by April Zyon
She screamed. She couldn’t have stopped herself if she had tried. She came so hard, so fast, that she couldn’t catch her breath and let out a broken sob of pure pleasure. “Frank.” She bit his shoulder then.
He jerked against her, his cock pressing in deeper, and a shudder rippled through his body. Releasing her shoulder, he let out a yell. Her name, or she thought it might be. So hard to tell through the rush of blood in her head creating a bubble of white noise. A moment later, he collapsed over her, pressing her body deeper into the bedding, his breath hot on her neck.
Eli relaxed against Frank, all but melting into the bed. “Perfect. I never thought that making love could feel so amazing,” she said when she was finally able to talk. This was what she needed, this was what she wanted. Him. Their forever. She wanted them to always have this, and she had a feeling that they would.
“If you’re doing it right, it should be life-altering,” he said after a moment. Clearing his throat, he lifted up and then rolled over, taking her with him. She found herself draped over his chest while he slid a hand down her spine to cup her ass. “That was definitely life-fucking-altering in my opinion.”
“I couldn’t agree more.” She rubbed her cheek to Frank’s chest and closed her eyes. “I could become addicted to this. I could become so used to having these amazing nights with you like this.” She pulled back and looked down at him. “For the rest of forever?”
“Absolutely.” Pressing a kiss to her lips, he let out a groan. “Let me get rid of the condom, and then we will get some sleep. I know someone has to go into work tomorrow, so she definitely needs to get some rest. Especially since I plan on waking her up for another round before letting her out of the house.”
“Oh she loves the way that sounds.” She moved from him, whimpering just a little at the feeling of loss when he slid free of her body. She lay down on the bed and watched him as he got up and walked away. Sitting up, she tilted her head to the side. “Where did you get the markings on your back? Not the tattoo, but the scars.”
He paused in the doorway of the bathroom, the lines of his back tight, and she knew he wouldn’t answer. So she was surprised with he let out a breath and turned to look at her. “Here and there through the years. Most of them are from close scrapes, the others from being captured and tortured.” With a shrug, he disappeared into the bathroom for long minutes before coming back toward the bed.
When he climbed into bed with her, she turned off the light at her side. She didn’t say anything for a time. Instead, she just curled up close to him, wrapping herself around him as if she could somehow protect him. “No matter what you’ve done, where you’ve been, I’ve always loved you and I will always love you. One day I hope you tell me what happened, but until then, know that I’m always on your side?”
“I know it, Eli.” His arms wrapped around her, drawing her in closer to him as he tucked the blankets around them both. “Maybe one day I can tell you everything. I may not, though. There will always be parts of my past that will never be spoken of. I could end up in a place where visitations do not happen, ever.”
“Then you don’t ever need to say a word about them,” she assured him, and rubbed her cheek to his chest, loving the feeling of him so close to her. “Just about our future and our today. That’s what is necessary. You are all that I need. Always.”
“As you are all I’ll need,” he told her. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Frank moved around and adjusted slightly until she was once more draped more on him than not. His hand landed on her ass again, and he let out a long breath. “Get some rest, Elizabeth. It will not do to have you looking tired at work tomorrow. Not with how this town works.”
“Good point.” Eli was smiling, though, with her eyes closed. “They will all know, however. You know that as well as I do. They will all know that we are more than just friends and are sharing a bed. Just be prepared for your momma to give you the third degree. I swear I think that woman was a commander of military forces in a previous life.”
“More than likely,” he agreed. “You also need to remember she kept seven kids in line, and her husband. I’m pretty sure that takes a very unique skill set. The fact she acts like a general at times just goes to show she knows how to get us all to do what she wants. Not an easy task given we were always all over the map.”
“Good point. Wrangling all of you had to have given her headaches at times, I’m sure.” She liked that in Theresa Carver, though. She loved the woman, even if she was a force of nature. “So we will deal with whatever is to come when it comes, with the thoughts about our relationship and all that, the speculation. For now, we will just enjoy each other, right?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said. “The easiest way to deal with speculation is to clarify right away. That way there’s no hearsay, no rumors, and none of that other small town crap. We’re in a relationship, we’re going to spend the rest of our days together, and no, I’m not telling anyone what I actually do for a living. As far as they are concerned, I am a truck driving, oil rig managing, buffalo herding snowboarder in the Alps where I wrestle the native wolves and such.”
“Well, as long as you are mine, that’s all that matters.” She wouldn’t press him. It was his secret, and as long as it didn’t interfere with their future, she was fine with it. “Just promise me that there is no wife or child out there that I don’t know about?”
“Despite the rumors to the nearly forty children I’ve apparently somehow managed to father between my various tasks, no. There are absolutely no kids, and very definitely no wife. I’ve always been a one woman man. I won’t lie and tell you that I haven’t occasionally sought out comfort from the fairer sex. But my thoughts have only ever been with you,” he said.
That had her smiling and she all but melted into him. “You say the best things to me.” She looked up at him as she spoke. “You are the one that I’ve always wanted. I admit that I was giving up and settling when I thought that you had married, but you are the one that I’ve always wanted.” She had pined for him even when engaged to another. “So we are in a relationship, one that’s going to last for forever. I like that idea. A lot.”
“Damn straight it’s forever,” he said. “We will also go ring shopping at some point of your choice to ensure that all of Massey knows you are mine. No way in hell will I tolerate anyone poaching with around my woman. They might learn exactly what I can and actually do for a living up close and very personally.”
“What?” Oh shit, he was—holy balls, he was asking her to marry him. “A ring. Yes, that would be nice. You get one too, though, so we need to get married as soon as possible so that all the ladies that will be looking at you will know that you are mine.” She just wanted him, period. “I want to marry you, Frank. The sooner the better, in my opinion.”
“I think that could be arranged,” he said. “You can pick a day while I’m here, or we can wait until I’ve returned. Either works for me, though I do prefer the former over the latter. Still, it’s ladies choice, since you are the one that needs to be happy with the results.”
“It’s up to you. I don’t know what you are returning to. I don’t know what sort of trouble you are walking into, honey.” She didn’t want him to ever be hurt. It was something that she worried about, what he was going to go to next. “I thought it was bad when I figured you were on an oil rig, but this…” Not knowing, that was a killer!
He rolled them so she was pressed down into the mattress by his weight once more. “Hey,” he whispered. Sliding a finger over her cheek, he brushed a kiss to her lips. “I will come home to you, Elizabeth. I can’t promise when, though, because I don’t know how long it will all take. I wish I did, but at this moment, it’s a mess and a half that’s trying to get sorted out.”
“It will be okay. Just knowing that you will be coming home to me means more than I can tell you.” She shifted under him slightly and wrapped her leg around his hip to pull him closer. “So the question still is, what do you want? Do yo
u want to wait until you come back, or should we run off to the Justice of the Peace while you are here?”
“While I hate the idea of rushing this, I also don’t want to wait. I’ve waited so long for you, and I know it’s half my fault we had to wait this long.” He sighed, and then an odd look came over his face. “My mother will kill me if we don’t at least tell her prior to marrying. She will also have some very strong opinions about said wedding. We may need to run away to a foreign land for a few years to hide from her should we get hitched without her prior knowledge of the event.”
That had her giggling and she shrugged. “As long as we tell her, I think she will be okay with it. I think that the sooner we do the better. That way when you go on your trip, you will know you will be coming home to your wife, not your girlfriend. That might motivate you to hurry home to me?”
“Fiancée,” he said softly. “But you are right. I think we should get married prior to my departure. I like the idea of knowing you have the family there for you should you need it while I’m away. One thing you may be assured about, I will be rushing home to you no matter what your title is, Ms. Davidson.”
“Good.” She grinned and then said, “Oh crap. That means that your mom will be coming to the diner even more than she does now and she will be invading my life too.” She loved Theresa Carver, but the woman was seriously terrifying at times.
“You still sure about marrying me, sweetheart?” he asked softly. Rubbing his fingers over her arm, he brushed a kiss to her lips. He rolled them to their sides, his arms wrapped tight around her, and he stroked his fingers over her spine. “Not many are brave enough, or willing to face down with Mama Carver.”
“Yes, I’m very sure.” Eli laughed. “I love your mom. I really do, and even though she’s mildly terrifying, I’m willing to deal with anything at all in order to be yours for the rest of time.” She would face down an army of Theresa Carvers in order to be his.
“Mildly. Did you really just use the term mildly in regards to my mother?” he asked, his eyes going wide. “Woman, where the hell have you been living for the last thirty years? Theresa Carver is in no way mild about anything. The woman is a force to be reckoned with, and one to bow before. If she were a storm ravaging the state, we’d all be advised to kiss our asses goodbye and bid farewell to our loved ones. That woman does not know the meaning of ‘mild.’”
Eli began to laugh. She couldn’t help it. She moved in so that she could hug him once more and then rubbed a cheek to his shoulder. “You are too good to me, Frank. And yes, I used the word mildly in reference to your momma. I know, I’m a weirdo, right?” His mother was anything but mild.
“You are amazing,” he said. Squeezing her closer to him, he pressed a kiss to her hair. “I love you, Eli. You are brave, and perhaps a slightly foolish woman for not taking the threat that is my mother seriously. But that is all right, I will watch over you and ensure you come to no harm from the fearsome dragon she turns into.”
“Good.” Eli petted Frank, content to be close to him. “You know she only means well, right? Your mom. She isn’t trying to be mean or anything like that. She’s just trying to ensure that you are happy. You do know that, right?”
“I know, love,” he said. Sighing, he pressed a kiss to her lips. “I only wish she didn’t go about it quite the way she does. A bulldozer doing a three-point turn in a china shop has more grace than she does when she’s fixated upon something. She’s been trying to get me married off since I turned thirty. Apparently, I’m over the hill now, and will make some poor woman an abysmal match because I’ve been on my own so long and have become too set in my ways.”
“You are so not over the hill!” Eli defended him. “At all. Seriously, you are in the prime of your life. You are fit, intriguing, and amazing, so don’t even go there. I mean it. You are seriously sexy, darling, and I can’t wait to have the rest of our lives together.”
“Eli, sweetheart, I never once said I believed it. I happen to agree with you completely. I’m just giving you some fair warning as to what may be topics of conversations you will be having with the soon-to-be mother-in-law. She’ll test you to see if you will defend me no matter what she throws your way. About the time you’re planning where to dump her lifeless body is when she’ll let you in on the fact that she was merely making sure. Do not fall for her test,” he warned.
“Oh God, I more than likely will fail it.” She snorted. “Just promise me that if I hogtie your mom you will still love me?” She hoped that it didn’t come to that, hoped that his mom didn’t try to make him out to be some old man or something, because Eli wasn’t so sure that she would be able to contain herself if she did.
“Elizabeth, if you hogtie my mother, I am damn well taking a photo and posting it on every social media site under the sun. Hell, my brothers would all be there to help you with your victory lap. You also won’t fail. Remember the fact she will try to get under your skin, make you hot, and make you mad. Remember that I love you, will always love you, and will be by your side the entire time no matter what she says to get me out of the room for your talk.”
That had her all but melting. She smiled and gave him another hug. “Good,” was all that she could say. “Just knowing that you love me is more than enough for me. Now, weren’t we going to sleep for a bit?”
“Yes, because you unfortunately have somewhere to be in the morning.” He adjusted the covers, tugged a pillow under his head, and wrapped her in his arms. With a kiss to her lips, Frank tucked her head against his chest. “Sleep well, Eli.”
“Sleep well, Frank.” Eli yawned once more and she was soon slipping off into sleep.
Chapter Four
The next day started lazily. Frank made slow love to her to wake her up. After that, though, it was a mad dash to get ready to head out the door for the day. He didn’t exactly help Eli in her endeavors. He was a little more interested in trying to talk her into staying home.
Eventually, they did make it out of the house, and miracle of all miracles, she made it to work on time. Barely.
Once she was safely ensconced at the diner with her four bodyguards outside, Frank had headed off. He’d told her he was going out to Carver Ranch to let his mother know of their plans to marry, and to grab his stuff. He was going to move in with her that very night. Not that she had a lot of time to consider it all. The diner was stuffed to the rafters the entire day. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear that the townsfolk were all there waiting for something.
This continued on for almost a week. And no one was giving her any answers.
Then it happened on day five of Frank living with her, and loving her. His mother walked into the diner, and everyone in there held their breaths as the woman walked up to the counter, took the offered seat, and gave Eli a smile. “A coffee, if you don’t mind, dear. When you have a moment, of course.”
A pin could have been heard dropping a mile away given the nearly deafening silence inside the diner. All eyes turned to Elizabeth, and everyone waited.
Eli turned, poured Theresa Carver a cup of coffee, and watched her. Oh crap. She hadn’t talked to this woman in likely two years, and now she was sitting there in her diner. “How are you doing today, Mrs. Carver?” she asked with a smile. It was easy to smile around Theresa Carver. She was actually a wonderful woman, even when she was scaring the bejesus out of you.
“Quite well, dear. And you can call me Theresa, or Mama, whichever you are most comfortable with.” She turned a look on the occupants of the diner, who all suddenly turned their attention to other things, and then leaned in slightly. “You’d think they’ve never seen a woman talking to her future daughter-in-law before.”
Eli blushed and nodded. “So Frank talked to you?” Well that was a big ol’ duh moment right there! Of course he had or she wouldn’t be there right now. “And I think that Mama will be good, if you don’t mind?” Eli missed her mom terribly. Mrs. Davidson had adopted Eli into her home and gave her such love as she grew up.
She missed not having a mom in her life and hoped that Theresa Carver could fill that void.
“I wouldn’t have offered if I minded in the least, sweetheart. Yes, Frank did come by the ranch to tell me the wonderful news. The reason I’m here is to invite both of you out tonight to dinner, just the three of us. I think we need to get to know one another again, and see what ideas you might like to have incorporated for the post-wedding party I’m putting together for the folks of Massey. That is, of course, if you don’t already have plans.”
Eli’s eyes were wide and she shook her head, albeit a little dumbly. “No, no plans.” She couldn’t breathe. Good lord, love a duck, this woman was planning a party for after the wedding? She had known that Frank had talked to his mother, but she hadn’t expected the woman to want to throw them a party. “You do know that Frank is going to be gone for an unknown amount of time soon, right? So you won’t be able to put a date on the party. Are you okay with that?”
“I know that,” Theresa said with a smile. “This party is for right after you two are married. As in the same day, dear. Did Frank not tell you anything about this?” she asked with a frown.
“No.” She frowned. “I’m so going to beat him. Did he tell you when we were getting married?” She hadn’t talked to him about that. They knew that they wanted to do it at the JoP, but that’s all she knew at this point.
“Oh dear, well then that would be my bad. I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I truly thought he’d talked to you about this, and you’d both discussed it. He’s been so busy with Brant of late and whatever the hell they are working on I fear he may have put it to the side for the time. He has it all planned for three days from now.” Theresa said the last part quietly.
“That’s okay.” Eli reached out and touched Theresa’s hand. “He has been very busy. I feel so bad for him. He’s trying to keep the entire world safe and forgetting that he has to keep himself safe as well.”