At least Foster hoped they did. He needed some magic.
Glancing around Darina, Foster looked at the man now lounging comfortable on the steps of the building behind Darina. “Thanks for your help, Natik.”
“Not a problem.” Natik stood and motioned to his eye and neck. “Can we fix this up? I don’t want to scare the piss out of my wife.”
“Of course.” While Darina was adorably confused, Foster dug out his tablet and scanned away Natik’s symptoms. Within seconds, his eye was no longer filled with blood and the swollen neck vein had shrunk to its normal size.
The two men shook hands and Natik gave Darina a friendly smile. “Just wanted to let you know I totally would have taken the cure because you told me to. I could feel your sincerity. You must be an amazing police officer. Especially if you’ve managed to turn this guy’s head. I worked with him at Emerge Tech. Nothing but science turns his head.”
“Until now,” Ghared said.
“Until now,” Foster agreed, still loving how dumbfounded and quiet Darina was. He’d hoped to surprise her, and he was pretty sure he’d nailed it.
The two officers gave Foster a nod and drove off as Natik strolled down the street. Ghared hung around, giving Darina a nudge.
“A speechless Darina… interesting,” he mused.
“Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Foster asked.
“Can’t say for sure.” Ghared grinned. “It’s never happened before.”
Darina blinked and glared at Ghared. “What is going on here?”
“And she’s back.” He rested his hands on her shoulders. “Maybe I lied a little bit.” He held up his thumb and index finger, an inch or so between them.
“Lied?” She squinted down the street in the direction Natik had headed. “Mr. Jarkins wasn’t really infected?”
Foster shook his head. “I wasn’t sure you’d come to meet me if I asked.”
“But he knew you’d come to help out a fellow citizen,” Ghared added.
“Real nice. Use my sense of duty against me.” She folded her arms across her chest and looked between Foster and Ghared.
“Oh, don’t get all pissy,” Ghared said. “This guy wants to talk to you, and I say you let him.”
“And who put you in charge?” Now her foot tapped, and Foster found her even more attractive when slightly pissed off. Shit, he’d missed her.
“I did.” Zeke came to stand next to her, Mareea holding his hand.
Darina whirled around to look up at her son. Foster got a little thrill out of tipping her world on its axis. She deserved it. She’d done it to him with her simple presence.
“Foster contacted me, and as soon as I determined he was as miserable as you were,” Zeke pointed at his mother, making her go a little cross-eyed as she followed his index finger, “Ghared and I decided it was time for an intervention.” He kissed Darina’s cheek. “Make the best of this opportunity, Mom.”
“Wait, you weren’t heading to the high school? Our whole exchange back home was—”
“Somewhat fictional? Yes.” Zeke gestured between him and Mareea. “We do have a plan to rebuild the school, but there’s no meeting today. Forgive me?”
Darina shot a look at Foster—one that made his blood rush around his body, cyclonically. “I suppose so.”
“Good enough for me,” Zeke said.
With that, Zeke and Mareea, followed by Ghared, wandered away as if they were out for a casual stroll through the newly alive city.
Darina slid her hands in her pockets and gave Foster a head-to-toe sweep with her eyes that he felt everywhere. “How are you?” Her voice was soft, none of her usual confidence anywhere to be found.
Foster smiled. “Fine. How are you?”
Her lips twitched up as she fought not to smile. “I’m well. Except for the liars I apparently raised and decided to befriend.”
“Liars with your best interests at heart.” Foster took a step closer to her. He wanted nothing more than to occupy her space. He longed to touch her as he had back in Vermont.
“Oh yeah? And what best interests are those?” She took a step closer too.
“Me. It’s in your best interest to be with me, Darina.” He reached out now, letting his hand trace the contours of her cheek. When she closed her eyes and didn’t jerk away from his touch, Foster’s heart swelled in his chest. “I couldn’t take being away from you another minute.”
“Really?” She pressed her face into his palm, bringing her hand up to cup his hand. “I hardly noticed you weren’t around.”
“Is that so?” He moved his hand to her waist and tugged her so her hips touched his.
Her hands snaked up his chest and hooked on the back of his neck, her thumb running gently over his tattoo. “Well, maybe I wondered about your wellbeing a little.”
“Good to know.” He leaned his head down and caught her lips. As soon as they made contact, the fireworks crackled to life all over again.
When she ripped herself free of his kiss, of his grasp, he couldn’t breathe.
“We can’t do this, Foster.” She paced away from him, squeezing her eyes shut.
“Why the hell not? I know you feel something for me. That kiss told me so.”
“I feel more than something for you, dammit.” She puffed out a frustrated breath. “But there’s no way you could possibly want to look at me, touch me, call me your own. Not after I’ve been with Warres. I’ve made terrible mistakes.” Her gorgeous eyes filled with unshed tears, and she swiped at one escapee.
Time to make her understand. Once and for all.
“I most definitely want to look at you,” Foster said, an edge of anger outlining his words. He had to get it into her thick skull that she was everything to him. “I certainly want to touch you. I don’t care about the past or Warres or anything except being with you. Now. Tomorrow. Forever. Do you know why?”
“You’re crazy?”
He grinned and slid his hands around her waist corralling her in his arms again. “No. It’s because I love you, Officer Darina Lazitter. I love you. We’ve only known each other mere days, but I’ve thought about you every second of every day during the two weeks we’ve been apart. I feel as if I’ve been searching for you for an eternity. Now that I’ve found you, I don’t want to let you go.” He gestured to himself with his left hand. “You promised to keep me safe, and here I am. But I’m in danger again. In danger of being heartbroken without you. I want to be with someone who keeps her promises. Keep me safe again, Darina. Safe in your heart. Please.”
Foster didn’t give her a chance to reply. Instead he captured her mouth with his and what started out as a slow, gentle kiss turned into something feral and scorching. He grabbed the back of her legs until she hoisted both of them up and wrapped them around his waist. It was as if she were willing to crawl inside his heart, and he was all for that notion.
She broke the kiss, cupped his face, then freed her legs. Taking his hand, she led him down the street without a word. When she stopped in front of a broken-down apartment building, Estoria and the others who had followed a short distance away rested the lilies by her door, hugged her each in turn, then continued down the street. Darina unlocked a door and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind them.
“You really want me?” she asked.
“More than anything.” He held his hand up as if taking an oath. “Say you want me too.”
She shrugged one shoulder, smiling slightly. “I guess so. Why not?”
Foster poked her in the side then worked her tank top off along with her pants. Dropping kisses along her exposed flesh, he said, “Let’s see if I can turn that ‘I guess so’ into something a bit more definitive.”
“You can try.”
****
Turns out his attempt was so good he’d convinced her to return to Vermont with him after they’d made love in her domicile.
Then they’d made love again.
In his bedroom now, with Darina cuddled close, Foster watc
hed sunlight grow brighter around the blinds on his windows. The brightness made him feel as if everything was finally in order in his life. A few weeks ago, he’d almost lost Darina and his GEC friends, not to mention the damage to the property Warres’s associates had caused. That had sucked. On the other hand, he’d saved Darina. Last night he’d told her he loved her, then spent the night showing her how much. That had been amazing.
So amazing that he…
“Darina?” he whispered.
She shifted beside him, her naked body rubbing alongside his naked body in such a way he didn’t ever want to leave the bed.
Or put on clothes ever again.
“Hmm…” Her throat vibrated, and he felt it against his chest where she rested her head.
“I have some thoughts on how we should start this day.” He let his hand glide over one of her nipples, teasing it to a tight bud.
“You scientists are always thinking.”
He felt her lips turn up in a smile as she dropped kisses along his shoulder, across his collarbone, and up his neck until she reached his mouth.
Lifting his head slightly, he caught her lips, and they kissed as if they were having each other for breakfast. He never wanted to eat anything else.
“How do you feel?” he asked when they stopped for a breath.
“I feel horny.” She rose to her knees and straddled him, his hands automatically going to her hips, sliding up her curves, kneading her full breasts. “Tell me you feel the same.”
“Around you? Constantly.” He threaded his fingers with hers and tugged until she had to lower her chest to his. “What are you going to do about it?”
She scooted back a little so her hot center rubbed against his hard and ready erection. Her head went back when he groaned and arched his hips to grind against her.
“I’m going to say something I’ve never said to a man before.” She stopped moving long enough to make eye contact. Her face was serious as she hooked her hair behind her ears and licked her lips.
“Let’s hear it.” Foster braced himself, not sure if he was going to like what came out of her mouth. He didn’t want anything to destroy the fantastic buzz he had going.
“I love you, Foster.” She pressed her hand on his chest when he made a move to sit up and embrace her. “Let me finish. I love you because you stopped Zeke’s seizures then tended to him when Warres shot him. I love you because you tended to Ghared and his busted leg. I love you because you’ve housed GECs here for years and made them feel a part of a community when the world told them they weren’t good enough. I love you because you cured me and the globe. I love you because you make love with the exact right mix of tenderness and wildness. I love you because you came back for me.” She wiggled on his hips and grinned. “But most of all, Doc, I love you because you make me feel alive.”
She moved her hand now and allowed him to sit up. He gathered her in his arms and squeezed her wonderfully naked body against his. Raking his hands up into her hair as she smoothed her hand over his tattooed neck, he lightly bit a trail along her shoulder.
When he reached her jaw, he pressed open-mouthed kisses up to her lips. Pulling back for a moment, he stared into her hazel eyes, getting lost in the green-brown whirlpools.
“And here I thought I was going to have to provide you with a bunch of evidence on why we should be together.” He cupped her face and brushed a gentle kiss to her cheek. “I love you for the same reason, Darina. You make me feel alive too.” Grinning, he swept his gaze over her naked body. “Oh, and because you’re the sexiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
She laughed and lightly slapped his chest. “Keep saying stuff like that and you’ll wake up like this every morning.”
“That’s the plan.” He wrapped his arms around her and rolled her to her back so he was on top now. “Which brings me to my next question.” He ran his fingertips along her side, over the smooth expanse of her stomach, and up around her breasts. “Will you and Zeke stay with me? I know we have to go back to the city for work and rebuild efforts, but wherever I am, I want you two there as well. I want you to be my family.”
Darina reached her hand up and smoothed his hair back, her touch gentle yet possessive. And possess him she did. Not a doubt in his mind that he wanted to belong to her and have her belong to him.
“As luck would have it, Doc, you’re just who Zeke and I have been looking for all these years to join our team.” She walked her fingers up his chest and hooked her hands on his shoulders, bringing him down toward her. “Now make love to me, and let’s start this day out right.”
Foster didn’t need to be told twice. He stroked her nipples with his tongue until she blissfully writhed beneath him. Caressing her center, he found her more than ready for him. He held her gaze as he slid into her, inch by inch, and found the home he’d always been looking for.
She widened her legs, accepting him deeper, her nails raking lightly along his back. With each rhythmic thrust, he claimed more of her, came closer to merging his soul with hers, destroying the emptiness they’d both endured.
That emptiness would plague them no more.
Foster basked in the warm hold Darina had on him. How had he ever been satisfied by a hologram? Those programs didn’t come close to what Darina made him feel, how she fit snuggly around him, her insides contracting until he couldn’t stop the freefall, didn’t want to.
She cried out his name before they climbed higher and erupted in a shower of trembling sparks that danced before Foster’s eyes. He collapsed beside her on the bed, still buried deep inside her as the aftershocks stroked him.
“I could lie here forever with you,” he whispered into her ear.
She turned to kiss him as he slowly slid out of her. A sexy groan rumbled from her throat, and Foster wanted to make love to her again. She turned to her side and traced her fingers along the tattooed spirals on his neck.
“You said these meant survival, right?”
He nodded.
“Well, here’s to surviving then.”
“Oh, we’re going to do more than survive,” Foster said. “We’re going to thrive.”
Epilogue
One month later…
Darina hummed as she helped Estoria and Rasha in one of the many gardens on the property. Not once had she imagined she’d be covered in dirt on purpose, but tending vegetables had become a favorite activity of hers when she and Zeke were with Foster in Vermont.
They divided their time between the city and the woods. Spending time with Foster brought her so much happiness. Watching Zeke and Foster together made that happiness grow exponentially. She’d always wished for a father for her son, and Ghared had done a fantastic job of filling that role for many years, but the connection Foster had made with Zeke was something more, something special.
“Hey.” Estoria’s snapping fingers made Darina blink up at her. “Quit daydreaming and harvest those veggies.” She grinned and arched her back. In the past month, Foster had figured out how to stop Estoria’s continual cycle of pregnancy. She wouldn’t give birth to another stillborn baby nor suffer repeated conception.
Darina smoothed her hand over her own stomach and wondered what it would be like to give birth to a child. She glanced back at the main house. Did Foster wonder about that too? GECs were sterile, but with a brilliant man like Foster, anything was possible.
Right?
After giving Homer an extensive petting when he’d loped over to her in the garden, she pulled up a few carrots, adding them to her basket. Homer nosed around the basket and she couldn’t resist giving the dorse a few to nibble. He lowered to his belly and gave the treat his full attention.
She continued harvesting, loving the soft warmth of the earth on her hands… well, one of them anyway. Maybe someday she’d be able to feel the dirt on her prosthetic hand.
But she wasn’t complaining. She had no reason to. Her life was finally perfect, and each tomorrow promised more perfection.
“Darina!�
�
She looked up, and Foster waved her toward the house. Just looking at him caused a magnetic pull. She loved being near him. Dusting off her hands and the knees of her pants, she jogged to the deck.
“What’s up?” She climbed the steps and allowed Foster to wrap her in a hug. He smelled like soap and whatever it was he used to sterilize his lab instruments.
“You have a call from Ghared.”
She stiffened in his arms. “Is everything okay?” Zeke and Mareea were staying with Ghared in the city this week while the kids worked on the high school rebuild.
“Zeke is fine. That much he assured me, but he said he had other news.” Foster shrugged and took her hand, leading her into the house.
With Foster standing close behind her, she picked up her own tablet from the kitchen counter and tapped it to life. Ghared’s face filled the screen. The crease between his icy blue eyes told her the ‘other news’ was something big.
“Hey, Ghared. What’s going on?”
He swallowed and looked away for a moment. The cinderblock walls of the Boston Police Department behind him filled the screen.
“It’s not so much news I have as one of Warres’s men has.” Ghared had been working with the police and the government to handle the prisoners they’d captured in the Vermont battle.
“What does that mean?”
“I’ll let him tell you.”
Ghared’s face was replaced with that of a dark-skinned man. His brown eyes were wide and nervous as if he expected Mikale Warres to jump out and beat him.
Thankfully, that wasn’t going to happen. Not ever.
“Go ahead,” Ghared said from off screen. “Tell her. Tell her what you told me.”
The man looked her in the eye. “Deo Lazitter is alive.”
My brother? Alive?
“Not possible.” She shook her head.
“That’s what I said too.” Ghared was back on screen. “But then this guy handed me these.”
The view got wobbly as Ghared turned his tablet. When it settled, Darina gasped.
Safe (The Shielded Series Book 1) Page 21