“I tried to call you.” She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. One adorned with photos of Liam and Brianna on its case. “Multiple times. You wouldn’t answer.”
“That was you.” His brain was having trouble keeping up.
“We didn’t have a rendezvous plan. There wasn’t time. I knew you’d come here eventually, but I wasn’t sure how to get inside. So I went to Watertown and found Rebecca. When you didn’t answer my calls, I contacted Secretary Lyle. She has an override for your retina, by the way.”
It felt like the world was spinning him in concentric circles. So many thoughts were ricocheting through his mind. He homed in on the most important one.
“I thought you were dead.”
“That was the point,” she replied, matter-of-factly. “When I’ve had to do that before, letting someone know I was alive wasn’t exactly a priority.”
“You’ve done that before!” Ben was pretty sure his head was going to explode.
“Quite successfully, obviously.”
That was it. He didn’t care if they both self-combusted. No way he couldn’t touch her now. He snatched her shoulders and pulled her flush against him.
She winced beneath his touch and he suddenly felt guilty as hell.
“You’re hurt?”
“Just my shoulder. It took most of the force when I hit the water.”
Relaxing his grip, he leaned down and nudged the strap of her tank top down with his nose before brushing his lips against the already darkening skin.
“Mmm.” She arched into him.
He traced is fingers down her arm, alarmed when she jumped again once he reached her wrist.
“Just a little sprain,” she whispered.
Gently, he lifted her wrist to his mouth and kissed it.
He was pretty sure the sound that came out of her throat was a purr.
“Any place else?” he asked.
She seductively trailed a finger along her jaw. He obliged her by nipping at the soft skin there.
“How come you don’t smell like the Potomac?” he murmured.
“Oh, didn’t I mention I borrowed your shower?” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “It was nice, but not quite as fun as our shower together yesterday morning.”
With a growl he hauled her up by the ass until she wrapped her legs around him. He carried her up the stairs.
“You better not have used all of the hot water.”
“I’ll keep you warm if I did.”
Five minutes later, they were naked and slick beneath the twin sprays of water. With their hands and mouths, they worshiped each other, whispering promises of more to come.
“I told you I’d never leave you,” she panted when he’d pinned her to the tile wall.
He chuckled. “Yes, but how many lives do you have left, Agent Darby?”
Ever so gently, she cupped his face. “It’s just plain old Miss Darby from here on out. I think I’ll try my hand at photography full-time. It’s definitely a lot safer. And that line of work should leave enough room for me to spend quality time with the other people in my life.”
Ben swallowed roughly. He liked the sound of that. Well, all of it except the “plain old Miss Darby” part. There was nothing plain about her. And he had a few suggestions about the Miss Darby moniker, as well. But that could wait. Right now, he was too busy demonstrating his own concept of quality time to her.
Epilogue
Ben tugged at the tie of his morning suit with one hand while juggling a glass in the other.
“Is it just me, or does it feel surreal drinking shots in the White House Rose Garden?” Adam was still wearing the same bemused expression he’d been sporting since Josslyn strutted down the aisle an hour before.
Ben, Adam, and Griffin were staked out in a corner of the garden, their backs to the Oval. Each of them held a shot glass of whiskey between their fingers, the amber liquid seeming to wink back at Ben. Wedding guests milled about around them, their attention so focused on nibbling appetizers and enjoying cocktails they largely ignored the groom and his two best men. The former roommates grinned as they clinked their glasses together before downing the contents.
“I’ll tell you what feels surreal,” Christine announced as she sauntered up to join the trio. “Watching you sworn bachelors willingly walk down the aisle and turn yourselves into adoring saps. And I’m not the only one who feels that way. That sound you hear is the single women all over DC shedding tears of sorrow.”
His buddies donned identical shit-eating grins as they searched the grounds for their respective spouses. Josslyn wasn’t hard to find. She was the center of attention in the middle of a sea of lavishly decorated tables. Holding hands with her little niece, Arabelle, the two swayed to the music being played by a string quartet. With every twirl, the hundreds of beads trimming her ivory wedding gown shimmered beneath the rays of the late afternoon sun. Marin watched from a few yards away, standing guard over the stunning three-tier wedding cake she’d crafted for the occasion.
Ben scanned the crowd looking for Quinn. He doubted he’d ever lose the feeling of apprehension that gripped him whenever they were apart. In the two weeks since the incident with Ronoff, they’d spent most of their time holed up at the Think Tank. Thirteen years of lost time was a lot to make up for. They passed the days sharing their dreams and their passion, getting to know one another again as their true selves. Quinn insisted they invite his family and friends to enjoy the lighthouse. He suspected it was her way of trying to win everyone over, but she need not have worried. Once the real Quinn Darby came out from the shadows, everyone instantly fell in love with her.
His heart ticked up a notch when he spied her over in the corner near the Palm Room. With her camera dangling from her fingertips, she was in a deep conversation with the Secretary of Homeland. The other woman was relentless as Fergus trying to get her hooks in Quinn, but until this moment Ben was able to run interference. While he believed Quinn when she said she was out of the game, he didn’t trust his boss not to lure her back somehow.
He moved to take a step forward to intervene, but stopped short when the vice president sidled up next to Secretary Lyle, his hand suddenly landing possessively on her back. Ben waited to see the secretary unman the Veep, but she surprised Ben by inching closer to the man. Quinn smiled politely before escaping the two of them and heading back toward the center of the garden. Catching his gaze on her, she winked at him before putting the camera back to her face and capturing what was undoubtedly an adorable shot of Josslyn and her niece.
“Damn. Am I seeing things or does the Veep seem awfully chummy with the secretary?”
“You have been in your lab too long, Inspector Gadget,” Christine teased. “Those two have been an item for a couple of months, now. I’ve been assigned to her detail while Caracas is out and I can report that Secretary Lyle and the vice president are very cute together.”
Ben shivered. “‘Cute’ is not a word I’d ever associate with that woman.”
Adam laughed. “The vice president is a stand-up guy. Let’s hope she doesn’t eat him alive.”
“What is with you and ties, Ben?” Christine reached over to adjust his shirt collar and tighten the fabric around his neck. “Honestly, I don’t know how you three idiots got so lucky to find women who would have you for the rest of their lives.”