Chapter Nineteen

A m I dead?

At first, Ellie didn’t know. Her head ached, her shoulder burned and she felt like a drowned rat who’d been spun around the washing machine one too many times. Not cognizant of how much time had passed, her eyes slowly fluttered open and the first thing she saw was Wes’ handsome face, so full of concern. A little frantic even. She hated when he worried about her. The last time he looked at her like this, she’d come home late after being stuck in insane traffic because of an accident on the expressway. She hadn’t been able to call him because her phone had died and the moment she walked into the door, he’d swept her into his arms and kissed her.

“Don’t you ever make me worry like that again,” he’d admonished her.

“Keep kissing me like that and I might be tempted to—” He’d silenced her with a toe-curling, back-bending, soul-searing kiss that had left her as floppy as a noodle in his arms.

“Oh, my God.”

“You’re okay.” Wes slicked her wet hair back off her face, cradling her against his chest. “The bullet knocked you off your feet and you have a graze on your shoulder, but we’ll get it wrapped up.”

“Oh, my God,” she repeated as beautiful clarity struck completely.

“You got a pretty good knot on your head when you fell—”

“I remember!” she exclaimed, pure joy rushing through her.

Wes’ mouth dropped open. He couldn’t even get the words out before she pushed herself up in his lap and met his startled gaze. Cupping his face, she stared deeply into his dark chocolate eyes, her forever safe place, and every dangling thread of a memory she’d been scrambling to desperately reach was back in her head, as magnificent and potent as before.

“Y-you remember me?” he asked, voice full of awe, as his team looked on, listening.

“I remember everything . That moment we first smiled at each other at the freshman mixer and the way you made my entire world stop. Our disastrous first date which turned out to be one of the best nights of my life—I was so nervous about kissing you for the first time. But it was so perfect. I remember the rain falling down and the way your mouth felt moving against mine. You tasted like chocolate and peanut butter. I remember how fast and hard I fell in love with you. How good you always were to me and the love in your eyes. Always so much love.”

They clasped hands and Ellie couldn’t stop. Almost thirty years of memories came spilling out of her and she didn’t want to miss a thing. “I remember how you hated school, but tried to stay in for me, but we decided the Navy was a better option for you. I remember you didn’t have a lot of money to buy an engagement ring, so you started working at the car wash that summer. I remember you spraying me and we got into the most epic water fight. And then we somehow wound up kissing on the car’s hood, covered in suds and completely soaked.”

“That was a great day. Made that extra job so worth it,” he joked, but she heard the way he choked up, and she couldn’t miss the tears shining in his eyes. “Plus, it let me put a ring on your finger.”

“You were always so good to me.”

Suddenly, the rest of the world fell away. Wes’ team, the dead pirates, the pounding of the surf. In that one, solitary moment, it was just Ellie and her Wes.

“You know what the best thing about losing my memory was?” she whispered, completely lost in him. “Getting to fall in love with you all over again.”

Wes pulled her tightly against his chest and buried his face in the curve of her neck. “I love you, Ellie-Bean. More than anything in this whole damn world.”

“I love you, Weston James. Thank you for being so patient with me and never giving up.”

She heard him sniff, felt his tears on her neck, and he squeezed her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe. “Always, my love. Always…”

◆◆◆

After leaving more dead pirates in their wake, including Nayvadius, Brand declared it was time for the team to get the hell out of Indonesia, and Wes couldn’t have agreed more. But first, the team checked in with their handler to get their final instructions. Mitch directed them to hide the plutonium pit on a deserted island, pretty far off-grid. It would be retrieved by a SEAL team and then taken to an undisclosed, safe location. Without the core, the warhead was useless. Even so, Mitch gave them instructions to take the empty case to another unoccupied island and bury it at specific coordinates. Most likely, it would get picked up by the same SEALs.

Once they finished stashing the atomic booty, Wes, Ellie and the guys packed up and headed to the small airport. The private plane took off and everyone settled in for the long flight home. Wes had shoved the armrest up, dragged Ellie onto his lap and they’d gone back and forth softly sharing memories until she’d fallen asleep in his arms.

His wife was one-hundred percent back—mentally and physically—and his heart overflowed with a joy he could barely comprehend much less put into words. So, instead, he just kept dropping kisses all over her face and in her soft hair which smelled like honeysuckle sprinkled with sea salt. He had to have his arms around her, couldn’t stop touching her and telling her how much he loved her. He hadn’t always been so good at communicating his feelings. That’s something Ellie had taught him.

Every guy on his team sent him nods and smiles. They couldn’t have been happier for him and Wes would be eternally grateful for all they’d done. It was a victory for them all. After he thought he’d lost Ellie, they’d all been there and done their best to help him. And now they were there with him when it all turned into the happiest ending possible. He loved them like the brothers he never had.

Wes did his best to stay awake and cherish every little thing about his wife—the way her chest rose and fell with quiet breaths, how she snuggled against him and felt so warm, and the way her lovely scent filled him—but, eventually, sleep came and he drifted off, knowing that he was a damn lucky man. The luckiest in the world.

◆◆◆

Ellie was excited and exhausted after the long flight back to Montana. Although she hadn’t spent much time in Cielo Springs, she could see it as the perfect place to start over and make new memories. They hadn’t discussed it yet, but she had no intention or desire to return to Michigan. She was also greatly looking forward to finally being alone with her husband. The moment they stepped into the house, she jumped him, wrapping her arms and legs around him and slamming her mouth against his.

They kissed long and hard, speaking without words. They didn’t need words when their hearts and souls were so completely in sync. Their tongues stroked, bodies straining against each other, searching for completion.

Ellie finally broke the kiss and released her hold around his neck. Slowly, she slid down the length of his body then sent him a sultry smirk. “Are you ready to take this to the bedroom?”

“You have no idea how long I’ve been ready.” He swept her off her feet and carried her down the hallway. When he reached the bed, he tossed her on it and she grinned up at him. She didn’t think of it as just Wes’ bedroom any longer, but their bedroom. And, right now, she couldn’t wait to make some new memories in there.

Wes sat down on the edge of the mattress and the moment he reached for his prosthetic, Ellie slid off the bed. She dropped to her knees and brushed his hands away. “Let me,” she murmured.

With ease, she removed the limb, fitted sock and liner. She loved how vulnerable he was with her and knew how much courage that required. Especially for a man, a former SEAL who’d been taught strength and self-reliance were so important. It didn’t make him weak, but so much stronger because he could share the deepest, most private parts of himself with her and have no fear of being judged. Had he guarded himself, it would’ve closed them off from experiencing the deep intimacy they shared. And that would’ve been tragic, Ellie thought, as she dropped a series of kisses all over his beautifully damaged leg.

His courage to live and respond from his heart was the most profound sign of bravery and masculinity. Ellie never had to pretend with him and they accepted each other, flaws and all, on an intrinsic, soul level. They saw each other’s imperfections as perfections.

“I need you,” he whispered, voice deep and harsh with desire.

Ellie sent him a wicked smile and began tugging his pants and boxer briefs down. “I know.”

He chuckled, then reached back, grabbed his shirt and pulled it off. “Someone also remembered how to be cocky,” he teased and tossed the t-shirt.

Speaking of cocky and masculine. Her gaze skimmed down his naked body then shamelessly zeroed in on his upright cock. It was big, thick and, if she didn’t know better, reaching new heights. She wrapped her hands around him and squeezed, admiring how he grew even more. “I also remember exactly how you like to be touched, my love,” she whispered.

Wes leaned back on his elbows and she flicked her tongue out, circling his tip. Teasing and squeezing, she explored his hard length, twisting her hands up and down from root to tip. Locking gazes with him, she sucked him into her mouth and noticed the way his nostrils flared and how his hands fisted the bedspread.

“Fuck, Ellie,” he rasped, hips popping up off the mattress. She sucked him deeper, teasing the underside of his cock with her tongue, taking him all the way to the back of her throat. Until her eyes watered and she nearly gagged. “Get up here.”

Pulling back and releasing his cock with a pop, she stood up.

“Hurry up and get out of those clothes before I lose my mind.”

She sent him a naughty smile, quickly stripped and then joined him on their bed. His attention moved to the bandage on her shoulder, but her arm was feeling much better thanks to some painkillers and her husband distracting her.

“How’s your arm?” he asked, voice low and concerned.

“Fine. How’s yours?” She nodded to the matching bandage wrapped around his upper arm. They’d both been grazed in almost the exact same spot, but somehow that didn’t surprise her. It’s like they were twin souls, destined to experience the same things.

“Fine enough to do this.” He grabbed and flipped her onto her back so fast, she let out a surprised squeal.

“I forgot how quick you can move.”

He growled, lowering himself between her thighs, and nipped her bottom lip. “Let’s start slowly. Even though it’s probably going to kill me,” he murmured, hand skimming down her side then disappearing between their bodies. “I want to savor you.”

“Mmm…” Ellie arched up, pressing her aching pussy against his palm. His long fingers began to stroke and tease, slipping past her folds and sinking into her core. Lifting her hips, encouraging his thrusting fingers, she moaned when his thumb found her clit and began rubbing. It didn’t take long before she fractured, clenching down on his fingers before he withdrew them. With dazed eyes, Ellie watched him coat his cock with her wetness and desire speared through her.

Getting situated on his elbows, Wes gripped his glistening cock and pumped his hard length once…twice…spreading her juices all over himself. When he dragged his engorged tip along her wet seam, Ellie dropped her legs open in welcome.

“Wes, please…” she begged, needing to feel every inch of his steel length thrusting deep. She wanted to be fucked into oblivion and made love to all at the same time. And that was a technique her husband knew how to do extremely well.

The moment he surged forward, she arched beneath him with a cry. The feel of him stretching and filling her was the most delicious experience and she wrapped her legs around his waist, digging her heels into his ass, rising up to meet his strong strokes.

Every experience with him left her breathless. She’d been a nineteen-year old virgin the first time she’d slept with Wes, but Ellie knew how special their connection was and she’d never questioned it. Giving her virginity to Wes that long ago night on her birthday had been the best decision and every time they were together, he still had the ability to make her feel special.

Sliding her hands up and around, she dug her nails into his back as she felt the pressure and fluttering begin all over again. “Wes…” she cried, lower body tightening. Pleasure shot through her body and his thrusts picked up. Hard, fast, wild. Another wave of intense bliss hit her hard and she shouted his name to the heavens. He shuddered hard above her and filled her with his hot release. Dropping down beside her, Wes pulled her close and kissed her fiercely. When they finally pulled apart, she saw the wonder in his soft, brown eyes.

“You’re being really quiet,” she said, slightly worried, but keeping her tone light. “Usually you’re more vocal.”

He hesitated, tracing his fingers along her arm and over the edge of the bandage. “I can’t believe you’re really here,” he admitted in a hushed tone, reverently brushing her hair back off her face. “A part of me is terrified I’m only dreaming and I’m going to wake up and you’re going to be gone.”

She pushed up on her elbow and gave him her fiercest look. “I’m not going anywhere, Weston. Not ever again. So you better get that through your thick skull.” Her voice softened and she laid a palm against his very beloved face. “For better or worse, you’re stuck with me, my love.”

“Thank God,” he whispered. “And it’s all for the better.”

Then he kissed her all over again.