Page 61 of Final Vendetta

Once he stepped out of his shoes and his clothes joined mine, he steered me toward the bed, carefully lowering me onto the surface.

His mouth captured mine again, his kiss so deep and full of emotion it took everything in me not to break into tears. We’d shared so many moments during our time together, both before and now. But this moment, knowing he was finally mine, that we finally made it to this point, it was so much bigger than I thought possible.

“Please,” I begged, wrapping my legs around his waist and circling my hips.

“What do you need?” he rasped, burying his head in the crook of my neck, teeth nipping, tongue teasing.

“You, Gideon.” I held his face in my hands. “Always you.”

Without breaking eye contact, he slid inside of me.

There were no punishing thrusts or desperate drives. Instead, he took his time, savoring me inch by inch, letting me feel all of him. Letting meseeall of him.

It was almost too much. But at the same time, it wasn’t enough.

When he was fully seated, he stayed there for several long moments, his face pinched, as if he was struggling to contain all the sensations consuming him.

Then he exhaled, all the tension rolling off him in waves. He captured my mouth, his tongue swiping against mine in a tantalizingly slow rhythm that matched the way he currently pushed in and out of me.

I held him close as we chased our bliss, our bodies working in perfect harmony until we both fell over the edge together.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Gideon

I leaned against the wet bar in the back yard of Imogene’s parents’ Atlanta home, unable to tear my eyes from her as she sat beside her mother on a wicker couch. The warm summer sun cast a golden glow over everything, from the sparkling pool to the lush green grass. Imogene’s laughter, that light, airy sound I hadn’t heard enough of in the past few weeks, rang out over the conversation. For a moment, it eased something deep inside me.

As much as I enjoyed the idea of staying in Hilton Head forever, it wasn’t reality. Imogene had been cleared to return to work, so we needed to get back to California.

But we needed to stop in Atlanta first. I promised as much when I called Imogene’s mom and stepfather to ask for their permission to marry her. Honestly, I didn’t think they’d agree, not when they knew the truth about who I was.

To my surprise, they didn’t voice a single hesitation. Instead, they thanked me for asking them, but said Imogene was an adult and they trusted her judgment to do what she believed was in her best interests.

Lucky for me, she said yes.

I should have been happy. In many ways, I was. But there was still that niggle of worry in the back of my mind, the onewhispering that I didn’t deserve this. That all of this could be taken away.

“I don’t think I’ve seen her smile this much in ages.” Henry’s voice cut through the haze of my thoughts, and I snapped my attention away from Imogene, meeting his eyes. “It’s good to see her happy.”

“Yes, it is.” I brought my scotch up to my mouth.

“It’s good to see you happy, too. Now that you’ve finally pulled your head out of your ass.”

I chuckled and raised my glass in a mock salute. “Thanks to you.”

“You would have figured it out eventually. I’m just glad I could give you the push you needed.”

“Thanks, brother.” I passed him a genuine smile, grateful for his constant support.

“Anytime.” He held my gaze for a beat before clearing his throat and lowering his voice. “I did some digging into that FBI agent like you asked.”

The mention of Agent Myers brought me back to reality. The past few days had been such a blur. Not to mention, it felt like Imogene and I were living in a bubble, so far removed from our worries.

Now we were back in the real world again. With it, came the reminder of all the problems still facing us.

“What did you find?” I asked, trying to mask the anxiety creeping into my voice.

“It’s not much,” he admitted, his tone apologetic. “But he went to the same college as Brian McGuire. They were even in the same forensics class about thirty years ago. Apparently, McGuire was a criminal justice major before he switched to mortuary science.”

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