“Me, too.” He groaned with the effort of moving his arm from under the cover so he could take her hand.
She closed her eyes and thanked God yet again for sparing his life. And for O’Riley’s decision.
“You’re taking me home with you, are you?” Aidan remarked as if it was no big deal.
A bark of laughter escaped her trembling lips. “Rule number one,” she informed him, “no reading my mind unless I give you permission first.”
He searched her eyes, his expression suddenly hesitant. “Are you sure this is what you want, Darby Shepard?”
She squeezed his hand gently. “More sure than I’ve ever been of anything in my life.” She kissed his lips. When she would have retreated, he lifted his head to maintain the contact. She lost herself to the kiss…let the feelings flow between them, the heat and the desire. She loved him so very much.
When at last she drew back for air, she said softly, “I’m so sorry I didn’t trust you when Detective Willis told me what he’d discovered.”
Aidan smiled. “You’re only human, Darby. It was a big leap…but you took it in the end. That’s what counts.”
“So,” she said, trying to covertly swipe the moisture from her eyes, “are you sure this is what you want?”
“I’d stake my life on it,” he said flatly.
Darby laughed. “Not funny.”
“I love you, Darby Shepard.” He tugged her nearer. “I want to grow old with you.”
“Just remember,” she said as she positioned her lips mere centimeters from his, “I plan to take my slow, sweet time growing old. We do that down in the Big Easy, you know.”
“We’ll take all the time you want. We were created to be together.”
“I love you, Aidan,” she whispered before making the seal of their lips complete. I love you. His words echoed softly in her mind.
He was right. They had been created to be together.
This was simply destiny.
O’RILEY OPTED to take the stairs back to his office. He needed to check his messages before meeting Remington for lunch. Afterward, he would brief the Collective and the alert status at Center would be lowered to Secure.
Galen was dead for real this time.
The bastard.
Life was good once more.
O’Riley couldn’t think of a single thing that would make this day any better. His mind immediately drifted to the life he’d once had with his wife—ex-wife, he amended.
“Get over it,” he muttered to himself. Some things just weren’t meant to be.
He’d gotten along without her so far, he’d survived…would likely spend the rest of his life alone.
Heaving a sigh, he pushed the thought aside and entered the spacious waiting room where his secretary held down the fort.
“Any messages?” he demanded gruffly. Everyone expected that from him. He knew the way they talked behind his back. O’Riley needs to get laid. Ever since his old lady left him he’s been a royal pain in the ass.
Screw ’em. He was still the boss.
“Ah…sir…you have a visitor,” his secretary said hesitantly.
O’Riley glowered at her. “You know I have a luncheon appointment. Who the hell is it?” He glanced around the lobby and found it just as empty as he’d thought it to be when he walked in.
“She’s waiting in your office.” His secretary quickly turned back to her computer, determined not to say more.
Who the hell would just show up at his office?
A woman at that?
One of the technicians or researchers, he presumed. Just what he needed, a bitch session before lunch. They needed this or so and so had done that.
Why did he keep doing this job?
No one appreciated a thing he did.
Well, except maybe Darby Shepard and a few others he’d helped along with their lives. He had to admit, though, that with her he’d had a personal stake in the matter.
When he’d told her that he’d intervened in Galen’s attempt to create an Enforcer using his own sperm, he hadn’t lied. The truth was, Darby Shepard was his biological daughter. But that didn’t matter to her right now. She was completely focused on Aidan. That was okay with O’Riley. He’d tell her someday. Maybe he’d even tell Aidan that Daniel Archer had been his biological father. His assignment in Brussels hadn’t been the only reason O’Riley hadn’t been able to put Aidan on the Archer mission. That kind of move would have opened up a whole other can of worms, since Archer’s daughter was his half sister. It was best not to go there right now. Some secrets needed to be kept.
Aidan and Eve—Darby—would end up married and starting a family, he imagined. Considering one child of an Enforcer had already been delivered and a second was on the way, in the White House at that, Medical might have to set up an entire new section dedicated to studying the offspring. No, he amended succinctly. Not on his watch. There were some aspects of life no one, no matter the reasoning, had a right to touch.
He opened the door to his office and stepped inside, ready to play sounding board. As he closed the door behind him, his gaze lit on the back of a blond head. The woman sat in one of the chairs flanking his desk with her back turned to him. That she didn’t bother to turn around annoyed him. He was the boss and deserved a little respect. He tried unsuccessfully to think who on his staff had shoulder-length blond hair.
Before he could come up with a face or name, the woman stood and turned toward him.
Remarkably it was Angela…his ex-wife.
“Richard,” she said humbly, more humbly than he’d known her to be in more than a decade. “I’ve been thinking,” she went on, those lovely blue eyes settling on his, her hands sliding into the pockets of her trench coat, “that maybe we should try again.”
He snapped his gaping mouth shut and grappled for his voice. What the hell? He’d made that suggestion over a year ago. He’d even felt stupid afterwards when she shunned his offer. Was this some
