The Private Serials Box Set (43 page)

   “Can we go back to the hotel now?  I just want to lie in bed and try to forget this ever happened.”

   “Of course,” I responded.

   We spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel room, showering and lounging on the bed, holding each other, trying to wrap our minds around what had happened just hours before.  It wasn’t until that evening when we turned on the television that we realized we just might have pulled it off.  The reporter spoke in Greek, but there were captions in English running along the bottom of the screen.

  
The coastguard has confirmed a tourist boat that was rented by an American family has been found crashed just miles off the shore of Athens.  The boat careened into a rocky beach, exploding on impact, and all four of the people on board, two adults and two children, are presumed dead.  The coastguard is searching the nearby waters, hoping to find survivors, but based on the wreckage, I’m being told the chance of survival is slim.

  
Lena looked over to me. “It worked,” she said, sounding astonished.  “It actually worked.”  Her finger came up to pull at her bottom lip as she watched the television in fascination.

   I stepped out onto our terrace and called Parker, knowing a text wouldn’t give him any satisfaction.  He answered sounding worried, his greeting rushed.

   “Preston?  Is everything all right?”

   “Hey, everything is fine.  It all went according to plan.”

   “I don’t want to know any details.  I’m just glad you’re all right.  And Lena?”

   “She’s fine too.”

   He breathed a sigh of relief and I knew he was slumping, all the anxiety leaving his body.

   “Listen, I don’t know where we’re headed, or what we’re up to next….”  My words trailed off because I didn’t know how to tell my brother I didn’t know when I’d see him again.

   “I understand, Preston.  I get it.  Like I said, I’m just glad you’re both safe.”

   “I’ll let you know as soon as we nail down some plans.”

   “Sounds good.  Give your girl a hug for me.”

   “Will do.”

   We disconnected after our goodbyes and I took in a deep breath, trying to ready myself for one more phone call.

   “Preston, I assume you’re calling me with good news.”

   “Good news for you, perhaps, Edgar,” I responded.

   “Did you do as I asked you?”

   “It’s done.  And I have your money for you.”

   There was a pause from Edgar’s side of the line, then a booming laugh.  “I knew you could do it.”  He laughed, a big whooping laugh, then chuckled until he could speak again without interruption.  “You’re a gem,” he finally said.  “I’ll expect the money in my account by the end of the week.”

   “Then both Lena and I are cut loose, right?  This is it, Edgar.  We don’t owe you anything ever again.”

   “I believe those were the terms.  You get me my money, kill Derrek, and you’re both off the hook.  I’ll forget all about you as soon as the money is in my account.”

   “You’ll have it ASAP.”

   “It’s been nice dealing with you.”  He paused and then asked one more question.  “Was Derrek’s death at least a little painful?”

   I swallowed hard, hoping I could lie well enough to fool him.  “Don’t worry, he definitely suffered.”

   The evil laugh which emanated from him nearly made me hurl.  I was glad I’d never have to see him again.

   “Thank you for your patronage,” he said, his evil laugh continuing.  Then I heard the line go dead, and I relaxed against the railing, looking out to the picturesque Greek cityscape below me.  I thought about everything that had happened in the last few weeks and suddenly I was overcome by so much tension leaving my body, I nearly collapsed.  So much had been riding on this, so much of my life had been on the line, and it was finally over.  I heard the French doors open and I smelled Lena before I felt her arms wrap around me from behind.

   “Everything work out?”

   My hand came up to smooth over hers and I sighed.  “Yeah.  Edgar bought it, really believes Derrek is dead.  It’s over.”  Before I knew what was happening she was in front of me, her dark eyes peering up into mine, her lips pulled up slightly at the corners.

   “I know you did this for me.”

   My hands slid up her arms, loving the feel of her skin under mine.  I loved watching her eyelids flutter at the sensation of me touching her.  I cupped her cheeks and looked right in her eyes.

   “Everything I’ve done since the first day I saw you outside that bar has been for you.  Everything I do until the day I die will be for you.  You’re it for me, Lena.  You’re the reason I wake up each morning, the reason I’m standing here breathing.  Whatever you need, just tell me, and it’ll be my mission to get it for you.”

   She smiled and moved forward slightly until our noses touched.  “What if everything I’ve ever wanted is standing in front of me?”

   The corners of my lips pulled into my first genuine smile in almost two days.  “Then that makes my job pretty easy.”  She laughed as I pressed my mouth against hers.  I teased the seam of her lips with my tongue and, of course, she opened for me.  She moaned against my lips and all I wanted was to pull her back to bed, to feel her beneath me and around me.

   “Oh, wait,” she said, pulling back and bringing her hand to her mouth.  “I need one more thing.”  Her face was suddenly very serious, and she looked nervous.  “I need you to look up how to say ‘pregnancy test’ in Greek so I don’t sound like a bumbling American at the pharmacy.”

   I’d never experienced how truly empty and cavernous my stomach could feel before she’d said those words.  My stomach dropped, my heart pumped ferociously, and my eyes blinked wildly.

   “You think you’re… You need a… How late…” I couldn’t have completed a sentence in that moment if my life depended on it.  I couldn’t find the right words as one million of them were crashing through my mind faster than the speed of sound.  She started laughing at me and brought her hands to my cheeks.

   “Breathe, Preston,” she said between giggles.  “You’re turning purple.”

   “You’re pregnant?”  I was impressed not only with my inference skills, but also my ability to put two words together.  Three technically if you count the contraction.

   “I think so,” she said shyly.  “Either that or I’m a week late for some other reason.”

   I picked her up, my arms wrapping around her waist, and I spun her around while hugging her to me.  We were both laughing, and she was crying happy tears, and I couldn’t think of another moment in my life where I’d been so ecstatic.  When I finally put her down, I cradled her face and kissed her senseless.

   “I think you’re the only woman on the planet who could take possibly the worst day I’ve ever lived through and make it the best day of my life.”

   “Well, I’m glad you’re excited,” she said, smiling and wiping a few stray tears away.  “But, Preston, I was totally serious.  I need you to tell me how to say ‘pregnancy test’ in Greek.”

   I laughed and pulled her closer to me, feeling her heartbeat through her chest pressed up against mine.

   “I’ll give you anything and everything you’ve ever wanted,” I said, my lips pressed against her hair.  And I’d never spoken truer words.

Epilogue

Lena

   I knew I only had a few minutes to accomplish my goal, and even though speed was not always a friend during sexy times with one’s husband, in this situation, speed was imperative.  I opened the door to our master bathroom slowly, so as not to make any unwanted creaking, then quietly peeled off my clothes and climbed into the shower.

   It was always a struggle not to stop and admire my husband’s beautiful body, even more so when soapy water was cascading down all the firm ridges and valleys of his muscular back.  So it was no hardship on my part to put my hands on said gorgeous back and feel the hardened skin slippery under my fingers.

   “Jesus, Lena.  You scared me,” he said right after he’d nearly jumped out of his skin.

   “Hmm,” I replied as I ran my hands around his waist, up over his ribs, then right back down again to find him hardening in my grasp.  “But it’s a good surprise, right?”

   “Definitely.”  He spun in my arms and suddenly I was pressed up against the wall of the shower, his big hands under my thighs, lifting me and pressing me back.  His mouth found mine and I groaned as my stomach flipped with his kiss. 

   Years. 

   Years later and his kisses still gave me butterflies.

   I knew I would never tire of Preston, or what he could do to my body. I loved that he could still make me feel like a teenager experiencing my first love all over again.  It was a quality I was sure you couldn’t find in just any man.  No.  It was special to
my man
.  And I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else.

   With one hand wrapped tightly around my waist, his other hand found my breast, kneading and palming it with gentle yet firm pressure, fingers pinching my nipple, eliciting more moans from me.

   “I hate to be a buzz kill here, babe, but we don’t have all the time in the world.”  I gasped again as his mouth found my neck, internally rolling my eyes because I knew his mouth would leave a mark there—it always did—but outwardly not caring because, well, I just didn’t.  If Preston wanted to mark me with love bites, I wasn’t going to be the one to stop him.  His parents sometimes avoided looking at me when I showed up with a hickey, and Piper always rolled her eyes, but I simply didn’t care.  Everyone knew how passionate we were about each other and sometimes I had the marks to prove it.

   “What if I want to take my time?”  His words were garbled against my skin, which felt awesome, but it also made me smile.  He never wanted to be rushed when we made love.

   “Well, you take all the time you need. I just put the baby down for a nap, but you never know when he’ll wake up, so you might not get to finish, if you get what I’m saying.”

   “It’s only really important that
you
finish, if you get what I’m saying.”

   I laughed.  “That’s sweet of you, but it’s a big lie.  You know just as well as I do that you need to get off just as much as me.  It’s been days.”

   That’s right.  Days.  Preston had given me so much—everything, in fact—but he’d paid the price as much as any man does with small children.  The sex was spread out and not the marathon exploits we had been used to pre-babies.  Now, there were hurried quickies and stealthy shower escapades as we tried to not only orgasm, but connect on that level we’d thrived on for so long.  Most nights, sex was off the table because we were both so worn out, so sex in the middle of the day while the baby napped?  Yup.  It was our new normal.

   I just wanted to feel him inside me.  To feel how perfectly he fit, to get that rush that always accompanied him, to feel the calmness and rightness that came along with sex with my husband.  Oh yeah, and to come.  That too.

   At my words he put me down, my legs wobbly on the floor of our walk-in shower, and he kissed me hard before spinning me around.

   “Bend over; put your hands on the wall, sweetheart.”

   Oh, hell, yes. 

   I did as he asked, aided by his hands on my waist, then his hand on my back, between my shoulder blades, gently pushing me down.  When my hands reached out for the wall, his slid down my back, right along my spine, until he reached my backside, which he gave a gratuitous squeeze.

   “Fuck, I love your ass,” he said, still squeezing and groping.  I smiled lazily, enjoying his praise.  His hand moved lower and slipped inside me.  “Jesus, Lena, you’re soaked already.”

   “I’m just—” I stalled on a gasp as he explored. “Anticipating what’s coming to me.”  His fingers moved in and out, slowly turning and stretching me.  “God, I love your fingers.”

   “Not as much as you love my dick,” he said with an obvious smile in his voice.

   “True,” I replied, also smiling.  My smile faded when I felt his hardness pressing up against me, just barely there, but still making my heart skip a beat and my breath quicken.

   “Do you want it?” he asked, rubbing the head of his cock along my entrance, teasing me.

   “Yes,” I panted.

   “Tell me you want it,” he demanded, his voice hard and ridiculously sexy.

   “I want you inside me, Preston.”

   “Good girl,” he said as he sank into me slowly.  I groaned with every movement, loving the feel of him sliding into me, filling me, giving me every single inch of him.  “You feel so fucking amazing, Lena.  You always feel so perfect.”

   There weren’t many words after that, just moaning and the sound of wet skin meeting with every pounding thrust.  He let out a long hiss when he was close, as he tended to do, and reached around my waist and touched me to urge me over the edge with him.  I came hard, as I tended to do with Preston, and loved the sounds he made as he came with me.  It wasn’t terribly romantic, it wasn’t champagne and rose petals, but it was him and me, connecting, giving each other what we promised we would never again give to anyone else: ourselves.

   I would take a quickie in the shower with Preston for the rest of my life over flowers and chocolates with anyone else.  No contest.

   He splayed kisses over my shoulder, his hands finding their way to my breasts, making me laugh.  “Aren’t you done yet?”  I asked, laughing.

   “Never,” he said with so much sincerity it made my heart ache.

   Eventually he spun me back around and gave me the slowest and deepest kiss, then we just proceeded to shower, making sure we took the opportunity to soap each other up.

   Hours later, after the baby had woken up from his nap, we were pulling up to his parents’ house for our weekly Sunday dinner.

   It had taken me a while to decide that Portland was where we needed to be, or to believe I could even go back to Portland and be happy there.  But, the truth of the matter was, our whole family was there.  Well, Preston’s whole family—who had become my family—and my Sam.  When we found out in Athens we were indeed pregnant, the idea of raising a child without the support of everyone who loved us seemed not only stupid, but also unfair to all the people who loved Preston.  I had lamented for my whole adult life my lack of family, so who was I to take Preston away from his?  And the thing that sealed the deal was that Preston would have lived somewhere far from them if it was what I wanted.  He would have resigned himself to yearly visits and Skype calls, if he thought I would be happier anywhere else on the planet.