Page 29 of Conquering the Skies

Ash twirled a lock of Geneva’s hair around his finger. “All right, you’ve succeeded in piquing my interest. What is it?”

Marcus’s crooked smile curved his lips and he held out his arms. “Me.”

Geneva’s eyebrow shot up. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me.” He matched Adele’s posture, resting his elbows on his knees. “If you’re up for it—and it’s completely up to you, and we’re fine either way—I can join you in your room tonight.” His gaze flicked toward his wife for a split second before turning his attention back to them. “No ground rules, nothing off-limits, whatever you want to do. Just the three of us.”

Her heart skipped a beat, but confusion tempered her hope and hidden desires. “Adele? You’re sure about this?”

“We wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t sure.” Reaching over, she laced her fingers through Marcus’s. “Plenty of crazy things have happened since I met all of you, but no matter what, I’m confident and secure in our relationship.” Her grasp on him strengthened. “As long as I’m always your number one priority, right?”

“Of course.” He raised her hand to his lips and planted a kiss on top.

Ash smirked. “It’s great how you’re not concerned about where his loyalties lie, but aren’t you worried about missing out on all the fun?”

She let out an airy laugh. “With the wedding and work and everything, this is like a vacation for me, and I came prepared. Regardless of what happens tonight, I plan on turning off my communicator and settling in with my headphones, my favorite books and shows, and maybe even a hot bath.”

Marcus leaned back and propped up one foot on the opposite knee. “So, what do you say? I promise I won’t be offended if you turn me down, but if you want, I’m yours for the taking.”

Geneva’s pulse raced at the idea of having uninhibited access to him, and then she felt a twinge of guilt at how easily the lascivious thoughts flashed through her mind on the day of her marriage to another man. Swiveling in her seat, she faced Ash. “What do you think?”

“Well,” he said, drawing out the word as he tapped his chin in a theatrical gesture. “I think I’m going to set a good precedent here and defer to the judgment of my lovely wife.”

“Oh, stop.” She gave his shoulder a firm yet playful poke. “That’s not how this works. We’re supposed to make important decisions together.”

“And this is clearly of the utmost importance, something which could change the course of our lives forever,” he teased. His hand rested on her leg, warmth radiating from his palm. “The way I see it, neither one of us has gotten where we are without taking every opportunity which has presented itself.” With his fingertip, he traced one of the embroidered patterns on her dress, inching closer to the top of her thigh. “I know what you want, so I say we really make this a night to remember.”

Anticipation prickled along her skin. “Is this the part where someone says ‘Let’s go upstairs?’”

Grinning, Marcus stood and extended one hand to Adele for her to do the same. “Might as well be me, then. Let me grab my suitcase from my room and I’ll meet you in yours.”

Ash sprang to his feet. “Sounds like a plan. I’ll go tell the staff we’re done out here so they can start cleaning up.”

As the men headed toward the main building, Geneva hung back to walk alongside Adele. “Um…thank you, I guess,” she mumbled. “You’re sure you—”

“Yes. I promise.” Her shoes clicked on the stone path as they navigated its turns. “It may have taken me a while to get to this point, but, like I said, I’m comfortable with what we offered. And Marcus wouldn’t have agreed to this if he’d thought I’d had any doubts or reservations.”

Geneva nodded then swallowed. “For what it’s worth, while I won’t bother rehashing the details of all our past conversations, if it ever came down to it, he’d choose you without hesitation.”

“I know.” Pausing, she turned to face her and shrugged. “I think believing that made me realize I don’t need to force anything upon him, or make him choose in order to prove his love, or whatever. For the longest time, I was convinced what we had was too good to be true andsomethinghad to come along eventually to get in the way of our relationship.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “But it never happened, and I didn’t want any negative thoughts I had to be the thing to sabotage us. I know Marcus loves me, and I don’t need as much convincing as I used to.”

She fidgeted with the strap of her dress. “One would think him marrying you is pretty solid evidence,” she tried to joke.

A tiny smile reappeared. “It did help a bit, yes.”

They arrived at the porch and climbed up the steps to the front door. “I mean it sincerely, though,” Geneva said. “Thank you.”

Adele’s eyes twinkled in the muted light streaming out from the windows. “You’re welcome. Now I can say I got you the most unique wedding gift you’ll ever receive.”

Her shoulders rose and fell with a snort of laughter. “Enjoy your book and bath.”

Geneva wandered around the lower level of the building until she found Ash coming out of the kitchen. “Everything okay?” she asked.

“Better than okay, I’d say.” Snaking one arm around her waist, he slammed their bodies together and captured her lips in a crushing kiss. His fingers threaded through her hair as his tongue delved into her mouth, making her knees tremble.

As much as she longed to lose herself to his kiss, she drew back. “I meant with the employees and the tent and everything,” she said, attempting to keep her breathing steady. “Don’t you think we should go up to our room before you start tearing my clothes off?”

“Hmm, true. You never know, we might want to stay here again at some point in the future.” Before she could react, he scooped her into his arms and carried her across the room to the bottom of the staircase. “And I was going to ask permission before I did anything to possibly damage your very pretty dress.”

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