Page 38 of Silver Spoon Falls, Vol. I
TWENTY-SEVEN
FRANCESCA
It’s only one month. Thirty days. Seven hundred and twenty hours.
Forty-three thousand, two hundred minutes.
Okay, I’m making it sound worse than it really is, but I’m going to miss MHM.
I shortened his name to initials since it’s hard to scream Mr. High and Mighty at the top of my lungs while a spectacular orgasm tears through me.
“I can’t believe it’s almost time for your flight.
” I stare out the huge wall of windows and watch the jet that’s going to take him to Washington DC taxi up to the gate.
I’ve barely slept the last two nights. Instead, I lay awake throughout the night, memorizing the feeling of Ryker holding me close.
“And I can’t believe you bought a whole ticket to Washington DC for me just so I could accompany you all the way to the gate. ”
“Believe it, sunshine.” Ryker ignores all the people milling through the busy airport and pulls me into his arms. “I’d take you with me if you didn’t have school.”
I’m not going to lie. I’m tempted to say to hell with school and get on the plane with him.
In fact, I’m not sure how I’m going to survive two million, five hundred, and ninety-two thousand seconds without feeling his strong arms wrapped around me.
Or his warm palm coming down hard on my ass cheeks.
Taking a deep breath, I tell myself to stop moping and enjoy the last few minutes I have with Ryker before he leaves.
“Well, the ticket agent did think you’re a total asshole for buying me a coach ticket when you’re flying first class,” I remind him.
The outraged ticket agent glared daggers at MHM the entire time we stood at the counter, and I’m pretty sure I heard her mumble, “Dickhead,” under her breath as we walked away.
“As long as you know I’m a big softy.” Ryker rubs his nose down the vein pounding on the side of my neck before biting down gently.
I sneak my hand between us, glad he’s wearing a long raincoat that hides my movements. Giving his cock a squeeze through his dress pants, I wiggle my eyebrows at him. “You might be big, but you’re definitely not soft.”
“I fucking love you,” he growls against the side of my throat. “You better be a good girl while I’m gone.”
“I’m going to be too busy finishing up the semester and moving my stuff into our new big house to get into any trouble.
” I lay my head against his strong chest and breathe in his woodsy scent, trying to memorize it.
Over the last two days, I’ve been sneaking his t-shirts out of the dirty laundry so I’ll have something that smells like him to sleep with while he’s gone.
A disembodied voice comes over the speaker to announce pre-boarding, and my eyes fill with tears. “I’ll call you every night.” Ryker’s strong arms squeeze me tight. “You better be lying in our bed thinking about me.”
“I’m going to be thinking about you every single second you’re gone.” I’m blubbering like an idiot in the middle of the busy airport, but I don’t care what other people think. “I love you.”
When they call for the last of the pre-boarders, I expect Ryker to step away from me, but he only pulls me closer.
“I have a confirmed seat. Hell, I have two confirmed seats,” he jokes and kisses me to within an inch of my life.
His cock thumps against my stomach, torturing both of us.
When a passenger walks by and clears her throat, letting us know it’s getting a little too hot and heavy for public, we slowly pull apart. But not too far.
We stand with his strong arms wrapped tightly around me while the gate area slowly empties around us. I’m not going to argue. Heck no. I’ll take all the time I get with him before he leaves for thirty freaking days.
The voice overhead calls for all last-minute passengers, and I stand on my tippy toes to kiss his bearded chin. “I love you. Be good in DC and hurry up to get back to me.”
“I promise.” He smiles down at me before giving me one more kiss, then turns to walk away. I give him one last watery smile when he turns to wave before disappearing down the jet bridge.
“You’re really killing my mood.” Amelia walks behind the reception desk and hands me a coffee cup from the little coffee shop down the street. “It’s decaf with three pumps of pumpkin and two pumps of white chocolate.” My friend is the freaking bestest. Ever.
“Thank you,” I mumble and give her a weak smile. It’s been two weeks since Ryker left for Washington DC, and I’m missing him like crazy. Not much will cheer me up until he comes back. Permanently.
“Have you heard from Mr. Smitten today?” Amelia has been a lifesaver. My best friend makes sure I don’t waste away missing MHM.
“He called me last night.” And he sounded distracted.
All day long, I’ve had a bad feeling that I can’t shake.
Between tossing my cookies frequently and worrying about Ryker, I’m a nervous wreck.
I keep telling myself stress is causing the nausea, but I’m pretty sure it’s something else.
Something that’s going to keep us up at night and expect college tuition one day. “Only two more weeks to go.”
Amelia pats my back and smiles. “Two weeks is nothing. He’ll be back before you know it.” I wish.
At lunchtime, I run out to The Apothecary, the local pharmacy, and grab a little test that will tell me if we’re about to have a ton of sleepless nights in our future.
After taking the test, I wrap it in toilet paper and stick it in my bag while I debate how I’m going to tell Ryker the news. Maybe, I’ll video call him and hold up the little stick.
A few hours later, I’m about to leave for the day when my cell phone buzzes in my pocket. I don’t usually keep it on me during work hours, but I want to make sure MHM can get in touch with me at all times. I don’t recognize the number, so I step into the back room and answer. “Hello.”
“Francesca, I don’t want to worry you.” Hearing Razor’s voice sends terror coursing through my soul. “But there’s been an incident.”
“Incident?” I practically scream in his ear. “Is he okay?” I have to know Ryker is okay. I can deal with anything except losing him.
“As far as I know, he’s going to be okay.” Razor’s words don’t exactly give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. “I’m on my way to get you. I’ve arranged for a private plane to fly us to DC.”
I nod my head vigorously, forgetting he can’t see me through the phone. After hanging up, I manage to stumble out to Amelia. She takes one look at my pale face and horror-filled eyes and rushes to me. “What’s wrong?”
“There’s been an incident,” I repeat on a continuous loop. My mind refuses to function in the face of the terror cutting through me. Amelia manages to keep me calm until Razor storms into the hotel.
“I’ve got her,” he promises my best friend before leading me to the car waiting outside.
Adalynn gives me a reassuring smile as I slide in next to her.
“Don’t worry. Montgomery men are notoriously resilient.
” God, I hope she’s right. The next two hours are a blur as Razor gets us settled on the small corporate jet.
So many thoughts swirl through my mind that I have trouble holding on to any of them.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Razor talking on the phone and wonder how he's doing it. “We’re going to head straight to the hospital when we land.” He pats my arm, but I barely notice. My entire body is numb. I won’t be able to take a full breath until I know Ryker is alive.
The plane tires have barely stopped moving when Razor orders the flight attendant to open the door. “Hurry the fuck up.” His freaking calm manner is a facade.
Adalynn keeps up a steady stream of inconsequential conversation the entire drive through Washington DC. While I appreciate her efforts to keep me calm, I’m a nervous wreck. That’s an understatement. I’m about to crawl out of my skin.
A security guard is waiting for us at the hospital’s side entrance.
After Razor shows the guard his identification, the middle-aged man steps back.
“Please, come with me.” He leads us into a single elevator and places his keycard against the plate on the wall.
As we quickly ascend, I clench my hands in my jacket pockets, attempting to appear calm when I’m anything but.
We step through an automatic door and stop at a room with two policemen standing on either side of the door.
One of them holds out his hand. “IDs?” After we hand him our identifications, he pulls out a tablet and types on it for a few moments.
I glance around the sterile hospital floor, praying for good news.
“Two of you can go in at a time.” The guard kinda reminds me of a robot.
“Come in with me, Francesca.” Razor places his hand on my lower back and reaches for the doorknob.
“Wait.” I feel horrible leaving Adalynn to her own devices. “Shouldn’t you and Adalynn go in first?”
Razor shakes his head, giving me a slight smile. “My brother would have my ass if I didn’t show up with you.”
A tiny spark of relief courses through me. If Razor is worried about how Ryker will react, he has to think his twin is okay. “I have twin spidey sense.” He gives me a little push in the door. “I’d know if the fucker had gotten his ass killed.”
“Nice,” Ryker growls from the hospital bed, and I almost melt into a puddle of relief. MHM is alive and well. My eyes roam over his body, looking for injuries, but I’m unable to see anything. “I got shot and you’re still badmouthing me to my woman.”
“Are you okay?” I ignore Razor and stumble over to the bed. “What happened?” Without giving him a chance to answer, I place small kisses all over his face before stepping back to punch him in the shoulder. “How dare you scare me like that.”
I pull back, ready to punch him in the other shoulder when Ryker grabs my hand.
“Hold up there, slugger.” He wraps his hand in my hair and pulls me down for a real kiss.
As his lips move against mine, my knees nearly buckle.
The relief flowing through me morphs into pleasure, and I almost forget where we are. “I got shot in that shoulder.”
Oh my God. I take a shot right to the chest, realizing he could’ve easily died. “What the fuck happened? Those assholes at the agency wouldn’t tell me shit,” Razor growls behind me.
I don’t resist when Ryker drags me down on the edge of his hospital bed.
“Stay,” he orders me, and I’m too relieved to care that it sounds like he’s giving a dog commands.
“On my way to work, I saw some asshole trying to carjack a woman, so I stopped and intervened. Just my luck, the chick was packing and decided to shoot her rescuer. At least she was a horrible shot.” A wince crosses Ryker’s face as he shrugs with his good shoulder.
I spin around and glare as Razor’s laughter fills the hospital room. “Oh, man. Please tell me you at least got the bad guy.” I can’t believe these two.
“That poor asshole just about pissed his pants when the bullet whizzed right by his head,” Ryker laughingly tells his brother. “He dropped to the ground and waited for uniforms to cuff him.”
“Stop joking about this,” I hiss at MHM. “It’s not funny. You could’ve died.” A thought suddenly rushes through my mind now that the circuits are firing again. “What happened to your stupid security?”
“Why don’t you marry me and you can be in charge of my security from now on?” I blink, wondering if I imagined the words coming from Ryker’s mouth. “Actually, scratch that. You’re going to marry me and take charge of my security.”
“Doesn’t the CIA protect its employees?” I hate the idea of him having a dangerous job. Even if he only sits at a desk in their Houston office.
“I’m retiring from the agency.” Ryker wraps his hand around my face and stares into my eyes as equal parts of shock and relief slam into me.
“When I got shot, my life flashed before my eyes and my one regret was not being married to you. Now that I have a second chance, I’m not going to waste a second making you mine. ”
My heart melts, even though Razor is making gagging noises behind me. “That’s my cue to give you guys some private time.” I hardly notice when he slips from the room.
“I expect hazard pay,” I joke and settle back against Ryker’s good side. “Keeping you in line will be a full-time job.”
“I’ll give you extra smacks.” Ryker is speaking my language. “You’re going to earn every single one.”
Sounds like heaven. “By the way.” Now is as good a time as any to give him my news. “Remember the baby you’ve been attempting to make.”
I take his hand and place it across my abdomen while watching tears form in his eyes. Ryker leans down to place a soft kiss across my lips. “I must’ve been a goddamn angel in my past life to earn a reward like you.”
“And don’t you forget it.” Reaching under the sheet, I find his naked cock. “What? Don’t they put underwear on you in the hospital?” I sputter and wrap my hand around his erection.
“I was preparing for you to ride my cock.” He presses the button to lower the bed. “What can I say?” Ryker smiles against my lips. “I was hoping you’d reward me for surviving the shooting.”
“No funny business in here.” A male nurse walks in the door and immediately knows what we were about to do. Oof. My bad.
“I’ll give you a rain check.” I pull the sheet up to Ryker’s chin.
“Torturing me and leaving me hanging is worth twenty.” His rough growl causes my inner muscles to clench.
“You can make me pay once you marry me.” Now that we’ve figured everything out, I don’t want to wait.
“It’s a date.”
Ryker doesn’t let the grass grow under his feet. We have a small, intimate ceremony at the courthouse before heading home to Silver Spoon Falls. Just in time for the morning sickness to kick in big time. Yay me.