by Katie Reus
“I just did. Marry me next week. I don’t want to spend another day without you as my wife.” His voice was rough, every muscle tense with the need to drive into her until he came.
“Graysen.” She moaned as he thrust again, her inner walls clenching tighter and tighter.
Oh yeah, she was close. And he was going to push her over the edge. But not yet. “I’ll do this all night. Say yes and you can come.”
Laughing lightly, she nipped at his bottom lip. Now he was the one moaning into her mouth.
“Say yes,” he demanded, barely hanging on.
She gently traced the area around his mostly healed chest wound before whispering, “Yes.”
He jolted at her simple response. When he looked in her eyes he saw the woman he loved more than anything, the woman he wanted to have kids with, to grow old with. The woman he was never letting go.
Reaching between their bodies, he massaged her clit, adding the right amount of pressure to push her over the edge.
As soon as he started rubbing her, she began riding him. And he was done for. Gritting his teeth, he held off coming until her inner walls started convulsing rapidly around him.
He sought out her mouth as she cried out his name, claiming her as she claimed him right back. She rode him fast and hard as they both found their release.
He had to tear his mouth from hers as his climax crested. Burying his face against her neck, he completely let go of his control.
She was the only woman he’d ever been able to let his walls down around. His sweet Isa, who was crying out his name as she continued riding him.
Eventually they both stilled, and though he was ready to collapse he held her tight to him, his face still buried against her neck. The steam billowed around them, the flowing water providing a soothing sound to the backdrop of their labored breaths. “I’m probably going to say this a lot the next few months, but I love you.”
She smiled against his shoulder. “Pretty sure I can live with that. Because I love you too. And we’ve got a lot of time to make up for,” she murmured. “A year’s worth of sex, on top of all the regular sex we’ll be having.”
He laughed, his chest rumbling, and though the tightness and discomfort was there from his wound, it felt good to laugh. To have the woman he loved naked and in his arms.
Next week he was going to make her his wife. Best way he could think of to start the new year—and the rest of their lives together.
Epilogue
Valentine’s Day
Lizzy Caldwell slid into her husband’s lap, wrapped her arm around his broad shoulders as she looked out at the crowd of people in Belle and Grant’s backyard. Grant and Belle had decided to throw a last-minute barbeque at their place for the Red Stone crew even though their baby was only two months old. Lizzy wouldn’t have been so welcoming to people that early into motherhood, but Belle was taking this whole motherhood thing a heck of a lot better than Lizzy had at first.
The weather was chilly, sunny and perfect for outside relaxing. The grill had tons of food on it and the scent of barbeque filled the air. Someone had strung up red and pink paper hearts so they crisscrossed over the pool and the patio area.
She’d never imagined that when she started working for Red Stone Security, and eventually married one of the owners, her family would grow quite as much as it had.
Porter nuzzled her neck for a moment and she let out a sigh.
“Everyone’s having a great time,” she murmured. “Apparently we all needed this.”
“No kidding.” His gaze strayed to their son, Maddox, who was almost two and was toddling around everywhere.
Porter’s brother Harrison stood near Maddox, acting like a mother bear whenever he got too close to the pool. Around Maddox or his own wife was the only time Harrison seemed to have a soft side, and it made Lizzy love her brother-in-law all the more for it. “You think Mara and Harrison will ever have kids?”
“Nah. I don’t think they want them.”
“I don’t think so either.” Mara was one of Lizzy’s closest friends but she’d never talked about wanting kids. Her husband was the same. Lizzy snorted. “Do you remember how terrified she looked when we first handed her Maddox when he was a baby?”
Porter laughed, burying his face against her neck for a long moment that she cherished. His big body shook, the rumble of laughter coming from him music to her ears. “It was like we’d given her a bomb.”
“They’re good with Maddox though. And Athena.” Belle and Grant’s new baby. “Well…let’s hope they’re ready for a new niece or nephew to spoil,” she whispered in his ear. Not that it mattered. There were about forty or fifty people milling around the backyard, all drinking, laughing and talking.
Porter stiffened slightly and pulled back to look at her. “Are you saying…”
Grinning, she brushed her lips over his. “Yeah. Got the official yes from the doctor this morning.” She’d been feeling nauseous the past couple weeks and had missed her period so she’d gone to see her doctor—even though she’d been pretty certain she was pregnant. Once you’d gone through it, it wasn’t a feeling you forgot.
He crushed his mouth to hers hard despite the crowd around them. Porter was the silent type, but he’d never shied away from affection. He looked like he’d just won the lottery when he pulled back from her. “How are you feeling?” Suddenly his face morphed into a mask of concern.
“Really good. No more nausea—for now, at least.” Last time it had come and gone throughout her entire pregnancy. This time she hoped it stayed far away.
“How long until we tell everyone?”
“Maybe another four weeks. I want to get through the first trimester.”
Still grinning, he simply nodded.
“Hey, you two,” Belle said, coming to sit on the cushioned bench next to them, sleeping baby in her arms. “You look like you’re up to something.” Her gaze narrowed as she glanced between the two of them.
“Just enjoying ourselves,” Porter said.
Belle gave him a look that said she wasn’t sure she believed him, but continued. “I was worried Athena wouldn’t be able to sleep with all these people around but she’s been out for three hours.”
Lizzy grinned. “I remember those days. Eat, sleep, poop. Repeat.”
Laughing, Belle nodded. “Pretty much.” When she looked at her little girl, her expression was filled with so much love.
Lizzy was overjoyed that Grant had found Belle. He’d been through so much, only to fall in love with one of the sweetest women ever. “How much does your cousin love that you named your baby after her?”
Now Belle rolled her eyes. “For the record, it wasn’t after her. I just love the name, but that doesn’t matter to her. She’s rubbing it in to pretty much everyone in our family.”
Lizzy’s gaze strayed to where Athena and Quinn were talking with Travis and Noel—whose little guy was fifteen months old. It was hard to believe how many little ones were running around now. Just three years ago none of her friends had kids. Now it seemed over half of them did. And she loved it.
Loved every second of her crazy life. Going to work for Red Stone Security had changed her world in so many ways. Ways she’d forever be grateful for.
“So guess who I’m pretty sure is pregnant?” Belle whispered conspiratorially. Before either of them could ask who, she said, “Jordan and Vincent. I think, at least.” Yawning, she looked across their big yard at said couple.
Vincent had Jordan sitting on his lap on a lounger near the pool, one of his big hands draped protectively over her slightly protruding stomach. The loose sweater she had on probably didn’t hide her belly as much as she thought it did.
“Yeah, I kinda figured,” Porter murmured. “He’s been more growly than normal today to anyone who gets too close to her.”
Lizzy just snorted. Vincent was ridiculous when it came to Jordan. Once upon a time Lizzy had thought he was a dog. The man had been such a player. Now that she knew the
truth about what had happened between him and Jordan so many years ago—how she’d gone into WITSEC without telling him, breaking his heart—it was good to see him so settled. Even if he was insanely protective. “Sweet Lord, help Jordan if she has a baby girl.”
Porter barked out a laugh at that, startling baby Athena, who gurgled and opened those gorgeous blue eyes.
Immediately she tucked her head into Belle’s chest, opening her little mouth and making smacking sounds. Lizzy snickered. “Someone’s hungry.”
“This angel is always eating,” Belle murmured, pulling her nursing cover over her chest and Athena’s little body. “You guys mind?”
Lizzy shook her head. “Of course not… Did I hear through the grapevine that Carlito proposed to Emerson using the rookies at the PD?”
Laughing, Belle nodded. “Oh yeah. They all held up signs with one letter each and were waiting on the beach where he took her for the proposal. And it took him forever to pick out the ring. Guess who he wanted to drag around with him to stores for his mission—a month after I gave birth? I about killed him.” She adjusted Athena slightly under the cover as the baby fed.
“I can’t believe he didn’t just ask one of his sisters.”
“That’s what I said. But apparently they’ve been making him crazy wanting babies. He begged me and I just couldn’t say no.”
“Sounds about right.” Lizzy’s gaze strayed for a second as she spotted Isa and Graysen arriving. They were late but it was good to see them. Lizzy loved seeing Isa so dang happy. “Graysen’s doing good.”
Porter snorted softly. “Yeah, and going crazy on desk duty. I think Harrison’s about to send him back out into the field.”
“With Isa?”
“Yeah. He thinks they’ll make a good team, and after their last job, nothing can be as bad as that.”
“I hope not. That was crazy,” Belle murmured. As she lifted her nursing cover off, she set Athena on her shoulder and stood. “I need some food but I’ll see you guys later.”
Lizzy started to stand when Reece, her friend Charlotte’s little boy, came racing out of a cluster of people, two cupcakes in his hands and a face covered in yellow and red icing. Kell, his giant of a father, was five steps behind him. He scooped the little guy up—and got a face full of cupcake.
“It feels wrong to laugh,” Lizzy said, pushing to her feet even as a chuckle burst out of her. “I’m going to grab something to drink. You want another beer?” she asked Porter.
He shook his head, standing. “Nah. Gotta pick my dad up from the airport in a couple hours. I’ll stick to sweet tea for now.”
She linked her fingers through Porter’s as they headed toward the huge grill. Two big coolers full of drinks were next to it, and tables of more drinks and food were next to that. No one would leave hungry today, that was for sure. “It’s been weird not having your dad around the last couple weeks.”
“No kidding.”
Keith Caldwell had recently gotten married to Lana Gonzalez—a woman they all loved—and they’d decided to take a two-week honeymoon to the mountains.
“Maddox is missing him something fierce,” Lizzy murmured.
As if he’d realized he was being talked about, her son locked eyes with her, grinned widely, and raced as fast as his little legs would let him go to her. He didn’t care who was in his way either, but thankfully everyone made a path for him.
She scooped him up and kissed his cheeks before lifting his shirt and kissing his tummy, making him belly-laugh. He patted her face. “Mama, mama, mama!”
His favorite word for right now. And she would definitely take it. Her own family was cold, so she’d been determined to raise her son differently than she’d been. Surrounded by love, and people who genuinely cherished and cared about them.
She’d sure found that with Porter and his family. And the family they’d created for themselves in the last three years. Blood didn’t make someone family, as far as she was concerned.
When Porter wrapped his arms around her and Maddox, pulling them close, she savored the moment. Their little family of three was soon going to be four. She couldn’t wait for what the future held.
Thank you for reading Lethal Game. I hope you enjoyed it! If you’d like to stay in touch with me and be the first to learn about new releases you can:
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Dear Readers,
I’m so grateful to all of my readers. And I owe a big thank you to those who have been reading this series from the beginning. If it wasn’t for your emails wanting more I might not have gone past book one. I’m so glad I did! This has been such a fun ride and it’s hard to believe this is the fifteenth story. Now at the final book, it’s a lot more bittersweet saying goodbye to my Red Stone crew than I originally expected. There’s always the possibility that one day in the future I’ll revisit this world, but for now, it feels done. I’m so happy with the way the series has wrapped up—and I hope you are too. And I really hope you enjoyed the epilogue showing a little glimpse into everyone’s lives.
To all my Red Stone readers, thank you for reading this series! Thank you for the reviews you leave, the emails you send and the fun posts on social media I see about this world. You guys are the best and I’m forever grateful for your support.
Best wishes,
Katie
Acknowledgments
First, I owe a big thanks to the readers of the Red Stone Security series. This series wouldn’t have gone as far as it has without you. As always, a big thank you to Kari Walker, quite possibly the biggest supporter of this series! Thank you for reading the early versions of every book. I’m also grateful to Julia for her editing skills, Jaycee for her fabulous cover design, to Amy for formatting my books and to Sarah for all the behind-the-scenes work she does that allows me to write more. Thank you to my family for putting up with my writer’s schedule! And as always, I’m very grateful to God for so many blessings and opportunities.
About the Author
Katie Reus is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Red Stone Security series, the Darkness series and the Deadly Ops series. She fell in love with romance at a young age thanks to books she pilfered from her mom’s stash. Years later she loves reading romance almost as much as she loves writing it.
However, she didn’t always know she wanted to be a writer. After changing majors many times, she finally graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology. Not long after that she discovered a new love. Writing. She now spends her days writing dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. For more information on Katie find her on twitter @katiereus or visit her on facebook at: www.facebook.com/katiereusauthor. If you would like to be notified of future releases, please visit her website: www.katiereus.com and join her newsletter.
Complete Booklist
Red Stone Security Series
No One to Trust
Danger Next Door
Fatal Deception
Miami, Mistletoe & Murder
His to Protect
Breaking Her Rules
Protecting His Witness
Sinful Seduction
Under His Protection
Deadly Fallout
Sworn to Protect
Secret Obsession
Love Thy Enemy
Dangerous Protector
Lethal Game
The Serafina: Sin City Series
First Surrender
Sensual Surrender
Sweetest Surrender
Dangerous Surrender
Deadly Ops Series
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Targeted
Bound to Danger
Chasing Danger (novella)
Shattered Duty
Edge of Danger
A Covert Affair
Non-series Romantic Suspense
Running From the Past
Dangerous Secrets
Killer Secrets
Deadly Obsession
Danger in Paradise
His Secret Past
Retribution
Merry Christmas, Baby
Paranormal Romance
Destined Mate
Protector’s Mate
A Jaguar’s Kiss
Tempting the Jaguar
Enemy Mine
Heart of the Jaguar
Moon Shifter Series
Alpha Instinct
Lover’s Instinct (novella)
Primal Possession
Mating Instinct
His Untamed Desire (novella)
Avenger’s Heat
Hunter Reborn
Protective Instinct (novella)
Dark Protector
A Mate for Christmas (novella)
Darkness Series
Darkness Awakened
Taste of Darkness
Beyond the Darkness
Hunted by Darkness
Into the Darkness