by Maggie Way
From across the room, Elle heard Jonas giving Gage grief about not calling sooner. Seeing as it was Friday, they set a meeting for the following week. She spun, leaned her butt on the counter and watched. While he talked, a fire grew in Gage’s eyes as he trailed them along her form, taking in the cut-off jeans shorts and royal blue tank top she’d put on as soon as she’d arrived home. A shiver swept through her, his gaze as real as a feather-light touch on her skin.
When Gage hung up, he pushed his chair back and patted his knee, beckoning Elle over to him. Happiness sizzled under her skin when she sat on his lap. He settled one hand on her thigh, curling his fingers inward, and cupped her nape with his other. He held her gaze, his blue eyes hot and steady as he drew her close. Nuzzling her neck, he licked up to the hollow beneath her ear. Desire zipped through her as he nibbled her jaw, leading to her mouth.
He touched his lips to hers, a quick brush. Then came back for another taste. And another. He probed his tongue past her teeth, licked along hers. The kiss flowed from sweet and warm to boiling and needy. Like a river in spring, hard, fast, bubbling with emotion.
He released her lips. “Sorry, baby. I know I stink. But I wanted to get my hands on you. Feels like I’ve been in a drought and you’re a long, cool drink of water.”
“Don’t mind at all, honey. Just happy to have you back. I’ve missed you.” It had been a long, hard month where Gage hadn’t really initiated their love-making. Heat blossomed between her legs under his attention. “But you do need a shower. I could soap your back.” She cupped his cheek and drew her tongue around the rim of his lips.
He shifted a hand under her thighs, dropped his other arm around her shoulder and rose from the chair. Elle squeezed her arms around his neck, nuzzling the soft skin.
Sigmund jumped to his feet.
Gage ordered, “Pillow.”
Dutifully, Sig trotted to the dog bed near the sliding glass door. He turned a half circle on the cushion, then settled, resting his head on his crossed front paws. Gage took the steps to their upstairs bath two at a time. Walking through the door, kicking it shut behind them, he captured her lips again.
Without releasing her mouth, Gage twisted the tap to hot. He dropped her onto the vanity, then stepped between her legs, his arousal pressing into her thigh. His hands roamed her body. He tangled his fingers in her tank and lifted the fabric over her head. She jerked his shirt up, tonguing his salty skin as she swept the top free of his head. Gage stepped back and toed his sneakers off.
Steam filled the bathroom as the water heated, matching the desire between them. He eased her off the vanity. Fingers digging into her muscles, he scooped the fabric over her hips. Waves of need swept through her as he trailed the pads of his fingers down her legs and pushed the material down. He nuzzled the tender skin behind her knees as he helped her step free. A firm, sure arousal strained the elastic of his running shorts as he rose. He shoved the pants to the ground.
Turning her, he crowded against her back, the delicious ridge of his erection lying heavy against her butt. He nudged her into the confines of the shower. The metal hooks on the shower curtain rattled against the rod as Gage swept them shut. Hot water cascading over her shoulders was a shivery contrast to the cool tiled wall. Pressed against her, he held her in place, his chest to her breasts, hips to belly. Mouth to mouth.
Lifting her legs, he helped her wrap them around his waist and slid home, filling and stretching her. Making her complete. The friction between their bodies escalated desire and need, until Elle was a bundle of nerves, waiting to fire off. Lifting her chin, she lolled her head back to the wall as he moved slowly in and out, a sinuous roll of his hips, an answering clench of her muscles.
He groaned words of love into her ear, his breath tickling her cheek. Water ran in rivulets between them as he moved within her. Pleasure circled her spine, lifting through her belly and chest. All her muscles tightened as she climaxed first, and he followed shortly after.
He rocked his hips a final time, then, sucking the tendons in her neck, pulled free of her body. Unlocking her ankles, she lowered her legs until her feet touched ground again. Tremors in her knees made standing difficult. She clung to his shoulders, steadying herself.
As though he sensed her weakness, Gage pressed his body tight against her, holding her in place and upright. He trailed his knuckles from her hip, up her ribcage and molded his hand around her breast. She released a sigh as she felt his mood slide to sated and relaxed.
Gage nipped the spot where her neck became her shoulder and a delicious shudder swept through her frame. He licked the sting away. “So damn good to be home.”
She knew he wasn’t talking about the physical location of their house. Happiness fizzed under her skin as she took in his true meaning. At home in his body. Home with his emotions. Home in their love. He’d made progress in the past week. But the road in front of him was still long, and most likely uphill.
“Aw, baby. You tensed up.” He lifted his head and touched her cheek with a fingertip. “You’ve been amazing through all of my shit. I’d be huddled in a corner somewhere without you.”
“I wanted you better by the wedding. But maybe I’m asking too much.” Defeat tried to muscle determination aside. Three weeks wasn’t enough time to make a miracle happen.
“I won’t be perfect by the fourteenth. Hell, I’ll never be perfect. But don’t you quit on me now,” he chided, a wry smile on his face. “This time last week, I was a morose son of a bitch. Look at me now.”
That earned him a laugh. “Now you’re just a slightly less morose SOB. And you still stink.”
He sniffed his pits then grinned. “Really? Because I thought that aroma was happy, satisfied male.”
His chuckle wrapped around her spine, stroked along her nerve endings like a cloud, then settled on her heart.
“You finish your shower. I’ll go fix dinner.” She pushed his shoulders, easing him back from her frame.
“Baby?” The emotion in his voice snagged her attention before she could step from the tub. “Thank you for sticking with me. Do you think you love me enough to make grilled cheese and tomato soup?”
She pressed her fingertips to his lips with a nod and smiled. Comfort food. “Yeah, honey. You got it.”
“On my way home from my run with your dad, I called Emily.” Gage dropped the casual comment thirty minutes later. The clean, brisk smell of his shampoo wafted to her nostrils as she ruffled his still damp hair on her way back to the stove. “Sigmund and I are meeting her on Wednesday.”
Sigmund lifted his head from his pillow at the sound of his name, ears perked forward, head tipped to the side. When he didn’t hear any other commands, he laid back down.
Before she responded, she ladled heated tomato bisque from the pan. She set a bowl on his placemat, and one on hers. “I thought training was done?” Her chair legs scratched the tile as she slid it away from the table and dropped onto it.
“This was an extra session I asked for.” Gage rested his forearm on the table and tapped his thumb on the plate holding his grilled cheese. “She agreed to work with me on going into the mine. I’m meeting with Jonas on Thursday and can’t afford to fuck it up.”
It was a brave step. One Elle knew he wouldn’t have been able to take two weeks ago. She knew his lack of income if he wasn’t able to return to work had been one of the triggers for his nightmares. Nothing set off a panic attack faster than his fear for their financial future. She melted as she witnessed the resolve on his face.
“I’m proud of you, honey.”
He smiled. “I’m a little proud of me, too. But we should wait to see how I do on Wednesday. Elle, I’d really like you to be there. Your dad is coming. I can use all the support I can get.” He reached across the table and grasped her hand, linking their fingers together.
The tension in his grip was unmistakable. “Of course I’ll go.”
“And I’ll go with you to talk to the caterer on Tuesday.”
&nb
sp; Whoa! Her gaze flew to his. She saw sincerity in his baby blues. Until now, he hadn’t expressed any interest in the wedding plans so far. Whenever she’d asked him to go to an appointment with her, he’d shrugged, or begged off. She’d wondered if the only reason he’d agreed to see the photographer earlier in the day was because of his scheduled run with her dad immediately after the meeting.
“Are you sure?” she asked timidly, afraid he’d change his mind.
“Yeah. We’re both getting married. I haven’t been very helpful with the planning, but that’s gonna change, baby. I’m here for you the way you’ve been here for me.”
“Oh, Gage.” Elle popped up from her chair, rounded the table and dropped into his lap. “You’re making me so happy.”
Sigmund woofed quietly from the corner.
Gage skimmed his thumb under her right eye. He kissed the same spot, then drew away, holding her gaze. “I still can’t believe my luck. I have the woman of my dreams on my lap, sticking by me through thick and thin. You’re one in a million, Elle.”
“We’re a force to be reckoned with, for sure.” She pressed her palms to his cheeks, her heart thumping wildly in her chest. “Three weeks, buddy. Then you’re mine forever.”
“Forever.”
Chapter Nine
Gage had run with Bill twice since their first jogging session. They’d hit the trail on Monday and discussed Gage’s most recent nightmare, the one he’d had on Saturday night. It was similar to the others, but different somehow. Not as chilling. Even as the rubble collapsed around him in the bad dream, it had seemed lighter, quieter. Sigmund had woken him with a lick on his cheek and Gage had slogged to the surface of consciousness, less winded, his heart hammering, but not as wildly. Gage had told Bill how thrilled he was to feel less gripped by terror upon awakening.
Monday night, he’d gone to the team meeting at The Reading Room. His time with the guys had been eye-opening as to how far he’d progressed from the day he’d landed in Denver.
Logan had introduced him to all the guys. “Gage has been my partner in crime since high school. He was the star of the baseball team. Gonna be great for our team.”
“I know you. You work for Streetler, don’t you?” Bucky, the team captain asked. “I work underground there. Seen you a couple times.”
“Yeah. I’m meeting with Jonas in a couple days to figure out when I can get back to work.”
“Heard some talk about that.” Bucky lifted his frosty glass to his mouth and took a long swallow. He swiped the back of his fist over his lips. “You were deployed? Heard some bad shit went down there. Every miner’s nightmare. You shaky about going below ground?”
Gage clenched a fist and rubbed it over his thigh.
“Jesus, Bucky!” Logan punched the big man’s shoulder, and not gently. “What the hell kind of question is that to ask? We’re here to talk ball, not work shit.” Logan’s brow knitted together, accentuating the widow’s peak on his hairline.
“It’s okay, Logan.” Gage appreciated his friend’s attempt to divert the attention from him. He’d known the topic couldn’t be avoided. Squaring his shoulder, he pinned his stare on Buck. “Be stupid not to be. Working through it, though. Should be good to go pretty quick.” He knew he’d uttered the truth as soon as the words spilled from his lips.
Bucky clinked his glass against Gage’s. “It’ll be good to have you back. The youngster who’s been filling in for you seems to only have shit behind his ears.”
And just like that, the topic was closed. Bucky entertained everyone with stories of his replacement’s terror over a rat that had scurried across his foot one day. The talk turned toward the team stuff, and Logan presented him with a team jersey.
On Tuesday, he and Bill ran the riverfront trail. Their talk had turned to the best way to contact the families of the men who hadn’t survived the bombing. It wasn’t required of him. He’d been honorably discharged and the Army had taken care of reaching out to the families. If you could call it reaching out when the base commander and the Army chaplain showed up at their door for a kick-in-the-gut, destroy-their-fucking-world visit.
But Gage was the last link to their sons and husbands before they’d died. He knew what their final laughs had been about. Knew their nicknames. Had witnessed them looking at pictures of their loved ones before they’d exited the Humvee that had delivered them to the danger zone. Gage was the only man alive who’d shared their final moments.
Bill had several suggestions on how to make the conversations easier. When they’d finished their run, he’d also proudly shared that he was only two pounds away from his goal weight. He’d be looking fine in a tuxedo as he escorted Elle through the meadow to the makeshift altar.
Wednesday morning the sun crowned the mountain in pinks, oranges and purples. Gage left the warmth of Elle’s body and their bed, and took Sigmund out for a jog. For once, he enjoyed the run—didn’t look at it as a method of escape from gloomy thoughts, or the devils born from his experience in Iraq. He had Bon Jovi crooning in his ears, and Sig keeping up with his long, easy strides. They went one and a half miles out around the neighborhood, then back. He’d barely broken a sweat with this morning’s run. Elle was still sleeping when he let himself back into the house. When he’d finished a quick shower, he strode back into their bedroom wearing only his towel. Lust speared through him when he’d found her propped on pillows against the headboard wearing even less. Just a sultry smile on her lips, and an invitation in her eyes. He’d crawled between the sheets and settled happily between her thighs.
Now, the sun dappled through the trees as they drove to the spot Emily had arranged for today’s training session. The SUV bounced along the rutted road. Elle drove and kept his hand clutched in hers, resting them on the center console.
“Nervous?” A squeeze of her hand accompanied Elle’s question.
He focused on keeping his breath steady…reminding himself he’d spent a good portion of his working life entering mines to inspect framework, excavations, and new support construction thousands of feet below the surface.
“Yeah, baby. Real nervous.” He could do this. Today wasn’t going to be a set-back. Today, he was going to conquer anxiety and reclaim his life.
“You’ll be great. You didn’t have a bad dream last night. Do you feel rested?”
“Not really.” At her distressed sound, he looked out the window to hide his smirk. “Your snoring kept me awake.”
She screeched, the sound bouncing off the windshield. “I don’t snore.”
“Baby, you do. But it’s cute. Maybe more of a snuffle than a snore.”
“Gage Cassidy,” she scolded, but her tone was playful. “You snore. Sound like a buzz saw chewing through a hundred-year-old oak tree.”
“Uh-uh.” Their teasing banter calmed the nerves doing a slow boil under his skin.
“The neighbors down the block sent me an email this morning. Asked could we please sleep with our windows closed as your racket was keeping them awake.”
“I think they’re mistaking your shrieks of passion for snoring.” Gage’s cock twitched in his jeans.
Elle’s breath shortened and her knuckles on the steering wheel went white. “Gage,” she whispered.
A quick glance at the dashboard clock shut down all ideas of telling her to pull off the side of the road and park for thirty minutes or so. Once they got through this training, he was going to break the speed limit getting them back to their house, and her into their bed. They might not even make it that far. He knew of at least one secluded old logging road on the return route.
Elle navigated into the parking lot of another of the Mesa’s shut-down mines. One of Emily’s clients was the caretaker and had agreed to meet them and give them access for this particular exercise. Gage recognized the grizzled old man waiting with Emily. They stood in front of a clapboard structure built into the side of the mountain. A cool breeze brushed Gage’s skin as he pushed out of the passenger seat.
The s
hack at the entrance to the mine hid a gaping black hole leading to the depths of the Earth. This mine had closed less than a year ago, and security here was tighter. Gage knew the elevator and all the remaining equipment were in working order.
With his heart kicking a rat-a-tat-tat beat against his ribs, Gage rounded the back of Elle’s SUV to free Sigmund from his transportation crate. The dog nosed under Gage’s chin, then butted against his gut. The act of rubbing his hands over the animal’s fur helped soothe the strain building in Gage’s chest.
Bill was on his phone in his Cadillac, parked two spaces away. Gage leaned against Elle’s front grill and waited for him, while Elle moved toward Emily. Sigmund licked Gage’s hand, then dropped to his haunches beside him, waiting for the show to begin. It was like the animal knew he was going to be called on in a big way.
Bill alighted from his car, pocketing his phone and his keys. He eased against Elle’s bumper, crossed his arms and studied the mine’s entrance. “Doesn’t look so intimidating, does it?”
Lifting one shoulder, Gage grunted. “Not like that. Just wait until you get beyond that door. You ever been down a mine?” He rotated his head to look at Bill.
“Can’t say as I’ve had the pleasure.” Bill shook his head. “I have great respect for the brave souls going to work each day.”
“Let’s reserve the brave label until after this excursion is over.” Gage snorted. “I’ll be honest. I think the meeting with the caterer yesterday took more guts than today’s adventure will.”
Bill fist-bumped him with a laugh. “Keep that attitude. You’ll do fine. Ready?” He straightened away from the vehicle.
No. “Yeah.” Gage’s footsteps were weighted and sluggish as he followed behind Bill.