Page 13 of Deadly Forever

“Mandy.” James mocked his wife’s tone to perfection. They’d been together long enough that he could read every exasperated expression and voice constraint.

Mandy was silent for a moment as she stared at him, her blue eyes briefly clouding over. Finally she blew out a sigh and turned her back to him. “Fine. I’m going to brush my teeth and then I’ll be ready for bed. My hair is going to look like crap tomorrow because I’m going to sleep on it wet, but I figure you don’t care.”

“I definitely don’t care,” James agreed, narrowing his eyes as he watched her. He knew there was no way she was going to let the conversation lapse without putting up a fight. She was determined that killing the teenager weighed on him – and it did in some respects – but he wasn’t inclined to talk the situation to death. He wanted to put it behind them. “I like it when you have bedhead in the morning. You’re cute.”

Mandy didn’t respond, instead turning on the water so she could brush her teeth. James watched her, admiring the way her slim body moved back and forth in front of the sink. She was beautiful. No, she was beyond beautiful. Her heart and soul matched her body and there wasn’t a thing about her he didn’t love. Sure, she had a tendency to be insecure if he wasn’t careful, but that insecurity waned more and more each day. She was comfortable in his love, and for that he would be forever thankful.

When Mandy finally joined him on the mattress, James met her challenging gaze as he lifted the covers and watched her roll underneath them. He turned on the pedestal fan at the foot of the bed – even though the house boasted a solid central air system she needed the white noise of the fan to sleep – and then flicked off the light switch before crawling in next to her. He could feel her warmth from a foot away, but she didn’t make a move to climb on top of him and settle in for the night. They slept tangled together every night without fail, and James knew he wouldn’t get what he wanted unless he indulged her questions.

“Baby … .”

“It’s fine, James,” Mandy said, her voice chilly. “I love you. Thank you for saving me. I’ll see you in the morning.”

James waited for her to roll so her head rested on his chest, but she didn’t. She remained immobile.

“Baby, what’s your question?” James asked finally. He hated himself for falling prey to her emotional blackmail, but there was no way he could sleep without her warm body draped over his needy flesh.

“I thought you didn’t want me to ask a question,” Mandy challenged. She knew she’d won, but she wanted to make him say it. It wasn’t an attractive quality and James couldn’t help but silently add it to the short list of things he disliked about her.

“You’ve won and we both know it,” James said. “Is there a reason you want to add torture to the mix?”

To James’ utter surprise, Mandy slid closer to him. She moved his arm so she could slip it around her back and rested her chin on his chest.

“It’s not about winning,” Mandy said after a beat. “It’s about loving you.”

“Baby, you can love me without torturing me,” James pointed out. “I love you and I very rarely torture you.”

“You torture me all of the time and you know it,” Mandy challenged, annoyed. “Just last night you made s’mores and wouldn’t let me have one until I took off my bra.”

James snickered at the memory – and her faux outrage. Sometimes they enjoyed manufacturing buttons to push so they could fake a fight before making up. “That wasn’t torture, baby. That was simply a negotiation.”

“That might be how you see it, but it’s not how I see it,” Mandy said. “You wore my bra as a hat.”

“Yes, well, I happen to think I looked cute.”

“You always look cute.” Mandy pressed a soft kiss to James’ bare chest and caused him to sigh.

“What’s your question, baby?” James asked, petting the back of her damp hair. He loved his wife beyond reason, but he was exhausted. He wanted to get this out of the way so they could settle into a comfortable embrace and heavy slumber. “You know how much I love your endless stream of questions.”

“I do,” Mandy confirmed. “As for the question, well, do you think he was really going to shoot me?”

James stilled, surprised. He thought for sure she would ask about his feelings … or potential nightmares … or for reassurance that he wasn’t about to fall off the rails. She never ceased to amaze him.

“I don’t know,” James admitted, brushing his lips against her forehead. “He jerked his gun in your direction. I thought at the time he was threatening you, but now I can’t help but wonder if he did it merely to taunt me.”

“Because he wanted you to kill him?”

“Why would you ask that?” James asked. He couldn’t see Mandy’s face in the darkness, but he stared in that direction anyway.

“Before you came out of nowhere to be my favorite hero ever, he said he would rather go out in a blaze of glory than go to prison,” Mandy explained. “I was terrified he was going to kill me for a few seconds there, but the more I think about it, the more I can’t help but wonder if he did it because he didn’t want to be arrested.”

“I don’t know.” James was thoughtful as he stroked the back of her head. “We may never know why he did it.”

“Are you going to be okay?”

Ah, there it is.That was the type of question James expected. “As long as I have you, I’ll always be okay.”

“Then you’ll always be okay,” Mandy said. “I won’t ever leave you. We’re going to be together forever.”

“We are,” James agreed, pressing another kiss to her forehead. “Now sleep, baby. I’m tired.”

“If you need me because you have a bad dream, I want you to wake me up.”

James smirked. “Are you going to protect me all night, even from bad dreams?”

Mandy shrugged. “I’m going to protect you forever if I can. I’m not sure it’s possible, but I promise to do my best.”

“You always do, wife.”

The couple lapsed into comfortable silence and James was just about to slip into slumber when Mandy spoke again.

“I definitely love you most,” she whispered.

“Not even close, wife. Not even close.”