Under the Stars

Mark takes my hand, and as much as I’m ready to be back with Jillian, my feet are slow to walk away from Molly. It’s so hard.

“Just… be safe.”

“It’ll be a lot easier to do that now,” Josh says.

Molly doesn’t answer, and somehow, it’s hard to believe him.

* * *

Mark

Three thousand feet above the surface of the earth, my mind slips away on a mind-blowing orgasm, my cock buried in Lara’s luscious depths.

She’s facing me, sitting on my lap in the bed. My back is propped against several pillows on the headboard, and her breasts are at my mouth. I pull a tight nipple between my lips, and I’m rewarded with an internal clench, a hit of ecstasy.

“Yeah,” I groan. “Welcome to the mile-high club.”

She laughs, kissing my lips. “Much better to join it in a bed, I think. Rather than a cramped little bathroom.”

My arms are tight around her waist, and her dark hair falls over my shoulders, all around us. It’s so good to be flying back to our baby, the nightmare of our past effectively ended.

While she was at the hospital with Molly, I visited the Seattle police department, where I learned six members of the sex ring were arrested. Several were wanted on previous assault and trafficking charges. Donovan confirmed my efforts in Juneau, tracking men crossing the boarder, and by putting it together with what we’d done here, it got us to ten either dead or in jail.

Police aren’t convinced we’ve captured every member of the international club, but we crippled the group’s Pacific Northwest base.

Gavin and his threats against Lara are over, and I’d been able to explain his shooting as self-defense. Molly’s injuries reinforced my statement. It took a little work, but Donovan’s good relations with the SPD chief helped.

I agreed to write a report once we get back to New Orleans and fax it to them. Since Gavin has no living family, they don’t expect any questions other than possible insurance interests.

The only outstanding variable is Landry, but with Gavin gone, I don’t see why he’d bother us. If he’s even still alive.

Lara’s mouth tracing a line from my ear to my temple pulls me back to the beautiful woman straddling my lap. Holding her steady, I ease us down into the bed, turning her body so I can spoon her against my chest.

“So a couple of weeks?” I kiss the side of her neck and she does a little sigh.

“I figured if you were ready in Seattle, you’d be ready in a month?”

“I’m ready now.”

Her hands move down my forearms. She traces the lines on my skin with her fingers before threading them through mine.

“Roland will help me. I kind of hoped we might be able to have the reception at Preservation Hall. Will they let us do that?”

“I bet they will.”

Her body is relaxing, her voice taking on the sound of sleep. “I want to dance with you under the stars. No more fear of the dark.”

“Just tell me where to be, and I’m there.” I kiss her hair behind her ear. “In the meantime, I’ll find us a place to live.”

She exhales a hum, and I listen to the sound of the jets taking us home to our daughter. The shade over the little round window is raised, and I look out at the streaks of the dawn we’re chasing.

The sun is just at the edge of the horizon, and long white clouds stretch along the clear blue sky. Only they’re not white. They’re neon pink, lavender blue, deep red-orange lightening to yellow.

I think about my dad, and I think about my uncle. They’ll never see the sunrise in all its splendid glory again. They’re in boxes underground. Their eyes are gone, and their bodies are gone as well.

Did they gaze in awe of it like I’m doing now?

Did they cherish the love of a beautiful woman, the touch of her soft body, and the kiss of her lips?