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The door opening behind me, I can smell the lasagna that she makes to perfection. If there is one thing we’ve had living up here, it’s plenty of spare time. Cassie has become a spectacular cook, and I’ve had to work twice as hard in the gym to stop myself from getting out of shape.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist this.” She stands next to me with the plate of food and wearing one of my t-shirts as a nightgown.
“Are you talking about the food or you?”
Cassie giving me the side-eye as she lays the plate down on the clear spot on my desk. “We both know you don’t have time for that.” She turns to leave so she doesn’t distract me.
“Doesn’t mean I don’t want it. Love you,” I say as the door closes, and I’m already lifting the first mouthful to my lips on the fork.
She is gone as quick as she came in here, and I know how blessed I am to have a wife who understands my work and that some days it’s more important than her. And that tastes like acid on my tongue, but it’s the truth.
Mmmm, this is like sin on a fork. And just like she does every time, she makes me realize how hungry I actually was.
Using my finger to wipe the last bit of sauce off the plate and suck it into my mouth, my phone goes off again, and the plan is already off to a rocky start. Bull is moving, and I strap myself in for a long night. Ashton is already in transit with transportation and will be in place by the time he is needed.
I push a button on my earpiece to pick up Bull’s call.
“I have her.” My heart settles a little, but the adrenaline is still coursing through my body because we are long way from this being over, but now that Asha is safe in his arms, then the rest we will manage to pull off.
I can hear myself talking, but my mind is already moving forward and processing what he’s saying about the people involved, since things are turning out a little different to what we first expected. That’s why you need to stay fluid, because the people you suspect can turn on a dime and others that you think are the issue have surprised you and stepped out from the shadows only to reveal they have been on your side all along.
“For fuck’s sake, you never do anything simple, do you, Bull?” I ask him as I get a message on my screen from Ashton. He’s in place at the airstrip and ready, waiting for Bull to arrive with his precious cargo. I give Bull his directions to the airfield where he will meet up with Ashton and his pilot friend, Mason. And I finally let him in on his final destination. I can hear the shock in his voice.
“Fuck, am I finally going to see the secret Ghost lair? I was starting to think it didn’t even exist and that you lived in some basement in the Bronx or something normal like that.” He’s trying to bring in some humor to try to break his stress.
“Nothing normal about where I live, Bull.” And that’s more truth than he realizes.
“Got it, no normal home for a man who doesn’t have one normal bone in his body.” Bull is about to learn that that’s not exactly true. Well, Cassie might agree, but all I let the kids see is as much of a normal father as I can be. But what I will admit is how much I miss Bull’s witty mouth and our conversations full of banter.
“No matter what, that smartass part of you is always lurking, isn’t it,” I grumble at him, because as much as I want to see him, part of me is nervous that I’m about to break the seal on my family’s secure bubble here, and that is hard to swallow.
“Keeps me calm. Now let’s talk strategy and details while I’m driving,” Bull replies, and I can totally relate to the calmness. It’s how we work together. Throwing shit at each other until it’s go time, and then it gets pushed aside. Although it’s never far from the surface, and that’s why he’s like my brother.
* * *
Finally, I flop backwards into the chair as Ashton reports in that they are airborne and on route to me. I have done so many jobs over the years, but this one has my blood pressure up more than normal. It’s the middle of the night, and Cassie will be fast asleep. I should just crash here in the office again, on the couch, but I need to be close to her. There is something pulling at me with her the last few weeks. I’m not sure what it is, but my stupid gut has been twitching again. The air is a little thick, and I don’t like it that way. Usually, it’s telling me there is trouble coming, and I’m praying it’s just all about Bull, but I can’t seem to fully believe it, and I find myself repeating the words“Trouble is coming”like a mantra in my head.
Knowing that it will be hours before Bull and Asha arrive, I shut down my system and switch it to my phone and smart watch for the alerts. I let Ashton know I’m going to catch a little shut-eye and he is my eyes and ears. I have several numbers on my phone that are set to ring and at a high volume every single time they call, no matter if my phone is on do-not-disturb or in sleep mode. Doesn’t matter what I’m doing, I need to speak to them.
Stepping out of my boots at the door to our room, I walk as softly as I can to the bathroom. Not quite making it, I stop halfway to the end of our bed. The moonlight is streaming through the windows across the room and onto the bed, illuminating Cassie’s olive skin on her back. She’s asleep on my side of the bed which is what she always does when I’m not in here with her. I’ve never asked her why, but I can guess. It’ll be the same as when I finally climb in with her tonight and nuzzle my nose into her hair and breathe in her scent. My senses then tell my body I’m home.
Lying on her stomach, the sheet is positioned just covering her backside, and one of her legs is sticking out from under it. Her long wavy brown hair is strewn down her back across her shoulders and then falling off onto the bed. With her face turned to the side of the window and just out of the rays from the moon, the light is just enough to show her features in the shadows. With all the chaos around me, her beauty still captivates me.
I can’t help myself from lifting my phone from my pocket and snapping a picture for my secret album, one that Cassie has full access to, but she never bothers to look; I would never disrespect her by doing something behind her back, but she knows this is just for me. Not nudes but sensual beauty, just like this. I don’t share, and she knows that. Not now, not ever. I’m sure if people knew we were up here they would think I’m a controlling man who has her trapped here, when she should have left years ago.
They’re wrong on two counts. One, they don’t know why she’s here. And two, she doesn’t want to leave.
This is our life, and she is happy here.
Stripping off my clothing in the bathroom and readying myself for some sleep, I switch off the light and open the door. My eyes adjust to the darkness again. They do it quickly, as it’s something we get used to in our job. Having good night vision is important.
“Fuck!” A low growl slips out of my mouth at the vision stretched out before me.
Cassie has turned in her sleep while I was gone and is now lying naked on her back. The sheet is scrunched up underneath her, her perky, full breasts standing to attention, with her nipples pebbled and the moon lighting them up like beacons in the night for me to home in on. Her stomach still shows the silver stretch marks from her last pregnancy with Eli and a few lingering ones from Bessy. I love those little lines. They are her war marks from when she has gone into battle twice, like the warrior queen I love. Bringing two children into the world on her own is one hell of an achievement but not one I want to try again. The older we get the more risk we are taking, and to me, now that risk is getting too high.
My eyes can’t help but look at her sex, sitting there perfectly for the taking. I can feel my cock now rock hard, and I run my tongue over my lips, getting ready for what I want, and to be honest, I think it’s something I need to ground me. Cassie is always my base to center me. And tonight, I feel off center, and she is my remedy.
Walking from my office to the bedroom I discovered how tired I was, but the goddess in front of me has just given me the energy I didn’t know I was still holding inside.
