What Remains_Reckoning (27 page)

“I know that, jackass.” She took a couple of steps back when one of the piles flared higher. “You go ahead. I’ll find a better way around. Double check everyone’s out then meet you at the car.”

Wolfe blocked her way. “We don’t split up. That’s not how we do things. And don’t give me that look. I don’t care that you were an operative. We stay together.” He glanced at the open space between the flames. “They’ve left us enough room to get out. I say we take it.”

Harper’s eyes widened as she shook her head. Too fast to seem natural. “It’s too close.”

Morgan tapped Ham’s shoulder, and he begrudgingly set her on her feet. She moved over to the other woman, tentatively touching her arm. “You okay?”

Harper muttered under her breath, finally meeting Morgan’s gaze. “I don’t like fire, okay? Not this kind.”

“But aren’t you involved with these firemen you keep talking about?”

The woman laughed. “Trust me. No one gets the irony of it more than me. And I love that the boys are so damn good at what they do, but…” She rolled her shoulders as if trying to get out of her own skin.

Wolfe closed the distance. “I can carry you.”

Harper glared at him. “I’ll just find a way around.”

“Harper…”

“Trust me. This won’t end well for either of us. Not under these circumstances, and I’d rather not hurt you seeing as you’re a friend. I’m fine. I’ll go around.”

She took another step back when a silhouette appeared in front of them, his body dark against the glaring orange mass. He darted down the corridor, moving swiftly toward them. His face blurred into view as he jogged over to them, stopping at Harper’s side.

“Shit. I told Sully he’d been a bit overzealous. You know how he gets, love.”

Harper nodded, though it looked forced. “It’s too high, Jake. I’ll go around.”

The man smiled lovingly at her, stepping in front of her as he took her hands. “We’ll go together.” He scooped her up. “Trust me.”

She hit him on the chest then wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her head into his shoulder. “You know I do. And I swear you boys are getting payback for this.”

“I love you, Harper.”

She melted against the other man as he turned to them.

Jake glanced at the flames then back to them. “You two okay or should I grab Sully and Cogan to help you both through?”

Wolfe punched Jake in the shoulder. “Fuck off. We’re fine.”

Ham echoed Wolfe’s sentiment, scooping Morgan up again. “Got it covered.”

Morgan scowled. “I can walk, Ham.”

He bent in low. “I know. Just humor me, okay? I already had to watch you and Gunner get trashed by that truck. Cut me a bit of slack. Besides, if I don’t carry you, you know Wolfe will. There’s no getting around this so you might as well make peace with it. And I’d rather not have Wolfe bust my ass for doing it wrong.”

“The man’s going to get it again, anyway.”

“Trust me, that’s not the way he’d take it.” Ham nodded at Jake. “Lead the way. Let’s go home, baby.”

Chapter Eighteen

“What the fuck is taking them so long?” Wolfe paced the length of the walkway. “I swear Ham’s keeping her in there just to screw with us.”

Gunner leaned against the wall, doing his best to ignore the slight bite in his ribs that accompanied every breath as he stared at the door to Abby’s clinic. “I doubt Abby would let him. But you know how women are when they’re together. The exam probably took five minutes and they’ve been chatting ever since.” He chuckled. “I think Abby’s just happy to have another woman here… Well, other than Harper and Emersyn, but they’re both pretty intimidating. Morgan’s more on her level.”

Wolfe grinned at him. “I’m going to tell Morgan you said that and watch her kick your ass.”

Gunner chuckled. “I’d sure as shit let her if it made her smile.” His grin faded slightly. “You really think we got there before Beau had a chance to hurt her?”

Wolfe frowned. “I think so, dressed as she was, however skimpy. But I also think the bastard did more than she ever admitted. Not that it matters. Fucker’s dead. We won. And Morgan seems a bit better every day.”

“Her nightmares have lessened. And damn, did you see her sparring with Ham? The girl’s got moves.”

“Ham’s good that way. Has more patience than we would, and I certainly don’t mind knowing she’s even more badass than she was before.” He glanced at the door. “Though some of that shit will have to stop once she gets further along.”

“Shit, I can’t wait until you tell her that. Talk about an ass kicking.”

Wolfe eyed Gunner. “There’s a few things I’d like done to my ass, but that’s not one of them.”

Gunner’s dick jerked at the thought, making his pants feel overly constricting. They’d been back two weeks, but he’d been in too much pain to enjoy any form of intimate contact with them, despite the never-ending hard-on he’d been walking around with. Morgan had announced that they’d all wait until he could participate, and while that simple act had made him love her and his buddies even more, the sexual tension was definitely at the breaking point. Hell, Wolfe had taken to wearing his shirts over his kakis just to hide the enormous bulge in his pants that didn’t seem to go away, and Gunner knew it was time to suck it up and stake his claim.

He clenched his jaw when a shadow crossed his face. He glanced up. Wolfe hovered well inside his personal space, the man’s blue eyes glinting gray. Gunner’s gaze fell to the man’s lips, his pulse increasing at the thought of tasting them again. Feeling them roam across his body, slipping around his shaft and taking him deep.

Wolfe chuckled. “Hell yeah. I’m into that.”

He leaned forward, taking Gunner’s mouth in a brutal kiss, expending some of the tension straining his muscles. Gunner fisted the man’s hair, keeping the contact rough, loving that he could touch Wolfe harder than Morgan. That the man thrived on the intense contact as much as he did.

A throat cleared behind them and Wolfe seemed to begrudgingly pull back, slapping Gunner’s ass before looking over his shoulder. Gunner shoved the massive man out of the way, flipping him off as he nodded at Colby, Darcy and Barrett. He’d had a meeting with the men, as well as Hunter, Rhys and Kace, as soon as Abby had patched him up, explaining the nature of their group. The men had raised a brow, but hadn’t mentioned a word, and Gunner wasn’t quite sure where they stood.

Colby glanced at Wolfe, chuckling under his breath as his held his hand out to Barrett. “Ten bucks, jackass.”

Barrett cursed, shoving the bill in the other man’s hand before glaring at Gunner. “Two weeks. It fucking took you two weeks to make an open display. You’ve destroyed my faith in you guys. I thought for sure Wolfe would have you pinned to a damn wall inside of a week.”

Gunner furrowed his brow, glancing at Wolfe, but the man merely shrugged. He looked at Barrett. “Am I supposed to have a clue what the hell you’re talking about?”

Colby waved the question off. “Barrett’s just sore because he lost the bet. I said it’d take you guys a couple of weeks to feel comfortable enough to get over the fact we don’t give a shit that all four of you are involved and slap a wet one on each other. Barrett thought Wolfe’s lack of fucks to give would break through sooner.” Colby shook his head. “You guys do know we all suspected you were involved before Morgan, right?”

Wolfe pushed his way through. “Excuse me? How the hell did you know when we didn’t?”

Barrett rolled his eyes. “Please. You three were as bad as Hunter and Emersyn. We just figured you needed more time before letting us in on it, so we never said anything. But can I just say, thank fucking god, because either you were going to eventually kill each other, or you were going to screw in the middle of the damn mess tent.”

“Fuck you.”

Barrett glanced at Colby and Darcy. “Already spoken for, big boy.”

Gunner palmed Wolfe’s chest, giving him a smile when the door to the clinic opened. Hamilton stepped out, glancing between the gathering of men, his brow furrowed.

He looked at Wolfe, kicking at the ground. “God damn, Wolfe. Did you attack Gunner without me? Greedy bastard. And the man’s still recovering. Have you no limits?”

Wolfe fisted his shirt, yanking him into his chest. “I’ll fucking show you limits as soon as we get back to our barracks.”

Ham grinned. “Does that mean Gunner’s better?”

Gunner punched Ham in the back. “Good enough to kick your ass.”

“Not quite what I had in mind, but…”

“Do these limits involve me, or am I strictly a spectator?”

Gunner turned, Morgan’s voice sending shivers down his spine. She stood in the doorway, arms crossed on her chest, her pretty little mouth pursed into a pout. She’d donned a sexy pair of cargo pants and a tight long-sleeved shirt that showed the gentle slope of her breasts and the lean muscles along her torso.

He offered her his hand, and she moved willingly into his embrace, resting her head on his chest. Her body molded perfectly against him, and he couldn’t help but close his eyes, inhale the scent of coconut shampoo and warm woman.

Morgan rubbed her hands along his ribs, keeping her touch light. “Is this hurting you?”

“Nothing but pleasure when you’re in my arms, honey.”

She scowled. “It’s only been two weeks. I remember how much mine still hurt. Shit, they still do sometimes.”

“That’s because you were stubborn and pushed yourself too hard. I’ve been sitting around with my feet up.”

She swatted his shoulder. “Jackass.”

“But I’m yours. We all are.”

Her smile nearly took him to his knees.

He glanced at Abby as the woman walked past them then leaned against Colby, the man’s hands resting on her rounded belly. “Well, doc? Everything okay?”

Abby nodded. “Other than the nausea, Morgan’s doing great, and no worse for wear after that incident with the truck. But she needs to drink more, and eat, though I understand that’s difficult when you only throw it up.” Her eyes softened. “I’m sorry I don’t have any kind of prenatal medication I can give you. There are safe drugs that help alleviate the symptoms, but I simply don’t have any.”

Morgan turned in his embrace, resting against him. “I’ll be fine. It seems to be worse in the morning then lessens over the day. I’m actually feeling fairly good right now.”

Abby’s gaze flickered to the men behind Morgan as she smiled. “Just try to eat. And rest. And be sure to see me again next week.”

Gunner gave Morgan a squeeze. “Yes, ma’am.” He glanced at his buddies, not quite sure how to ask the next question when Abby laughed.

“Men. You’re all the same. Morgan’s fine. She’s just pregnant.”

He frowned. “Just pregnant?”

Colby laughed. “Abby’s trying to say you guys are fine to go and tumble in the sheets. Sex isn’t going to hurt Morgan or the baby.”

Abby slapped the man. “I was trying to be discreet.”

“They’re SEALs. They don’t understand the concept of the word.” Colby looked back at Gunner. “I assume Rhys has filled you in on everything by now? The man seems to take great pleasure in the fact his little brother cracked Lelin’s serum. He should have a working vaccine within the month. And he’s assured us he’s made progress with the original strain with Rhys’ blood by backwards engineering.” Colby ran a hand through his hair. “I’m not sure I even know what the hell the man’s talking about, but Rhys trusts him, so…”

Gunner grinned. “Once we got over the fact the bastard was still alive and had a brother… Yeah, he filled in most of the holes. And can I just say, shit! We leave for a couple of months and everyone’s shacked up by the time we get back! Makes us wonder if you were all just waiting for us to leave—bastards. Though it’s nice not to have to avoid Hunter and Emersyn as they stared at each other all the time, driving the rest of us crazy by never making a move. Guess this means we’re gearing up for winter? We’re free to go on runs if you need us.”

“How about the four of you just catch your breath first. Let Cogan and his crew enjoy some peace instead of obsessing over the fact you’re missing. I can assure you those three and Harper have been a bundle of joy to deal with.”

“They saved our asses. Hard to get pissy over that.”

Colby nodded. “Good to have you guys back. Now I believe you were on a mission before we interrupted.”

Gunner gave Colby the finger as the four of them headed off, staying closer than Gunner had noticed in the past. Thoughts ran through his head when a hand landed on his shoulder. He turned, instantly pinned by the fire raging in Wolfe’s eyes.

The man motioned toward their cabin. “While I love chatting, it’s time to get your ass back to our room before I live up to everyone’s expectations and claim it right here.”

“If anyone’s claiming an ass, yours is mine, big boy.”

Wolfe’s breathing roughened. “Room. Now.”

Gunner gave Morgan a wink before nodding at Hamilton. The man smiled then darted over, gathering Morgan in his arms then heading across the complex. Morgan swatted at the man’s chest, muttering something about them all being Neanderthal knuckle-heads as they made their way to their barracks, kicking the door closed behind them. Ham headed straight into the bedroom, placing Morgan on her feet just long enough to strip her down before easing her back, his body moving over hers.

Gunner watched the couple together, his cock swelling painfully in his pants. Damn, he’d never get tired of seeing them interact. Watching Ham or Wolfe love her. Being the one to taste her release. And the fact Ham’s ass more than turned him on was one hell of a bonus.

Wolfe came up behind him, his hands landing on Gunner’s waist. “You sure your ribs are up to this? No shame in waiting.”

“Morgan walked ten miles a day through mountainous terrain with broken ribs. I think I can suck you off.”

“Fuck. Gunner.”

He pointed to the bed. “Get naked and get your ass on the bed beside Ham and Morgan. I want them to see every second of my mouth on you. Then we’ll go from there.”

Wolfe yanked off his clothes, kicking them across the room before settling on the edge of the bed. He twisted slightly, lowering to claim Morgan’s mouth then trail kisses down her neck until he reached her breasts. One hand pinched her nipple as he took the other with his lips, sucking and nipping until she cried his name, begging for more.