Forever Mine Read online

  “I’m not that far away, so if you need anything, you give a shout. Have a good night, you two,” Frank said. He shut the door behind him when he left.

  Martin waved a hand vaguely toward the door. “Finally, we’re alone,” he said. He wiggled his eyebrows at her—one anyway. “Take me up to our room, sweetheart, and do wonderful things to me with a bar of soap, if you would.”

  “That sounds like a good plan to me. However, with the bar of soap, I am going to stick to the above the waist,” she said with a smile. “Because we both know that if I dip below, we will be hurting you because I will be attacking you and you are so not ready for that. Admit it, Martin. Right now you just want the shower and bed, don’t you?”

  “I do so hate it when you’re right,” he said. “But you’re going to have to wash all of me because I don’t think I can bend over to attend to anything below the waist. Sorry, love, but you need to tend to all the matters. And behave yourself, too. No attacking me until I’ve had at least eight hours of sleep.” He stopped at the bottom of the stairs. “Before we head up, grab the bag of peas out of your freezer, will you please? The one in the back labeled ‘never eat these.’”

  “Okay, I will try to behave myself,” she said with a deep breath. “Okay, so what is the bag of peas for? You aren’t hurt below the waist, so what about elsewhere? Is your head hurting even more now?”

  “The bag of peas is for my face once I’m lying down. If we pull them out now, they will begin to warm a little and not be quite as hard when I settle the bag over my cheek. Trust me, that bag of peas has survived a lot. Though it is a replacement for one that got taken out by a weed whacker. Don’t ask, I really don’t like talking about that horrifying incident.”

  “Oh goodness gravy.” She grinned and shook her head. “Right, I will get the peas from the freezer. Stand here and hold onto the railing so that you don’t fall down, okay?” She stepped back from him and, once she was sure he wouldn’t fall, went to get the peas.

  He was right where she’d left him when she returned. Martin lifted his arm and looped it around her shoulders as she stepped in close to him. “Thank you for getting that, love. I will be a very happy man come morning because of that bag o’ peas. Trust me. If you ever have a bruise, or something that requires icing, use a bag of peas. Or, if you can find a good bag, dried out beans. Not kidney beans, but smaller like a lima bean. Bonus of the beans is you can also heat them up for sore muscles, too. No need for fancy heating pads or ice packs, and all environmentally sound.”

  “Okay, that sounds good.” She liked the idea that he had already figured out how to deal with pains and bruises and was sharing that knowledge with her. “I have rice bags that I toss into the microwave when my hands start to hurt from typing too long.” She had to type up all of her own findings of her patients because she didn’t trust anyone else to do it for her.

  “That’s another good one, though I always worry after the last one a colleague had caught on fire. Of course, he likely had it in there too long. He wasn’t all that bright,” he said. Stopping in the bathroom, he took a look in the mirror and made a face. “Damn. Didn’t realize they’d done quite so much. I don’t think eight hours of beauty sleep is even going to put a dent in this mess.”

  “See why I’m freaking out as much as I am?” she asked with a shake of her head. “It’s because you are looking like you look.” She touched her fingers to his cheek and smiled. “But you are home now, and I will ensure that you get better soon. Very soon.”

  “A few bruises aren’t going to stop me.” Shooting her a look, he clicked his tongue. “You should have more faith in me, Athena.” Reaching over his head, he tugged the scrubs top off and then ditched the bottoms after kicking his boots off. Martin headed straight for the shower, and was inside with barely a pause to open the glass. “You coming, or are you going to stare at my ass all night?”

  “I don’t know, it’s a pretty spectacular ass,” she told him with a grin. “It’s luscious and makes me want to lick and bite it.” Sad but true fact there. She, however, moved away from where she had been standing and followed him to the shower.

  Chapter Thirteen

  A low groan sounded next to her when she moved slightly. “Babe, I changed my mind, just shoot me,” he whispered. Another groan, and Martin pulled a pillow onto his face. “Why is it so bright in here? Does the sun have no mercy on the hero of the night? I so expected better than this. A nice gloomy, rainy day at the very least.”

  She was up and out of the bed before he finished. Pulling the curtains, she then went to his side. “Stay in bed.” Her words sounded sleep filled even to herself. “Should I get you another bag of peas, or maybe one of the pain pills that they sent home for you?” She caressed his cheek, worry filling her. “Where are you hurting, honey?”

  His lips curled, and then Athena found herself on her back with him hovering over her. “Not hurting. My face feels tight, but there’s very little pain. I’m doing okay, Athena.” He pressed a kiss to her lips, and then hugged her close to him, nibbling on her neck lightly.

  “Then why do you want me to shoot you?” she asked, and shifted slightly so that she could better cradle his body against hers. “Goodness, I love the way you feel against me. You always feel so good.”

  “Needed you to get close enough to me. Figured that would help the cause. And it got you to close the drapes so the neighbors can’t see what we might get up to. All around, it was a damn fine plan to get you right where I wanted you.” He nipped at her earlobe gently, tugging a little.

  “You always seem to get me where you want me. I happen to pretty much always want to be where you want me, too, so I guess that’s helpful, isn’t it?” She shifted to rub her leg against his.. “So, now that you have me where you want me, what are you going to do about it?”

  “Well, there are a number of things I could do. Unfortunately, I need to visit the little boy’s room before we do anything. But whatever we get up to, you’ll need to be on top. I’m still feeling a little sluggish and my head weighs a ton right now.”

  “Right, you go to the boy’s room and I will go and make us some breakfast. No hanky panky right now, darling. Not until you are able to look at me without seeing two of me. I think I’ll feed you first and then later we will worry about everything else, okay?”

  “You are such a party pooper.” He gave her a pout and then rolled off the bed. Weaving slightly to the bathroom, he held up a hand. “All good, just need to get my land legs again. I’ll meet you in the kitchen. Coffee, my love, lots of coffee.”

  “Sounds good. I will have coffee ready and waiting for you. Move slow. You are still hurt, even though you don’t want to admit to it.” Grabbing a robe, Athena pulled it on and then headed out of their bedroom so that she could get breakfast and coffee started, not in that order either.

  Ten minutes later, he came in to the kitchen wearing only a pair of sweatpants. He was moving slowly, but steadily. He came up to her and wrapped his arms around her. “You worry too much, Athena. But I love you all the more for it. For me, though, try not to worry so much about me, will you? I’m fine.”

  “I do worry for you. You are the man that I love, so of course I will worry about you,” she told him. “You are my everything.” She touched a bruise on his chest and bit her lower lip. “God, I hate that you are as harmed as you are. But it’s over, right?” she asked with hope deep inside of her.

  “Yes, ma’am, your mob issue is safely in custody. A few of them will likely be singing hard for a plea deal. But given what they are tied into, I doubt they’ll get much of anything. Though if any of them roll over on the woman behind the sex trafficking, I’m sure they’ll at least get a room with a view for their life sentence.”

  “Thank God,” she said with a sigh. “And do you know who the woman behind the sex trafficking was?” It would be a very good thing if that was yet another thing they would be able to put to bed, so to speak.

  “Not me, but I’
m sure Frank is getting the details they need to close that down, too. He’s got a very vested interest in seeing it all shut down. I’ll have to call them later, see if they managed to recover my phone. If not, I’ll have to requisition another one, which would suck. I had a lot of numbers in that thing I need. But I’ll make do, I’m sure.” He gave her a kiss, and then drew back to go pour a cup of coffee.

  “Well, as long as you have my number as your first number, that’s a good thing?” She watched him as he poured his coffee and then smiled. “I’m making us cereal and toast for breakfast. Something nice and light, something easy to eat and make.”

  “Just cereal for me. Unless I have an egg yolk to dip it in, or stuff between the slices for a sandwich, I’ve never really seen the purpose of toast. Besides, that pain medication they stuck me with while you distracted me last night still has my stomach a little uneasy. No sense pushing its limits.”

  “That’s why I was thinking the toast, to help your stomach soak up some of the medication while you rested and relaxed.” She shrugged and turned so that she could grab the cereals. Once she knew which kind he wanted, she poured him a bowl and placed the milk on the counter in front of him. Grabbing her toast and cereal, she settled in at his side. “So, what’s on the docket for us to do today, babe?”

  “Sleep, be lazy, and generally relax. We can work on some details of the wedding that don’t involve us having to go anywhere, of course. But I think it should be a very lazy day, to be honest. Besides, I have to find out whatever happened to my truck, find out if it’s even worth fixing up, and if not, look into getting another one. I’m very unhappy about my truck, I should mention. If I hadn’t been tied up, I’d have beaten those fuckers for that alone. And of course for the fact they were threatening the most wonderful woman there is.”

  “I’m so sorry about your truck.” He had not only been beaten because of her, but he had lost his truck as well. “I hate to tell you, but I heard your brothers talking about it and it’s totaled. Sorry, sweets.”

  “Son of a bitch,” he muttered. “Well that bites ass. Hopefully I can get some of the stuff out of it, though. Otherwise, I’m going to have to go shopping again for your Christmas gift, which would suck. I doubt the women will take pity on me again enough to help me out in finding something else for you.”

  Athena laughed. “Let’s just hope that the gift will still be there because you have to admit with it being in a tow yard, unlocked, there is little chance of it. Sorry, sweets, but I think that it might be gone.”

  He snorted at her while pouring milk over his cereal. “If they could find where it’s hidden then they damn well deserve to have it, and a standing ovation. That truck was modified back when Pops used to drive it. Thankfully, though, at least it wasn’t my Mustang. I’d have to kill those bastards if they’d done anything to my baby. On the up side, I think my brothers would have likely assisted in seeing them dismembered if it’d been the car.”

  “You do love that Mustang, don’t you? Well, I’m glad that it was the truck, too, but I think that your brother Josh is more bent out of shape by it then you are. So, later, if you feel like it, we will go to where the truck is and you can get my gift, okay?”

  “Ha!” He grinned at her, and shook a finger her direction. “Nice try. But I’ll call Brant instead to get it out of there. He can hide it for me until Christmas morning. Then there’s absolutely no way you can see what it is. Of course this all depends on if it survived or not. That, right now, is the biggie. I still will need to truck shop, though. I feel bad that I was in the damn thing when they rammed it off the road. Plus, the FBI will put in for part of the cost of a new one since I was on a case during the operation of the vehicle in question. If I find a good enough deal, I might even get them to swing the whole bill. Least they could do given my current bed-ridden condition, relying on my fiancée to ensure I’m fed, watered, and whatnot.”

  Athena snickered. “Right, because it’s oh-so hard of a burden for me to do that.” She put her hand on his and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m happy to have you here with me, so it doesn’t matter what I need to do for you. We will get through this together. As for the truck, let’s hope you can get a good deal on a new one. That would be lovely, so that the ranch can have a beater once more.”

  “Oh I won’t be buying new, definitely used. Something that’s got a few miles on it preferably. It’s a rancher’s truck after all, so new and shiny won’t cut it. I’ll have to likely put out a bit for the liner in the truck bed, but who knows, I might get lucky. I’ll get online later to start looking. I’ll need to put it into the report, get the insurance claim, and a few other things to attach so that I can get the funds, too. Nothing like the government to try and bury you under an avalanche of paperwork so you give in. But I’ve been doing it all long enough that it’s actually relatively painless. Mostly. Kind of. You know, it actually stinks, but no way in hell am I letting Josh hold this one over my head. We should go out to the ranch at least, and collect Eris before someone gets the bright idea to drive her. Since I don’t trust those buggers, we should do it this afternoon. I only wish I didn’t look like I got on the wrong side of Tyson.”

  “What about the vehicle insurance? Can’t you file claim on that as well?” she asked with a frown. She continued to eat as they talked, simply enjoying being there with him.

  “I’m sure Josh will put in the claim. Since it’s registered to the ranch, and we’re all listed on the deed for the place, we can use it as we see fit. Not sure how the insurance guys are going to feel about a group of mobsters taking it out, though. I may talk to the FBI claims guys and see how I should file everything to get the most out of the deal. They are pretty sneaky when they want to be. Usually, it’s picking our damn expense reports apart.”

  “Well, if I have to, I will pay for a new used truck for the ranch. I can afford it. I feel super responsible for the truck being damaged and would prefer to take care of it instead of having to have you go through all kinds of hoops.”

  “No,” he said. “Not happening, sweetheart. It’ll be fine, trust me on that. One way or another, I’ll get Josh the truck replacement. So there’s no need to go there. It’s also not your fault, Athena. They didn’t have to come here, they didn’t have to threaten you, and they definitely did not have to threaten your dad. Plain and simple, none of this is your fault.”

  “I still feel as if it is. As much as I hate it, I feel that way.” She shrugged and watched him carefully. “It’s over, though, so we can get on with our lives. You can talk to your people about transferring here, and then we will get on with our happily-ever-afters.”

  “I need to call my boss for sure,” Martin said. “I’m still not sure if I want to stay with the Bureau or not. Since I’ll be on medical leave for a while, I can think about it, weigh all the pros and cons. Biggest pro is being here with you all the time instead of doing God knows what for the Bureau.”

  “You would get bored being here with me all the time. Admit it.” He was a man of action. That was part of why he had left so quickly as soon as they got out of high school. “I would love having you around all the time, though.”

  “As I mentioned before, Josh is looking for extra help. I know Frank’s mostly retired, but he keeps helping Brant, who’s on the job all the time, so they both aren’t a lot of help. It would give me something to do during the day while you’re seeing your patients, keep me in shape, and I’ve found over the last week I actually enjoy it more than I did as a kid. I definitely appreciate the hard work that goes into ranching a lot more now than I did back then.”

  “Yes, this is true. Well, whatever it is that we have to do for you, we will do it.” She stood after finishing her cereal and smiled. “Now, I’m all done. Are you?” She wanted to clean up their dishes so they could go and settle down at the couch to veg out.

  Nodding, he scooped up the last of the milk, gave it a slurp, and handed over his bowl with a grin. “Thank you, love.” Pushing up from
his chair, he made his way to the coffee pot for a refill. She watched him closely, likely too closely since he shot her a look of reprimand over his shoulder.

  Athena let it go, smiling and straightening the kitchen as he poured his coffee.

  Chapter Fourteen

  She smoothed her hand down her dress. She was nervous and looked around the room. She smiled when she saw Theresa Carver approaching her. “So, were they able to get my father here?” she asked hopefully. She might not want bridesmaids or a large wedding, but she really wanted her father there.

  “He’s coming up the drive now. The agents are more than a little nervous about this whole thing, given it hasn’t been that long since he was under threat. Then again, it could be because I sent Brant to pick them up. He’s not exactly known for taking it easy with outsiders, and likely gave them a blurred tour of the neighborhood while looking at your dad the entire way, having a talk just so that he could scare the pants off of them.”

  “He is?” Athena couldn’t believe just how happy she was at that moment. She hugged Frank tightly and whispered her thanks to him. Crying on him. “Sorry,” she muttered and pulled back, accepting the Kleenex that Theresa offered her. “I can’t believe he’s here and he’s going to see this. He knows that I’m marrying Martin, right?”

  “According to the reports in from my second born, he knows pretty much everything that’s gone down as of late. Brant assured me he kept it all very PG, and glossed over a few things. Mainly, he claims he made it sound like the ultimate in mating rituals of the country born. Why don’t you take a moment to calm yourself, and I’ll go keep an eye out for them?” Theresa said, handing over another tissue.

  “Thank you.” Athena gave Theresa another hug and then watched her leave. Taking a deep breath, she smiled. She was happy. She was where she should be, she was going to marry the man she loved, and her father was back home again. It was good, very good to be her right now.