by Jillian Neal
“All right, here’s what I need.” He jerked the chair out from his desk and reseated himself. “I’m extremely concerned, at this point, about anyone involved with any of my Iodex officers.”
“I urge both of you to watch Miss Haydenshire and Miss Parker like hawks when they aren’t at work. Bridgette says that Interfeci members are now refusing to sit at her tables. She’s picked up on quite a bit as she’s been waitressing, but none of it is good. I’m due to fly to Berlin Thanksgiving night for Pendergrath’s new trial.” He rolled his eyes. “So, I’m going to make my customary appearance at my mother’s dining room table, endure her relentless meddling into my life about why I’m not married or dating anyone, and her incessant reminders that I’m not getting any younger. While my sisters argue with their half-wit husbands and my niece and nephew drive me insane, and we all wait to see who Lindley shows up with. It will be whatever hook-up she thinks will infuriate my father the most.”
Rainer furrowed his brow, and wondered momentarily why Vindico’s mother would be under the impression that he wasn’t dating anyone. With sudden realization, Rainer knew that Bridgette was definitely not the kind of girl you took home to meet your mother.
“But since I’ll be out of the country until Saturday to attempt to keep a murderer in prison, I’m going to need someone to keep an eye on Bridgette. I’m certain you know that the work she’s doing for us is rather dangerous. I need the information she’s providing us. So, the Crown Governor’s wife,” he narrowed his eyes, “has offered to let her stay at the farm until I return.”
“As annoying as that is and she is, I would prefer she be taken to work and picked up from work by an officer, and that she be guarded while I’m gone. Obviously, be discreet; I can’t take another innocent life being lost on my account. So, you two will be spending Thursday and Friday night at the farmhouse as well,” he informed Rainer and Logan, daring them to argue.
Horrifying images of Bridgette staying at the farmhouse with Emily swirled through Rainer’s mind. His stomach churned uncomfortably. He knew perfectly well that they couldn’t argue. They were being punished for not spilling the goods on Fergus, so they nodded their defeat.
“You can go,” Vindico commanded. They traipsed dejectedly out of the office. “Lawson,” he called, and Rainer turned back.
“I do hope you and Miss Haydenshire have a nice homecoming,” he stated sincerely.
“Thanks,” Rainer sighed before making his exit.
“Well, that should be fun to try to explain to Adeline,” Logan huffed.
“Yeah, would it be bad to tell Em that...say, tomorrow?”
Logan chuckled. “I say it’s ok, but I gave up trying to reason with my sister ages ago.”
Quickly deciding that he wanted to have just one night with Emily before the world intruded yet again, Rainer determined that he wouldn’t bring up their new Thanksgiving arrangements until the next day.
He tried to focus on Pendergrath’s trial, but it proved tedious, and Logan seemed equally distracted. “So, Adeline wants to keep the Accord, and for me to get a new car.”
Rainer wasn’t surprised. That sounded just like something Adeline would offer.
“She’s really insistent,” Logan added, “so I was thinking maybe I’d get a truck.”
Rainer glanced at his watch for the fifth time in a ten-minute period.
“I’ll call Sam for you, if you want,” he offered.
“Nah, I’ve been talking to him,” Logan informed Rainer, but then grimaced like he shouldn’t have admitted that.
“Oh, ok.” Rainer studied his best friend. Something was up.
“We can leave in a little while. You wanna grab some lunch on the way home?” Logan changed the subject abruptly.
“Yeah sure,” Rainer agreed. He was still curious about what Logan was trying to cover up, but thoughts of Emily held his attention with much more ease.
His cell rang on his desk, and he answered it quickly. “Hey, baby. You ok?” he checked his watch again, and prayed that she was calling from the Angels jet and that they hadn’t been delayed for some reason.
“Yeah, I’m ok. I can’t wait to get there!” Delight rang in Emily’s voice. “We’re on our way!”
His heart found a regulated beat. “I can’t wait either,” he admitted.
“Uh, they said the weather there is really bad,” fear replaced her delight. “Anyway, they redirected us to Ronald Reagan instead of the Arena. We’ll be landing there at three.”
* * *
By two, Rainer was restless. He stalked around the house, arguing with himself as he tried to determine if it was too early to leave for the airport.
Logan and Adeline had packed for their weekend at the bed and breakfast and asked Rainer to tell Emily they missed her, before they’d left a few minutes before.
While anxiously pacing in the living room, Rainer came up with an excuse to leave. If he continued to stay in the house, he was going to drive himself insane. He decided that, since it was still storming, traffic would be bad. He grabbed an umbrella and moved quickly to the Hummer.
On the way, he allowed the dozens of dizzying fantasies he’d been fighting to keep at bay through the barriers erected in his mind. They began to play out in his head.
By the time he pulled into the Ronald Reagan parking lot, every nerve-ending in his body was on high alert. This time, Rainer parked as close as he possibly could to the airport itself. He shut down all thoughts of what had happened the last time he’d been there. He focused on the fact that, in a matter of minutes, he would have the very reason for his existence back in his arms.
He pulled his jacket tighter around him and opened the umbrella. He fought the driving rain as he raced in the sprawling building. People were everywhere. Non-Gifted flights had been delayed because of the weather, and utter chaos had ensued.
With a careful study of the screens displaying flight times, he noted that the Angels jet was due in on time but was being landed without a gate.
Rainer grimaced and began moving towards the Gifted gates. He knew that Emily would be thoroughly irritated with the fact that she was going to have to run through the rain to get into the airport. The gates were backed up with the Non-Gifted flights that were arriving late.
He was too nervous to sit as flights arrived and taxied away. Rainer checked his watch constantly. The Haydenshires arrived a few minutes later; they’d left the twins at home with Nana and Pops due to the weather. Connor arrived with flowers for Katie, and tried to talk about new cars, but Rainer was too anxious to be much of a conversationalist.
Governor Haydenshire insisted that Mrs. Haydenshire sit, though she kept up steady reassurances that she and the baby were fine.
Another moment later, Rainer saw the Angels plane with the pin-up style artwork of Angels painted on the sides touch down on the rear runway that had no connector to the airport. “The Alluring Angels of Summation” was scrawled on the belly of the plane.
Rainer smiled. His heart leapt as he moved towards the door the Angels would be escorted through.
“You seem a little anxious,” Governor Haydenshire teased.
“I really missed her,” he didn’t point out the details of what exactly he’d missed most to his future father-in-law.
“I know, son,” Governor Haydenshire slapped him on the back and eased Rainer away from Mrs. Haydenshire. “And I know Lillian was insistent about that welcome home party. I’m glad Emily turned her down. She tends to get a little… forgetful, let’s say, during this stage of her pregnancies.” He clearly didn’t want to say anything negative about Mrs. Haydenshire.
Rainer grinned and nodded his understanding. He was extremely appreciative that the Governor wasn’t upset that they wouldn’t be coming over that evening.
“I can’t believe they’re making them run through the rain,” Rainer huffed as he watched the pilots and coolant officers descend down the steps off of the plane and into the deluge.
“Well
, for all of the hell we’ve put the Non-gifted people through, our flights being moved off of the usual runways doesn’t seem like too much to ask,” Governor Haydenshire reminded Rainer.
While supposing that he agreed, Rainer continued to watch, and then, there she was. She took his breath away. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She held her hands over her face to shield her eyes from the pouring water. She shivered; her clothes clung to her curves, soaked with freezing water. Rainer’s heart ached as she began to sprint towards the airport.
A moment later, she’d followed the rest of the Angels through the drenching rain and into the airport. Everything and everyone else faded away as she flew into Rainer’s arms. He wrapped her up and devoured her mouth with his own.
Suddenly, he felt whole again, like a part of him had been missing, like he’d been in a pain so constant he wasn’t fully aware of it until it was gone.
He’d never tasted anything sweeter as he continued to lave her mouth. He lifted her up in the exuberance of his embrace. She was his lifeline. Nothing else even mattered without her there. The very air he breathed seemed unnecessary unless she was beside him.
She was soaked thoroughly and, as she finally pulled away from him, he realized that the water had caused her shirt to become quite see-through.
Though he longed to see her in nothing at all, he realized that everything he considered to be his and his alone was on display. He pulled his coat off and zipped it around her. Governor Haydenshire seemed very pleased with the gesture as he hugged Emily.
She hugged her mother and brother, but she kept her gaze firmly locked on Rainer. He studied her closely as she embraced her family and bid her teammates good-bye. She looked exhausted. Her hair clung to her face and back. It was drenched with water, but he was certain he’d never seen anything more beautiful.
Rainer wanted desperately to take her home. He wanted her so badly; a fierce pain only she could tend consumed him. He wanted to undress her, to bathe her, and to wrap her up in the heat they created when they were together.
She moved back to him and laid her head on his shoulder. She buried her face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her protectively. He kissed the top of her wet head as he cradled her. Exhausted tears threatened her eyes.
“Let’s go home, baby.”
Relief smoothed over her tense features.
“Now, are you sure you don’t want us to bring some dinner over?” Mrs. Haydenshire offered again. She looked concerned. Governor Haydenshire shook his head and offered Rainer an apologetic glance.
“Lillian, I feel certain that Rainer will take care of Emily,” he stated firmly.
“Wow, Daddy,” Emily teased, just as shocked by her father’s declaration as Rainer was. Governor Haydenshire chuckled as he reached back to take Emily’s hand. He effectively pulled her away from Rainer.
“I’m trying,” Governor Haydenshire stated wryly as Rainer listened to Emily laugh. The sound soothed his soul. As Emily released his hand and returned to Rainer, her father glanced back at her wistfully.
Rainer knew, in that moment, that her father didn’t see his twenty-year-old daughter pulled snuggly under her adoring fiancé’s embrace. He saw his baby girl letting go of his hand and walking away from him.
“He better, anyway,” Governor Haydenshire threatened.
“Always,” Rainer vowed. He squeezed Emily’s hand. He was worried about the fact that she was still shivering from being so drenched, despite being in his coat.
As he considered that he was about to take her back out into the freezing winds and rain, he halted.
“Here, baby, stay with your parents. I’ll pull the car around.”
“No,” she fussed insistently. Rainer wished she wouldn’t show her stubborn side right at that moment, but he knew better than to argue. “I got to see you for only one night over the past three weeks. I’m not letting go of you until Christmas.”
Rainer chuckled and kissed her forehead.
He popped open the umbrella, and pointed out the Hummer in the nearest lot so Emily would know which direction to run. He carried her large suitcases, and held the umbrella over her as he rushed her to the car. He threw her luggage in the back and ran through the now standing water to get in the driver’s seat.
While cranking the car and turning on the heat as high as it would blow, he summoned and raised the temperature. Her teeth chattered, and his heart ached. She was too tired to raise her own body temperature much.
Rainer tried to add to the ambient temperature of the Hummer as he backed out, but driving through the pouring rain required most of his attention.
“I’m so glad to be home. I missed my Hummer,” Emily gushed as her teeth finally quieted enough for her to speak.
Rainer laughed and squeezed her thigh. “It missed you too, baby.”
She was quiet for a few minutes as Rainer made his way back to the interstate. He was barely able to see in front of him. Thunder clapped, and Emily shuddered.
“I’m getting you home as quick as I can, baby.”
She nodded and gave him his grin. His heart raced as it formed on her face.
“I know.” She pulled his coat tighter around her, still unable to get warm. Her clothes were just too wet.
Rainer leaned toward the back seat and produced the flannel blanket he kept in the Hummer.
“Ok, I don’t mean this as dirty as it’s going to sound, and I will really try to keep my eyes on the road, though I make no promises, but why don’t you take that shirt off and cover up, sweetheart? I’m worried you’re going to turn blue in a minute.”
Emily giggled sweetly and shook her head.
“I can’t get naked for you yet,” she sassed. The ache in his groin throbbed in his disapproval. He let images of her naked body writhing under his swirl rapidly in his mind as he tried to soothe the hunger.
He drew a steadying breath. “Ok, but it’s either now or about two seconds after I get you in the house,” he teased just to hear her delighted laughter again.
With another convulsive shiver, Emily added the blanket to the jacket. She swathed it around her as Rainer attempted to seal heat in its fibers while flying down the interstate.
Thankful when he spotted the exit for McLean as the windshield wipers threw water off of the windshield forcefully, he exited. A few minutes later, he turned down the two-lane road that led to the farm.
Emily sighed contentedly, even though she continued to shiver.
“I just want you to take me to bed and not get out for about a month,” she declared. Rainer chuckled. That sounded perfect to him.
“Hmm, what should I do with you in bed for a month?” he flirted shamelessly and reveled in her smile.
“You’re not going to want to stay in bed with me for a month,” she goaded with a great deal of her redheaded sass.
Rainer glanced at her incredulously. “Wanna bet, baby?” he challenged, but she shot him a knowing grin that had him curious. “Why wouldn’t I want to stay in bed with you for a month or, hell, a lifetime?”
“We’ll see,” she quipped.
He turned down the gravel lane to their house. His heart picked up rhythm. His longing began to consume him. He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw something as the rear windshield wiper flashed past.
“Em, why are your parents behind us?” he sounded more irritated than he’d intended.
“They’re not staying long, but it has to do with the reason you won’t want to stay in bed with me.” She seemed to be enjoying frustrating him.
“Em, what’s going on?” This wasn’t at all what he wanted.
“Rainer,” she soothed, “you’re not the only one who can pull off a good surprise. I hate that it’s pouring, and, believe me, I want to go in the house and for you to take these soaking wet clothes off of me and to do all of the things I been asking for, but I have something I want you to see first.”
“What?”
At that moment, Rainer no
ted Logan’s Accord back in the driveway, along with Garrett’s Highlander.
“Why are they here?” He was well aware of the fact that he sounded like a spoiled child, but he didn’t care at the moment. Emily giggled.
“Logan was right. You are cranky.”
With that, she summoned and opened the garage door. “This is why they’re here.”
Logan, Garrett, and Adeline were standing in the garage beside a car that Rainer could barely make out in the windshield wipers’ dance. It couldn’t be what he thought he saw.
“What is that?” he asked as he remembered how to turn off the Hummer.
The car was angled sideways in the garage. He couldn’t park the Hummer beside it.
“It’s your new car, if you want it. I haven’t signed the check yet, but that’s all Sam’s waiting on,” she beamed at him adoringly.
“But how did you…?” He was still sitting in the Hummer, not certain what to do next.
“Well, let’s go see it, and then I’ll tell you how I did it.”
Rainer tried to remember that he needed to get her safely into the house before he went to drool over what, he was fairly certain, was sitting in his garage. He grabbed the umbrella and ran to her door. He helped her out, and kept the blanket over her as they raced into the garage.
Rainer’s mouth fell open as he stared at the car in thorough shock.
“Is that? Are you serious?” he gasped as Emily nodded and giggled. “You bought me a….” he stunned. Everyone joined in her laughter.
“Only if you like it. We can take it back to Sam’s tomorrow if you want something different, but I kind of thought it was perfect for you.” She bit her lip nervously.
“If he doesn’t like it, he’s insane,” Logan huffed. “Seriously, man, I just drove it here from Sam’s. Sweet, sweet ride,” he gushed reverently as Rainer moved to the brand-new, not even released to the public, jet-black, Porsche Boxster GTS convertible. He was speechless.
Logan slapped him on the back as Rainer stared at the car in utter disbelief.
“Yeah, I’d say it’s good he’s spent the majority of the last week in the shower.”