Page 53 of No Man Left Behind

Elina led the way to her room, feeling a little awkward. That made her laugh at herself. If she was going to live with Marcus, he was going to see all her things anyway. At least she was relatively tidy. Living out of her car and duffels over the past year had taught her a lot about organization. Growing up in third-world countries meant she got by with far fewer things than most people in first-world countries.

It only took a few minutes to pack up her clothes, books, and toiletries. Marcus waited at the door, leaning against the doorjamb. Eyes hot and heavy.

She loved that look.

With the bag slung over her shoulder, she moved back to the door, but Marcus didn’t move. His lips curved as she approached, and she kept moving until she was right in his space.

He lifted a hand and brushed a finger along her jawline, sending shivers cascading over her skin. “Ready?”

With him. For almost everything. She nodded, and the heat flared higher.

“I have some plans.” His growl had her heart bumping.

“I bet I’m going to like them.”

His grin flashed. “I plan to ensure you do.”

She liked the sound of that. He slid her duffel off her shoulder. With his other hand, he lifted her chin for a long, lingering kiss. Her already-revved system nearly exploded right there.

For a moment, she considered locking the door and making good use of the bed behind them. But they’d have more privacy at Marcus’s place.

Carl and Jim waited at the bottom of the stairs, making her very glad she hadn’t given in to the desire simmering.

Carl held up a covered dish. “I made too much chicken parmigiana for tonight. You can return the dish another day.”

“Thank you.”

Jim pulled her in for a hug. “We’re going to miss you.”

She hugged him back. “I’m not going far.”

Carl joined the hug. “We’ll call you for dinner.”

“I’d like that.”

Finch barked and hopped up to put his paws on them and join in the hug.

It helped Elina laugh and suck back the tears that had been building. “Hey, Finch. I’m going to miss you, too.”

Jim patted the dog. “We’re thinking shared fostering. You can have him whenever you’d like. Otherwise, he’ll stay here and get his kitten fix.”

Finch barked and licked her hand. She leaned down to hug him. “That sounds perfect.”

“Once your place is puppy-proof, he can do overnight visits if you want. He’d be a good extra layer of protection.”

Which reminded her they still hadn’t figured out who’d hurt those animals. “I’m hoping that guy left the area. It’s been a while.”

Marcus shrugged. “He might be back, or he could be laying low in a nearby town. We’re not dropping our guard. We can pick up a dog bed and the rest tomorrow. We’ll make sure nothing in the house can hurt Finch.”

After they said their goodbyes, they took her car over to Marcus’s home. The B&B would need the extra space for incoming guests. It barely took a minute to drive to the quiet street where he lived. When they reached it, Marcus patted her hand. “Hang on for a second, and I’ll open the garage so you can drive in. I’ve got an extra remote I can give you, so you don’t have to get out of the car to pull in.”

“What about your car?”

He laughed and pointed to where he’d backed his car into the wide driveway. “I rarely park inside unless it’s going to be snow. Sometimes even those few extra seconds can be important.”

He was such a good man. She waited while he opened the large door and drove into the space. Once the door was down, he grabbed her duffel and her hand. “Come on inside. Let’s get started on those plans.”

Marcus loved waking up with Elina in his arms. They’d made love several times before drifting to sleep, twined together. He hoped he’d be waking up like this for the rest of his life.

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