Spirit of Danger (Body of Danger, #2)

by Bristol, Sidney

  It was torture, wanting so desperately to be filled by him and yet not have him.

  At long last he arched his back and she felt his pelvis press against hers, their sexes grinding together.

  “God, yes,” she whispered.

  He bent his head and licked one breast, sending a zip of sensation straight to her clit. She clenched around him, clutching him with every muscle in her body.

  Now it was his turn to groan.

  “I need you to move,” she managed to get out.

  He pressed a hard kiss to her lips. “Fine.”

  Though his mouth turned soft, the rest of his body did not. He wrapped one arm around her waist and thrust. She shuddered and clutched him.

  “Oh, yes,” she hissed.

  He swallowed her words, taking her mouth like he took the rest of her. He thrust, rubbing all her sensitive places. Driving into her with a need she felt in the depths of her soul.

  Maybe they’d always been the other’s half, from the very beginning. She didn’t know if it was something they were born into or something they just lucked into, but they were here now. She held tight to him as he pistoned into her. The bed squeaked as he moved harder and faster at her urging.

  She fisted the comforter to keep her hands off him, mindful of his wounds. God, she wanted to hold on to him.

  Finley dug fingers into her hair and pulled, hard, tipping her chin back. He thrust at the same moment he kissed her. Her body went limp at the same moment her sex went tight, spiraling out of control. She moaned into the kiss, her orgasm a sweet release in his arms.

  One thing was for sure, she only had to tell the man a thing once for him to learn it. If she hadn’t already loved him, she’d be falling right now.

  FINLEY HAD JUST ENOUGH energy to gather their breakfast tray and set it on the floor out of the way. He was eternally grateful to their hosts for taking pity on them and delivering breakfast to the cottage after a short explanation for their sudden and extended booking.

  Merida lay curled up on her side, still naked under the sheets. Her eyes were closed and her hair had dried into a wild mess of curls that he loved.

  Maybe he should be content with what he knew, but he couldn’t help but feel like he needed to know more than the threat had been handled and she had time off. How could he look after her if he didn’t know?

  He draped his arm over her waist and studied her face.

  He’d been a fool to wait so long.

  “You aren’t going back to sleep, are you?” she said without opening her eyes.

  “Afraid not,” he said.

  She sighed and cracked one eye then the other open. “What is it?”

  “Is everything really okay? What’s going on?” He knew he couldn’t know the full extent of the mess from last night and he was okay with that. What he needed to know about was the threat to her.

  “Yes, everything really is okay.” She scooted a little closer, wrapping an arm and leg over him. “We know exactly who the people were and we know who sent them. The government is going to have a field day going after them. They’re pissed, and that means we’re behind a big layer of protection on top of everyone who came after us being dead already.”

  “You’re sure?”

  She smiled. “You don’t know Zain, so you don’t know how funny that question is. Yes. I wish I could tell you the rest, but...”

  “You can’t and I don’t need to know.”

  Her face scrunched up. “Are you really okay with that?”

  “Yeah.” He lifted a shoulder.

  “Zain also might have done a little research into who you were.” She ducked her chin. “And he might want to meet you.”

  “Okay.”

  “You aren’t mad?”

  “Babe, you work for a company who does top secret things for the government. I know how this works and I understand you can’t tell me everything. I’m fine with that. I also know from the way you talk about Zain that he’s crazy about his wife so if he’s looking into me it has to be because he’s looking out for you. I can’t be mad at someone who has my girl’s best interest in mind. Besides, I don’t have anything to hide. Did he find anything?”

  “No.” She blew out a breath. “From the way he sounded he might offer you a job.”

  “Thanks, but no thanks.” His gaze drifted over her shoulder. “I left the Marines because I liked it too much. I’m happy where I’m at.”

  Merida kissed his shoulder next to the bandage. “No one said you had to take the job.”

  “It’s nice to be wanted, but I like the garage. I like fixing things and working with my hands.” He’d seen too much death to want to go back.

  They lapsed into a comfortable silence snuggled up in bed together listening to the crackling fire.

  “Have you heard from the landlord?” Merida asked.

  He peered down at her. “What do you think?”

  She sighed.

  “I was thinking...” He slid his hand up and down her side. “What if we stayed here over Christmas? They have availability. It’s nice. The heat works. There’s no flooding. On the off chance Zain’s wrong no one would know you were here.”

  “Is that what you want to do or is that what you need to do?” she asked.

  He understood what she meant. As a soldier there were some things hard-wired into him. Like his need to protect her.

  “I want to,” he said.

  She glanced over her shoulder at the room. “There isn’t a real Christmas tree. That three foot thing doesn’t count.”

  “I could fix that.” A thought tugged at him and he turned to the night stand. “In fact, I have the first ornament.”

  He grabbed the gift he’d been looking at yesterday when this all started and turned back to show Merida.

  She grinned. “It’s a light saber made out of a spark plug.”

  “Yup.” He grinned back, pleased that she saw what he’d been going for.

  “I like it.” She glanced at him. “You were just walking around with this?”

  “I was going to give it to you yesterday, then, well...”

  “So, we stay here. Then what?”

  He knew she wasn’t talking about next week.

  For him it was simple, but then again it had been more or less decided from the moment he laid eyes on her.

  “I guess that depends on what you want,” he said slowly.

  She arched a brow. “What I want?”

  “Look, when I said I love you, I meant it. I meant I’m all in whatever happens. But that’s fast and you might not be ready for that.”

  “Wow.” She blew out a breath. “It’s one thing thinking that. It’s another to hear it.”

  He watched her stroke the light saber and waited for her to explain.

  “I guess... I think. No, I feel like that’s where my head is, too. But that feels fast and crazy. Doesn’t it?” Now she looked at him, nose wrinkled.

  Finley understood what she was saying and how she felt. What she wasn’t taking into consideration was how long they’d been close. Their relationship had started before they’d realized it. Still, some things needed more time.

  “It feels right.” He covered her hand with his. “How about this? We keep living next to each other. We keep having dinner together when we can. We hang out. We just also make time to go on dates. Real dates. Both of our leases are up in six months. I think that would be a smart time to make a decision on what comes next. Don’t you?”

  “That sounds reasonable,” she said slowly.

  “You don’t like it?”

  “I think I was a fan of the fast and crazy more.”

  “Oh, I can give you more fast and crazy.” He rolled her to her back.

  She laughed and the very sound seemed to make his soul a bit lighter.

  Merida made his life better, and he hoped he could do the same for her. And in six months they’d take another step. Maybe then she’d be ready for the plunge?

  Epilogue.

&nbs
p; Five months and three weeks later...

  Merida was so ready to move.

  She’d been ready to move the week after her blissful Christmas holiday when she’d come back to a house that still had no heat with ice cubes forming in the carpet. If it weren’t for Finley stepping in she might have caused their landlord bodily harm. Instead Finley had gotten everything fixed, though her water pressure was never the same and his half of the house was warmer than hers.

  She pulled into the driveway, but Finley’s truck wasn’t there.

  For the last month he’d been scarce. Work had gotten crazy with two of their mechanics getting hurt in a freak accident. Finley was picking up a lot of the slack which meant she saw him less on weeknights.

  It wasn’t a terrible thing. Melody’s wedding planning was in full swing which meant Merida was busy. She just hated going to bed alone. She never failed to toss and turn until he crawled in next to her or texted to let her know he was at his place for the night.

  She parked and got today’s haul of boxes out of the back of her car. There really wasn’t much left for her to pack up, not that she knew where she was moving. That was what she needed to talk to Finley about.

  They’d agreed that at the six month mark they’d figure out the next step.

  That was one week away.

  Shouldn’t they be talking about moving in together? Ideally somewhere the water and heat worked reliably?

  Merida had no shortage of help looking for a new place. Melody and all the other girlfriends were more than willing to help her look at listings and pick out places to consider, but it was all for nothing if Finley didn’t like any of them.

  She busied herself packing a few things and heating up leftovers for dinner. These days she spent so much time going from their temporary office to the building site she wore sweatpants most days so there was no need to get more comfortable.

  She glanced at the clock and frowned.

  Where the hell was Finley?

  FINLEY SMOOTHED A HAND down his chest. He’d taken a bit more care in dressing after work, opting for a button down and nice jeans.

  He still wasn’t sure what Merida’s reaction was going to be.

  Instead of barging in, he knocked and waited.

  A few moments later the door opened and Merida stood there, staring at him with a funny frown on her face.

  “Lose your key?” she asked, her tone frosty.

  “Nope.” He twirled his keys and ignored the ice. It was expected considering he hadn’t returned her texts earlier. If he had, he might have spoiled the surprise. “Want to ride with me?”

  “Where are you riding to?” She let the door go and crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Just around.” He took a step to the side so she could see the classic Mustang in the driveway.

  Merida’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. “Finley...”

  “It’s a friend’s. Said I could drive it around for the night.”

  “Let me get a jacket.” Merida spun around.

  He grinned and stepped inside.

  Get a jacket really meant she spent a good ten minutes putting on jeans, boots, a cute top and a leather jacket. He couldn’t really blame her. The car had been kept in the very best condition. Driving it was a treat.

  He opened the front door and locked her side of the house before handing her into the car.

  One of the things he appreciated about her was that she understood his affinity for cars. All of the important things in his life she got.

  They started down the road, winding this way and that with seemingly no direction. But he had one.

  “How’s the office coming?” he asked.

  “Good. I’m so ready to not be in that tiny suite though.” She shook her head. “Sharing an office with Zain is driving me crazy.”

  Finley shook his head. “You two are too much alike.”

  He’d finally met Zain and liked the guy. Merida’s boss was exactly as Finley had expected, which was a pleasant surprise. What Finley hadn’t been prepared for was just how sly Zain was about his job offers. The worst part was Finley wasn’t entirely against some of Zain’s propositions, especially those that didn’t involve field work.

  The truth of the matter was that mechanic work was hard on the body. He’d seen two guys laid up because of freak accidents. And that could all too easily be him.

  He didn’t think he’d take Zain’s offer this year or even next year, but maybe in the future. Maybe after he’d separated himself from his past a bit more and wanted to get back to the business of saving people. He’d heard a lot more than he was supposed to when Merida had to leap into action and work at home. These Aegis Group guys did more than he’d realized, and a part of him missed being one of the good guys. But for now he was content to simply be a mechanic.

  Finley turned the car into a park. The sun was dipping toward the horizon, painting a riot of colors.

  “What are we doing here?” Merida turned toward him.

  “I used to live not far from here. I liked this park.”

  “It’s cute.” She glanced around.

  “I know I’ve been busy and we’ve got to make a decision about the lease in a week.” He glanced at her.

  Merida blew out a breath. “I thought you were never going to make time to talk.”

  “It wasn’t intentional.” No, he’d had to make a dozen different schedules line up. Who knew that would be so difficult?

  “Okay, so, I want to move. If I have to live there another month longer, I’m going to do something crazy.” She pulled out her phone. “I’ve put together a few places I thought we could look at if that’s something you’re into?”

  “Merida.” He reached over and took her phone from her. “Hey.”

  “Six months are almost up. We said... I thought...” She blinked at him and watched him slide the phone into a cup holder.

  He reached over and took her hand. “We said we’d reevaluate our relationship in six months.”

  “So you don’t want to move in together?” she asked slowly.

  God, he wanted a picture of her face right now. With any luck Zain’s silly drone was getting the shot right now.

  “Actually...” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the slim, antique gold band. He should have never consulted Merida’s friends because if one was involved they’d all had to be. Which was why they were a week away from their lease deadline. Taking five women plus Merida’s mother ring shopping while keeping it from her had been a nightmare of epic proportions. “I was hoping you would marry me.”

  Merida gaped at him then the ring. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fin.” She covered her mouth with both hands.

  He studied the ring and could almost feel the love infused in the metal. “I knew a long time ago I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you and I did nothing. So, this is me making up for lost time. I love you, and I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. What do you say to that?”

  “Yes! Oh, my God, yes.”

  She launched herself across the car and into his lap. He nearly lost his hold on the ring. She kissed him for a long moment before separating just enough to slide the ring on her finger.

  A whoop and a cheer followed by a bright flash popped their bubble. Merida turned and saw their friends and many of their family members. All there because he’d tried to do something right for once.

  He had a sinking feeling they were going to be moving out right up until the midnight deadline, but he didn’t care. Because he was moving into a future with the woman he loved.

  Merida turned to look at him, her lashes working in overtime.

  He smiled at her and stroked her cheek.

  “Fin?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I want a Christmas wedding,” she said.

  “Is that a warning or a promise?”

  She grinned. “Both.”

  It would be the best present of his life.


  You can stay up to date on the whole Aegis Group world. Keep scrolling to find your next series! Want to read the first Body of Danger book? Get a copy of Heart of Danger today and stay tuned for the debut of the Dangerous Ladies series coming soon.

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  Explore the whole Aegis world in these series...

  It all began with the Aegis Group.

  Dangerous Attraction

  Dangerous in Training

  Dangerous Games

  Dangerous Assignment

  Dangerous Protector

  Dangerous Secrets

  Dangerous Betrayal

  Dangerous Heat

  More Coming Soon!

  Within Aegis Group, special teams take on special jobs, beginning with the Alpha Team.

  Dangerous in Love

  Dangerous in Action

  Dangerous in Transit

  Dangerous in Motion

  Dangerous in Charge

  Other specialized teams exist under the Aegis Group umbrella, including Lepta Team.

  Dangerously Taken

  Dangerously Involved

  Dangerously Deceived

  Dangerously Broken

  Dangerously Entwined (2019)

  In Dangerous Games it continued with the Gone Geek girls.

  Beauty and the Geek

  Mr. Purr-fect and the Geek

  The Jock and the Geek

  The Gamer and the Geek

  The Adorkable Girl and the Geek

  The Fake Boyfriend and the Geek

  When the Seattle office of Aegis Group opened the Twisted Royals took the stage.

  The Origin Story

  Alpha Prince

  Her Prince

  Bad Boy Prince

  Noble Prince

  Stay tuned for the appearance of the Troy Team and Omega Team.

  For short reads, tune in this December for the Body of Danger novella series kick-off.

  Heart for Danger

  Mind for Danger (2019)

  Soul for Danger (2020)

  The other Smith brother takes us to the Texas SWAT series, a small town suspense series.