Hot & Bothered (A Hostile Operations Team Novel - Book 8) (27 page)

“You remember what she looks like?”

“Yes.”

“Good. When we get home, you can tell Mendez everything. He’ll do everything he can to find her.”

She frowned as she studied their linked hands. “I’m not sure my name will be cleared. I may still be the same Emily bin Yusuf I have been—on watch lists and no-fly lists, and with no hope of ever getting off those lists again. If you spend time with me, you’ll be tainted by association. Your career will be over.”

He put his fingers beneath her chin and forced her to look at him. What she saw in his eyes made her breath catch.

“Listen good, Emily, because I mean for you to understand this the first time I say it. I don’t give a good goddamn about anything but you and our baby. I love you, and if I have to be a civilian who never leaves the United States, then so be it. No one’s going to stop me from getting a job or taking care of our family. You’re all I need. All I want. If I have to plow fields to be with you, then I’d better go get some shit-kickers and a cowboy hat and figure out how to operate a tractor. Because if that’s what it takes, that’s what I’m doing. You got that?”

She tried not to burst into tears, but damn if the hormones raging through her body didn’t make that impossible. With every word he spoke, her eyes filled until the tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. When he finished, she launched herself at him and threw her arms around his neck. He bent over the bed, his arms going around her, pulling her as close as he could.

And then he kissed her, his mouth crushing down on hers, his tongue sliding inside to glide against hers in a delicious back-and-forth that made her breasts tingle and her pussy ache. If they were alone—oh God, if they were alone! The things she’d do to him. The things she’d ask for. It was dirty and hot and oh so thrilling to imagine.

She wanted more than to imagine, but that wasn’t going to happen in this room. He broke the kiss sooner than she would have liked and lowered her down to the bed.

“We have to stop,” he muttered. “I can’t take this.”

She laughed softly, her vision still blurry from happy tears. “Me neither. Oh Ryan, do you really love me? Is that possible after everything?”

He blinked. “You’re fucking kidding, right? Of course I love you. I’ve loved you since the first moment I saw you.” He held up a hand when she would have protested, and she bit her tongue to keep from speaking and ruining the moment. “It’s true. I’d never seen anything more beautiful in my life or anyone I wanted more.”

“You’re crazy,” she whispered.
 

“Crazy for you. And it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way. I know you’ve been through a lot, and it takes time—”

She put her hand over his mouth. He really didn’t know? How was that possible? She’d been nothing but starry-eyed around him for months. And then there was the night she’d begged him to make love to her…

“For someone whose life pretty much relies on knowing what’s happening around him, your lack of observational skills worries me. Don’t you know, Ryan Gordon, that I’ve been in love with you for months? Maybe not from the first moment, but close. I think when I saw you at Jack and Gina’s place, right after Nick and Victoria got engaged, that’s the moment I knew I’d fallen for you. So yes, you gorgeous idiot, I love you. I’ve loved you for a long, long time.”

She drew her hand away from his mouth then. His mouth was open a little, his eyes wide. And then he swooped down and kissed her again, hard and long and deep, and she wrapped her arms around him as happiness burst inside her soul. Real happiness—and belonging. They belonged to each other, and she would be forever grateful for that fact.

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

TWO WEEKS LATER…

It was the fastest-planned wedding in the history of weddings. Ryan had suggested they get married right away and then have a big wedding after the baby was born, like Matt and Evie planned on doing, but Emily said she didn’t care about that. All she cared about was having her friends and family together on their special day.

And so they were married at Jack and Gina’s sprawling Eastern Shore estate, with a string quartet and catering by a local firm that did weddings and parties. Ryan was suspicious of the whole thing since the costs weren’t all that much, but he wasn’t about to demand that Gina Domenico, international superstar, tell him if she’d footed the lion’s share of the bill as he suspected.

The gardens had been turned into a fairy-tale setting with a big white tent, tables draped in white cloths and set with silver, crystal, and china. There was an arbor with white roses tucked away over the entire length of it, and the preacher stood serenely with his Bible. Ryan wore his Army dress uniform and stood beside the preacher, nervous and wondering if Emily might change her mind before she walked—or hobbled, more likely—down the aisle.

His father was his best man. Dave Gordon hadn’t expressed surprise so much as a quiet satisfaction when Ryan called him and announced he was getting married. Ryan had been a little worried about what his father would think, but he’d been nothing but happy. And he’d gotten on a plane and come from his home in Colorado on short notice so he could be there.

Victoria was Emily’s maid of honor and she stood across the aisle, looking serene even though Ryan knew she was anything but. Boy did he know.

The audience was filled with members of Alpha and Echo squads, as well as some of the HOT support staff. Gina Domenico Hunter sat with her husband and young son and looked entirely too pleased with herself as she rocked her newborn in her arms.

Yeah, she’d orchestrated this whole thing… and Ryan wanted to give her a big hug for it. He didn’t much care about a fancy wedding, but didn’t all little girls dream of one? Emily had said she didn’t care, but what if she did? Gina had fixed it so they’d never find out if Emily would regret not having the fairy-tale day.

The string quartet struck up the wedding march and everyone stood. Emily appeared at the end of the aisle on Colonel Mendez’s arm. Ryan had been surprised when Emily said she wanted the colonel to give her away. But Emily, with her usual way of cutting through things, said that Mendez was responsible for all the good that had happened in her and Victoria’s lives recently. He’d given Victoria a job, and he’d done his best to give Emily a normal life after she’d returned from Qu’rim the first time. Not only that, but he was also the HOT commander—and without HOT, neither Emily nor Victoria would have their happily-ever-afters.

The colonel was sharp in his dress uniform with the eagles on his shoulders, but Emily outshone them all.

She wore a simple white dress that floated around her like she was a princess. It was strapless satin with a wide belt at the waist, and it flowed in one long silken wave to the ground. When she moved, it rippled around her. The only embellishment the dress needed was Emily.

Her golden hair was piled elaborately on her head, and a long veil was clipped somewhere in those curls and floated behind her. She had on a pearl necklace and earrings, and she carried a white bouquet.

Her smile was huge as she hobbled slowly down the aisle on the colonel’s arm, and Ryan thought he might drop to his knees they went so weak. Somehow he managed to stay standing.

His father gently elbowed him. “You gonna make it, son?” he whispered.

“Yes, sir. Definitely. You still got the ring?”

“Yes.”

The colonel stopped and the preacher asked who was giving this woman in matrimony.
 

“I am,” Colonel Mendez said, and then he stepped up and put Emily’s hand into Ryan’s.
 

When their fingers touched, a shiver of anticipation went through him. Her brown eyes didn’t leave his as he tucked her arm into the crook of his own.

The preacher began the ceremony, but all Ryan could think about was that this woman belonged to him. This remarkable, amazing woman who’d suffered through so much but who still had a resounding and optimistic spirit.
 

When it was time for the vows, Ryan knew what he planned to say. He and Emily faced each other, holding hands, and he looked into her eyes, seeing only love and acceptance there. He cleared his throat, knowing he was about to say words that might not be the most eloquent, but were the most heartfelt.

“Emily, you’ve taught me something about myself these past few months since I’ve known you. You’re the bravest, best person I know, and you’ve taught me that no one has to let their wounds define them. You’ve taught me that happiness isn’t predefined. Happiness is what you make it, what you let it make you. Happiness is as simple as a woman’s smile—
your
smile—and as complex as our baby growing inside you. I’m honored and bewildered that you’ve chosen me, but I vow to you that I will love you with everything I am and everything I ever will be. I will stand beside you, and I will stand between you and the world when you need me to. I will guard your heart, your feelings, and I will never let anyone harm you. I will be your rock in a storm and your anchor when you need it. You are everything to me, and I intend to make sure you know it for the rest of our lives.”

There were tears in her eyes as she squeezed his hands. Then she dropped her gaze and cleared her throat. When she looked up again, her eyes were still shining, but she seemed to have it under control.

“Ryan, when you look at me, you don’t see someone whose mistakes define her. You never have. I have always felt like you’ve seen me, the real me, and I’ve been amazed that you didn’t judge me for the things I’ve done. But that’s because you’re the kindest, most amazing man I’ve ever known. You see the good in people, and you made me believe that I was better than I thought I was. You made me see the good in me again. I can never thank you enough for that. I love you so much it scares me, and I’m still stunned you love me. I’m the luckiest woman alive and I know it. I promise to love you forever, and I promise to take care of you and honor you. I’ll be beside you no matter what, and yes, I will defend you when I have to. I know you don’t think that’ll happen since you’re way bigger than I am—”

Here people laughed, and he was glad because his heart was hammering and he was beginning to seriously doubt his ability to keep from shedding a tear as she talked.

“—But just in case it does, I want you to know I’m here. I vow to be the best partner, the best mother, and I vow to always let you be the first to know if I get any offers to join another mercenary group—”

More laughter. Hell, even he laughed.

“—Mostly I just vow to love you for who you are. You make me better, Ryan, and I need you.”

The preacher was still pronouncing them man and wife when Ryan dragged her into his arms and kissed her. It was a real kiss, not a sweet kiss for pictures or a kiss to prevent her lipstick from smearing.

No, he intended to smear her lipstick. And then he intended to carry her to his car and drive her to their hotel just as soon as he could decently do so, because he intended to mess up a lot more than her lipstick.

Vaguely, he realized people were cheering. Somehow he set Emily away from him. She laughed and pulled a tissue from somewhere, then she was wiping lipstick from his mouth. They walked down the aisle as the quartet played, through an honor guard of swords, and into the tent where the reception was being held.

Before he could say anything to her, they were set upon by well-wishers. Their friends laughed and offered congratulations. The men shook hands and the women kissed. His heart was full as he looked out over the gathering. His father was smiling and talking to the colonel, which made Ryan wonder how on earth anyone ever relaxed enough to smile at Colonel Mendez. The man exuded a raw energy that had you wondering what he was up to at all times.

Victoria appeared in front of him then, and he almost took a step back. He’d barely talked to her since they’d returned from the desert, but he knew she hadn’t been pleased with him. Even marrying Emily hadn’t been enough for her. She’d spent the past week at HOT HQ glaring at him—and when he’d walked onto the pistol range and she’d been standing there, grinning at him as she picked up her gun and shot the fucking target dead center without looking at it, he’d begun to seriously wonder if he’d survive the next mission they went on together.
 

But now she stood in front of him with tears in her eyes. Then she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him, and he almost wondered if he should be wary of a knife.

She stepped back and swiped beneath her eyes, and he nearly breathed a sigh of relief.
 

“I wasn’t sure about any of this, I’ll admit it,” she said. “But those vows—my God, you love her. You really do.”

“Yeah, I do.”

Her smile was wide and pretty. “Then that’s enough for me. Congratulations, Flash. And thanks for everything.”

“No, thank you. You’ve always believed in her and never stopped looking for her. I didn’t know her then, but I’m glad you didn’t give up. If you had…”

He shuddered to think that he might not have ever met Emily. That she might not have gotten free before it was too late.

Victoria squeezed his hand and then left him to go over and slip into Brandy’s arms.

Soon Ryan and Emily sat and listened to speeches while everyone was served dinner. After dinner, there was dancing. They danced their first dance together as man and wife with everyone cheering and clapping. After that, the party took off.