Closely Guarded (Alpha Agency Protectors Book 7)
Page 4
Her smile lights up this tiny apartment. “That’s good, that’s… really great.”
“Yeah?” I ask and slowly walk towards her. “I think so too.”
We should probably move away from the front door, get settled somewhere more comfortable. We still have a lot to talk about, after all. Zach, Lenny, my new medical training… it all seems so insignificant compared to this moment, right now. She loves me and I love her. That’s something worth celebrating. “There’s something that I’ve been wondering,” I muse, and brace my hands on either side of her head, leaning in to nuzzle her neck.
“Hmm, what’s that…?” Claire asks breathlessly. Her hands drift up and down my back and she occasionally scratches a nail against the back of my neck. It feels fantastic.
“I’m wondering if you taste as good as what you create,” I purr into her ear.
When all Claire does is tilt her head to the side in inquiry, I decide to show her what I’m talking about.
With quick fingers, I lift my shirt off of her and toss it to the floor before dropping to my knees. Now all I’m concentrated on is slipping my fingers beneath the pale pink band of her panties and encouraging her to shift her hips closer to my face.
“Nick? Wh-what are you do-doing?” Claire’s panting and when I spare a look up, her navy eyes are dark with arousal. Her question is a reminder that despite her enthusiasm, she’s still so new to the art and intimacy of sex. I look forward to showing her everything there is to enjoy.
“I’ll show you,” I whisper up to her, making sure to breathe lightly across her covered mound. “But first, you have to let me take these off. It will feel good, I promise.”
She obediently lifts each leg so that I can slide her panties off over her feet before tossing them back to join my shirt in the depths of her apartment. I lean in and press my nose to the dark curls between her legs, and I feel her tremble.
I pull away and take her hands in mine. “Claire, do you trust me?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” With her answer, I lean forward and show her just what I was talking about.
Chapter 10- Claire
Seven years later…
“Hey sweetheart, I’m back. Are you in?” I call out as I round the corner of the hallway and head into my living room. Zach is sitting on the couch reviewing some paperwork. He’s recently started wearing a pair of reading glasses for the documents and scripts with fine print. The thin wire frames make him look a little bit older, a little more distinguished. The house is quiet around us as all three of the kids are with their Uncle Zach for the day. My brother and his fiancé were kind enough to take them so that Nick could get some work done and I could have a part of a day off. It’s a Saturday, so I had to get to the bakery quite early to make sure that everything was ready for the anticipated mid morning rush. As it was, I sold out of scones and berry muffins by noon!
It’s still early in the afternoon now, and I’ve left my bakery in the very competent hands of my staff so that I could go home and have some time with my husband. Even after six years of marriage, thinking of Nick as my husband still makes me smile.
Nick is no longer in the Air Force, a fact for which I feel selfishly grateful. He completed his medical training with ease and was amazing as a field medic. The only problem is, he has a tendency to be a little too brave. The last time that happened, Nick ran into enemy fire to help a pilot who was trapped under their aircraft. He got the injured pilot out but was also hurt in the process.
When I got the call from the nearest military hospital that my husband had been injured in the line of duty, the shock and fear sent me into early labor. I ended up giving birth to our twins—a boy and a girl!—in the hospital while under careful observation. Later I would find out that Nick had been in surgery at the same time I was in labor, having surgery to repair some internal injuries.
Nick was beside himself when he heard what had happened and as soon as he was discharged from the hospital, made arrangements to start his honorable discharge from service. I didn’t ask him to do it. To be honest though… I think that Zach did.
Since Nick had become a medic, his and Zach’s duties didn’t align as much as they had before, so Zach was home on leave when Nick got hurt. My brother was with me when I got the call. He was the one who drove me to the hospital. He was the one who helped me stay strong through the whole terrifying ordeal.
We had a long talk while I was in recovery. He explained about what had happened when I myself was born, how are dad had told Zach that he had to take care of me while our mom was in recovery. I had known all of this, but I don’t think I truly understood how profoundly it could affect a person until I was in the same situation, albeit from a different perspective.
This was one of the times that I was grateful for Zach’s over protectiveness.
Once Nick was healed up and discharged, he came home to help me with the babies. He actually stayed home for a little while, as I was trying to manage two newborns and a new business all at the same time—not an easy feat! But once we had a rhythm established, Nick needed something to do. That’s when he opened a pharmacy.
It’s a good fit for him. He’s still in the medical field, something that he’s grown so passionate about, but he has more flexibility in his schedule and isn’t in danger all of the time. Zach has taken on a far less risky role in the Air Force as well: He’s an instructor at the same training camp that he and Nick went to when they were fresh out of high school.
Having my family and loved ones near me is wonderful, especially since the birth of our third child. I’m happy, and I know that Nick is too.
He has to say my name a few times before I realize that I’ve been staring at him and daydreaming. “Claire!”
“Hmm, yeah?”
“What’s going on with you?” He chuckles and walks over to give me a hug.
“I was just thinking about how happy I am,” I say and sling my arms around his neck. He’s let his hair grow a little bit from the sharp, military crisp cut that was required. It’s not long by any means, just a little ruffled. Just enough for me to run my fingers through.
“Oh yeah? Well, you know that the kids aren’t home… and I know something that is bound to make you even happier,” he says. He looks so proud of that cheesy line that I can’t help but laugh. Mouth open in mock indignation, Nick scoops me up and before I know it he’s plopped me onto the dining room table.
“No, we eat here!” Is my weak protest. It’s more a token show of resistance than anything. We’ve had sex in far more inappropriate places than the dining room table in our own home. Nick is adventurous and I’m all too happy to go along with his plans.
Nick kisses the side of my neck before stepping back. “I know. Now, take your clothes off and don’t move, I’ll be right back.” With that, he darts into the kitchen.
I really don’t have any idea what it is that he’s planning, but I take my clothes off anyways. I’m already wet and it’s kind of embarrassing how easy that was. The truth is, I’m easy for Nick. He’ll just look at me and I’ll want him. Doesn’t matter where we are or what we’re doing. There are times that I think he does it on purpose.
I’m just laying back on the smooth table, relishing the feel of the cool hardwood on my back when Nick comes in. He must’ve stripped in the kitchen because all he’s wearing are a pair of boxers that leave little to the imagination, especially given the way that they’re tented. He gives me a smug smile. “You ready?”
Without knowing what he’s asking me to be ready for, I just smile and give him a nod. As he approaches the table, I see that Nick has a bottle of something in his hand. Before I can ask what it is, he’s kissing me, tongue insistent against my mouth.
Just as I’m about to wrap a leg around his waist and pull him close, something cool drips on to the skin of my stomach. After the birth of our twins, my stomach never really bounced back to the smooth firmness is once was, no matter how much I worked out. Following t
he birth of our younger son, I learned to accept my body’s new version of normal.
Nick never said anything negative about my new body, no matter how much I cried or complained. One day towards the end of my second pregnancy, he had simply sat me down and told me that he loved me very much and that included my body, in all of its many forms. That ended with more tears, but they were happy tears that time.
Now, Nick is drizzling honey across the soft layer of my stomach and lapping it off with quick flicks of his tongue that I know foreshadow what he plans to do to other parts of me later. When he smears honey across my breasts and lightly nips at the delicate skin there, I can hardly contain a cry of pleasure.
“You can be as loud as you want… remember, it’s just us…” Nick tells mumbles against my skin and works his way back down. Moving far too slowly in my opinion, he finally settles between my thighs and lays his mouth against my damp slit.
By the time he’s coaxed me through an orgasm, I’m a whimpering mess. Nick gathers me in his arms and I cuddle into his neck, still slightly sticky from the honey. As he carries me to our bedroom to continue the afternoon’s activities, I know that I’ve got my happily ever after. It’s well deserved after everything that the both of us have went through, what with Lenny and the military. I know that I’ll always be safe in Nick’s arms, for many years to come.
~The End~
More Books By Scarlett Winters:
Mountain Man Guardian is FREE
Counter Terrorism: Alpha Agency Protectors 2
Outlaw: Alpha Agency Protectors 3
Ice Princess: Alpha Agency Protectors 4
Cowboy Bodyguard: Alpha Agency Protectors 5
Accidental Wedding: Alpha Agency Protectors 6
North Side Kings Series
Driver
Racer
Jumper
Surfer
Fighter
Family
Coming Soon!
Box Set Release June 6th, 2020
June 17th, 2020
June 24th, 2020