Chapter 23

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

March 21 st

10:08 P.M.

This was her favorite place to be.

Right here in Miguel’s arms.

Too bad it wasn't possible to stay right where she was for the rest of her life. She didn't really need to go to work, did she? Or eat? Or shower? Or do anything other than this?

Since she had bills to pay, of course, she was going to have to get out of bed sooner or later, but Ella didn't want to think about that yet. Nor did she want to think about how being with Miguel wouldn't mean falling asleep in his arms every night or waking up each morning with the heat of his body soaking into hers.

Reality was that with his job, Miguel would be away a lot. Sometimes for months at a time. There were special days he’d miss, birthdays and holidays, and if they had kids then sometimes, she’d feel like a single mom. It would suck not to be able to be with him every single day, but she knew who he was and what he did when she fell for him, and having spent this past month without him Ella knew for certain she’d rather have him as much as she could than not at all.

“I can hear you thinking,” Miguel’s voice rumbled through the chest she was using as a pillow. “Second thoughts?”

The vulnerability in his voice made her sad. Miguel hadn't conquered his demons for her, he’d done it years ago for himself because he wanted a better life than his parents had, but he’d solidified his faith in himself for her. So, he never let her down by letting his issues touch her, and she wanted to do the same for him, wanted to never let him down, so he always knew how much he was appreciated and cared for.

Shifting so her chin was propped up on his chest she met his gaze. “I’m not having doubts about you, Miguel. Not now, not ever. I was just thinking of how much I'm going to miss you when your team gets called out and you're away. I know it’ll be hard at first, but we’ll figure out a system that works for us and our kids.”

“Kids?” Miguel asked with a lazy smile that made her stomach flutter.

“I’ve always wanted a big family, at least four kids, so now’s the time to speak up if you only want one or two,” she informed him.

The smile grew bigger. “I don’t care how many kids you want, honey. I’ll have a dozen if it makes you happy.” His smile faltered. “It is going to be rough being with me though, El. I will be away a lot. Sometimes, I won't even be able to give you a warning first. I’ll just get a call and have to go. I could be away a couple of days or a couple of months, and I won't ever be able to talk to you about it.”

It was clear Miguel was concerned about this, and while she was absolutely not looking forward to it, she also absolutely believed they would find a way to make the best of it. “Miguel, as long as you are one hundred percent present when you're home that’s all I'm ever going to ask of you. I know your job, I work at Prey so I'm familiar with security clearances, and I do believe we can make this work. I'm all in.”

“All in,” he said softly like he enjoyed the sound of the words and what they represented. “I'm all in, too, honey. And I promise you here and now that when I'm home you’ll get all of me.”

“That’s all I ask,” she assured him.

“And you have it.” Miguel touched a kiss to the tip of her nose. Then his hand, which had been resting on her hip, dipped a little so his fingers could brush across her center. “So you really want a whole lot of kids?”

“Mmm,” she moaned as he found her bud and began to circle it slowly, teasingly. “Yeah. A whole bunch. I loved having three sisters and always knew I wanted at least the same number of kids my parents had.”

“By the time Luis and I went to live with our foster parents, their four biological kids were already adults, so it’s always just been the two of us. I think I like the idea of a big family though.”

“Big families mean always having company, someone to play with and talk to.” Ella sucked in a breath when the tip of his finger edged inside her only to disappear as he resumed trailing lazy circles over her bundle of nerves.

Two could play that game.

“If we want a big family we should probably get in lots of practice,” she told him as she grasped his erection and began to slide her hand up and down his length, loving the way it jerked at her touch.

“Oh yeah, honey, I agree. Lots of practice.” Miguel’s hands moved to grasp her hips, and he lifted her up so she was straddling his thighs.

“Mmm,” she moaned again as his tip nestled against her entrance, teasing her, teasing them both if Miguel’s expression was anything to go by. “All positions.”

“Definitely.” Miguel sucked in a breath as she sank down just enough to take the first inch of him inside her. “Should probably try out different locations in the house, too.”

“I'm down for that.” Ella’s head tipped back as she took another inch.

“Different times of the day, too.”

“Maybe we should just stay here and keep practicing.”

“I'm down for that. Who needs jobs anyway?”

Ella giggled. “I’m thinking we do if we want a dozen kids.” A dozen was really too many, but she’d take four or five, even six. Cute little boys with dark hair and eyes, loyal and strong, protective just like their daddy. And adorable little girls with her blonde hair and green eyes, ready to conquer the world because they’d know from day one that they could do anything they set their minds to.

With a house filled with love, laughter, and a whole lot of noise, she’d never feel lonely again. Hadn't felt lonely since Miguel had appointed himself her friend and protector, then grown to be so much more.

“Let’s start trying,” she said, sinking the rest of the way down until Miguel was buried deep inside her.

“For real?” His hands—still on her hips—stilled her when she tried to roll them to create the friction she needed. “You want to start trying for a baby?”

“As soon as I go off birth control.”

“We’ve only known each other a couple of months and spent hardly any time together. You really want to try to get pregnant this soon?”

“Not if you're not ready, but who gets to decide what's soon and what's not?” Had it been a short amount of time? Sure. But so what? What was the appropriate amount of time to wait before starting a family? “Besides, by the time I go off birth control and we actually get pregnant, it would likely be several months maybe even more than a year. Then nine months of cooking before we’d actually have a baby. But we both have to be ready before we start trying.”

“All in.”

“All in,” she agreed.

“I'm ready to start trying any time you are, honey.” Then Miguel finally released his grip on her hips and she began to move.

Meeting her thrust for thrust, the fingers of one of his hands working her bud while his other played with her nipples, Ella quickly felt pleasure ignite. Each time she lifted her hips then sunk back down again, that pleasure began to grow.

But in the end, it wasn't the feel of Miguel inside her, wasn't the way he circled her bundle of nerves, wasn't the tweaking of her nipples that had her orgasm exploding inside her, it was the look in his eyes.

Love.

Whether they’d said the words out loud or not, she felt it, saw it in the way he watched her, and she made sure her own eyes conveyed the same emotion.

As the powerful orgasm began to ebb, Ella rested against Miguel’s chest, keeping his length snug inside her, not ready yet to lose that connection.

“It feels wrong to say but I’m kind of glad Dora Hibbert went off the deep end, decided to blame my team for finding out about her husband’s affairs, and decided she wanted revenge,” Ella whispered as she nuzzled her face against Miguel’s neck. “If she hadn't, I never would have been threatened and gone to Mexico and you never would have come after me, and we wouldn't be here right now.”

“I never knew this level of happiness existed,” Miguel said as he wrapped her tightly in an embrace.

“Me either,” she agreed. For as long as she could remember, Ella had known she’d wanted to find someone to love, marry them, have kids, and spend a lifetime enjoying one another, growing old side by side. There had been times it had felt like a fairytale, something that shimmered constantly out of reach, something that could never become a reality.

Now she’d found it, and it was infinitely better than she had ever imagined.

When Ava is rescued by Nathaniel after falling victim to a human organ trafficking ring she’s determined to shut them down in the first book in the action packed and emotionally charged Prey Security: Cyber Team series!

Rescuing Nathaniel (Prey Security: Cyber Team #1)