Page 43 of Seductive Secrets

As soon as James set her down, she spun to face him and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you!” she whispered to him, then grabbed his shirt and yanked him down so that she could kiss him. “I love you!” she whispered again, then kissed him again. And again!

James wrapped his arms around her, cradling her against him as he kissed her back. She was safe and James was with her.

James lifted his head, looking down into her eyes as his hands searched her body, looking for damage. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

“I think I’ll have a bruise on my ribs, but otherwise, I’m okay.”

The muscles in his jaw clenched but he made a visible effort to relax. With his hands on her upper arms, he looked down at her. “Damn it, Angela! Don’teverdo that to me again! I don’t think I could survive it if anything happened to you!”

She laughed, but it sounded suspiciously like a sob. “Marry me!” she whispered, blocking out the police that rushed over to take custody of a still sobbing Joe as the rodent clutched his gonads. “I’m sorry that I doubted you earlier. As soon as I realized what Joe was doing, all I could think about was you and how I could be back at the house with you!” She kissed him again. “I love you. You love me. Let’s get married and spend as much time together as we can, for as long as it lasts.”

James leaned back, but he kept his arms firmly around her. “It will last forever, Angela,” he assured her. “We’ll make it work. You and me, we can figure this out, one day at a time.”

“Are you sure?” she asked, pressing her hands to his chest and shivering as he smoothed his hands over her back and waist. “I mean…we can…!”

They moved further away from the scene where several officers were stuffing Joe into a squad car. He was screaming that he was a lawyer and he was going to sue everyone for false arrest, Angela for assault, and the store for the cut from the wine bottles that Angela had knocked over.

There was more chaos as the DEA and FBI arrived on the scene. Angela gave her statement five different times, struggling to think of any additional details that might help the officers.

Finally, the grocery store employees were allowed to begin cleaning up the broken glass and spilled wine and Angela was allowed to leave, still wrapped in James’ arms.

Dash was there as well, taking photos of everything, including her and James as he carried her out of the grocerystore. He snorted as he warned, “I’m sending this to the guys, you know.”

She rolled her eyes. “They won’t be interested.”

He chuckled. “I got your takedown on video. I’m posting it as a perfect example of a well-executed take down. Very impressive, little girl.”

Angela merely laughed at his use of “little girl”. He was freaked out as well and needed to tease her in order to calm his nerves. So she pulled out of James’ arms and walked over to Dash to give him a big hug. “I’m safe,” she whispered. “You taught me well. Those moves? All you, Dash.”

He held her tightly for a long moment and she felt his anger still sizzling through her. Anger and a whole host of other emotions.

When he pulled back, he nodded towards James. “He loves you, ya know.”

She looked over her shoulder at James, who was waiting impatiently for her to return to his arms. “I know. We’re getting married.”

Dash wasn’t surprised. “About time. The guy fellhardlast fall. Good to know that you’re finally putting him out of his misery.”

She laughed and hugged him again. “We’re going to try.”

He gave her a final squeeze and pulled back, shaking his head. “You only accomplish what you set out to do. Don’t try, Ang. Make it happen, just like you’ve controlled the world ever since I met you.”

She knew he was right. But before she could reply, James pulled her out of Dash’s arms and into his own. “We’regoing back to my place.” He tossed Dash the keys to his car. “Thanks for the offer of the house, but I want her in my home.”

Several hours later, Angela sighed happily as she snuggled up against James, both of them naked now and smiling. They were in his massive bed, in his beautiful home, and she was deliriously happy and sated.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He glanced at her with one eye as he stroked her naked back. “For doing that thing with my tongue that you like?” He laughed softly as she blushed.

“No,” she replied, but snuggled closer. “Well, yes, that too. Ireallylike that.”

He laughed again, tightening his arm briefly before he closed his eyes once more. “I know you do. In fact, I think my neighbors know how much you like it.”

She poked his chest. “I wasn’t talking about that. I was referring to earlier. At the grocery store.” She kissed his shoulder. “You were there for me. You came as soon as you realized something was wrong.”

His eyes opened with her words and he shifted, rolling so that he was over her. “I will always come for you, Angela. Always! Never doubt that.”

She smiled, sifting her fingers through his hair. “I know. When I was in the grocery store and Joe pulled the gun on me, my first thought was that I wasn’t alone and you’d figure out what was going on. It was nice to know that I wasn’t alone.”

---