Page 80 of Raven's Mark
“I’m retired.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is relocated. Those years have a way of following you.” He clapped Nick on the back, headed for the door. “Another beer?”
Nick grinned, following Bodie inside. The night wore on, everyone finally ambling out as the clock neared midnight. Buck and Tierney left last, both heading down toward the shore, first. What looked dangerously intimate.
Nick locked the door once the trucks had turned onto the road, activating the security system before heading down the hall toward their bedroom, when he caught sight of Sloane standing on the deck. He slipped out the door, admiring the way her skin reflected the hint of moonshine through the clouds, painting it with a soft, yellow glow.
He moved in behind her, wrapping her in his arms as he kissed her neck, the rhythmic crash of the tide playing in the background. “Did you see the look on Buck’s face when Tierney asked him to show her the shoreline?”
Sloane snorted. “Yeah, he looked like a man about to willingly walk into a storm.”
“Love has a funny way of blurring lines.” He rested his chin on the top of her head. “Standing here, with you, it’s hard to believe Prague was only a few months ago.”
She leaned more of her weight against him. “If you’d told me I’d be living in Raven’s Cliff back then, I would’ve recommended a four-day psychiatric hold. Yet… I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”
“You were the one who said moving here could save us both.”
“I guess I didn’t realize how much I needed this — needed you — until that damn ECHO text popped up on my cell.” She blew out a raspy breath. “Until I saw how the rest of my life would play out without you in it.”
“Then, it’s a good thing I don’t plan on ever letting you go.” He smiled when she swatted him. “In a non-creepy, non-possessive asshole way, of course.”
“Of course.” She turned in his arms and palmed his chest. “I have something for you.”
She placed her hand in his, tugged him back inside and over to the mantel before grabbing a box off the hearth. “Open it.”
He arched a brow, opening the sides before taking out a photo frame. He inhaled, staring at an insanely younger version of them standing back-to-back, the Prague cityscape glowing behind them. “Where the hell did you find this?”
“It was our first mission together, remember? I wanted a tangible memory.”
“I’d forgotten the first one had been to Prague.” He looked down at her. “Kinda feels right that everything’s come full circle.”
“I thought it could live on the mantel along with this…” She dug deeper into the box, removed a bowl of polished river stones with her old CIA badge and his JSOC coin.
Nick grinned, dipped down and kissed her, placing both in the center. “Seems like the perfect place for the past to rest. Andnow that the mission’s over, why don’t we get started on the next big op.”
“You know the saying. Take me to bed, baby…”
“Or lose me forever.” He turned, hiked her up on his shoulder, loving how she laughed when he swatted her ass. “You’re on.”
