting for her to be ready to move back home so they could live like a married couple again. A wiser, more dedicated married couple.

“Yeah, sweetheart,” he whispered, his own voice rough and his eyes stinging. “I’ll take you home.”

She snuggled back against his chest, pressed a kiss to his sternum. “Love you.”

God.
Throat tight with emotion, he wrapped her up tight in his embrace and kissed the top of her head. “I love you too.” More than life itself. “Go ahead and sleep now, doll. I’m going to be right here holding you the rest of the night.”

A sigh of relief escaped her. “Good,” she murmured.

He lay awake beside her while her breathing turned slow and deep, all her muscles relaxing as she drifted off to sleep, and just held her, overcome with joy and hope for the future they’d come too close to losing forever.

Tomorrow, come hell or high water, he was taking her
home
. They’d pick up the pieces and finally start their lives again.

Together.

Virginia, two days later

Just outside their kitchen door, Summer paused and stood there watching Adam finish putting away the last of the groceries he’d laid out on the center island while she was out. He reached up into a cupboard beside the stove, the muscles in his arm bunching with the movement, the ones across his back and shoulders flexing beneath his shirt.

Heat and arousal stirred her blood. It felt like she was waking from a deep sleep after the chaos of the past few days.

After spending over two hours in her therapist’s office, venting about everything that had happened in Jordan, she felt stronger now, more like her old self again. The initial horror and exhaustion and numbness had faded, allowing her to see what was most important in her life.

He was standing right in front of her. She was never letting him go again.

Adam could have given up and moved on when things had fallen apart for them. A lot of men in his position would have. Instead he’d stepped up and joined the fight to save their marriage. Then, just three days ago, he’d risked his life to rescue her, had literally carried her to safety.

A deep and abiding love for him filled her heart, making it swell so much it hurt. She swallowed hard.

In some ways it felt like she was seeing him through new eyes. This strong, brave and sexy man was all hers. Had been hers all along, even though she’d sometimes failed to recognize that for the gift it was.

A lump formed in her throat as she thought of how close she’d come to succeeding in pushing him away for good. That she’d nearly lost him forever.

But not anymore. She refused to hold back with him anymore, and she was done with holding onto the past. He’d made an effort after screwing up and she would too. After all this time they were finally on the same page. Starting here and now, she was reclaiming her man.

He looked over his shoulder when she stepped into the kitchen. A smile curved his delicious mouth amidst those dark whiskers as he turned toward her. She knew he was worried about her though, she could see it in his eyes. “Hey. How’d it go?”

“Good. I feel way better.” The Bureau had set up everything for her while she was still in Jordan. She’d insisted on going to her first counseling session alone, even though he’d wanted to go with her.

It was important to her that she get everything out first without Adam there, so she could relay the events and all the chaotic emotions without making things harder on him. But she’d been careful to make sure he knew she wasn’t shutting him out, that she’d just needed this time to process everything. She wanted him to go with her to as many of the remaining appointments as he could, if his schedule permitted it.

Gratitude and excitement fizzed inside her as she closed the space between them. She set her purse on the counter then wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning into his solid frame.

He returned the embrace, and just the feel of all that warm, hard strength enveloping her made her go tingly all over. And he smelled delicious, all clean and male. They’d arrived home late yesterday morning but with all the meetings keeping them busy, they hadn’t had much time together. And when they’d finally both crawled into bed last night, they’d been too exhausted to do anything but sleep and had passed out in a matter of minutes. She sensed that he wanted more but had been worried about her, that he’d been tentative about touching her intimately.

But she wasn’t tired now, and there was something she needed far more than food or rest. She needed her husband.

Taking his face in her hands, she leaned up to press her lips to his, knowing how lucky she was. He was her rock. Her hero, and the love of her life. She’d missed being intimate with him, ached to feel his hands and mouth on her naked body again.

The make-out session during their date at the drive-in had been pure torture, and she’d been impatiently waiting to make love ever since. After facing her own mortality a few short days ago, more than ever she wanted to lose herself in pure pleasure and wasn’t waiting a second longer.

“I want you,” she whispered against his mouth.

Heat and surprise flashed in his eyes but he didn’t question her, didn’t say anything at all as he plunged his hands into her hair and kissed her back. Long and deep, sliding his tongue into her mouth to stroke hers.

Summer pressed her body flush against his, relishing the feel of that steely strength. God, she’d missed him. Missed touching and kissing and having him inside her, the sense of connection, the pleasure she knew he could give.

Hungry for it, she moaned, rubbed her breasts over his chest as her tongue explored, her nipples already hard and aching and a restless ache building between her thighs. It had literally been months since they’d last had sex. At least four.

He growled low in his throat and picked her up, his hands holding her ass. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck, pressing the hot ache between her thighs against the rigid length of his erection she could feel through his jeans.

“Upstairs,” she whispered, frantic to get them both naked. “In our bed.”

Had to be in their bed, this first time since she’d moved back home. As a symbol of a new beginning for them.

Adam murmured his agreement and carried her up the stairs, his lips never leaving hers. The blinds were open on the windows over their bed, letting light stream in. With one hand he pulled the covers back and laid her down against the flannel sheets. The way he stared at her then, the raw hunger and need on his face, made her desperate.

She reached for him, dragged him down on top of her and grasped the hem of his shirt, impatiently peeling it up and over his head. Adam’s fingers went to the buttons holding the front of her dress together, his mouth fused to hers.

Together they stripped each other’s clothes off, tossing them aside onto the bed and floor in their haste to get each other naked. By the time she was bared to him, Summer was half-frantic with need, her heart racing.

Adam stilled her when she reached for him this time, splaying a big hand in the center of her chest and pushing her back onto the sheets instead and sitting back on his heels next to her. “Don’t move. Let me look at you,” he rasped out, his eyes like blue flame as they raked over the length of her naked body.

Summer did as he said, the sight of him poised there beside her with the light gilding his muscles making her toes curl in anticipation. She drank in the sight of his naked body, the breadth of his shoulders and the defined muscles, his hard erection jutting outward, swollen with need. He shook his head once, as if he couldn’t speak, his expression so full of hunger it was all she could do not to pull him back into her arms.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he whispered in a reverent voice as he ran that warm palm down the center of her body and back up again.

She felt beautiful, every nerve ending alive, little zings of pleasure swirling outward at every place he touched. When he reached her breasts he cupped them, thumbs teasing her aching nipples as he leaned in to take her mouth once more.

Summer opened to the demanding pressure of his tongue, got lost in him. The kiss left her panting, aching for so much more. She wound her hands in his hair, tipped her head back and closed her eyes while his mouth blazed a scorching path down the side of her neck, lower to take a hard nipple between his lips.

Her back bowed, her legs coming up to lock around his hips. She’d wanted this for so long, the rightness and sense of connection between them.