Page 86 of Ace
“Well, let’s get serious about making us some babies then.” With one slippery rush, Keller slipped into her body, branding her with his thick heat. His passion.
“Yes,” she cried into his shoulder, completely undone at the depth of love for him. For this man, she’d do anything. Everything. “Yes, yes. Ah, yessss.”
“I love you, Savannah,” he purred against her cheek. “You are my world. My sun and my moon. My shiny Christmas star.”
There were no words, not as strong as this second orgasm was. She couldn’t have answered if she’d tried. Breathing hard, the sensational sexual storm dissipated too quickly, leaving tidal surges that clenched Keller’s manhood, still tugging him into her heat.
She lost all control, all sense of composure. He did that to her, his eyes lit amber in sunlight. “I stink,” she told him. “I need a shower.”
Ducking his head, he licked between her breasts, her neck and up to her chin. “Uh uh,” he growled before he ended with a sloppy, wet kiss on her mouth. “I love the way you smell. The way you taste. I love everything about you. Ready for more?”
She was still panting. “More?”
His smile couldn’t have been wider. Keller was adorable now that he’d realized he was in love. How could she refuse? “Always,” she told him. “Always and always.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Keller stood ramrod straight beside Savannah on the steps of the historic Saint Mary’s Basilica in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Sandwiched between Wolf Street and Duke Street, a mere four blocks from the Potomac, the old church boasted a reverence he’d only witnessed during Savannah’s prayers.
But it’d been years since he’d dared defile a sacred building with his presence, the last and only time when he’d married. That had been an Army wedding, complete with a couple rowdy guys from his unit. Carol Marie had cried, she’d been so happy. He’d teared up, too. But today? Here and now? He ducked when he entered the heavy wooden doorway, just in case God really kept track of sinners who darkened His holy places.
But there he was—in church—dressed in a new suit, one Savannah insisted he purchase for Isaiah’s son’sbaptism. One constructed of one hundred percentMélange-weave Italian linen, as if Keller knew or cared what that was. He didn’t care it was a light gray called‘heather myst’either. One of his reliable black work suits would’ve been good enough.
He had opted for a simple cotton polo to go with the blazer, but no, no, no. Savannah shushed that notion right off his lips. Like any man being railroaded by a pretty woman, he would’ve argued, and he might’ve won. But then she kissed him because she’d thought she’d hurt his feelings. And damn. Because of that steaming hot, sultry Southern kiss, and the fact that whenever Savannah kissed him, he lost his ever-loving mind, Keller bought the damned suit and a white cotton button-down shirt to go with it. Then he bought socks to match the suit and new underwear, which werenotgray, just to make her happy. And there he was, dressed for fashion in a House of God where lightning could still strike and turn him to a charred corpse any second now. But she’d said he looked handsome...
‘I’m a sucker for this woman,’he admitted to the Man on the Cross.‘Thank you for bringing her into my life, sir. Thank you very much. And for Dad, too.’
It hadn’t been hard to track down Shane Boniface. Tucker had the report of Shane’s military service on Keller’s desk the morning he made it into the office. Sgt. 1stClass Shane Joseph Boniface, 39, of Lawrence, Kansas, assigned to the 1stBattalion, 3rdSpecial Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
How about that? Keller’s dad had been Army special forces. He’d been one of three operators sent intoeastern Afghanistan, province of Ghazni, to rescue a female reporter who’d thought she could hide behind a veil to get a story. Shane and the reporter were the only ones who’d survived. An IED took the other two. Which made Shane’s death at Queen Elaine’s hands all the worse. She’d murdered an American hero with a case of severe PTSD who’d simply self-medicated with alcohol. He wasn’t the first and he surely wouldn’t be the last.
With all his heart, Keller wanted to dig her sorry ass up and kill her again. But he kept it together, even thanked his boss that day.
Tucker had shrugged and told him, “No problem. That’s my job.” But it wasn’t. Not really. Tucker just did what good bosses everywhere did. He looked out for his men and women. He meant what he said and he said what he meant.
Keller meant to pay that kindness forward. He’d already begun the process. At long last, Sgt. 1stClass Shane Boniface was coming home. In less than a month, his body would be exhumed and put to its eternal rest in Section 60, Arlington National Cemetery, where other American heroes lay. It was the least Keller could do for the father who saved his life.
But Isaiah said the baptism was a private affair?Yeah right.Keller didn’t recognize everyone in attendance, but he knew all the main players. Tucker and Melissa sat in the front row with their son, Deuce, as well as Isaiah, Roxy, their baby son, and Hayden Thurston, Roxy’s father. A heavy-duty, camouflage-colored baby carrier that looked tough enough towithstand Armageddon rested next to Hayden. Had to be a gift from Tucker.
Tate and his wife Winslow sat alongside Eden and Ky in the second row. Their son Kyler bounced on his daddy’s thighs, drooling, one hand stuffed in his mouth. Next to Ky sat Eden’s uncle, the famous and more often than not discredited by both press and president alike, FBI Director Zachary Strong, his pretty wife Helen at his side. Married for more than thirty years, they made a striking couple. When Helen tipped around her husband and smiled at Kyler, the little tyke all but dropped into her waiting hands. Director Strong grinned as Kyler was passed from his father to a great aunt who obviously adored him.
Intermingled among those friends was a large group of contractors, Alex Stewart, his former military men and women. Mr. Stewart and his wife Kelsey were seated in the front pew of the side section, him looking relaxed in a silvery business suit and pink tie, his gorgeous wife in a matching pink dress. Their little girl Lexie Rose, a brown-eyed, curly-haired clone of her mother, sat with Mark Houston and his family. The little girl holding Lexie had to be their oldest, but darn. Keller couldn’t remember all Mark’s kids’ names. But he’d never forget Mark’s wife.
It was Libby’s sister who’d died during that bungled FBI operation in Wisconsin a couple years back. Faith. He’d never forget that name, either. The operation had been a POS from the beginning. Keller hadn’t been part of the Bureau then, but he knew that, if not for Stewart charging in and taking over like the ass he could be,Libby would’ve lost her entire family. The Bureau had failed to protect and serve—miserably. In that failure alone, they’d also lost nearly a dozen agents.
Only later was the betrayer inside the Bureau discovered. Once again, it was one of Stewart’s men who’d charged to the rescue. Only Libby’s husband, Mark Houston, hadn’t realized he’d ended Faith’s killer with a single shot to his smug face the day Mark and Ky Winchester rescued Eden, Isaiah, and his father. The whole convoluted story didn’t come out until weeks later, after the Justice Department completed their investigation into the FBI’s handling of the case.
But it was true. In the end, conniving Karma had come through with one helluva royal bitch slap. In her roundabout,I’ve-got-all-the-time-in-the-universe-to give-you-precisely-what-you-deserveway, she’d sent Faith Clifton’s USMC brother-in-law, Mark Houston, to end FBI Special Agent Matt Hartigen, the lying bastard behind the bungled operation. And like most greedy bastards out to rule the world, Hartigen never saw Karma coming. Guess you just had to have—Faith—that the universe would provide. Faith and a company of snipers.
Harley and Judy Mortimer sat behind the Stewarts, along with their twin boys, both smaller versions of their father. Blond, blue-eyed Connor Maher, his wife Izza and their kids completed the second row. Interestingly, Connor sported a black eye this morning. What was that about?
Laid back Zach was present, along with Mei and their daughters. Keller couldn’t remember the girls’names, but they were a cute handful. With Zach’s massive build, his mocha coloring, and Mei’s lovely Chinese glow, they made a gorgeous couple. Zach gave Keller one of those knowing chin nods. Keller returned the greeting.
More of Alex’s other agents and their families filled the following rows. Rory and Ember Dennison were there along with Taylor and Gracie Armstrong, Maverick and China Carson, Adam and Shannon Torrey, to name a few.Well hello,even Alex’s former senior agent, Roy Hudson was there with an elegant black woman seated at his side. Was that his ex-wife? They sure looked chummy.
And how about that? Murphy Finnegan sat in the same pew with Roy. Man, this baptism was like old home week. Keller hadn’t seen Roy since he’d retired a few years back after getting shot on that wild operation in Utah. The same with Murphy. He hadn’t been in the District much since he’d taken over The TEAM’s Seattle office. Looked like the Pacific Northwest agreed with the old fart.
Beau Villanueva! Now that was a surprise. But there he was with his wife McKenna. Keller’s hand came up without thinking. Beau waved back. The older Hispanic couple sitting with them must be his parents. Keller waved at them, too. Now there was a story worth the telling. Keller hadn’t worked with Beau, but he knew the tough guy’s pain. Their childhoods weren’t so different.
