Chapter 9
Maya sat at her desk at the travel agency with her chin propped in her hand. She had calls to return. Dozens. Lace’s adventure vacay was scheduled next, but already the glitzy ads they’d placed in Chicago Magazine and the Tribune, describing the many new vacation offerings they’d added from hunting for lost pirate treasure to secret agent school had earned them major buzz.
They’d make their next loan payment. And they might manage to give themselves raises. Not that the good news helped her mood any.
Of late, she’d had a hard time getting out of bed. Had been late nearly every morning this week to work. And her mouth had forgotten how to smile, something Susan tried to remedy by telling the best jokes her Irish pub-owning dad knew.
Lace speculated she had PTSD. Maybe she did, because she blanched at loud noises and rechecked her door locks a dozen times a day. But Maya was convinced she had something much more serious—a broken heart.
Not knowing whether Angel was alive or dead, whether he thought about her at all if he was alive, left her feeling sad, tired, and wondering whether she might disappear altogether if she stopped caring about anything else in her life.
A cup of hot cocoa thumped on the desk in front of her. Susan hovered, concern in her blue eyes.
“Sorry,” Maya mumbled. “I know I have work to do.”
“I’m not worried about the calls. I only gave you a list because I hoped you’d want to answer them.” She shook back her blonde hair and gave Maya a pointed stare. “If you’re not ready, we’ll handle it.”
A sigh escaped before Maya shook her head. “It’s not fair to you.”
Susan pulled up the customer chair in front of Maya’s desk and sat. “You’re grieving. That’s understandable. Remember when Andrew dumped Lace? She was worthless for months, but we knew if we gave her space, she’d come back around. We’ve all had relationship setbacks.”
“Angel and I didn’t exactly have a relationship,” Maya muttered. “We never committed to a damn thing.”
“But you fell in love with him anyway, didn’t you?”
Maya nodded and dropped her gaze to the cocoa. “I don’t like being one of those girls.”
“What girls?”
“All drama-drama. I never get serious over a boy.”
A grunt sounded and Susan grinned. “He wasn’t exactly a boy, was he?”
Maya shook her head, remembering how much Angel wasn’t a boy. A big hulking mass of muscle—that’s what he was. A stubborn, cold-hearted ex-merc who didn’t need a flighty travel agent girlfriend, even if she did know the business end of an AK-47.
She sighed, shoulders drooping.
“Ahem.”
She glanced up. Lace stood in the doorway, staring at Susan. She was blushing, the pink in her cheeks clashing with her bright red hair, and she angled her head toward the door.
“Buck up,” Susan said. “And if you need some time off...”
Maya nodded and picked up the list of names she needed to call, not watching as the two women moved away from her office door.
A moment later, Susan was back. She plucked the list from Maya’s fingers and circled around her chair. “Time to go. Take the day off. Take a week.”
“But—” What the hell?
“Nope, no arguments,” Susan said, her words clipped as she lifted Maya from her seat by her elbows.
Had her friend finally gotten tired of her moping around the office? Maya’s eyes began to fill. “I can handle the calls.”
“Nope. You’re leaving.” Susan bent and pulled open her bottom desk drawer, picking up her purse. The replacement Coach she’d gifted her with when Maya’s had been lost during her vacation.
Maya stood, feeling as though her last refuge was being pulled out from beneath her. The last thing she wanted to do was face her lonely apartment. “But—”
Susan set the strap of the purse on Maya’s shoulder and pushed her toward the door. “You don’t have to call. Don’t have to think about work for even a minute.”
As Susan pushed her past the door, Maya held onto the frame. If she didn’t have her job, what did she have? “But I don’t want to go home.”
“Then don’t. Get a hotel. Just leave through the front door!”
Maya’s mouth gaped as Susan’s face reddened. Susan had never shouted at her before. Always easygoing, Susan looked ready to push her all the way out of the office.
Maya glanced at Lace who shrugged. “Better do as she says. You won’t regret it. Promise.”
Curious now, because both women were crimping their mouths as though to contain smiles, she gave them both a dark scowl and sniffed. “I know when I’m not wanted.”
Which sent both women into a fit of giggles.
Strange.
But Maya didn’t look back, stepping out of the office onto the sidewalk and right into the arms of a very large man.
Maya pushed back, but the arms squeezed tightly around her. Unable to catch her breath to scream, she leaned back her head and met a dark, mossy green gaze. Her knees crumpled. “You!”
Angel’s face didn’t give any clue what he thought as once again, he held her up while she steadied herself. When her knees ceased wobbling like Jell-O, she shoved at his arms.
Slowly, he let her go.
Maya glanced over her shoulder at her two friends who gave her thumbs-up signals and wide grins.
“Funny, I didn’t have to tell your friends who I was,” Angel said.
His deep, familiar rasp sent shivers across her skin.
One corner of his mouth kicked up. “Lace greeted me with a hug then scolded me for taking my time.”
Maya lifted her chin. “She’s protective of her friends. I’m surprised she didn’t knee you.”
“Susan proceeded to call me a bastard, and then said if I didn’t stay right here, she’d hunt me down like a dog to edge of the Earth. Her words.” His smile flashed wider. “I like your friends.”
“Great.” Her heart pounded but she fought to keep her voice calm. “You can ask them on a date. I give you my permission.”
“I like them. Maybe we’ll have dinner sometime, but I won’t be asking them out on a date.”
Maya gripped the strap of her Coach bag, and fought to keep from flinging herself back into his arms. Angel in a tight T-shirt and cargo pants was awe-inspiring. Wearing a suit and tie like he was now, he looked delicious enough to eat. Her gaze strayed to his shoulder.
“It’s been a month. I’m healed.”
“I’m...glad.” She stood, feeling awkward, afraid to hope that he was here for something other than to thank her for saving his life.
“Thanks for saving my life.”
Her heart fell to her toes. “Thank Mark. He showed me how to shoot.”
Angel grunted. “He’s in custody now.”
“Oh. Yeah, so Garcia didn’t kill him.”
“They held him at the camp. Tortured him. He’s happy to be in jail.”
Maya’s gaze fell away. “Well, I’m glad you’re well again. And you didn’t have to thank me. You saved me, too.”
Angel issued a soft curse. He stepped forward.
Her glance flew up, but before she could ask him what she’d said to upset him, his mouth landed against hers. At first, she held firm, determined she wouldn’t be an easy conquest. If he was back in town and thought she’d fall back into his arms that easily...
His tongue entered her mouth, and she sucked it hard, pulling it deeper, groaning. Who was she kidding? She loved him. She’d be his doormat if it meant he’d love her just one more time. Her arms snaked around his neck, and she rose on tiptoe, mashing her body against his.
His hands framed her face, and he pushed her back an inch. “I love you.”
Maya’s heart stopped for a long moment, and she was sure she’d imagined what he’d said, because wasn’t that what she’d been dreaming he’d say when they met atop the Empire State Building at midnight? In her dreams, anyway?
“I love you,” he repeated, then kissed her again, breathing into her.
Her lungs expanded and her eyes bugged. And she pushed back, coughing. “What are you doing?”
“You stopped breathing.” Angel’s eyes wrinkled at the corners as he grinned down at her.
She slapped his chest, then gave him a wide-eyed stare. “I didn’t mean to do that. Did I hurt you?”
Angel laughed, bending over her, his face resting on her shoulder as his chest shook. “God, I’ve missed you.” His arms encircled her again, crushing her against his chest.
And again, she couldn’t breathe, but she didn’t care, because before he’d squeezed the breath from her, she’d caught the scent of his musk mingled with a hint of cologne. Had he primped for her?
She melted like goo, her hand clutching his white dress shirt. Tears filled her eyes and seeped down her cheeks, but she’d never felt happier. He’d come for her. She knew it. She heard his love for her in the laughter that still shook his chest.
A throat cleared beside them. “Her apartment’s about ten minutes from here. I hailed a taxi,” Susan said, her voice dry.
Maya glanced over Angel’s shoulder at her friend and reached up to point at Angel’s shoulder. “It’s him,” she whispered.
“Never would have guessed,” Susan said, waggling her pale eyebrows. “Take a week. Don’t call. We’ll be fine.”
Lace stepped close, hugging Maya’s back before moving away. “Go.”
Angel released her, but snagged her hand. He gave both girls a two-fingered salute, then tugged Maya in the direction of the cab.
Ten minutes later, he took the keys from her trembling hands and unlocked her apartment door. His gaze swept the space, locking on the hallway that led toward her bedroom. He closed the door. “I’ll let you get a head start.”
Maya turned and ran, giggling toward her bedroom, stripping off her blouse and cami. Hopping from one leg to the other to get rid of the silky trousers. In her panties, she jumped into the middle of the bed, but Angel was right behind her, wrestling her to her back, then lowering his massive body over hers.
“A bed that doesn’t squeak,” he said. “This is quite a step up for us.”
She plucked at the buttons of his shirt. He’d already lost his jacket and his shoes. “Too many buttons.”
He arched an eyebrow and knelt over her, gripping both sides of the shirt and opening it, buttons flying.
Her eyelids dipped, her fingers raked his chest while he hauled the white undershirt over his head and tossed it aside.
When he settled on top of her again, she touched the large scabbed scar on his shoulder. “Should you be doing something this strenuous so soon?”
His eyes narrowed. “Let me worry about that. I’ve cooled my heels for weeks, wondering if you’d let me back into your life. I’m here, baby. With nothing but time on my hands.”
“And I have the week off.” She walked her fingers down to a flat male nipple and gave it a pinch. “How will we pass the time?”
“There you go again. I had a plan. I’d go slow.” He leaned on one arm and opened his pants, freeing his cock, which fell heavy and hard against her mound. “You have no patience.”
“I have plenty. I’ve waited a whole damn month for this.” She reached around him and dug her nails into his hard butt. “Don’t be mean and make me wait a second more.”
Angel nudged her legs apart, then found her center, tapping her p-ssy twice before sliding between her wet folds.
Not until he was lodged deep did she feel as though this was real. “It’s happening.”
“What, baby?” he murmured, beginning to move inside her.
“This. Us. I was so afraid I’d never see you again.”
Angel’s expression softened. He dipped down and kissed her, continuing to rock inside her. “I wasn’t sure you’d still want me. Thought you’d come to your senses once you were back in your old environment.”
“Thought it was just the adrenaline?”
“Yeah, we had quite the adventure.”
Maya traced the smile on his mouth. “I love you, Angel Rickman.”
“I love you, Maya Cordoba.”
His words loosened the knot she’d been carrying in her chest for the past month. “Even if I have two left feet and got my license in a Cracker Jacks box?”
“Did I say that?”
She laughed and scraped her nails down his back. “You did.”
“I didn’t mean it. You were perfect.”
“I was distracted. Couldn’t stop looking at you.”
“I noticed. Every time your gaze ate me up, I got a little harder.”
A grin spread on her lips. “I noticed that, too.”
Angel dropped down and gave her a hard kiss. When he pushed up, he changed the angle of his thrusts, the strength of his movements jostling her hips. And then he rolled, taking her with him.
Breathless, she found herself on top of his body, but he still had control, forcing her up and down his shaft until she caught the rhythm he wanted. When she was moving faster, he palmed both breasts, massaging the globes then tweaking the tips. He urged her higher, and leaned up to capture one nipple with his lips, sucking it hard.
With just the tip of his cock still embedded, she circled on it, moaning when he bit her nipple and moved to the other breast.
She was wet, fluid coating his broad cap, and she shoved at his chest until he released her nipple, and leaned back, and she circled downward, screwing onto him with each rotation of her hips.
Again, he rolled them until he had her on her back, and entered her with ease. His hands gripped hers, moving them up the bed, and his fingers interlaced with hers. He rocked on top of her, his weight pushing her deep into the mattress, his cock gliding in and out, each inward movement ending with a grind that teased her *.
“I’m almost there,” she moaned, then peeked from beneath her lashes, half afraid he’d come to a screeching halt and flip her again.
“Then come for me, baby. Let me watch.”
He let go of her hands and cupped her bottom, rooting deeper, their bodies grinding together, her * on fire. Sex had never been like this. Mind-consuming. The pleasure so great she felt like weeping. She writhed beneath him, her legs moving restlessly, then cupping his hips.
His movements quickened, powerful, targeted thrusts striking just the right spots. As the first explosion hit, she arched her back. “Angel!”
“That’s it. I’m right there. Baby, baby...”
Hot spurts of moisture bathed her channel, and she eased down beneath him, watching the emotions ravaging his face. Relief, desire...wonder. She felt the same, happier than she’d ever been in her life. Home at last inside his embrace.
Afterward, they cuddled together, bodies still locked intimately, as their hands petted and rubbed. Exploring each other in a lazy way they’d never managed or had the time for before.
“Will you marry me?” he asked, his gaze capturing hers. His breath held.
She smiled. “Yes.” His long exhale made her smile all the wider. “Thought I was going to have to give you CPR.”
He grunted, an eyebrow arching. “I have a couple of jobs I can choose from. One’s here. My own team.”
Her eyes widened, and her heart raced. He’d move here to Chicago to be with her?
“The other job’s in Miami.”
Something in the way he said it, quietly and without inflection, told her that would have been his first choice, but he was giving them a chance. Letting her make the decision. “Tell me about Miami,” she said softly.
She listened as he told her about his home, the large family she’d never heard anything about, the work that sounded so exciting. Maya dropped her cheek to his chest, breaking with his gaze. “Will you be undercover there?”
“No. I’m done with that. I’d be the head of my own team. Working with local law enforcement and the Coast Guard.”
Maya remained silent for a few minutes, thinking about the possibility, and what this change would mean to her partners. “I can establish a home office. Work remotely. I’d have to come back here from time to time...”
“I’d come with you. If you like.”
She looked up at him. Saw the way he waited, so patiently, to hear what she thought. Ready to give her whatever would make her happy.
But he was what made her happy.
And they could make this work. Sure, she’d miss her friends, but they’d understand. Maybe, eventually, they’d want to open another office in Miami.
Her decision felt natural. Inevitable. Hadn’t she known the moment she met him that her life was about to change? “I choose Miami.”
Angel cupped her cheek. “You don’t have to decide right this minute. And you have your partners to consider.”
Breath caught in her throat for a second, and she shook her head. “I like the idea of starting fresh. With you. It will be...an adventure.”
Angel leaned toward her and kissed her mouth. “I won’t let you regret a minute of it.”
Maya held his gaze and squeezed her inner muscles around him. “I won’t let you regret marrying me.”
“Baby, that will never happen...” He rolled her beneath him, sliding deeper into her.
Maya let go of all her worries, gazing up at the man she would marry, knowing he’d be her greatest adventure yet. “Just think—I can learn deep-sea fishing, scuba diving.”
His head shook, and he groaned. “I’ll be an old man before I’m forty.”
Maya grinned happily. “We could honeymoon in an undersea hotel.”
“I was hoping for something less exciting. A cabana on a beach.”
As he moved lazily, each thrust ratcheting up her heart rate, she decided a cabana would be just as much excitement as she could bear. Maybe she could talk him into skinny-dipping at midnight. “A cabana,” she agreed, then bit his shoulder. “But I get to tie you up.”
“Baby, you can try.” He laughed and nipped her ear. “You can try.”
The End