She breathed an audible sigh of relief when he rejoined her, sliding into bed next to her and arranging the covers around them as he pulled her into his arms. She snuggled into his side and pillowed her head on his shoulder.
He kissed the top of her head, an affectionate kiss that made her giddy. They just felt . . . comfortable. Like they’d been lovers for years. They . . . fit. They just fit.
She yawned broadly and let her eyelids flutter closed as he stroked his hand up and down her arm.
“Go to sleep, honey,” he said. “Here in my arms and know you’re safe. If you dream tonight, dream only of me.”
And she did. For the first night in many long years, she slept free of the constant worry and nightmares. There, in Donovan’s arms, she dreamed of the most wonderful of things.
Love.
CHAPTER 27
DONOVAN hadn’t slept the night before despite the fact that he was exceedingly sated and content. Making love to Eve was satisfying on an emotional level he’d never experienced before. And yet he’d remained awake, worried and pensive. In the predawn hours, just before finally sliding into sleep, with her curled into his arms, he’d come up with a plan.
Now all he had to do was act on it. And to do so required the presence of his brothers. Nathan and Joe’s team. He briefly considered calling up Steele and his team, but Steele had enough to worry over with a new wife and child. Besides, it had already been decided that Nathan and Joe’s team would regularly draw missions now. Perhaps even work as the front line with Rio and Steele’s team acting in more of a support role.
Neither team leader would likely be happy with that assessment, but neither would they argue because they had wives and children to focus on now. The rest of their teams? Likely not as content as their team leaders to sit back and allow another team to take up their slack.
There was also the fact that it would take longer to pull the other teams in, and Donovan didn’t have the luxury of time. Not when Eve’s stepfather was already close. He trusted Nathan and Joe’s team and he trusted his brothers. They were more than capable of pulling off what Donovan had in mind.
He rose early, not wanting to disturb Eve. He made his phone calls in the kitchen, quiet so the others wouldn’t hear. And then he made yet another call. The most important. He’d set the bait. Now all he had to do was wait for the target to fall into his lap.
CHAPTER 28
WHEN Eve awoke, Donovan was already gone, but then she’d expected as much. He was an early riser and he didn’t seem the type to lie around in bed all morning. Even if the thought was very appealing to her. A morning spent snuggling in his arms? Heaven.
She stretched, smiling at the slight twinge of discomfort that made itself known in her body. They’d made love twice, the second very much at her initiation. Well, but also the first. She’d been impatient and unwilling to let him torture her slowly as he’d planned. The second hadn’t been any more slow or more patient than the first, and she was feeling the effects this morning.
Not that she’d admit a thing to him. If she so much as hinted that she was tender, as he’d put it, he’d likely not touch her tonight and she was having none of that.
She yawned broadly and lay there a moment longer before finally pushing herself out of bed and toward the shower. She glanced at the bedside clock and moved more quickly toward the bathroom. She and Cammie were supposed to go over to the sisters-in-laws’ today to shop.
A perfectly ordinary occurrence. Certainly nothing to get worked up over, but she found herself looking forward to it. It signaled freedom. Normalcy. And she wanted those things above all else. She also wanted a place within the ranks of the Kelly family. She envied the wives with her every breath for what they had. What she herself wanted.
How wonderful must it be to be a part of such a family? Loyal. Tight-knit. Everyone seemed to like one another. Did they ever fight? Squabble? Get pissy and mad in the heat of the moment?
She shook her head as she stepped into the shower and let the water work its magic.
Several minutes later, she combed through her wet hair and dressed. She had no makeup and she’d never lamented that fact. Until now. She wanted to look her best for the other women. It was a female thing. No one liked to be compared to a much prettier woman. But then she hadn’t noticed the other women wearing much in the way of makeup. Sarah had light makeup on. Sophie had what looked like mascara and light lip gloss. She couldn’t conjure the memory of whether Shea and Rachel had worn makeup.
Then she laughed at the sheer ridiculousness of her pondering whether Donovan’s sisters-in-law had worn makeup to meet her.
Ah well, perhaps she could order what she needed today. She hated the thought that she was relying on Donovan to supply her and Cammie’s and Travis’s needs. But she was pragmatic enough to know that she had no way of paying for anything. Donovan had insisted that she use his credit card for whatever she wanted. She wouldn’t buy much. Just the necessities. There would be plenty of time later. When she had a firmer grasp of just what their relationship was and would be.
For now? She was happy. And that was enough. Cammie and Travis were happy. Safe. Protected. Shielded. It was all she’d ever ask for. It was enough.
She padded down the hallway, peeking into the room where Cammie and Travis had slept only to find the bed empty. Apparently Eve was the only straggler this morning. Everyone else was up and likely in the kitchen.
She went in search of the others and indeed found them in the kitchen. Cammie and Travis were sitting at the table laughing. Broad smiles were on each face, their eyes glowing with happiness. It was a sight that took Eve’s breath away.
Donovan was in the kitchen. He’d donned an apron and looked frighteningly domestic for a man who was built the way he was. The apron was completely incongruous with what Eve knew him to be. A total badass.
“Ah, Sleeping Beauty awakens,” Donovan said, smiling as he looked up and saw Eve standing in the doorway.
Eve smiled back and then was distracted by Cammie’s squeal of “Evie!”
She walked to where her sister sat at the table, nearly bouncing in her excitement. What a difference a few days had made in her health. She was back to normal. Her face no longer carried the strain of illness. Her eyes were not as haunted. She looked and acted just as a four-year-old should. Happy and carefree.
Tears burned the edges of Eve’s eyes and she hastily blinked them away, not wanting to upset Cammie or Travis. Not when there was absolutely nothing wrong. Indeed, everything was exactly . . . right.
She glanced up to see Donovan discreetly motioning her to come to him. After brushing a kiss over Cammie’s forehead and ruffling Travis’s hair on her way by, she went into the kitchen, where Donovan was plating pancakes and bacon.