Page 48 of Burn Bag (Owens Protective Services #31)

DAPHNE

Giggling, I rolled over in bed as Bradley skimmed his lips down my chest. The sheets were tangled around my legs and I couldn’t escape him no matter how hard I tried. He’d already pulled three orgasms from me, and now the feel of his hands on my sides only made me laugh.

“You know, it really kills the mood when you laugh while I have my tongue this close to your pussy.”

“I can’t help it!” I laughed as his fingers tickled my sides. “Stop!”

Sighing, he propped his head up on his hand, giving me a devil-may-care grin that made my heart stutter.

Was I really married to this man? How the hell had this happened?

I threw caution to the wind and ended up with a sexy man between my thighs for the rest of my life. Somehow, it just didn’t seem real.

“You’re beautiful, Mrs. Kavanaugh.”

“And you have stuff all over your face,” I chuckled.

He pretended to frown, wiping at his lips. “Right here?” Then he moved to his nose where I knew remnants of my desire dried. “Or right here?”

“Go take a shower!” I laughed, pushing him off me, though he didn’t really move .

“Take a shower with me.”

“Nope. I’m not falling for that. I’ll get in the shower with you, and then you’ll have your hands all over me again.”

“Huh. I can’t say I’ve ever thought of that as a bad thing.”

“It is when my legs are already shaking. Now go,” I smiled, pushing at his shoulder.

“What are you gonna do?”

“Lay in bed and fall asleep.”

He crawled up my body, settling between my legs with his hard cock nudging at my entrance. “You could fall asleep with my cock inside you,” he whispered, nipping at my ear.

“There’s no way you would let me sleep.”

“No, you’re right about that.”

Sighing, he sat up, taking the sheet with him. My skin pebbled at the chill, but he only took a moment to stare at my naked body spread out for him before covering me with a blanket and wrapping it tight.

“Stay warm, Mrs. Kavanaugh,” he murmured against my lips.

Smiling, I closed my eyes and listened as he moved around the room, gathering things and most likely folding them, since that’s just the way he was. When I heard the door shut and the shower turn on, I let the sound of the soft beating water lull me into a light sleep.

But that was quickly disturbed by the sound of the doorbell. Groaning, I rolled over. “Bradley!” I called out, but he couldn’t hear me over the shower.

I really didn’t want to get out of bed, but the ringing of the bell didn’t stop.

I decided against putting clothes on and opted for wrapping the blanket around me.

His friends wouldn’t care, and it wasn’t like I was giving anything away.

I headed downstairs, hoping with every step that whoever was at the door would simply disappear.

Unfortunately, I was not that lucky. I yanked the door open and nearly dropped my blanket.

Thank God, I hadn’t. My parents were standing in front of me, their eyes taking in my rather unkempt state. I quickly tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear, hoping that made me appear slightly more put together .

“Mom. Dad…what a surprise.”

Red poked his head out from behind them and grinned. “Hey, Daphne. Nice hair.”

I flipped him off, making sure the scowl on my face said it all.

“Well, I did not expect this,” my mom sighed. “Oh well,” she said, shoving past me into the house, carrying her bags with her.

“Hey, peanut,” my dad grinned, pressing a kiss to my cheek as he entered.

When Red tried to come in, I held up a hand, blocking his entrance. “I don’t think so.”

“What? But I was nice enough to bring them here!”

“And that’s as far as you’re getting,” I said, shutting the door in his face.

I leaned against the door and groaned, rolling my head back and forth. “This is so bad.”

“What’s so bad, peanut?”

Spinning, I tucked my blanket tighter around my body and smiled. “Uh… you know, just that you showed up and I’m dressed like this.”

My father’s cheerful smile eased the tension slightly, but I knew it wouldn’t last long. “Go get dressed so we can properly meet you, and bring your husband down with you.”

“Yes, and please, where is the scotch?” my mother called from the living room.

“It’s not even noon,” I said to her as I passed the living room.

“It’s five o’clock somewhere,” I heard her say as I scurried up the stairs.

I nearly tripped on the blanket and only stopped myself from face-planting by catching myself on my elbow at the edge of the stair. Hissing, I rushed up the stairs and slammed the bedroom door behind me just as Bradley stepped out of the bathroom, completely naked and hard.

His cock bobbed in front of him, greeting me for the next round which I knew was no longer a possibility.

“Put that away. We have problems.”

“Baby, I’ll solve all your problems,” he grinned as he strode over to me, tearing the blanket from around my body. He buried his face in my neck as his cock prodded my belly.

“No, seriously. We have big-time problems. Problems like the fact that my parents are downstairs right now!”

“Your—what?”

I nodded, so panicked about the fact that my parents surprised me that I didn’t exactly realize I had been standing with my knees locked until it was too late. Bradley turned just as the foggy feeling washed over me and the room started a slow spin.

“I—” The rest of the words didn’t come out as I tried and failed to get to the ground. I barely felt my fingers brush the bed as I went down, but everything went black before I even hit the ground.

“I swear to God, I didn’t beat my wife!”

“Sir, this is the third time she’s been admitted in the last month!”

“Because she has vasovagal syncope and passed out! She hit her head on the nightstand!”

“Sir, you’re going to need to calm down.”

I winced as bright light pierced my skull. I recognized the white walls instantly and wished I was anywhere other than here. I was supposed to be in bed with my husband. How the hell had this happened?

That’s right. Mom and Dad showed up at my door, and everything went downhill from there.

“Ah, my favorite patient! Mr. Kavanaugh, I’m assuming no cats got you today.”

The nurse. God, it was the same nurse who was always here when one of us ended up in the hospital.

“I was beginning to think you didn’t like me anymore,” she teased. “It’s been way too long since I last saw you.”

“Kristy, can you please tell the doctor I do not beat my wife,” Bradley bit out. The anger in his voice was palpable. The poor man was probably on the verge of beating the shit out of the doctor. Now would really be a good time for me to open my eyes and make my presence known.

I did just that, but no one was paying attention to me. No, they were currently in a standoff with a police officer, who was also in the room.

“At least there are no aliens this time,” I muttered.

Kristy turned to me, smiling widely. “Ah, there’s my favorite patient. What did I tell you about showing up at my hospital?”

I licked my dry lips, trying to think back. “Um…not to show up until the afternoon?”

“Exactly,” she grinned, like I had just passed a test. “Well, it’s good to see you’re still testing your boundaries. And you brought a crowd with you this time.”

“I did?”

“Your parents,” she said, her eyes widening in a comical smile. “Lucky you.”

When she stepped aside, Bradley was there, snatching my hand in his and glaring at Kristy, probably for taking too long.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I smashed my head.”

“You did. I’m sorry I didn’t catch you.”

The sincerity in his voice would have made me laugh if my head didn’t hurt so damn much.

“I’m sorry I ruined my first meeting with your in-laws. I bet you were really looking forward to that.”

“I was, and having them rush into the room with me buck naked was more fun than you could ever imagine.”

I smiled, only to wince as the pain kicked up in my head.

“Hey, no smiling,” he chastised. “You’re in the hospital. This is a no-fun zone.”

“Sorry. I’ll keep that in mind for our next visit. I think it’s your turn.”

He shook his head firmly. “Nope. I’m calling a truce on this competition. The stakes are getting a little too high for my liking.”

“They weren’t high enough when the cat attacked your balls? ”

He waved it off like it was nothing. “Those were minor scratches.”

“Then I didn’t really have to get rid of all the kittens,” I said playfully.

His face turned serious and he bent over, kissing my hand.

“Daphne, I promise you right now, if you ever bring another animal into my home, I will run away and hide from you. I mean, probably not for long because I love you and would miss the fuck out of you after five minutes. But for those very long five minutes, you would regret ever letting that animal in the house.”

“And then?”

He rolled his eyes. “And then we’d have another animal. Just…try not to make it anything too fucking scary. The snake was taking it too far.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Good.”

The doctor cleared his throat and stepped around, glaring at Bradley with restrained disdain. “We’ve got your tests back, and despite the numerous hits to your head,” he added pointedly, “everything seems to be clear.”

“So, we can leave and go home?” I asked hopefully.

“I’d like you to stick around for another hour or so. You just woke up, so I’d like to keep an eye on you. Make sure there are no lingering issues.”

I had a feeling he was trying to get us to stick around in case my husband decided to beat me, but I had just woken up, so I let it go. Shifting upright in the bed, I groaned when the door shoved open and my parents came running in.

“Daphne, I can’t believe this happened!” my mom screeched.

“It’s just a bump on the head, Mom.”

“I know, but right when a huge discovery was made,” she sighed. “It’s just terrible timing.”

“What?”

Pursing her lips, she shot me that look that she always had when I was a kid. She didn’t want to have to tell me twice and she was irritated that I hadn’t listened .

“The tomb!”

Again, I was lost. “What tomb?”

“Queen Nefertiti! We found her!”

Bradley stood up, his face going pale. “Wait, are you talking about…” He swallowed hard, stumbling back a step. “Are you talking about a mummy?”

My mother beamed at my husband, but I could see the wheels turning in her head as she planned out everything that needed to be done. “It’s so exciting. Which is why I’ve been calling you for weeks now! I can’t believe you didn’t pick up the phone!”

“So, you flew all the way here to get me?” I said, surprised she’d done that.

“Well, this was always the dream, remember? To work on this as a family.”

It had been. Since I was a kid, going on digs with them and talking around a campfire, this was the ultimate goal. I just never thought it would actually happen.

“And we needed additional funding,” my father cut in. “Your mother wanted to keep working, but unless we get the proper backing, it could all be over in less than a week. I had to practically tear her away from the queen,” he chuckled.

So…they didn’t fly out here to get me. Yes, they wanted me there, but my mother did not drop everything to get me. I should have known better, but there was always room for wishful thinking.

“So, as soon as you get out of here, you’ll need to pack a bag.

Then we need to fly to Washington and beg for the proper funds.

I already tried the Brits, but they said they didn’t have any more funding available.

They’re just pissed because they can’t take the credit for the find,” my mother muttered.

“But that’s all water under the bridge,” Dad cut in. “Because at this time tomorrow, we’ll be meeting with the man himself!”

“Excuse me,” Bradley cut in. “Who is the man?”

My parents laughed at him, apparently finding it exceptionally funny that my husband wasn’t connected in the archaeological world.

Little did they know that he was connected in other ways.

If they knew he was a senator’s son, they would be asking him to find the money, and frankly, they’d be shoving me at him.

For that reason alone, I kept my mouth shut.

Whatever was going to happen between Bradley and me would be because we made it work and nothing else.

“Why, the director of archaeological research in the United States.”

As if that meant anything to anyone. I rested as my parents filled Bradley in on everything he could ever want to know about Dr. Cunningham. By the expression on his face, he wasn’t overly impressed, but then, none of the men at OPS seemed to be impressed by fancy titles.

“Darling, we should really get going,” my mother urged me. “Maybe you could push this whole thing along.”

This whole thing being my stay in the hospital. Luckily, I didn’t have to point out that I’d just slammed my head into a table. My husband was there to do all the talking for me.

“She will not leave the hospital until the doctor clears her. He said he would like to keep an eye on her for a little longer, and we will do as he suggests to make sure my wife is clear of any danger.”

I bit back the grin that threatened to break free, and had to hold back from fanning myself as Bradley stood there, arms crossed with a don’t fuck with me expression on his face. God, he really was so hot.

“Daphne,” my mother snapped, obviously trying to get my attention while I was ogling my husband.

“Hmm?”

“We’re going to head back to the house and get cleaned up. We’ll need to leave tonight so we can be prepared for our meeting in the morning.”

“Oh, I?—”

Ignoring me, she turned to my father. “Did you pack anything to change into?”

“Yes, dear. I have a suit.”

“Good.” Putting a smile on her face, she rushed over to me and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “This really is going to be the best trip ever.”

My parents were gone in a flurry, and I didn’t need to turn to Bradley to feel the anger coming off him in waves. Whether that was because my parents had barged in here and took over or because they hadn’t bothered to ask me how I was feeling, I really didn’t know.

His strong jaw was clenched hard when he finally turned to face me. Though it softened slightly, a look of unease filled his eyes as he came back to my side and took a seat.

Instead of saying a word, he took my hand and stared at our linked fingers. There was so much I wanted to ask him, starting with how he felt about me running off on a dig halfway around the world, but fear that he might have no problem with me leaving had me holding back.

Did I want to stay? I wasn’t sure. Queen Nefertiti’s tomb was a huge discovery and something I had dreamed of finding since I was a kid. But I was just finding my rhythm with Bradley. Disrupting that now could ruin everything.

So, as we sat in the silence of the room, I kept my thoughts to myself, too afraid that he would tell me to go. Too afraid that everything that had been building between us would be swept away in a single moment.