Love’s Bounty (10 page)

“Deirdre, he works for our side. He was undercover too.”

“No, not one of your men. I mean my friend, Emilio. I think he sold drugs like Mark. I think he’s one of Jameson’s men.”

“
Dee, I’m right here with Mark.” Leaning back, Emilio peeked around the open limo door.

“Mark.” She crawled to her mentor. “Oh, Mark. He’s hurt. Someone get help. We need an ambulance. Emilio,
do
something.”

“The ambulance is on its way,
Dee. There’s nothing more we can do.” Emilio looked at her, tears glistening in his eyes.

Deirdre gently touched Mark’s chest, then cupped his cheek. “Hold on, Mark.”

The liquid bubbled in the old man’s throat as he drew in enough breath to speak. “Did we get the scumbag?”

“Lie still, Mark.” Emilio propped the man’s head and shoulders in his lap. “We got him. Jameson’s dead. He won’t be bringing in any more drugs. We couldn’t have done it without you.”

“I waited for your voice, Emilio.” Mark coughed, and blood trickled out of his mouth.

“Yeah, you did everything we told you.”

“Mark, don’t talk.” Deirdre’s tears fell on Mark’s face. “It’s going to be okay, everything’s going to be okay.”

“Yeah, it is, Deirdre. I’ve done … terrible things in past few months.” Mark wheezed and coughed out the words. “But tonight, I made up … for all sins … tell my wife … I’ll see her soon.” His voice trailed away.

Deirdre lifted her head, crying into the night.

* * * *

“So, the Cutler police dropped all charges against you.” Ayden followed Deirdre out of the bathroom, absently rubbing the towel over his blond curls. He was happy to be seeing himself in the mirror again.

It had been over a month since everything had come together just as he’d hoped at the Jameson estate, everything except Mark Pearson’s death and Deirdre’s sudden appearance. The mission had gone off with textbook precision. His team, working with the Coast Guard, had boarded the delivery boat. His men intercepted the amphibious vehicles and seized the drug shipment. Sixty kilos of heroin would never make it to the streets. There’d been no doubt in his mind that Jameson had been behind the
Miami operation or that he would recognize Ayden.

Ayden had counted on it.

“I still don’t understand how Mark got mixed up in all that,” Deirdre said.

Ayden grabbed the end of her towel and spun her to face him as it unwrapped from her beautiful body. “How does anyone make that decision, Deirdre? Drug addiction isn’t a conscious choice; it just happens.” Ayden slanted his mouth over her lips. Her naked body softened in his arms. “Some of us know that better than others.” He pulled her in tighter, lifting his hips to rub his stiff cock against her silken belly. Damn, she made him hard.

“Speaking of drugs…” Her fingers played with his chest hairs. “—I’m not very happy you sent my friend down to
Miami.”

“Emilio? They’re going to love him down there. He’s great. No one will suspect he works for the good guys. Jameson didn’t.” Ayden cupped her breast and grazed his thumb over her nipple, enjoying the rush of her breath hot on his chest. “Besides, I needed to get rid of my competition.”

Deirdre laughed. Her hands fluttered between their bodies, sliding down his torso to fondle him. “He wasn’t your competition. Now Rachel, on the other hand…”

He lifted her up and dropped her on the rumpled sheets of the four-poster, covering her body with his. “She’s not competition. You want her to join us in this bed, be my guest. Two on one is every man’s fantasy, babe.”

“Not on your life, Ayden. You’re all mine.” Deirdre massaged his ass, lifting her hips so his erection nestled in the slick heat of her folds. “I’m not sharing you with anyone.”

“I like the sound of that.”

“We may need to dig into that box of toys under my bed again, Ayden. I’m fairly certain we finished the condoms during our last go ’round.”

“I’ve been thinking about that. How would you feel about going without one?” He cocked an eyebrow.

“I love the taste of you.” Deirdre kissed his neck.

“Though I love your sweet lips wrapped around me, babe, it’s not what I meant.” He cupped his hands behind her neck. His thumbs grazed the tender flesh under her chin, and he tilted her face so she would look into his eyes and see everything he wanted to give her. “I know it’s not even two months since we met, but I love you. With all my heart, I love you.”

“I love you too, Ayden. I hear a
but
in your sentence.”

“But, nothing,” he whispered into her ear, nipping her lobe between his teeth. “My transfer came through to the
Bangor office.”

“Oh, Ayden, that’s fantastic. No more long-distance relationship for us.”

“What would you think if we made this one permanent?”

“Like you move in here? Oh, that would be wonderful. There’s plenty of room and…”

He came down hard on her mouth, his tongue plunging in to taste and possess. When he pulled back, her lids hung heavy. “Deirdre, stop talking. I’m asking if you want to make babies with me.”

“Babies?”

“Yeah, we could start before or after our wedding.” In a tender gesture, he laid his forehead on hers. “If you’ll have me.”

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. “Until the end of time, Ayden Scott. Only until the end of time.”

The End

About the Author:

Nina Pierce began writing as a lark when her health forced her retirement from a twenty-year teaching career. As someone who always loved hot stories and happy endings, she sat down to write her first romance in 2005. Her part-time love of words blossomed into a full-time writing career, and she hasn't looked back. Now her characters wake her in the night, clamoring to have their stories told.

A native of
Maine
, Nina resides in what she affectionately calls “the great white North” with her true love of twenty-four years, their three grown children and a menagerie of pets.

You can keep up with her hottest releases at www.NinaPierce.com or contact her directly at [email protected]

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