by Lyn Stone
They stared at each other for a full minute until her eyes began to water. Oh God, she was not going to cry. She turned away.
“This is a hell of a situation, isn’t it? People in love are supposed to be thrilled about it. Here we are drinking to drown our sorrows.” She gulped a swallow and smacked the glass down on the end table. “And it’s not helping!”
Will laughed and sat down beside her, then leaned over and pressed his lips to hers. “I know something that should.”
She lay back, rested her head against the pillows and closed her eyes. “Oh Will, what are we going to do?”
“I think you know. If you don’t, I’ll be glad to surprise you.” He slid his hand upward from where it rested on her waist.
“You know this won’t solve a thing,” she warned.
“It won’t change anything, either,” he told her seriously. “Whether I ever touched you again or not, even if we went our separate ways and never saw each other, I would always feel the way I do now. I’ll love you. I’ll put you first, anyway. So you see, making love to you won’t make any difference as far as that’s concerned. Just accept it, Holly.” His gaze caught hers and held. “Accept me.”
“Oh, for goodness sake, just hold me, will you?” she cried. Really cried, which was something she never did. “Promise you’ll respect me in the morning.”
His shoulders shook with silent laughter. “Holly, what are you talking about? We’ve already made love and you know I have the greatest respect for you.”
“Not because of that,” she said, sniffing. “I didn’t want you to see me…like this. Crying like some stupid little girl.”
“You aren’t stupid by a long shot,” he told her. “And you’re certainly no little girl.” He kissed the tears off her cheeks and tasted salt when he moved to her lips.
Seasoned with happiness and tears. The phrase from some song or other ran through her mind as they kissed. Something soft and sweet about passing years. She longed for years with Will, lots of them.
Holly knew he was right about the love. It was fated or something, unavoidable. She couldn’t pretend to be sorry about that any longer.
She wanted him desperately, more than anything else in her life. Certainly more than any career, great as it was. Later, she would tell him that, assure him that he need not give up anything for her. She would be the one. She wanted to do it. For him, the most unselfish man she had ever met in her life.
All this…mine, she thought, reveling in the feel of his mouth on her skin. His deep-throated hum of pleasure vibrated through her breast, now bare to his touch. Those clever fingers of his worked fast, though he seemed to be taking his time getting down to business.
“Hurry,” she urged, trying to reach between them for his belt.
He took her hand away, pushing it above her head and releasing it. “We have all night,” he growled, his voice still low and dark with desire. “To do this…and this…”
Holly gave herself up to his inventiveness and, man, was he ever creative. “For such a…straightforward guy…you certainly do travel the circuitous route…very well,” she gasped. And shuddered with delight when he touched her with his tongue.
“Lovely landscape it is, too,” he remarked, immediately returning to his travels.
Holly prayed for patience, but blood was singing through her veins, most of it rushing south.
He moved up and over her, entering her slowly, too slowly. When they were fully joined and as close as a man and woman could get, he paused and looked down into her eyes. “Only you, Holly…forever,” he whispered, his hands cradling her face, thumbs brushing the tears away.
“Only you,” she promised. “I love you, Will.”
He moved languidly, drawing out the ecstasy almost to the point of pain for the longest time, until they could bear the delay no longer.
His breath rushed out hard and fast as he thrust deeply, each foray a claim on her very soul. She met him, urging him on, promising him everything she was or ever hoped to be. And his hot smoky gaze never left hers. His dark-fringed eyes, their deep gray irises nearly as dark as the dilated pupils, shone with purpose and promise and pleasure.
“Now?” he rasped.
Holly let herself fly free, exhilaration flooding her with wave after wave of incredible feeling. The descent lasted longer, interspersed with wonderful aftershocks that he seemed to relish as much as she did.
After a while, they lay perfectly still, replete. Untroubled. No matter what happened, she would always have this, Holly thought to herself. At this moment, she felt loved. He knew her better than anyone ever had before, faults and all, and right now he loved her just the way she was.
Holly woke alone at nine the next morning. They had gone to bed around six-thirty in the evening, but hadn’t had a lot of sleep through the night. Will had probably gone back to his place for a change of clothes.
This was Wednesday and she’d taken the day off. He would be back soon, she was sure.
However, when one o’clock rolled around and she hadn’t heard from him, Holly began to worry. Maybe he had changed his mind. She should have told him that she’d be willing to leave Sextant and let him stay. Or could it be that Will had decided this wasn’t worth pursuing, after all?
She knew her own commitment issues stemmed from the only guy she had been with before him trying to make her over into something she wasn’t. Easy enough to dismiss, now that she knew Will would never attempt such a thing. He loved her without wanting to change her. Didn’t he?
Will’s fear of emotional entanglement went a lot deeper than hers and would be much more difficult to overcome. It had to do with his mother and her virtual rejection of him, Holly figured. Yep, that would take a little therapy on her part, but she was trained for it.
By the time her phone rang, she was pacing the floor, her self-confidence trading blows with her anger. She snatched up the receiver. “Amberson,” she snapped.
“Is Will there?” Jack asked.
“No, but when he does show up, he’d better be packing three dozen roses and a box of chocolate or he’s dead meat.”
There was a long pause.
“I’d like to see you both. Christa’s at two and don’t be late.” He hung up.
“Christa’s at two and don’t be late,” she mimicked to the dial tone. The instant she plunked down the receiver, her doorbell rang. She stalked barefoot to the door and flung it open. “What?”
“Hey,” Will said.
“Where have you been?” she demanded. “Do you know how worried I’ve been?”
He shrugged. No expression. “Out,” he said, a cryptic tone in his voice.
Holly realized she had sounded just like one of those horrible parodies of a nagging wife. Great impression to make. Yeah, he looked really entranced by her. “Sorry. How was your morning?”
Now he smiled. “Successful, I think. May I come in without fear of getting my throat ripped out?”
She stepped aside and gestured, her smile fake, her words loaded with sarcasm. She was still mad at him for deserting her before daylight. “Be my guest. Please. Could I get you anything?”
“Do you have champagne?” he asked politely.
She narrowed her eyes. “You should have brought some with you, cheapskate.”
He pulled out one pants pocket to show it was empty. “Blew it all. I’m broke.”
“Blew it on what?”
He pulled something out of his other pocket and opened his hand to show her. “This.”
She felt her eyes go round as she stared at the black velvet ring box. “It’s not.”
“Yes, it is.” He opened the box and left it sitting there for her to observe. It was a square-cut emerald surrounded by diamonds. The most beautiful ring in the world. “Well?”
Holly covered her mouth, too overcome to say anything.
“Don’t leave me standing in your entry hall with my heart hanging out. Will you or won’t you?”
She nodded so vigo
rously it made her dizzy. He was taking her left hand. He was sliding the ring on her third finger. And he was kissing her madly. Holly kissed him back.
He swung her around and carried her into the living room where he sat down with her on his lap. “So, what do you think? Can we get a wedding together by Christmas Eve? We could fly to Vegas.”
“Not on your life. I want the whole shindig. White gown, couple of attendants in ugly taffeta dresses and you in a monkey suit. You’re not sliding by with an elopement.”
“Whatever you want,” he promised with a quick kiss. “What else? Honeymoon in Hawaii?”
“And foot the bill by myself? You just said you were broke.” She held her hand out to admire her ring again.
“I lied. I’ve got a little put by. See if you can swing a week or so between assignments.” He started nibbling on her neck.
She pushed away. “What about that? You think he would let us both off at the same time?”
Will fiddled with the buttons on her shirt to avoid her eyes. “I quit. I went by and left my resignation.”
She bolted upright. “You did what? What—what did he say?”
“Nothing. He was busy working on something. I gave it to him and left.”
Ah. Now Jack’s call made sense. She bit her lip for a minute before telling Will. “He called and said for us to come to Christa’s at two. Bet I can guess what this is all about.”
Will glanced at his watch. “Well, looks like we have almost an hour to kill. Want to play doctor?”
Reluctantly she pushed herself off his lap and got her balance. “As tempting as that sounds, I think we need to get down to the pub and get this over with.”
“It is over, Holly. I’m out. I called Jim Ferguson at ATF and I can start the first of February.”
“No.”
He refused to discuss it. Holly might as well have been talking to a wall. She’d had no idea he was this hardheaded. How in the world could she convince Jack to keep him at Sextant and let her go if Will was determined not to stay? When the new wore off their marriage, Will would begin to regret what he had lost. She just knew it. If the situation did reverse, would she?
“You might want to get dressed,” he advised. “Christa’s not all that fussy, but she does require customers to wear shirts and shoes.”
Christa Hart herself greeted them at the door. The busty blonde with a beautiful smile and jokes that could turn the air blue always welcomed them like family. It was rumored she’d had a wild fling with Jack back in the days when he was still with NSA.
Holly gave her a hug, then hurried on in ahead of Will to get to Jack first. She hoped to suggest her alternate plan for leaving Sextant herself before Will could get there, but he was right behind her.
The place, usually closed on Wednesdays, was empty except for Christa and the team. Jack was waiting at the big round table where they always sat. Joe, Clay and Eric were present, too. They had obviously been there awhile. Empty pie plates and coffee cups indicated a premeeting meeting.
An unusually silent Christa brought two more cups of coffee, then disappeared into the back of the pub.
Holly pushed her coffee away. “We’ve been discussed, I take it?”
“Here’s the deal,” Jack announced, sliding a legal-size envelope in front of Will. “First, shred that when you get home. Second, I make the rules and it’s not against any rules of mine to have a couple on the team. But you won’t partner on a field op again unless we go in as a crew of five. Agreed?”
Holly nodded, grabbing Will’s hand for support. This was going to work. It was going to work!
“Third, no communication except through control center when one of you goes into the field alone. Agreed?”
“Absolutely,” Holly said. “Goes without saying.”
“No it doesn’t. I want that very clear. Any problems come up, I need to know about them before they get out of hand. You plan to part company, you keep it civil. I don’t want any personal friction screwing up our team.”
Will spoke up before Holly could get a word in this time. “There’s already a built-in problem that I identified in the resignation letter. Holly is and always will be my first concern. That alone could endanger the others if we go en masse.”
“Hasn’t she always been first concern?” Jack asked. He looked at Clay. “What about you? Who would you rescue first in a life-threatening situation?”
“Holly. She’s female.”
“I resent that chauvinistic attitude!” Holly exclaimed. “And it assumes I’m not as capable as the rest of you. It’s insulting!”
“That’s the way it is,” Clay said, fiddling with his coffee spoon.
“And you, Joe, how about it?” Jack asked before Holly could object further.
“Holly. She makes the best coffee and brings us homemade goodies. She’s my favorite.”
“Glutton,” Holly said, rolling her eyes. “Say that in front of Martine and see how fast you can duck.”
“Eric?”
“Holly. Sorry, guys, but she’s a lot prettier than you.”
“I cannot believe this! All this time, I thought you were treating me as an equal and now I find out you’re nothing but a bunch of patronizing, dim-witted, politically incorrect…men!”
“And we all love you, too,” Jack assured her. “Will just loves you more. You good with all this, Will?”
“I can handle it. Thanks, Jack.” Holly felt him squeeze her hand, either communicating his excitement or warning her to shut up.
Eric snorted. “Yeah, Will, but can you handle her is what I want to know.”
Holly bristled. “He handles me just fine, smart mouth. You need a spanking.”
Jack stood up. “Come on, guys, we need to get out of here and leave these two to make some plans.” He looked pointedly at her hand. “Nice ring.”
She smiled up at him, forgiving him everything, now and in the future. “Nice man.”
They left without ceremony as they always did. Holly watched them go. “We are so damn lucky,” she said with a sigh.
“And about to get even luckier,” Will told her. He held up a key ring she hadn’t seen before and rattled the keys. “Before she left, Christa asked me to lock up. You want to go neck in the back booth?”
“Will Griffin, you bad, bad man! When did you get so reckless?”
“Comes from getting shot in the head, I guess. Makes you do all kinds of strange things.”
“Strange things, huh? You promise?”
“I promise.”
Epilogue
“You do know how to throw a wild wedding, Mrs. Griffin.” Will clinked his champagne flute against hers. They had said their vows in the chapel at St. John’s, here in McLean, with two hundred in attendance. Ivory satin sculpted Holly’s gorgeous figure like the hand of Michelangelo. Her face glowed with a happiness Will hoped he had helped put there.
She scanned the church’s beautifully decorated social hall as she sipped her bubbly. “Your reception’s not too shabby, either. And the honeymoon! I can’t wait to get to Jamaica.”
“I wish your mother could have seen you today.”
“Yeah, me, too.” She sighed happily and pointed across the room. “Would you look at this crowd! Eric’s with Bev Martin, did you see? Isn’t she a knockout?” And also too famous to be involved with an intelligence agent. Holly could see heartache coming when their occupation forced them to part company. But who was she to make predictions? Eric was the psychic and he should know what to expect. “He’s way out of his league.”
Will sipped, then wrinkled his nose at the fizzy champagne he hated. “I wonder if she realizes he knows exactly what she’s thinking every minute,”
“So not fair. But without that clairvoyance of his, he’d be just another Brad Pitt look-alike. Smug rascal. Oh look, the fool’s laying one on her right there on the dance floor!” Holly giggled. Maybe it would work out, after all.
“Smitten like me,” Will told her, stealing a kiss himse
lf. “By the way, did you have a chance to talk to your grandparents yet?” he asked softly, watching her eyes for a sign that she had suffered any insults. He would feel so responsible if she had. It had been at his insistence that she’d sent them a letter and an invitation.
“Muffie and Hank? Oh, they’re simply darling people, you know,” she gushed with a sly wink. “They flew in last night while you were yukking it up with the boys at your bachelor party.”
“Well, don’t keep me hanging. What happened?”
“At least they came. And I believe they’re unbending a little. They gave us a nice toaster.”
“A toaster?” he groaned as she laughed merrily. “For real?”
“Don’t expect too much too soon. But we do have an invitation to their annual barbecue in July.” She tapped a pearl-pink fingernail on his cheek. “And you, my man—what about your parents?”
He smiled down at her and flicked her veil off her shoulder with the back of his hand. “They are happy for us. Really, they seemed very sincere.” He looked at the well-wishers surrounding them, friends, fellow agents, relatives he hardly knew.
“You miss Matt today.” Her wistful brown eyes teared up, making them glisten.
He knew it was for him.
No bride needs to cry sad tears on her wedding day. Do something!
Will shook his head. “Are you kidding? He and I were just having a great conversation in my head about the future as I was waiting for you to walk down the aisle. You sure took your time, by the way.”
She looked at him askance, tilting her head the way she did when he was teasing her. “And what did he have to say?”
“How would you feel about having twins one day?”
“So you’re getting messages from the beyond again? Well, you can tell that erstwhile brother-in-law of mine that he can jolly well get out of your head for the honeymoon. And he’d better leave any progeny predictions to us.”
Will looked heavenward. “Little Wilhemena and Matilda, I can see them now. Two peas in a pod.”
“Hey, this is the pod speaking. Five years down the road,” Holly assured him, holding up her hand and wiggling her fingers. “Five. Not a day sooner.”