by J. M. Davies
“Don’t you have anything to say, Ella? It’s not like you to be so quiet.”
Avoiding his eyes and his inquisitive stare was uppermost in her mind because when she allowed him to drink her in, there would be no stopping the need to be closer and she feared she would tell him everything. It simply wasn’t fair and he knew it.
“I know Steel offered you a job, but he had no right in hell to do so and even if you had completed the training—which is now over—you wouldn’t be joining Orion. Do you hear me? The money he gave you is yours to keep but you’re going into protective custody instantly. It’s all been arranged and you don’t get a say in this, Ella. This is my decision.”
A growl deep in her belly exploded. Hearing him dictate again how things would be uncorked the fizzing bottle of anger. Placing her left hand on the metal handcuff, the metal softened and she snapped it in half, shoving Drayton away from her, still refusing to meet his gaze. She shouted at Jake and instantly the car jerked and started weaving all over the road, sending them back and forth.
“Stop it, Ella! Stop it now!”
The truck came to a shuddering stop in busy traffic as horns blared around them. She pulled the door handle and jumped out, running as fast as she could and dodging the oncoming trucks and cars. Ella didn’t care about the danger of the fast-moving traffic; she needed the distance from him. Pushing her leg muscles to work harder, she acknowledged she was a survivor; it’s what she did. She would manage on her own again.
More horns blared, but she sprinted as fast as she could, certain Marcus would not give up the chase and would be in pursuit. She ran down the narrow and pedestrian-filled street, but she didn’t know what town she was in. There were no familiar landmarks. She kept running until a squeal of brakes announced that her luck was about to run out. Glancing back, she saw Marcus and Jake in the big black truck. As she slipped down the side alley, she noticed as she sprinted there was no exit and at the end was a six-foot-high chain fence. She was cornered but kept running, even as the roar of tires over the gravel and smell of burnt rubber reached her nostrils. She didn’t dare look behind. Her hands grabbed onto the chain link fence and she pushed her body up, clambering over but hands grabbed her around the waist to pull her down. Letting go, she grunted at her capture again. Standing apart, they faced each other but did not touch. Refusing to meet his gaze, she looked to her side.
“Ella Masters, you’re the most stubborn, exasperating woman I’ve ever met! Will you just dial down your I-can-survive mode for one second? I said no more running, Ella—that is nonnegotiable. What’s got into you?”
His hands rested on either side of her hips and the world suspended as a need to touch him and have him hold her flooded her. What was she doing? If she was pregnant, she needed help. The Elusti were still out there. She didn’t know what had happened to Aidan; she hoped he was dead, but instinctively knew he wasn’t. On the run, pregnant, would make everything harder.
“I’m not going into protective custody, Drayton. I’m not going to be shoved away somewhere on a desert island—I will go insane. I am joining Orion. For the first time in my life, I have a sense of purpose, a direction, and you are not taking that away from me. No one is. Do you hear me? What gives you the right to tell me what I can and cannot do, anyway? It was just sex, remember, and you soon replaced me anyway, so what’s the big deal if we work together? If you can’t handle the heat, get the hell out. We’re not married—you’re not my boss. I’m an adult, capable of making my own decisions.”
Marcus pushed his shoulders back to his full height and his dark eyes narrowed as he closed the gap between them. She stepped backward until she reached the chain fence and it rattled. He grabbed her hands and lifted them high above her head. Ella knew what was coming and she tried to resist as best she could, moving her head to the side and refusing to look him in the eyes. He pressed his firm body against hers and kissed her neck. A gathering need exploded in her belly as he continued to kiss and lick; a blissful sensation overtook her anger. He parted her legs with his knee and rubbed her core; automatically, she moaned in response. He released her hands, which fell around his neck and pulled him to her as she melted into him.
“This gives me the right, Ella. You’re mine. You gave yourself to me and I’m claiming you. Do you hear me? I want you right where I can see you all the time. No more running, Ella. Say you’ll marry me and the rest we’ll figure out together.”
The air stayed in her lungs and a weight pressed on her chest. He was asking her to marry him but he hadn’t even said he loved her. This was crazy. She shook her head but he pulled out a huge square cut solitaire diamond on a thin platinum band. She was speechless. If she had ever taken any time looking at rings, this is the one she would have chosen. It was perfect. She stood back and blinked away tears with her hands crossed over her chest as her heart beat wildly.
“When I said you were going into protective custody, Ella, I meant me. I will protect you from harm always.”
Ella looked from the ring to Marcus, who stared at her, waiting.
“I can’t, Marcus. This isn’t right. You don’t love me. It was just sex, remember?”
He grabbed her left hand and pulled her into his arms. “It was never just sex, Ella. Seeing you shot—it almost killed me. I thought you were dead and I had lost you. I had my reasons for leaving you afterward but never again. When I heard about your sexy romp—damn it, Ella, I nearly killed the guy who spoke of the beautiful angel in a satin red corset and thong. Were you trying to kill me? Seeing you carry your load, dressed like a soldier in training, blew my mind into outer space. Maybe I can concede in certain areas. I’m willing to try, but only if you agree to be mine in name as well as in every other way, Ella. I’m dead inside without you and when I said I have a right because you’re mine, I forgot to add that I’m yours in return. Without you, I am nothing.” The ring hovered over the tip of her third finger on her left hand.
Tears formed in her eyes but she couldn’t let them fall. Everything was so uncertain and Kelly—she had hinted that she had slept with Marcus. Would he do that? She studied his features and sighed.
“What’s it to be, Ella?” He wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her closer.
She could feel his heat. With him, they would be a team; she wouldn’t be alone.
He ducked his head close to her ear. “I love you, Ella, and I know you love me, so say yes.”
He kissed her lips and she floated, surrounded by his strength and love. He said the words she longed to hear and suddenly she had no option but to tell him.
“I’m pregnant, Marcus.”
As he had watched Ella trudge those last steps into camp, carrying her heavy backpack and walking next to Bella—who he later learned she had helped as well as retrieving the flag—filled him with a fierce pride for the woman he loved. Yes, he realized not long after he had let her go it was a huge mistake but he didn’t have a choice. When the story circulated about her escapades with the young agent, he’d seen red and almost squeezed the life out of the new recruit, who talked about his angel. Yes, he had learned that letting her go wasn’t going to work for him at all. Even when she wasn’t around, she replaced his ghosts, night after night, until he didn’t sleep at all. Despite Jake watching her at her cottage on the Welsh coast, it didn’t ease his worry over her.
He requested overseas duty to recruit members for Steel’s team but memories of their time together invaded his thoughts constantly. Even when women, beautiful women, threw themselves at him and offered him sex freely, he couldn’t follow through. He knew it might ease his need but if he came close to another woman, Ella’s face would surface. He was ruined. She had ruined him for all time and all other women. She was it for him, which had led to his earlier declaration of love. He knew it was mutual but instead of her saying yes, she had told him she was pregnant! Her face as she revealed her news was crestfallen and along with the admission was a quick but determined declaration that she wouldn’t
be for long as she pushed away from him and headed toward the truck.
Dumbstruck, he stood there, unsure of his next move. His forehead creased with deep lines of fear for her and their unborn child; he knew she was holding back on something vital. Knowing she was carrying his child held any words he wanted to say inside because he quite honestly didn’t know what to say. It was like the final piece in the puzzle that had been jumbled dreams until this moment. Now, he couldn’t ignore the facts. They were the same and they belonged together. A buoyant feeling made his chest puff out with pride and a desire to cart her over his shoulder and handcuff her to him until she was his bride filled him but her eyes weren’t their usual sparkle. She was terrified and he didn’t understand why.
He blew out a deep breath. He had to handle this situation carefully. As he marched back to the truck, he commanded himself to stay calm. Although he’d never imagined Ella as the maternal type, recalling the vision of her with a child and the love that was overwhelming, he knew in his heart she would be. He knew she loved him but there was still something she was keeping secret. She didn’t trust him enough to share whatever her fears were and that made him crazy. Once he sat in the back of the truck with Ella, the atmosphere was colder than the Antarctic.
“No handcuffs? We’re making progress.” Jake’s humor did nothing to ease the tension and they both harrumphed.
“Where to, boss?”
Marcus was so deep in thought he didn’t realize the truck hadn’t moved. As he thought about Jake’s question, he glanced over at a pale and distant Ella. He grabbed her hand and stroked her palm. The only way to get her to answer his questions was his touch.
“Back to see Dr. Smith.”
Ella yanked her hand but he tightened his grip and stroked her wrist gently. She could fight him all she liked but he knew she would cave before too long. She wasn’t going to shut him out anymore.
“You can fight me all you like, but know this, I’m not going anywhere. I’m yours. I’m here to stay and any fight that comes to your door is mine too. Let me in, Ella. Let me help. Tell me what is going on in that beautifully stubborn brain of yours because despite my many talents, reading your thoughts isn’t one of them. I’m not sure if you were running from me at the hospital but now I’m worried you were running from the news you could only have just learned. Either way, Ella, I want you checked over because, honey, you’re not yourself.”
The truck roared to life and pulled away; the wheels tore up the uneven and gravel filled road.
“You know I can hear everything you’re saying up here, right?”
“You keep that big mouth of yours shut, Jake Meadows.”
Hearing the words roll off Ella’s lips made Marcus smile. She would always say what was on her mind and he liked that about her. Jake liked that about her, too; he’d told him she was a keeper. He was worried she had trust issues but hell, didn’t they all. Maybe letting her join the team wouldn’t be such a bad thing but with her being pregnant, there was only so much stress his heart could take.
“If joining Orion means so much, we can talk about it, but you need to tell me what’s going on, Ella. If what we have is going to work, you need to let me in and let me help you.”
The truck bounced away and soon left the congested streets, headed back toward the private medical clinic that Steel had set up. Marcus kept hold of Ella’s hand as her body trembled and he shifted closer, knowing she couldn’t resist the pull between them when he started to arouse her. He didn’t care that Jake was in front; he wanted answers and he wasn’t going to let her keep any secrets between them any longer. Looking out the window, she refused to answer him or look his way, which called for drastic measures. He pressed his hand over her right breast and squeezed the nub between his fingers. He watched as she remained stoic but bit her lip. Turning so his back faced Jake to shield her as much as possible, he unbuttoned her cargo pants and dragged them down to her hips. There was a gasp and a wriggle as she glared at him but he could see the rise and fall of her chest as her heart raced with excitement and arousal. There was no stopping his assault and he pushed his hand down into her warm and wet core as she bucked back against the leather seat and he circled her hot and wet entrance in a hypnotic motion. A low moan escaped between her mouth and he covered her lips to swallow it, invading her there and continuing the slow torture below. Removing his mouth from hers, he whispered, “Tell me, Ella, and I’ll give you what you want. Tell me.”
Her body rose to his touch, eager for more. She melted next to him, unraveling with need. Still, he toyed, stroking and circling her sex. Ella placed her hand on his and gazed into his eyes as tears dropped onto her flushed cheeks and he stilled, unable to move. He’d never seen her cry openly before. He pushed his fingers in, wanting to take away her pain. As the waves of her orgasm washed over him, she softened against him; her head rested against his shoulder and she gazed up with her luminous eyes.
“Aidan drugged me, several times. I don’t know what the drug was or what it’s meant to do but I’m pregnant. I’m not meant to be pregnant, Drayton—do you understand? ”
He watched her wide eyes as what she told him sunk in. A violence burst inside that made him want to commit murder. Her soothing hand as it stroked his cheek dampened his anger and instead, he wanted to hold this woman beside him forever. He wrapped his arm around her small shoulders and turned back, bringing her across his lap and kissing her lips, softly nudging them. He hadn’t told her yet that Aidan was a free man but he wouldn’t be for long. And when he caught up with him, he would be dead once and for all—after he revealed what he had done to Ella. Maybe the pregnancy was a coincidence but he didn’t like it one bit. He kissed the top of her head.
“Marry me, Ella.”
EPILOGUE
Ella admired her trim figure in the long mirror, twisting and turning to gauge whether there was any evidence of the fact she was now twelve weeks pregnant, but staring at the fitted lace bodice with its sweetheart neckline and dainty capped straps, her flat stomach hid her secret. The morning sickness had subsided leaving her feeling well and strong. After explaining to Marcus her concerns regarding the baby, some of her fears receded. He was a powerhouse, a force to be reckoned with when it came to getting what he wanted and he didn’t play fair. She brushed her hands down over the long flowing dress that spread out from her hips and rested on the ground. The cream sheer skirt was hand stitched with delicate embroidery and tiny Swarovski crystals that sparkled, and the material underneath was the softest cream satin.
She’d never worn anything so beautiful in her life. Her blonde hair was blow-dried and sleeked into an up-do, held together with an antique diamond and pearl studded clasp. Marcus had presented her with beautiful pear-shaped diamond earrings, but she would have been equally satisfied to say the I Do’s in Vegas in jeans and a T-shirt. The pomp and ceremony held little meaning for her; she was just happy they were together at last, even if there was still so much of their past that had been left unspoken about.
There was a knock at the door and in walked Josephine, Marcus’s mother, who, the minute she saw Ella, covered her mouth with both of her hands as tears bubbled in her eyes.
“Oh, my dear, you make the perfect bride. You’re beautiful.”
Ella spread her hands over her flat abdomen. “Hardly perfect, Josephine.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought about the tiny life that innocently lay curled inside her belly. The life that four weeks ago she had threatened to end amid fears as to what Aidan had done, but Marcus, in his usual way, had convinced her after plying her with copious amounts of sex that she needed to wait and undergo more tests. Maybe she was more petrified of becoming a mother, something she had never truly considered. She wondered whether she would be any good at the nurturing and loving, as well as the fact that there may also be something wrong with the child she carried.
Josephine, as usual, looked regal and elegant in her champagne-colored gown with her hair pinned back into a fashiona
ble chignon. She walked to stand in front of Ella and gripped her shoulders as she looked up at her.
“Your child will be perfect, ma chérie, because he was created out of the love you have for my son and as such, you will love him or her unconditionally. And of course, I will be here to help for as long as I can.”
Ella couldn’t stop the tears that trickled out at Josephine’s words and she quickly swiped them away. She moved into the older woman’s embrace hugging her tightly. In a short time, she had grown to love Josephine as if her own mother. Another knock sounded on the door and a rather abrupt and gruff voice addressed them.
“It’s time, ladies.”
The door swung open. Ben Steel, in his dark black suit with white shirt and long black tie with a pale pink rose attached to his jacket, walked in. With both her parents long gone, Steel had offered to escort the bride down the aisle, although a heated argument had taken place when their impromptu nuptials had caused a major row and threats of walking out of Orion were launched. Steel eventually backed down and considered the altered arrangements he now faced with a reluctant acceptance. Marcus had relented and agreed that Ella could join Orion but only to work on certain missions, under strict guidelines and not in the field while she was pregnant, a fact they both agreed to keep hidden from Steel. After the baby was born, the rules about her working would be discussed again. Ben Steel straightened his tie and bent his arm.
“You look absolutely stunning, Ella. Drayton’s a lucky man. I hope he knows just how lucky because if he doesn’t, I’ll be waiting in the wings.” His mustache twitched and Ella laughed at his gruff declaration.
“You leave those two alone, Benjamin Steel. My son knows he’s met his match in Ella Masters and there will be no other.” She walked out the door and Ella picked up her small bouquet of blush pink and strawberry pink roses before she looped her arm with Steel’s. As they walked out of the cottage perched on the East Coast, the sky above was a Tiffany Blue, with not a cloud on the horizon to blot out the winter sun. It was late January, and the light snow showers last night added to the romance, but were melting fast. The long garden had been given a complete overhaul and one which she wasn’t privy to until now. The stunning vision before her brought another bout of tears, which she wiped away.