Without warning, I came. My body pulsed around Ethan’s cock as he continued thrusting. The sensation returned and the pleasure built again. He kept hitting the spot, and my body loved it. Sweat coated my body while he still didn’t stop and brought me closer to coming again at a rapid speed.
“Fuck,” I hissed as my body moved in sync with his. And then I came again, my body trembling as I held onto the headboard. He didn’t stop. “Ethan,” I panted.
“Hang on. I know you can give me three.”
Could I? Two was my max—or limit—and I wasn’t sure if I could get to three. But Ethan kept going and I held on, the bed still rocking and banging. It may have even moved across the thinly carpeted floor. The pleasure started to build again, and I wasn’t sure if it was because we kept going or because Ethan was still hitting the spot at the perfect angle.
“Ethan,” I moaned again.
“You can do it, baby.”
And I did.
I didn’t moan my release, I screamed it. My body shook, and I couldn’t hold on to the headboard any longer. Luckily, I didn’t haven’t to.
“Ah fuck,” he hissed, and drove in a few more times and then groaned his release. Ethan pulled me back until my back was against his front, and we both rode out our orgasms until our breathing slowed. “Told you that you could do three.”
We had breakfast before Maddie needed to be in class. Ethan and I rented a car and were driving back, so we said our goodbyes in Maddison’s small dorm room that was only big enough for two twin beds and two small desks.
“Call me if you need me. I will be here in less than two hours.” I didn’t care that the drive from Chicago to her college was over three hours. If my baby needed me, I would drive as fast as I could.
“I’ll be okay. Sophie is …” Maddie looked at her girlfriend and smiled. “Well, she’s going to be staying with me every night.”
“Yeah,” Sophie agreed. “Emily is never here.”
“Where is she?” I asked.
The girls shared a look, and Maddie spoke, “She’s a little boy crazy.”
“Ah.” I nodded my understanding and looked at Ethan. I wasn’t boy crazy in college except for one boy who was a million miles away from me, but I did understand how college and boys and parties worked.
“Can I actually speak with you for a moment?” Ethan asked, looking at Maddison. My brows furrowed. He wanted to speak with Maddie? “Not about boys—or girls—but something to do with … that night.”
“Sure,” she replied, and the two of them walked out into the hall. I wasn’t sure why he had to do it privately, but it was still an ongoing investigation, and maybe he needed to ask her something Sophie couldn’t be privy to.
“I really will keep an eye on Mads,” Sophie said to break the awkward silence.
“I know sweetie. I’m happy she has you.”
“We just click, you know?”
My gaze moved to look out the door. Ethan was standing with his back to us. “I know.” Ethan and I just clicked. We always had. “You can call me if you think Maddie needs me, and if you need anything, I’ll be there for you too.”
“I will.” She smiled.
Maddison and Ethan walked back in, both of them smiling. “Everything good?” I asked.
Ethan draped an arm across my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. “Of course, Buttercup.”
We said our final goodbyes, and Ethan and I took an Uber to a car rental place then we drove back to Chicago. It snowed while we were driving, and all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch with him and watch a movie.
“What’s the plan for tonight?” I asked as we parked at the rental car return.
“I’m not sure. I need to go into the station for a few hours and then go and get the boys.”
Oh, right, the boys. I hadn’t forgotten that it was Wednesday, but I was tired from everything that had happened during the last week. Hell, the last several months had been exhausting, but I also knew that kids had a ton of energy and needed to do something other than sitting around. “Want to go ice skating?”
“Really?”
I lifted a shoulder. “Yeah, I haven’t been in years.”
Ethan nodded slightly. “Yeah, the boys will like that.”
“Good.” We got out of the car, and I half expected Pablo or Evan to come out of the shadows since Ethan was going to work. “Who will be with me tonight? Evan?”
“Oh.” He came around the back of the car and took our bags out of the trunk. “I guess Evan. We should call and tell them we’re back.”
“Do I still need security?” I questioned as we waited for the worker to inspect and check in the car.
He thought for a moment. “No, I don’t think you do anymore.”
I nodded slightly. “All right.”
Ethan draped an arm across my shoulders. “But if you want one, I don’t mind calling the guys to help.”
“No.” I looked up into his blue eyes. “I’ll be okay.” It was going to be weird, but I couldn’t have security following me for no reason.
We took an Uber home, and after having a quick sandwich, Ethan went to work. I sat on the couch, not sure what to do with myself. The condo was quiet after having Maddie here for a few days, and just like the past several days, I thought about that night. I thought about what could have happened. So, with nothing to do and being able to go wherever I wanted to go again, I drove to Lakeshore University.
I was nervous as I pulled up. Getting out of my car, I hurried across the parking lot toward the admin building. It was still snowing lightly, and the moment I walked into the building, warmth washed over my body. I was used to the snow since I lived in Denver and Chicago for most of my life, but I still wouldn’t mind being in Florida where my parents had retired.
I was directed to the IT department and took the elevator down to the basement level. When I stepped out, I hesitated for a beat, took a deep breath, and continued. I stepped up to the front desk where a woman was sitting.
She looked up from her computer. “May I … May I help you?” she stuttered.
“I’m here to see the IT Director.”
“And you are?”
“Reagan McCormick.”
“Is he … is he expecting you?” she stuttered.
“No.” I shook my head. “But this will only take a minute.”
“Let me … let me see if he’s available.” The woman stood and walked down a large hallway, turned a corner, and was out of sight.
I looked around the basement level. Even though it was an office of sorts, there were no decorations around. Though I supposed when all of your attention was in the cyber world and not the real world, it wouldn’t matter if there was a motivational picture hanging on the wall.
The woman returned, walking next to a man, and I drew my head back slightly as I realized who it was: Whiskey Neat. My heart began to race thinking about all the times I’d run into him: Judy’s, and then campus coffee shop on several occasions. How was he not involved?
He smiled. “Reagan.”
“Jack?” I greeted back, but it came out as a question because I was confused. And scared. But, if he was involved, wouldn’t he have been arrested too?
“Is everything okay? Sergeant Valor—”
“You helped my daughter?”
“Let’s talk in my office?” He motioned behind him where he had come from.
“Sure.” I followed him down the hall and then around the corner. His office was the first door on the left. We entered, and I took a seat in a chair in front of his desk. “Ethan told me what happened. I wanted to thank you.”
He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I have to admit, I never thought I’d have to save a hostage from being raped and murdered.”
“How were you even there?” What I understood was that the killer was his employee. Everything happened late at night, so, why and how was he there?
“My staff doesn’t know yet—and I’m not going to divulge it unti
l I have to—but Katrina and I were sleeping together.”
“Okay?” That still didn’t necessarily tell me how he was involved.
“Just like I told your boyfriend and his partner, I went over to Katrina’s for our nightly …” he paused. “For our nightly rendezvous.”
“And my daughter was there to …”
“No.” He shook his head. “Katrina and I did our thing, and then she took me down to the basement. That was when I saw your daughter tied up.”
My stomach dropped. Even though I knew what had happened, it still got to me. That was my baby, and I’d put her in danger. “Why us?” I whispered.
Jack took a deep breath. “I wasn’t able to ask Katrina much, but from what I gathered she didn’t like that you were my bartender. She almost slipped and told me that she loved me. I didn’t entertain it because I didn’t love her, and that would have turned awkward, though walking down and seeing a woman tied up was fucking crazy.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “So you think she did it because she loved you? That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”
“I think she fucked up because she loved me. She thought I would go along with her plan.”
“And you obviously didn’t,” I stated.
He leaned forward. “You have to know I would have never let anything happen to Maddison. Once I saw a woman tied up, and Katrina told me that she took her because she looked like you, I knew Katrina was sick. I was going to do whatever it took to protect Maddison.”
“Thank you,” I finally said.
“You really don’t need to thank me.”
“Yes, I do.” That was the reason I had come.
“I would have done it even if it wasn’t your daughter.”
“I know.” I didn’t technically know, but that seemed like the right response. Jack appeared to be a decent man, even if he had once told me that he wanted to tie me up. “Do you remember you told me that you wouldn’t mind tying me up that time we ran into each other at the campus coffee shop?”
“I do, and now I regret it. I won’t be tying anyone up in the future—even for pleasure.”
I flushed. “Well, I better go. Thank you again. I truly appreciate it.” I stood.
“You’re welcome.” He stood. “I’ll walk you out.”
“Thank you.”
Jack and I rode the elevator to the ground floor, and then he walked me all the way to the doors of the admin building. “I’ll probably see you at Judy’s Friday night.”
“Sounds good.”
I waved an awkward goodbye and walked to my car.
Talking to Jack seemed to be exactly what I needed. My heart and gut felt as though it was all over with. I just hoped Ethan had enough evidence to keep this Katrina woman behind bars.
Forever.
Life hadn’t slowed down over the past few weeks.
Shawn and I continued working on the Lakeshore Killer case, and we got all the evidence needed to keep Katrina Carpenter behind bars. Her home computer was analyzed, and the hacking program was found. Her hair was a match to the one found at Fiona’s murder, and the wood found in her basement was a match to all of the wood plaques. We found the knife she used for her stabbings, and a 3D printer that had files to print keys was discovered. What put her nail in her coffin was we found her list.
Her watch list.
Reagan gave her two-week notice at Judy’s. I didn’t blame her. While it was the key that started our relationship again, I understood that being a bartender was only temporary for her. She still hadn’t heard from any precincts, but I knew, in time, she’d find a position.
Given that Christmas was less than a month away from when Reagan and I had returned to Chicago after Michigan, we had little time to find a place big enough for our family.
Our family.
In the back of my mind, I had never given up hope that one day we’d get back together. Then Judy’s made it happen, and my family had since dubbed it the bar that brings true loves together. I wasn’t going to argue with that. Reagan had always been the one I wanted to build a life with. We might not have experienced everything in the past together, but we would in the future.
Since we needed a bigger place as soon as possible, we decided to look for houses to rent instead of purchase, at least for now. We found a place not far from my parents and my boys. To get our house ready, my family helped us move in and unpack. We really were a family, and Reagan and I had the house we always wanted—even if it wasn’t one we owned.
And I had plans to make it legal.
Before we left Michigan, I’d pulled Maddison aside to ask for her permission to marry her mother. “I don’t really need to speak with you about the other night,” I’d said as we walked out into the hall.
“Oh?” She’d drawn her head back.
I’d rubbed the back of my neck nervously. “I actually wanted to ask you if you’d be okay with me asking your mom to marry me.”
Maddison’s eyes had widened, and it looked as though she was trying to suppress a squeal. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah,” I’d stated. “I’ve wanted to ask her since—well, since forever.”
“She told me what happened when the two of you broke up when she was in college.”
“Yeah,” I’d sighed. “But now we’re back together, and I want to spend forever with her as my wife.”
Maddison had smiled. “You, for sure, have my approval.”
“Okay, don’t say anything. I still need to get a ring and all that.”
“My lips are sealed, Dad.”
I’d chuckled. “I guess I will be, huh?”
“Yeah, but I’m excited.”
“Me too.”
Since I had Maddie’s blessing, it was time to make it official, and therefore, I needed to call the most romantic dude I knew.
“And to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?” Rhys asked the moment he answered.
“I need your help.” It was silent on the other end of the line. “Rhys?”
“Did I just hear that you need my help?”
“Yes.”
“Sergeant Valor, who saved my life, needs my help?”
“Yes, you idiot.” I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. I loved the guy, but he was wacko. A wacko who would take a bullet for my sister, which made him all right in my book.
“How can I be of service?”
I took a deep breath. “I need you to help me come up with the best proposal.”
Rhys gasped on the other end of the line. “I knew it. I knew it. I knew it!”
“Everyone knew this day would come.” I knew it the moment she fell asleep on my couch that first night we reconnected.
“Well, yeah.”
“Are you going to help me or not?”
“Of course I am!”
“Okay, so, do you have any ideas?”
“Yeah, man. I have several.”
We spent the next hour planning out the way I was going to ask my first and only true love to marry me. And I had to admit, I was fucking excited.
The house was decorated inside and out for Christmas. I had my woman, and all I needed were my two boys to make this the perfect Christmas. Of course, we needed Maddison here too, but she was in Denver and wasn’t flying in until the day after Christmas.
I wanted to make Christmas special for my boys since I didn’t see them for two long weeks, but they wouldn’t care about going somewhere. I could buy them every toy they wanted, but that wasn’t the way to go about it either. But what a child would think was the best thing in the world would be Santa showing up at their house. And I knew the perfect guy to play Kris Kringle.
“Get your PJs on and get ready for bed,” I ordered the boys as we walked in from the garage. We’d had Christmas Eve dinner at my parents, and the boys were getting excited for Santa. Little did they know that once they were ready for bed, Mr. Claus was going to bring them an early gift.
“I’m bursting at the seams,” Reagan stated, wrappin
g her arms around me as we stopped in the kitchen.
“Me too,” I admitted, and it was more than just because Rhys was coming to surprise the boys. The night wouldn’t end there.
“When Maddie was maybe four or five, I took her to the mall to take a picture with Santa. It wasn’t the first time, but it was the first time she finally understood who the guy in the red suit was. She went nuts. I can’t even imagine Santa knocking at the door and coming in.”
“Does Santa knock?” I questioned as the thought occurred to me. It wasn’t like Rhys was going to come down the chimney.
Reagan shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I guess we’ll find out.” I smiled.
“That we will.” She grinned back.
“Want a glass of wine?” I asked.
“You read my mind.”
There was a reason I was trying to keep her busy, and it wasn’t because Rhys was coming at any second. Reagan couldn’t go into the bedroom. There would be a chance she’d see my plan, and I couldn’t risk it. Rhys and Ashtyn had stopped by the house before arriving at my parents to carry out my plan. It was the only way to make it happen, given Reagan was home all day before we left to pick up the boys for dinner.
I poured us each a glass, and as I handed Reagan hers, Cohen and Tyson came running into the kitchen where we were.
“We’re ready for bed,” Cohen announced.
“Santa’s coming!” Tyson shouted excitedly.
“Did you brush your teeth?”
The boys shared a look, and I knew they hadn’t. I was going to tell them to do it, but then there was a knock on the front door. Apparently, Santa did knock.
“Who could that be?” I wondered out loud and started walking toward the front door.
“I heard Santa was in the area,” Reagan responded. “Maybe it’s him?”
Cohen sucked in a breath as he started walking behind me. “Why would Santa be at our house?” I questioned and reached for the doorknob. I opened it and almost started to laugh when I saw Rhys Cole dressed in a red and white suit, black boots, a black belt, a Santa hat, and a giant belly. He even, of course, had the white beard and a red sack over his shoulder.
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