Page 68 of Embattled Ever After

His eyes flashed for a moment in the darkness, and she knew he was remembering making love. Had she accidentally reminded him of that? Yeah, maybe. She wanted some kind of reaction from him.

“We did fit well,” he agreed. “Very well.”

Alex drummed her fingers on the steering wheel and they let the silence lengthen.

“Do you have a place to stay?”

In spite of herself she chuckled, and arousal swept through her. “I have a hotel room, just a few blocks away.”

“Okay,” Duncan said, a little too light-hearted. He pushed open the door and slid out of the SUV. “You’ll be around tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

With a final wave, he shut the door and walked to his truck. She waited until he got in and started it, then she pulled away. She couldn’t help but glance into the rear view mirror, watching as he turned in the opposite direction she did. It wouldn’t be hard to find his house again.

Forcing herself to glance away, she headed to her hotel. They wouldn’t solve anything by sleeping together again.

Chapter Twenty-One

Aiden could havelaughed at what was happening in front of him. Oh, the irony. Duncan was a very identifiable figure. And the doctor, with her red hair, was also very recognizable, even in the dark of the night. There were a lot of lights in this lot, and he’d seen her when they’d driven within feet of his truck. He’d hunkered down so they wouldn’t see him, then lifted back up when they were focused on each other.

The two of them seemed… attracted. Like they could reach out at any moment and kiss.

I wonder what that’s like, just reaching out to touch someone with tenderness rather than pain…

A man got out of a car and walked through the lot to the front entrance of the hospital. Not LeBoutin.

Francoise LeBoutin was a slender man with dark hair. Of French descent, via the Foreign Legion, Aiden had been introduced to him several months ago. The Frenchman had been the one to kill Rector, of that Aiden had no doubt. When the four of them had gone off the rails, they’d been given a deadline to return, and as a group, they’d decided to miss it. They were going to stand up for themselves, even if it killed them.

Aiden had taken care of the first assassin who had come after him, and now he would take care of the second. Then he was going after the rest.

***

John sat staringout the window. Actually, he’d been unmoving for so long the nurses thought he might have fallen asleep. Poor thing. She’d worried him till he couldn’t eat or think about anything other than her safety.

Shannon understood it was hard having no family. It was actually one of the reasons why she thought John hadn’t proposed to her sooner. If they had an actual marriage in a church, there would be family for her, but only friends for him. Now, not to get her wrong, friends were great. But there was just something… unflinching and reinforcing about having family on your side.

In her heart, she wondered what had ever happened to John’s brother and mother. Surely they hadn’t both died. The one time she’d asked him about them he’d completely shut her down. He definitely didn’t want any contact with his mother, and he didn’t think his brother—if there was one—would want anything to do with a cripple like him.

She would hope after the past year that John would feel like he had more to offer, but maybe he didn’t. Maybe when she was further along in her pregnancy she would suggest he look him up again.

John turned his head when something caught his attention and she smiled. When he was around she had no worries. Big and brawny, even in the chair he made her feel safe.

Her glance landed on the huge array of flowers Alex had brought. They were stunning and if she were closer she would lean over and bury her nose in them. There was a hint of fragrance in the air.

Alex was one of those people who seemed aloof and so smart, but there was a glimmer of something in her eyes—a loneliness and a need—that said she wanted to be a part of something. She was kind of in the same boat as John. Alex just had her dad, and since he was in Afghanistan somewhere, she didn’t get to see him often at all. Shannon thought she’d seemed to appreciate being a part of their group while she’d been in Denver.

Duncan hadn’t returned like he’d said he would. Had he been lucky enough run into Alex, by chance? Shannon definitely hoped so. Those two needed to just go ahead and fuck and straighten things out. She laughed to herself. John had so rubbed off on her. She said and thought the F word more than ever now. That would have to change when they had the babies.

Reaching for the iPad mini and headphones that Lora had brought her she plugged in. Then, something Alex had said popped into her head. The VA was looking for test subjects for a new study. Tapping info into the browser, she started exploring.

***

Duncan paced throughthe living room, wondering why the hell he’d let Alex go. The woman lived two states away and probably wouldn’t come out again in the near future if he didn’t speak up about his feelings for her. When he’d seen her in the hallway, he’d been stunned, but the emotion in his heart had almost choked him. Rather than wrap her in his arms and kiss her senseless, he’d just stood there like a damned tree. She’d been a little reticent as well, so which one of them was going to have to make the first move?

It was obvious by his reaction to her that he was in love with her. It had kind of been creeping up on him, but tonight it had been so evident.

If he knew where she was staying, he would drive over there. Or would he? He felt a little like he was walking on rough ground. It had been years… hell, a decade… since he’d professed his love to anyone, and look how well that had turned out.

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