“I’ll let you know when I’m ready,” she retorted, and Adam could have kissed her for the smart way she handled the CIA agent.
“One thing you need to know now,” Atchison kept on going. “The elevated cistern behind the manor is how Reagan flooded the basement compartment. He’s done this before. We’ll be dismantling it and checking for DNA evidence. You understand.”
“Take it,” she said evenly. “Sell it to Korea for all I care. You’re the guys with all the foreign contacts.”
Ouch. Atchison actually flinched at that insinuation. After all, it was the CIA’s double agent who’d cheated with the man Shannon believed was her husband at the time. Shannon was in rare form, not taking a single step back. Adam eased her against his body. She had leaned forward during the discussion, but the last thing she needed was to go after this guy like Adam knew damned well she was capable of doing. Atchison needed to back off and give her some space, too. Shannon had learned from the worst to take no prisoners.
“Did he honestly think the North Koreans wouldn’t notice his drones didn’t work?” Alex asked. He’d been uncharacteristically quiet since he’d returned from the manor, but then, he did have his sleeping daughter on his lap and his pretty wife snuggled into his side. Adam envied him his ability to know when to stand back and let others take the fight.
“No, Mr. Stewart. I’m guessing Reagan simply banked on the inherent distrust between our country and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Why would we believe their accusation of Reagan fraud, when we can’t believe a word they say?”
“I thought I took your Agent Gangjeon out in South Dakota,” Adam muttered quietly. “Was I wrong? Was she injured?”
Atchison grunted. “You got her alright. You hit her left shoulder, but that moron Paxton stashed her in a local motel. By the time we got a decent report from her, Reagan already had the missing drone.”
“It would have been helpful if I’d known about your double-agent before I sent my men and Miss Reagan into harm’s way,” Alex growled. “You ever hear of professional courtesy?”
Atchison never blinked. “Maybe next time, Stewart. Maybe next time.”
Another growl rumbled across the room from Lexie’s dad. “There won’t be a son-of-a-bitchin’ next time.”
Shannon twisted to look Adam in the eye. “Did you know Brit had a twin brother?”
He knew what she was really asking. Did you keep secrets from me, too? “Heck, no. I didn’t see that one coming. It didn’t dawn on me the drones were fake, either, not until early this morning when I couldn’t sleep. It was the only thing that made sense. I just needed Terrence’s help to prove it.”
“There’s something I need to tell you, young lady,” Terrence said brightly to Shannon. “Where’s that son of yours?”
She scanned the room, looking for Jimmy. “I think he’s…”
“Here.” Zack Lennox raised a hand high from the huddle where he was surrounded by his daughters. LiLi, Song, and MiKi were perched on the armrests of his La-Z-Boy, hovering like little mothers in training over the sleeping baby boy in their daddy’s arm. “The girls are trying to convince me we need a brother. They might be right. This little guy’s a charmer. I’m starting to believe I need another man in the house.”
“Get your own,” Adam muttered teasingly. “That one’s mine.”
“Aww,” LiLi grumbled in her bossy, oldest sister way. “But Uncle Adam, he’s so cute, and I’d take real good care of him. You know I would. Let me keep him.”
“And he’s just my size.” Song’s bright brown eyes sparkled in the fire’s glow. “Kin we keep him? Please?”
Adam had to smile. Those three little sisters just might get their wish. He’d caught the light in Zack’s eye and the covert glance at his wife, Mei, but he’d also caught the light in Shannon’s eyes. “You’re going to adopt Jimmy,” she stated. Not asked.
“Yes, ma’am. The minute we’re married, I’m making it official.” She bowed her forehead to his lips, and he knew she was close to falling apart. “I told you I love you, woman,” he muttered huskily. “Don’t you get it? You and Squeaks are mine, and you always will be.”
“Whoa!” Izza squealed. She’d been hunkered down with Connor on the couch by the window. “Did I hear the M word? Are you kids getting married?”
That got all the women’s attention. By the time they settled down, Ember was in charge of a ladies luncheon to make wedding plans, Kelsey knew the perfect place to buy Shannon’s wedding gown, and Maverick’s wife, China, had volunteered their farm for an outdoor wedding with all the trimmings. In the midst of the happy turmoil, Terrence climbed to his feet and crouched to one knee at Shannon’s side, his eyes bright with unshed tears.
Adam stilled. This was it, one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments that Shannon’s day had already overflowed with. He flattened his palm to the middle of her back to steady her once again.
“You might as well, know, Shannon. I loved your mother. I did.” Terrence began slowly, his lower lip quivering. “You don’t remember her, but I do, and I loved her with every beat of this old ticker. I wasn’t always this old, you know.” A big tear fell out of his eye when he nodded toward Zack and Jimmy and the Lennox girls. “And I love my grandson over there, too. You should be proud of him.”
“You’re not old, Terrence.” Shannon reached for her friend, cupping his cheek gently. “I wish I could remember my mom. Everyone said she was the kindest person they’d—” She froze. “Your grandson?”
For once, all the children stilled, even Georgie and Little Alex. No one in the Mortimer household so much as crunched a nacho chip. The cat was out of the bag.
“Didn’t you ever wonder why you’re so special to me?” Terrence asked softly, his eyes brimming. “It’s true. You’re my daughter. You belonged to Olivia and me. You’re really our child.”
Shannon fell into her real father’s arms, crying, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Ah, Shannon baby,” he murmured, his nose pressed into her hair and his eyes overflowing. “I’m sorry. I should’ve been brave like your young man here, but I was afraid Paul would’ve hurt you if he’d known for sure. I’d already lost Olivia. I couldn’t bear to lose you, too.”
“But all these years…” She choked, the anguish in her tone incredibly raw and sad. “He killed my mom.”
Poor Terrence cried, “I know. I know, but I could never prove it, baby girl. Believe me, if there was any way I could’ve gotten you out of there and away from him, I would have.”
Damn him, even Agent Atchison teared up at the happy reunion.
At last, Shannon tipped back on her knees and smoothed her fingertips along her real father’s damp cheek. “Tell me about her, Terrence. I want to know everything.”
The tender revelation couldn’t have gone better. Terrence looked like the saddest, happiest man alive cradling his daughter. Shannon’s new life was just beginning. Adam’s too.
“I gotta poop, Daddy,” Georgie stage-whispered.
Harley chuckled at that untimely childhood revelation spoken so eloquently.
Izza snorted, just a little.
Rory outright laughed. Heck. Everyone did.
Kids. You’ve got to love them.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
“Goodnight,” Adam announced to all. “I’m taking some personal time, Boss. Maybe a week.”
It had been a long twenty-four hours. He was beat. So was Shannon. Terrence had already gone home, Agent Atchison and most of the gang, too. Little Alex and Georgie were in bed, and the Mortimer house had settled with the quiet night. Only Alex and Kelsey remained with a slumbering Lexie Rose cuddled on their laps.
“Take two,” Alex said. “You’ve earned it.”
Adam had learned early in his time with The TEAM not to argue with his boss. He collected his sleeping son in one arm and his bride-to-be in the other.
She circled her arms around his waist and tucked her fingers inside his belt at the side of
the crib. “Brit planned to raise our son after he killed me,” she said quietly. “Jimmy would have grown up to be just like him.”
“Bullshit,” Adam hissed softly. “Jimmy’s got more of you in him than of that sperm-donor creep. This little guy would’ve given Paxton a run for his money.”
She chuckled. “I hope so.”
“Count on it. Jimmy’s already beat the odds for preemies born on desert islands. Then he outwitted Linda What’s-her-name and escaped Reagan Manor. Now he’s smart enough to know he’s ready for bed. Look at him. He’s your son through and through.”
“It’s embarrassing,” she said quietly, her eyes on the sleeping child. “Why didn’t I know my husband was really two different men? How dumb am I?”
Adam turned around to face her. “Knock it off, Shannon. You’re not dumb by any means. Paxton and his brother were psychotic bullies who tricked you. How could anyone have seen that coming?”
“But I slept with them. Both of them. And that’s not all. Everyone I ever loved has lied to me.”
“And whose fault is that? Yours? For not being a snake in the grass like they were? Not hardly. Your only fault is seeing the good in people.”
“But still…” She disengaged from his arms and sat on the edge of the bed, tracing a pattern on the comforter with her fingertip, then erasing it with a brush of her palm, all while not looking at him. “Why did Brit and Bart do that to me? What’d they get out of playing that sick game? There wasn’t anything in it for either of them.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. By cheating you, they always had an alibi. They could swear they were with you. Don’t kid yourself. Both Paxton’s had a lot to gain by using you like they did.”
“I honestly never thought of that.” The weariness of the day had gotten the best of her.
“Of course not. Your thought process doesn’t work like Paxton’s or Reagan’s. You’re honest. The real question is how did you turn out to be so innocent? How’d you avoid growing up like your old man all these years?”
She shrugged. “It was easy. He never had much time for me, and it’s not like Brit did either. I used to feel sorry for myself because other girls had daddy/daughter dates. They went on fun things like family picnics. They celebrated anniversaries and birthdays. Christmas.” She seemed especially intent on tracing a heart on the comforter, only to smooth it out with one swipe. “But maybe I was the lucky one. Paul Reagan didn’t see me most of these past twenty years, only hen he had to. All that loneliness might have been a blessing in disguise.”
Adam hadn’t thought of all little girl Shannon had missed in her childhood, but he saw it now. She’d lived a fairly sterile life. A sad life. No happy mother to greet her in the kitchen after school with a hug and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. No wise father to teach her how to throw a fastball—or whatever it was that fathers taught little girls. He couldn’t imagine it, not with his big family.
“That’s why you love books,” he said simply. “They give you what you couldn’t find at home. You’ve been escaping Reagan Manor all of your life, haven’t you?”
She nodded, her gaze steadfast on her fingers. “I’m going to ask the police to test the water system in my old home and at the manor. If there’s something there, if anyone put some kind of a hallucinogen or drugs in the water, they should be able to find it, don’t you think? Agent Atchison mentioned coincidences, and I think he’s right.”
“Alex can take care of that for you. You’re talking about those crazy dreams you had, aren’t you? You think Brit drugged you?”
She nodded, still not meeting his eyes. “It’s one possibility. Either that or I’m crazy. I might as well have married an ax murderer, Adam. I’ve certainly lived with plenty of them.”
“You’re not crazy, damn it.” He crowded into her, shifting his legs between her knees to get her attention. “And now you’re marrying a sniper who falls out of the sky for a living. Are you up for it?”
At last she lifted her chin and looked at him. She smiled and had the good grace to blush, but damned if she didn’t run a fingernail up the seam of his zipper and back down again. “Are you up for it?”
Instantly, his body hardened at the touch of this capricious woman. He’d held onto her all night long on the loveseat, but it hadn’t felt as seductive as that one little tease. The fire in his blood raged hot and fierce, and he was amazed how he craved her luscious body, hell, how he craved everything about her. The taste of her lips. The soft touch of her fingers on his belly and sinking lower. How the sound of her breathy sigh vibrated every last vertebrae in his spine and straight to his groin. When her fingers dipped below his belt, he automatically sucked in a deep breath to give her room to reach what she was after. The night was young after all.
Adam kicked off his boots and dispensed with his jeans. Shannon had a good hold of him by then, running the show. Or so she thought. At this rate, she’d never get into that silk nightie.
He eased her back onto the mattress. She might have been duped by a mentally deranged father and an idiot husband, but that day was done. He’d seen the real Shannon in action, first on the beach, then with Paul Reagan and Atchison. The world had another thing coming if they thought she would stand down and let anyone run over her again. Like now. If she didn’t slow down, he couldn’t promise how much longer he could last. A tingle sizzled up his spine. He might just have a tigress by the tail.
“Answer me this, Shannon,” he egged her on, needing her to focus on him and not the sins of the past. For now she lay between his splayed hands, his arms stiff and supporting him while she stroked and played. “Have I ever lied to you?”
A lovely smile blossomed over her face. “Which is why I’m here,” she whispered, her blue eyes dark and hazy. She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, biting it while she continued stroking and petting. “You stuck with me when you should’ve run the other way. You and Raul and Terrence.”
“And Alex and Connor and Izza and… and…” Deftly, he sank to one elbow and maneuvered her out of her clothes, taking in the delectable view while trying to remember everyone who’d come to her aid, but damn. His brain wasn’t working so well any more, not with her bare body spread out like a feast, his for the taking and his blood already running hot. That red thong barely covered anything. He smoothed one palm down her hips to her backside, his fingers sliding between the cheeks of her ass to grab a handful. “Do you always wear sexy underwear to a gun fight?”
She demurred. “Kelsey brought some clothes for me when she same over. Apparently she’s got a fun-loving, trouble-making side. Do you like?”
Hell, yeah, he liked. His heart lurched up his throat. This woman wanted him and he wanted her. Better yet, she loved him. She trusted him and he wouldn’t let her down. He lowered his body to hers and licked her bottom lip, then bit it gently, tugging and teasing it just to hear her moan. That scrap of red silk hit the floor, and they were tangled beneath the sheets.
He let her have her way. Let her play. This woman knew what she wanted. By the time she was through, every last inch of him ached to be inside of her, cocooned in her silky body. He’d never felt so aroused. She had a way of woman-handling him, and he liked it. Every scrape of her fingernails. Every moan and feminine grunt. Every sultry, satisfied lick and sigh.
He gave back as good as he got until, at last, she relinquished control and he took over. Just in time. He shackled her prowling hands over her head and blanketed her with his larger body. “I love you, Shannon,” he declared gruffly at the point of entry, right where her needy whimpers signaled he’d driven her crazy with desire. Right where there was no turning back, no stopping the freight train of passion they’d set rolling.
By then, all she could do was writhe against him and beg, “Adam. Please. I need this. I need you.”
Enough said. He pitched his body forward into the woman he craved with all of his heart and soul. She matched his pace, her body writhing beneath his, driving him higher as she climbe
d with him. And higher.
The first time they’d made love was pure, wanton need at last released. The second, frenzy in the shower. But this? Absolute branding, their bodies melted together in the flames of love. Eternally claiming each other’s souls. He meant her to know she was his, that he would stand by her until the day he died. That he would die for her.
It didn’t take long for her to shatter. He plunged into her delicious, wet warmth for another sigh. Another needy ‘ah.’ Another whining ‘oh.’ One last muffled ‘Adam!’ screamed into her knuckles so she wouldn’t wake the baby. With one last grinding thrust, she dug her fingernails into his back and came apart in his hands and Adam emptied his all into her.
She raked her fingers through his hair, breathing hard, her slender body still clenching his, quaking with after shocks. “That was… that was…” Shannon couldn’t catch her breath, “oh, my God, that was something else. I saw stars, Adam. Really. I did.”
He growled out a deep rumble of utter male pride, thrilled that he’d pleased her. They’d both worked up a sweat. Rolling to her side, he rested his ear to her pounding heart while he caught his breath. She’d pleased the hell out of him too.
Shannon was his past, his present, and his future, his tropical sunrise and his nighttime sky. She was fire and ice with a splash of tequila, the perfect mix of intoxication and determination. Give and take. Love and lust. Her taking the initiative like she just did meant she intended to be his partner. His equal. His mate. Forever. Maybe longer.
“I love you so much,” she whispered into the top of his head, her fingertips seductively light on his chest and edging lower.
A grin cracked his cheeks at this audacious and obviously sex-starved woman, but hey. A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Adam pulled her onto his hips, his fingers clutching her ass, and there she was, straddling him, her sensual body lifted above him, and her eyes wide open. His entire universe. His world. His true Polaris. He traced her pretty jaw with the back of his fingers, and instantly, she rubbed her cheek into his palm like a cat. Maybe that tiger.
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