by Jillian Neal
Garrett stepped in. “Dan, all of this will be here Monday, and you know we’ll tear it up. Fi’s over the moon about wherever you’re going. Don’t do this. Don’t decide to leave in the morning instead, or not to go because you could work more and might be a half step closer to bringing him down. If you take down Wretchkinsides but you lose her, what will it really have mattered?”
Vindico narrowed his eyes in a menacing glare. “We’re going tonight. I’ll leave in a few damn minutes. Lay off.”
Garrett held up his hands in surrender. “I know you better than you think,” he reminded Vindico before going back to the filing cabinets.
The Angels had taken Valentine’s Day off, as it was the off season, and they wouldn’t begin more intense practices and training until May.
Rainer glanced at the clock again nervously. He’d requested to leave at four to set up his surprise for Emily and then pick her up from the house, but he was hesitant to remind Vindico that he needed to leave. His temper was already visibly escalating.
Deciding, hopefully, that if he completed the task he’d been assigned maybe his leaving early wouldn’t irritate Vindico quite so much, he turned back to the laptop he was working on.
Ramier had already broken through the passcode screens, but the information on the laptop appeared to be encrypted. Rainer was having to decode it piece by piece.
Rubbing his eyes and blinking several times, he tried to will more energy into the task.
Ten minutes later, the letters and numbers on the screen had begun to swim.
An annoyed sigh echoed from Vindico. “All right, I want everything we took in gone over slowly and carefully with fresh eyes Monday morning. It’s been a long day. Go on. Enjoy your night. I’ll lock up, and head out as well,” he directed to the entire force, though he was still glaring at Garrett.
“Thank you.” Logan had his jacket on in record time.
“Yeah, I really appreciate it,” Rainer echoed.
“No problem. Enjoy you evenings and your weekends. Do not be late Monday morning.”
Everyone assured him that they’d be in bright and early Monday as they began gathering their things.
“Hey, how’s your mom doing?” Vindico quizzed Garrett suddenly.
He seemed to be pleased with Vindico’s mood reversal. “Great, actually. Nana and Paps have the twins. Dad’s home making her dinner. Her color is much better. Her blood pressure hasn’t spiked in nearly a week. The baby’s scans look good.”
“Thank goodness. I’ve barely seen my wife in the past week, not that I don’t appreciate what she’s doing,” Logan huffed.
“I’m certain you’ll make up for it tonight, little bro.”
“That is definitely my plan.”
“I gotta get out of here.” Rainer grimaced as he glanced at his watch. “Have fun tonight,” he called to no one in general as he raced out to the Porsche.
The wind had picked up, and the sky was darkening quickly. It wasn’t quite cold enough to snow, and Rainer sincerely hoped that a storm wasn’t rolling in. Emily hated storms, and he needed tonight to be perfect.
He pulled onto the street with a No Outlet sign and pressed the pedal a little harder, pulling into the driveway of his and Emily’s new home. They hadn’t signed the papers yet, but when he’d asked Fionna if they could use the house Valentine’s night, she’d quickly agreed and had given Rainer all of the keys.
He unlocked the front door and stepped inside. A broad grin spread across his face. He could see it. He could see Emily there curled up on the couch or standing in the kitchen. She would make it home.
Setting the meal he’d picked up on the way on the remaining kitchen table and moving to raise the thermostat, he lit the fireplace and began arranging dozens of candles around the living room.
He spread out the quilts and blankets he’d snuck out of the house the day before. After pouring two glasses of wine and heat casting the fire and candles so that they would remain lit without burning down, Rainer rushed back to the car.
Valentine’s being their first night in their first home together seemed perfect. He hoped it would help Emily understand that he wanted to build a home with her and for her and make it a sanctuary for the two of them, just like the farm had always been.
~Dan Vindico~
“You taking Chloe out tonight?” Dan quizzed Garrett as they walked to the parking deck together. He was still furious with him, but was trying to be pleasant by reminding himself of all that Garrett had done for both he and Fionna.
“Yeah, but she’s getting a little too attached. After tonight, I need a little space.”
Dan rolled his eyes as he unlocked the door to the Expedition he’d signed out for his and Fionna’s trip. “You ever wonder why she’s the one you keep going back to? For the last fifteen years or more, you’ve fucked any woman that would lie still for you and then gone back to her.”
“Oh hell no! Do not go there, man. I don’t need to hear it from you, too. You sound like Stephen and Lillian. Don’t forget I’m the one that makes you and Fi possible. Just because Fionna Styler has some kind of nut crackin’ man catcher in that sweet snatch between her legs that you’ve gotten yourself all tangled up in does not mean that I’m walking that road. You worry about getting yourself married. I am happy as a clam,” Garrett spewed derisively.
Clenching his jaw and glaring at Garrett, Dan considered sinking his fist into his gut. “You want to not ever make up names again for any part of the woman I plan on marrying at the first available opportunity, or shall I go ahead and pound you into the ground now?” he growled.
Garrett laughed in his face. “Good luck with that plan, Danny. You and Fi have fun. Tell her I love her and that I said to make you work for it.” He revved his Harley to life and sped away.
Climbing into the SUV, Dan tried to will away his irritation. He hadn’t needed relationship advice in front of the whole damn team from Garrett Haydenshire. And he hadn’t been caught in some trap Fionna had laid. He was madly in love with her and not being able to get down on one and knee and prove to the world that he was capable of taking care of her for a lifetime was what made him want to pull the endless hours.
As he drove towards home, he began to really understand that though there was a dramatic difference in working for revenge and in working for love, the differences in his behavior might not be that apparent to people that didn’t have access to his head, his heart, or his energy.
The Best Laid Plans
Smiling as he pulled in the driveway, Dan was genuinely excited to leave work and to take Fionna off for the weekend. If this place was even half as nice as it had appeared online, they were going to have a decadent weekend feasting on each other’s bodies.
He grabbed the folder with the reservation information, the fake I.D. with the alias he’d used to book the chalet, and his warmest coat. He opened the front door and stepped inside, noting that it looked like snow.
Fionna had several duffle and toiletry bags piled on the couch.
“Hey, baby, I’m up here. I’m almost ready,” she called from their bedroom.
Smiling, Dan added the file folder to the pile of bags and took the stairs two at a time.
“You do know we’re only going for two days, right?” he teased her as he located her inside of her closet shoving more clothing into an additional bag.
He hooked his finger through the back belt loop of the tight black jeans she was wearing and dragged her to him. “By the way, hey baby doll, I’m home,” he husked as he leaned his head around to kiss her heatedly.
She gave him a moan as he released her from the kiss. Her eyes danced and darkened slightly. Her now kiss-swollen mouth formed a sexy grin.
“I did know that we were only going for two days, but since my boyfriend won’t tell me where he is taking me, I had to pack for contingencies.”
“I told you everything you needed to know, Miss Styler.” He patted her bottom, deeply appreciating the way the denim form
ed around its sculpted curve.
“I plan on you being naked all weekend and using a tremendous amount of body heat to keep you nice and warm. You don’t have to pack anything except maybe a toothbrush.”
Fionna shook her head at him. She walked out of the closet, letting her hips swing deliciously as she moved. He followed hypnotically.
“And what, Officer Vindico, are you planning to do with me if I’m naked for two days straight?”
She spun back and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Giving her the shuddering growl she was after, Dan feathered tender kisses over her cheek and then nipped her earlobe. “Well, first, I’d lay you out and run my hands all over this luscious body.” He let his hands return to her backside and squeezed it tightly.
Her eyes flashed. She gave him a look that had fire igniting in his groin.
“And then what?” her heated breath caressed his jaw.
“By then I’ll be so turned on that I’d just spin you around fuck you hard from behind. Slap that sweet ass, baby doll, make you take it all. But, after that, I’d slow it down. Worship that body. Give you a bath, let my tongue and my fingers touch whatever the hell I want until you were begging me for more. Then I’d spread those gorgeous legs and fuck you nice and slow, and then we could just start all over again, until you just can’t take it anymore.”
She was panting from his promises. Her dark eyes locked on his. “Fine, I’m not packing anything but a toothbrush.” She waggled her eyebrows.
Dan swatted her backside with much more force this time as she moved away. She shook it for him and then shot him another mischievous grin.
“Does that mean that I shouldn’t bring the crotchless panties I packed?”
Feeling his already burgeoning erection begin to throb, Dan’s eyes lit excitedly. “Throw those in a bag with our toothbrushes, and let’s get out of here. I have so many plans for you tonight.”
They stopped by Zach and Kara’s house on the way to Maryland. He thanked his sister profusely for her help. Dan had paid for everything, but Kara had agreed to grocery shop and prepare all of the food for their trip since there weren’t any restaurants or stores near the chalet.
She and Zach were dressed up and heading to Citronelle, the restaurant where Zach had proposed on Valentine’s Day several years before.
Dan and Fionna wished them a Happy Valentine’s and thanked Kara again for her work before loading the groceries and boxes in the back of the Expedition and continuing on their journey.
~Logan Haydenshire~
“You’re sure you’ll be all right?” Adeline asked Logan’s mother for the tenth time.
Rolling his eyes, Logan huffed. “Ad, she’s so much better. Look at her. You’re a miracle worker. Now, let’s go, or we’re going to miss our reservation.”
“I really do feel so much better, sweetheart. You and Logan go enjoy your first Valentine’s Day as a married couple. I promise we will call if we need anything,” Mrs. Haydenshire vowed.
“I’ll take care of her, Adeline. Don’t worry,” the Governor added.
Logan noted that his father seemed to want Logan and Adeline to leave as badly as he wanted to get out of there. His parents certainly couldn’t have sex given the extreme complications of the pregnancy, but they were anxious to spend Valentine’s alone together.
“All right, but call me if anything changes,” Adeline requested sweetly.
“I promise.” Governor Haydenshire held the door open for them, all but tapping his foot impatiently.
Logan guided her towards the truck, waved to his parents, and secured her inside of it, lest she decide she needed to run one more test before they left.
“I really am excited about tonight. I’m just worried about her,” Adeline apologized as soon as Logan was inside the truck cab.
“I know, baby, but seriously she looks great. They baby’s scans have been good all week. So tonight, I just want it to be you and me. No Iodex, no baby, no Mom, no Lucas, nothing but us, please.”
Giving him a broad grin, Adeline nodded excitedly. “What are we going to do after dinner?” she quizzed, but then blushed violently.
Logan chuckled at her adorable attempt at engaging him in a little bit of dirty flirting. “What do you want to do, Mrs. Haydenshire?” He reached and squeezed her thigh before sliding his hand higher up the skirt of her dress.
“Mmm, that.” She gestured her head to his hand.
She was definitely the cutest thing he’d ever seen. “You want me to rub your leg all night, baby?” He couldn’t help but enjoy the slight embarrassment that bloomed across her cheeks.
“I want you to rub other things, too,” she informed him with just a little bit of sass that drove Logan wild.
“Good,” he groaned. “Because we have a week to make up for, and I plan on rubbing a whole lot more than your legs.”
Her breaths quickened, and she let her bottom lip slip through her teeth. Her onyx eyes danced. He considered skipping the restaurant altogether and taking her on to the hotel. There were numerous things he wanted to lick and suck and taste, but none of them were on a menu at a restaurant.
~Rainer Lawson~
“What are we doing here?” Emily quizzed, though Rainer noted that she didn’t sound annoyed; she sounded thrilled.
“You’ll see.” He opened the passenger side door for her and led her up the walkway. He unlocked the front door and moved to let her enter ahead of him.
She gasped. Her hands flew to her mouth.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby, and welcome home.” He watched her eyes dance in the candlelight.
“Rainer, this is perfect.” She fell into his arms and hugged him tightly.
“Well, I’m glad you like it, because I really wanted our only Valentine’s Day as an engaged couple to be perfect. And I wanted tonight to be our first night in our new house.” He issued her further inside, handed her one of the glasses of wine, and gestured for her to sit down on the quilts with him.
“We’re staying all night?” The fire danced in her eyes, a warm glow not only coming from the hearth but from deep within her.
“That’s up to you, baby. We can have dinner here. Hang out for a while then go home, or we can sleep here.” Beaming at him, she settled on the blankets beside him. Rainer opened the boxes of food he’d had prepared for their picnic.
“I really want to stay, but I really don’t want to do it in Fionna’s bed. She and Vindico probably got it on there a million times.” She wrinkled her nose.
Nodding, Rainer laughed, “Yeah, me either. That’s why I packed those.” He pointed to the stacks of sleeping bags and the air mattress he’d borrowed from the Haydenshires’ barn.
“We’re going to camp out in front of the fire?” Emily’s reactions to his plans couldn’t have been more perfect. He loved that it was always the little things, the smallest gestures that brought her the most happiness. He could’ve rented her the penthouse at the Four Seasons, but it wouldn’t have delighted her as much as this.
“Whatever makes you keep smiling at me like that.”
“You are just amazing.”
Rainer shook his head. “Eat, baby, because I’ve been thinking about you since I busted down that door at three this morning. For hours, all I’ve wanted was you all alone here. I’m starting to lose it.”
She gave him a sweet sexy grin as her breath panted slightly.
“I need you.” He watched her eyes flash in desire.
Navigations
~Dan Vindico~
Dan took the 95 split and settled in to continue their trek out into the forests of Maryland. Fionna watched as the city lights and sounds began to fade away, replaced by trees and homes scattered along their route.
“Please tell me we’re not going camping,” she panicked suddenly.
Dan laughed and shook his head. “I think I know you better than that.”
“Not that camping with you would be a bad thing.” She was afraid she’d hurt his fe
elings.
“I spent enough nights of my childhood and adolescence sleeping on the cold, hard ground out on the Haydenshires’ farm to cure me of any desire to freeze my ass off ever again. And my goal is to get you to take your clothes off, not to make you bundle up while you sit outside thinking that I’m the worst boyfriend ever.”
Fionna grinned. Relief eased her rhythms. “I would never think that. I’m just more of a heating, air conditioning, hair dryer, and working, indoor plumbing kind of girl.”
Dan lifted her hand and brushed a kiss across one of the dips between her knuckles. “I was well aware, honey. Believe me, I’m all about running water, a roof over my head, and you curled up nice and hot in my bed.”
Fionna beamed and seemed to settle into their trip. Her phone chirped, and she pulled it from her purse. Laughing hysterically, she shook her head, “Garrett says for me to make you work for it, that I’ve been giving it up to easily.”
Rolling his eyes, Dan huffed, “Tell him to go play with Chloe, and that I said to go to hell.”
“No, I know how to take care of Garrett; trust me.”
She texted back her reply with a heavy smirk as she sent it away.
“What’d you say?” Dan watched closely for the signs for the gorge.
“That guys that are hung like a horse and can go all night don’t have to work as hard for it. Then I told him how sorry I was that he didn’t understand.”
Dan guffawed. “That wasn’t nice, Miss Styler.”
“He knows I was teasing.”
Garrett texted back a moment later informing Fionna that if she’d like to see what she was missing out on that he’d take her for a long ride, and Dan decided that her reply probably wasn’t mean enough.