A few feet away from the door, someone called his name out.
He turned, spotted Jarvis, and maneuvered his way to Josh’s CO.
As he made the about-turn, he flinched as his knee protested the abrupt movement. God, this injury was driving him insane. He’d never felt so goddamn weak in all his life.
His irritation made his voice gruff when he muttered, “You called, sir?”
Jarvis’s top lip quirked. “No salute? You’re already out of the hang of being a soldier, eh?”
“I’m sorry, sir. It slipped my mind.” It genuinely had. His head was still attached to his shoulders, but the brain matter it contained was on another ether. Throw in his preoccupation with his fucking knee, and a salute had been the last thing on his mind.
“Of course it has,” Jarvis replied, smiling. “Congratulations. It went better than I think even Josh hoped.” He peered over Luke’s shoulder, looking at Josh, Luke assumed. “A good man, that one. Exactly who you need when the firing squad is aimed your way, and I have no difficulty in telling you it was, Lieutenant Colonel Gray.”
“I know it was, sir,” he answered shakily, fully aware of how rough things had been. “I knew what I was inviting by upsetting the apple cart. I saw the panel’s initial reaction to my case too. I’m well aware of how fortunate I am.”
“I don’t think you do. Prison…?”
Luke nodded. “I didn’t want to focus on that, but yes. I knew it was a possibility.”
“It takes a brave man to stand up for what he believes in. To stand up for the truth, especially when the whole world is against you. And let’s face it, for a career man like yourself, the army is your whole world.”
“No, it was, sir. Not anymore.”
“Can hardly blame you, not when it turned on you the way it did.” Jarvis sighed and scratched his nose, unsettling the glasses he wore. He pulled a face. “This is damned awkward.”
Luke frowned. “What is?”
“I’ve had a request, from several higher-ups.”
“You have, sir?”
“Yes. Now your name’s clear again, they want to know if…” He grunted. “It’s a foolish request. What kind of man is going to leap back into the hornet’s nest after he’s been bitten to buggery and managed to make it out alive?” His grunt turned into a huff. “They want to know if you’d be willing to work on a freelance basis.”
“Freelance?” Luke asked, his voice loaded with disbelief. “Freelance in what capacity?”
“Obviously, you’d remain on home turf, no more deployments or being sent off to handle hostage situations, but your know-how is invaluable to us. You’re our top man. The one in the know. Passing on your knowledge would be of great benefit to us.”
“You want me to train other hostage negotiators?”
“That’s the long and the short of it.”
Luke frowned at Josh’s CO, but the frown wasn’t aimed at Jarvis, more internally. His first reaction was to spit in the man’s eye and tell him to fuck off. After what he’d been through, if he never had to see BDUs again, it was a day too soon. And then, rationale struck.
He had a family, he had to support that family, and tea roses were his dream, but they didn’t have to be the be-all and end-all.
“The offer might come as a surprise, yet who better to pass on their wisdom but a soldier with an experience as wide as yours, a record as long as yours, and one who was renowned for getting the job done with little damage to human life?” When Luke didn’t reply, Jarvis admitted cautiously, “I’ll admit, I’m surprised you haven’t tried to blacken my eye.”
“The desire was there at first, sir, but I’m no fool. I escaped those cuffs around Harrison’s wrists by the skin of my teeth, and I don’t intend to end the day wearing a different set.” He folded his arms. “I’m interested in the proposition.”
“You are?” Luke got the feeling it took a lot to surprise Jarvis, yet he’d managed to achieve that.
“Yes, I am. I’ll need more information, concrete details before I can agree to anything.”
“Naturally. The people interested in you had me draw up a contract of employment pertaining to this particular job offer anyway. I thought it was a waste of time, but apparently I was wrong. Not something that happens often, I’m happy to say.” He reached down for the briefcase he’d settled at his feet, turned, and rested it on one of the few chairs that had filled the gallery where people could sit and watch the proceedings.
It had been a closed appeal; the public hadn’t been allowed in. Even his parents had had to sit outside for the main event. But the seats were put to use now as Jarvis riffled through his papers and pulled out a sealed envelope.
“Take your time. Consider the offer. I’ll say this, but I’ll deny it if you mention it. It’s negotiable.”
Luke frowned but accepted the envelope. “What do you mean?”
“They’ll go to double the hiring price.”
“You’re not being serious?”
“Well, you don’t know what the original salary is, but I can promise, it was generous. They want you on board, Lucas.
“After that last negotiation in Yemen, you came to a lot of people’s attention. Libya was going to be your last deployment, and though it was cut short by this farce, and your career with us as an officer was too, the promotion that was heading your way is, unfortunately, an impossibility.
“However, if we can get you on our team as a private individual, then you’ll make a lot of the men breathing down my neck happy. Do you understand my drift?”
He didn’t, not exactly, but he nodded regardless. “Yes, sir.”
Jarvis’s smile was the definition of satisfied. “Good. I say take your time, but I’d appreciate some indication as to your decision by the end of the month. It can be my early Christmas present. I’m sure I’ll get a nice reward for managing to sway you to our cause.” As he spoke, he closed up his briefcase and tucked it under his arm. With his free hand, he saluted Luke. “Good day, soldier.”
He made to move away, but Luke broke protocol to grab Jarvis’s arm. “Who, sir? Who’s interested in me?”
There was a twinkle in Jarvis’s eye. “That you’ll never know, Lucas. Sorry.”
He left Luke standing there, feeling like he’d been punched in the gut. When Josh approached him from the back, resting a hand on his shoulder, he nearly jumped through his skin.
Breathing heavily, he was about to snap at Josh, then he saw the look of concern on his husband’s face, and his anger melted.
“Sorry,” he gritted out, still on edge. “I didn’t expect anyone to…” He rubbed his temple with a shaky hand. “Never mind.”
“What’s going on? What did Jarvis want?”
“I’ll tell you later. Let’s get out of here. I want to go home.”
Josh frowned but nodded. “Okay. I’ve relinquished Dana for the day, and I’m on leave for the next five. Plenty enough time for Gia to come home and for us all to settle in together.”
Only half listening, Luke let Josh’s words lull him as they strode out of the appeals court and out of the main building itself.
Only in his peripheral vision did he notice the stares, the interest he garnered as he walked out a free man.
The shock waves the result of his case would have triggered had probably been epic, but he was too confused to be interested.
However he’d imagined the day ending, it hadn’t been with a job offer in one hand and his freedom in the other.
* * * *
The instant the door opened, two bundles of arms and legs hurled their way at the still-shell-shocked man.
One bundle was just shy of four feet. The other hit five-five in her stockinged feet.
It was the scent of her that hit him first, the knowledge she was here when she wasn’t supposed to be. It hit him at his core, shaking his very foundations and undoing his control in ways she probably didn’t know she could.
His arms were shaking when he wrapped the
m around her, taking a second to breathe her in, to enjoy her rounded form against his body. Then he whispered, “What are you doing here?”
“You don’t expect Laurie to keep anything a secret for long, do you?”
He blinked, was about to reply when Josh burst out, “Gia? What the hell are you doing here?” Before she could utter a word, she was tugged out of Luke’s arms and bundled promptly into Josh’s. Rather than be left out, he waded into the fray and hugged them both, turning the embrace into a group huddle that contained a giggling, squashed Lexi as she clung to their knees.
“God, it’s good to have you home.” Josh breathed quietly. “I’m glad my mom is a loudmouth. I don’t even have it in me to scold her.”
“Neither should you,” Gia murmured, pulling back to grin up at them both. “I was already back in Texas anyway when I got her call.”
“She must have contacted you the instant I sent her the news.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be too annoyed that you told her before you told me?” She cocked a brow but spoiled it by dotting Luke’s cheek with kisses. “I’m so happy for you, sweetheart. So incredibly happy. Come into the kitchen. I’ll make us something to eat, and you can tell me what happened.”
She unfurled herself from their arms and grabbed a hold of Luke’s fingers with one hand, and the other she used to guide Lexi.
Their little girl was still bobbing up and down, garbling nonsense about the Cherokees and victory dances, as she half danced, half skipped her way along the hall.
They’d kept all the details of the appeal from her. In hindsight, if it hadn’t gone his way, it could have been a disaster. But with things ending the way they had, he was glad she’d been kept in the dark about the entire process.
He didn’t think she realized what they were happy about but was simply content to be a part of the fun. Plus, it was an opportunity to make Native American battle cries.
If Lexi was anything, she was an opportunist to her bones.
They followed her as though she were the Pied Piper and took a seat at the breakfast counter.
Josh was the first to admit, “We wanted to call you, but Luke had some news we needed to discuss in the car, so we figured we’d wait until we could get home and video call you with Lexi.”
She waved a hand as she headed to the fridge. “Don’t worry about it, love. I’m just glad to be home.”
“Not half as glad as we are to have you home,” Luke retorted, his voice working again after being cleaved shut with the emotion that had railroaded him upon seeing her.
God, he loved her.
The feeling wove around his heart, both relaxing him and adding tension. Here, in this kitchen, was his whole world. These people had believed in him, had never once doubted him, and would forever support him.
As the emotions he’d been battling all day finally battered him, he heard Lexi’s small concerned voice as she murmured, “Is Papa crying?” But he was too deep into the eye of the storm to answer or to get a hold of himself.
The day had been filled with shocks and surprises. Highs and lows. But they came on the heels of weeks and months of emotional days and stressful nights. Of nightmares and agony.
At that moment, with the people he loved most in the world, he was helpless to leash the welter of feeling that hit him and had no choice but to wait out the storm. Because when he did, he knew these three would still be there, waiting for him.
And that was all any man needed to know.
Chapter Nine
Gia closed her eyes, clenching the lids to try to contain the ecstasy roaring through her. It was hard because she was in the middle of sensory overload. In fact, overload was an understatement.
It felt like eons had passed since she’d been the focus of their attention, when in reality it had been less than two weeks. And Christ, she’d only been away from home for five full days.
It felt like a lifetime, though; each day a long and hard slog without them. Calls were inadequate. Seeing them via video was slow torture. Only this, being sandwiched between them, was enough.
As Luke lashed her clit with his tongue, Josh fucked deep and hard into her ass. It was the welcome home she’d needed, the greeting her body, soul, and heart had been crying out for.
A shudder racked her, making her arch her back and tilt her hips, needing them both more desperately than she could ever remember.
She hated this position normally, but somehow, it felt right this time. Luke was flat on his back on the bed. She was above him, her knees either side of his head. And behind them both was Josh, plowing into her.
A part of her always feared Luke couldn’t breathe, that he was suffocating in the position, and then he’d tongue her clit, and she’d always forget and start riding his poor face.
Even now, drowning in the pleasure he gave her, she was half-fearful but forgetful. His head was at the perfect angle, his tongue there, right where she needed it. Flickering and fluttering about her clit, sucking it deep into his mouth, nibbling gently with his teeth. As he tormented her, she gave as much as she got…which, considering her position, wasn’t all that grand.
This was dynamite to her senses. The feel of Josh in her ass, the thick, hot, and heavy presence was a burning brand, a reclaiming of her. It hit nerves that weren’t as accustomed to pleasure. Throw in Luke’s teasing, and she was on fire.
Her mouth was overfull with Luke’s cock, and she was going through phases. Her body was so focused on the pleasure they wanted her to feel, she’d hover above his shaft, tormenting the ruddy tip with her hot, gusting breath.
Precum wept openly from the tip, and each time she regained focus, she’d lash it with her tongue, squeeze it with her lips, and suck as hard as she could until his hips arched beneath her, almost bucking her out of their precarious position.
The bed shook and swayed with their movements, and the room stank of sex. The noises were an additional torment. The slap of skin against skin, the heavy sounds of breathing, the wet noises of Josh fucking her lubed-up ass…
All of it combined to make her feel as though she were close to detonation. But she wouldn’t come, not until Luke stopped his teasing and got serious with his attention.
He knew what to do, but for whatever reason, they were both intent on dragging it out, on killing her with the wonder of their passion.
A cry escaped her, his cock almost choking her as she let out the sound with him deep in her mouth. Apparently her silent complaint hadn’t gone unnoticed, because Luke’s mouth was suddenly wrapped around her clit, and he’d thrust his pointer and middle finger into her pussy. The detonator was when he scissored them, one rubbing against the front wall of her pubis, the other dragging down against Josh’s cock.
The move made her feel stuffed, more so than she could handle at that moment, and then he did the deed—slurped at her clit, drenched it with his spit, and with one hard suck, didn’t let go until a fierce scream escaped her. It echoed around the room, reverberating around the walls in a way that made her glad Lexi was in her bedroom, sound asleep, on the other side of the house.
It went on and on, her screech of agonized pleasure. The dull throb of pressure at her temples became a pounding whack as Josh stopped thrusting in and out, choosing to grab hold of her hips and fuck her in short, sharp bursts.
His cock hit deeper than before, the tip rubbing a part inside her that was rarely touched. When he came, spilling his seed inside her, the small burst of energy rubbed against that tiny spot, and she saw stars.
Gray speckles dotted her vision at the outer edges before black began to bleed into her closed eyes. She dragged her nails down Luke’s upper thighs, then burrowed the rounded tips into the taut muscle.
His jolt of surprise penetrated her awareness, but she was focused inward, on the wondrous power flushing through her. This orgasm was somehow weaker than the other but stronger too. It hit her between the eyes rather than between the legs, making both body and mind weak.
Josh’s
cries came to a halt at roughly the same time as her whimpers ceased. She rested her sweaty forehead against Luke’s hair-roughened thighs and let herself get to grips with the energy that was simultaneously roaring through her system as it was draining out too. She let herself glut on the beauty of the moment, then burst out laughing when Luke’s shaft bobbed against her cheek in silent demand.
She turned her head to the side, opened her lips, and used it to slide up and down his length without having to move all that much. She sucked a ball into her mouth, tongued it, and drenched it with saliva so she could comfortably roll the two together when she released it. He grunted as she did just that. Then finally, with enough starch in her bones, she managed to sit up a little, let her mouth hover above his shaft, and took him deeply into her mouth.
His groan echoed around the room, and it came all the louder when Josh decided to pull out of her ass, and she moaned against his dick.
His hips bucked again, thrusting his shaft deeper into her mouth. She let him, didn’t complain when he started to fuck her lips from underneath. She tightened her grip around his balls, holding them firmly as he worked himself into a frenzy of need, and then she let go and swallowed hard when his cock neared the back of her throat. It was a move loaded with calculated risk. She could easily choke and retch, which wasn’t anyone’s idea of sexy—her spluttering about as he came, not a good look.
But she didn’t.
It was perfectly timed.
Cum splashed her mouth, spilling out over the corner of her lips.
She slurped it up and heard his groans of pleasure. Both men liked that she swallowed, and it came as no surprise to see Josh was watching her, his eyes heavy lidded and twinkling with a glint that disregarded and made a complete mockery of the averages on male recovery time. He had a towel in hand, which told her he’d cleaned up in the bathroom, but the towel dragged on the floor as he gripped his cock and started to stroke it in time to her lapping licks.
Gia smiled at him, a kittenish, teasing twitch of her lips that had him narrowing his eyes at her. She continued, enjoying teasing him, then moaned when her hair was suddenly tugged hard at the roots.
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