“I will?” The possibilities of how she could expand ran havoc in her mind with added resources.
Parker was enraptured by the way her eyes glowed with pleasure and happiness. She threw herself into his arms and planted kiss after kiss all over his face until finally, her lips latched onto his in a kiss that poured all the feelings running rife through her into it. He stood humbled and elated. He had found his future.
Ava Harper truly was his destiny.
“Okay, lovebirds. Break it up. If you want to be back home tomorrow, we better get cracking.”
“While we work on dismantling your ops room, why don’t you pack up everything you wish to bring home with us? That way it’ll save us another trip.”
“Home?” The way he said the word gave Ava the feeling he wasn’t referring to Castle Sin.
“Yes, my beach house in South Bimini in the Bahamas.” He smiled at the stumped expression on her face. “If you agree, I’d like us to move there permanently. I generally only stay in Castle Sin during the months I have training and overnight there on club nights. Now that our relationship is on track, I want you in my house, Ava.” He hugged her briefly. “In our house.”
“I can’t think of anything I’d like better.”
“If you two don’t break it up now, I’m going to fucking drown in the sugary syrup the two of you are spouting. Get your ass over here, Parker, and Ava, to the bedroom to start packing. Snap to it, pups. The old timer has spoken.”
Parker turned her toward the bedroom. She squealed as he planted a hard slap on her buttocks. “Better get going, love, before the old timer has a stroke. I don’t fancy carrying his big ass to the elevator to get him to a hospital.”
“I’ll punch you to the next continent even while I’m having a stroke, you little asshat. Stop procrastinating. There are some red lights flashing on the screens that might be—”
“What?”
Ava and Parker rushed past Danton and stormed into the ops room.
“What red lights?” she snapped at him, as she frantically ran a diagnostic.
“Oh, are they gone? Fancy that,” Danton smirked as he strolled inside. He turned Ava around with his hands on her shoulders and marched her to the hallway. “Go pack and leave the poor man in peace. A young pup like him is worthless with a hard dick on salute.”
“Danton, shut your trap,” Parker rasped but Ava could hear the amusing undertone in his voice.
She huffed and stomped to her room. The smile that curved her lips remained for as long as she busied herself packing her clothes.
Try as she might, she couldn’t keep her curiosity at bay for too long. Not to mention the driving desire to be the one to pack up her precious equipment personally. Granted, the two men would do it much quicker than her but freaking hell, it was her domain, her babies so to speak that their big ass hands couldn’t give the same loving attention she always did.
She smiled at the thought. It was true. Her computers and gadgets had become like her children. How could they not be? They were her only companions and the only ones she had riveting debates with on a daily basis. Before long, her feet carried her down the hallway to loiter in the doorway, watching them with eagle eyes.
“Careful with those wires, Parker. If you pull them out in the wrong order, you could—” She swallowed the words at the sharp glance he slanted at her. “I guess you know that,” she mumbled.
She bit back the remarks that kept rushing to her lips as she endeavored to stay out of their way but gradually inched deeper into the room. She grudgingly admitted that the two men worked in perfect synergy with each other, without talking too much. The speed with which Parker worked astounded her. It took her weeks to set everything up and it irked the hell out of her that he dismantled an entire tracking system in less than ten minutes.
“Danton, you should really buffer that unit before you put it in the container. Even the slightest bump could damage the circuits.”
He grumbled unintelligibly, which urged Ava to walk closer. She grabbed two pieces of polystyrene and prodded him with it. “Here, use these.”
Danton straightened. Ava couldn’t help but notice the rippling muscles in his back as he twisted to look at her over his shoulder. It continued to amaze her in what good physical shape all the men on The Seven Keys Island were, even the older ones.
“You’re scratching where it doesn’t itch, snip. Get your ass back to your room.”
“I will not let you damage my equipment because you’re in a hurry. Use these, please,” she insisted with her chin raised stubbornly.
He stepped sideways and gestured to the box. “Be my guest.”
“Gmphf, you don’t have to be so snarky, you know. I’m just trying to help.” She stepped up to the box. Her cheeks turned red as she noticed he’d already placed thick rubber buffers at the bottom and on the sides of the box. “Oh, I see you already …” she cleared her throat and flashed an embarrassed smile at him. “Thanks.” His eyebrows rose and his lips twitched expectantly. Ava silently clenched her teeth. Being in the presence of super Doms twenty-four-seven wasn’t for sissies. She should’ve known he’d expect more than a mere courteous thank you. “My apologies, Danton.”
He grunted as he turned his attention back to the equipment already dismantled. Ava shrieked as she noticed Parker reaching for a plug against the wall.
“No! You can’t just unplug that! You have to run a lockdown program first.” Her ears turned red as he spun around. His glare was enough to make her retreat until she was pressed against the wall. “It needs to be done,” she ended lamely under the fire of his gaze.
“And it already has.”
“Either you do something, Parker, or I will. She’s like a yapping mutt underfoot,” Danton rasped irritably.
“There’s no need to be rude,” she clipped and relaxed as Parker walked out of the room. When he returned minutes later carrying a couple of her belts, she pressed harder against the wall.
“What are those for?” Somehow, she didn't think he needed them for packing purposes.
“To keep your interfering little body out of our way.”
Ava moved to the side as Parker began to box her in. “Oh,” she gasped as she walked into an immovable wall—one made of hard muscle and flesh.
Shit! I forgot about Danton.
She held out her hand to ward Parker off but she didn’t stay a heated glare at him. Danton caught the other hand and pressed it against her side.
"This is ridiculous, Parker. You’re not going to spank me,” she tried to reason with him.
“I have no intention to but at least this way, we’ll be able to finish up in peace.”
He was deaf to the protests and threats she flung at him as he deftly wrapped one belt around her wrists before he looped it through the second one. No amount of struggling deterred him, especially since the brute of a Danton held her in a tight grip.
“No! Parker Sinclair, don’t you dare … agh!” she ended in a frustrated growl as he secured the second belt around a wire shelf above her head. Because she was so short, it forced her onto her toes—not an extremely comfortable position to be in at all.
“There.” He tapped a finger on her lips. “I suggest you keep these pulpy delicacies closed, love. I wouldn’t be averse to stuffing something in it to ensure we can finish in peace and quiet.”