“You can pay me back later.”
She watched him work for a few minutes. He was efficient, stripping the bed of the sticky sheet and placing it in the hot soapy water in the sink. “You do know, I don’t exactly have anything to my name, Draden.”
He glanced at her over his shoulder. She found his look sexy enough that her body tightened and caused another minor quake right through her core. His eyes moved over her and the sheer possession in them mixed with the raw adoration in his expression deepened the intensity of the ripple.
“You do know whatever I have is yours, right? And Lily, Whitney’s daughter, will open an account of your own for you. I deliberately didn’t suggest a prenup because it will be upward of a million dollars.”
His teasing caressed her skin like fingers. Love for him shook her—nearly overwhelmed her. “You have far more money than that, don’t you?”
He shrugged and turned back to inspecting the mattress and floor to make certain every crumb was picked up. The cake went into the refrigerator before he began to make the bed.
“I wasn’t thinking in terms of money. You do things for me. Every time I turn around you’re doing something awesome, Draden. I don’t know a third of the things you know.”
He sent her another smoldering look from over his shoulder. “You gave me the best blow job I’ve ever had in my life. The ultimate. I want that again and again, baby. You can wake me up like that. Put me to sleep like that. Hell, honey, you want to lead me by my cock into the swamp and swallow me, I’m going to follow you and I don’t care if anyone says you’re leading me around by my cock. It will be the fucking truth.”
In spite of being exhausted and ready to fall asleep, Shylah burst out laughing. “You’re very orally fixated, Draden.”
“After what you did? Hell yeah, I am. I’m not denying it. The look on your face. I have to tell you, woman, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. When you blow me. When you come for me. When you’re laughing at me. All the damn time.”
She swept back her hair and stared at his broad shoulders and back. “It’s kind of hard to think of myself as beautiful when there you are in all your manly glory. Seriously, honey, you could pretend to have a flaw.”
He shrugged as he fit the reserve sheet he’d found on the shelf where he’d stashed his wedding present to her. “It is true that I’m without flaw.” There was laughter in his voice.
She scowled at him. “I think you’re perfect. Well,” she hedged, “except for the part where you think you’re the commanding officer and really, I am.”
“Why do you think that?” He spread out the clean sheet and reached for the pillows, stripping cases off them. “There is no way you have rank over me. I’m a doctor. An officer. How could you possibly have rank over me?”
“I give the best blow jobs you’ve ever had. Ever. And I wasn’t even trying.” She added the last smugly. “One doesn’t reveal all their best techniques going out the gate. I save special things for special occasions. Like bossing you around.”
“Fine then,” he agreed readily. “You can be in charge.”
She laughed again, her heart light. He could send her stomach into slow somersaults or fast-moving roller coasters. He could send a million butterflies winging just by smiling at her. He could make her happy because he knew how to have fun with her.
He came across the room toward her, and she couldn’t help but admire the man who was now officially her husband. She’d told him things she’d never told anyone, not even her best friends. She’d done things with him she never thought she’d have the opportunity to do and more, she’d loved doing them with him.
Shylah reached for him, sliding her arms around his neck as he lifted her out of the chair. She pressed kisses over his shoulder into his neck. “Thank you for accepting me.” She felt a little shy telling him, but it had to be said. “I don’t know why it was more acceptable that Whitney did gene-editing with cats, but I hated the idea of any kind of insect.”
“Did Violet Smythe ever visit the compound?”
His voice turned hard, and she pulled back to look at his face. “Yes. She was one of Whitney’s experiments and he had her married to a man he wanted to make the climb to president, so the presidency would be under his control. The senator was shot and Smythe was making a bid for vice president, but she sold out the GhostWalkers to Cheng, a dealer of secrets in China. Bellisia went to get the evidence on her. We were certain Bellisia had killed her when we got the news that she’d been bitten by a blue-ringed octopus and hadn’t survived.”
“She most likely spent a great deal of time sticking her nose into the air and calling you and the others names. She started a secret movement in Washington against Whitney’s experiments.” He put her into the middle of the bed and drew the sheet up. It was still hot, but he’d turned on the wide-paddled fan above the bed.
“No one knows anything about his experiments.” She clutched the sheet against her breasts, looking up at him for confirmation.
“Don’t kid yourself. There’s an entire faction backing him. Now there’s some opposition. They want to keep the original GhostWalkers but anyone with any kind of genetic strain they don’t approve of, they want to terminate.”
He washed out the sheets and pillowcases and then took them outside to dry. He was fast at repacking the tea set and then putting the food away.
Shylah frowned at him, propping her cheek on her palm. “We really can’t just integrate into society, can we?”
His hands stilled. “Is that what you want, Shylah?”
“Not necessarily, but I did say all those horrible things to Joe, and I may have stuck a gun in his face.” She tried for humor. The stillness in him warned her that her answer meant something, and she didn’t want to disappoint him. She didn’t care where they were, or what they did, as long as she was with him.
“Whitney paired Joe with Violet. She got close enough to stab him, nearly killed him too. She wanted him to betray the GhostWalkers and side with her. He refused, and that was it.”
“She was a psychopath, Draden. We all knew that. She didn’t really feel for anyone, just herself. She used everyone to get ahead, including the husband everyone thought she loved so much. Violet was an actress. I hate that you might be right, and she somehow influenced me not to like a piece of my genetic code.” She flashed him a smile. “You made silk something I’ll always be happy I have.”
“I’ve got all kinds of ideas for your silk.” He started on the dishes.
Shylah made a move to rise. It really wasn’t fair that he was doing everything. He sent her a smoldering look that stopped her in her tracks. She decided she really was tired and lay back down. The moment she closed her eyes, he began to hum. He could c
arry a tune and it was comforting to lie there, listening to the rattle of the dishes, the fan cooling her hot skin, and her eyes closed.
When he slipped into bed beside her, his body curving around hers, she pressed her lips to his throat. “Thank you for the most fantastic day of my life. I love being your wife.”
He pressed his lips to her forehead and then rolled her to her other side so he could wrap his arm around her, right under her breasts. His hips cradled her bottom, his cock pushing against the seam of her soft cheeks, a tight fit, but he managed.
“We’re going to be fine, you know that, right? If we were going to die, I’d already be dead. This virus was killing too fast in the village for anyone to get out. It’s been too many days. We’re going to make it.” He tightened his arm around her.
Shylah didn’t respond. What was there to say? He was either right or wrong. Worrying didn’t make it any better. She let herself drift off with the scent of him in her lungs, with the knowledge that she was loved in her head and heart. She woke just before dawn and got down to work, showing him new techniques and driving him right out of his head. Satisfied that he knew she really should be the one in charge, she drifted off again, this time smiling with the taste of him in her mouth.
They woke to pounding on the door. Both were fast, bringing up weapons and sweeping the room. Draden signaled for her to move into a position to take the shot if necessary, forgetting completely that she was running the day-to-day operation. That made her want to laugh, but she stayed completely still, fading into a corner, not a stitch on, watching as Draden stood to one side of the door.
“Need blood, you two!” Joe yelled.
“On my honeymoon,” Draden called back. “Go away. We’re a little busy.” He beckoned to her and pointed to a spot in front of him.
She gave him her snippiest look. He wanted to run the show; he wasn’t going to get two surprises in the same day.
“I don’t care. Give me your damn blood before Trap drives us all crazy. He’s got everyone in an uproar because the two of you are fighting this thing like there’s no tomorrow.”