Evidence of Passion (Shadow Agents #7)(48)
Author: Cynthia Eden

Rachel was the only woman he ever wanted at his side.

She leaned up onto her tiptoes, and her lips brushed over his.

He stilled at the sensual touch, aware of a heavy surge of emotion within him. Did Rachel understand just how much she meant to him?

She eased away from him. “So this is where you snuck off to on those vacation days of yours. You left me behind in the city and—”

“I never want to leave you again.” The words pushed up from deep inside.

Her eyes widened.

He should probably try to be suave about this. Be charming. But he wasn’t the charming guy. He was a fighter, an agent and a man who would kill in an instant if it meant he could protect the woman he loved.

He still held her hand in his. Dylan glanced down at their hands as he tried to find the right words for her.

“For a few days,” Rachel said, speaking softly, “why don’t we just pretend that the rest of the world doesn’t exist?”

Dylan shook his head. “I want more than a few days with you.” He wanted everything she had to give. In return, he’d give her all that he was. “It was never a charade for me, you know that, don’t you?”

Her eyes searched his.

“I wanted you for years. Dreamed of you. Needed you.” He swallowed. “Loved you.”

“Dylan—”

He should probably be on one knee for this. Damn it, what was wrong with him? Get on your knee, Foxx. He slipped down, letting his knee hit the wood of the balcony.

“What are you doing?” Rachel demanded as she immediately tried to pull him right back up to his feet. “Your stitches! You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Doubtful. He could walk through fire then and barely feel the burn as long as she was with him.

He looked up at her. “I want you to marry me.”

Her jaw dropped.

And he’d messed up. Said the wrong thing. Try for charm. “No.” Dylan jerked his head quickly. “What I meant… Rachel, you’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. The only woman I want. The woman that I love so much—” He heaved out a breath. “I love you so much I can’t even think of being in this world without you.”

Rachel was silent.

“I can’t promise that things will be easy.” They’d never had easy. “I can promise that I will always be there for you. I will love you every day of my life, and I will…” He tried to smile. “I will savor you every night.”

“Dylan…”

“Please, Rachel, marry me?”

Her hand lifted. Stroked the side of his cheek. Her soft palm rasped over the faint stubble that had grown there. “I love you.”

He found that now he couldn’t speak.

“You were the first light I saw…after I was kidnapped. You promised to take care of me, and you did. On missions, at home… I’ve never felt alone since I met you.”

She would never be alone again. “Tell me that’s a yes,” he managed to say. Beg? With Rachel, he damn well wasn’t too proud to plead.

She smiled and took away his breath. “It’s definitely a yes.”

He was on his feet in the next instant. His arms were wrapped tightly around her. His mouth crushed down on hers. Dylan lifted her up against him.

“No!” She’d torn her mouth from his. “I told you—your stitches—”

“Let them come out. Nothing is stopping me now.”

Because he had the one thing that he’d wanted most. He wasn’t letting her go.

Dylan carried her back inside. He kissed her, caressed her. Their clothes were tossed across the room, and then he had her spread out on the big bed.

Their fingers twined together. Their mouths met. She was the sweetest thing he’d ever tasted. The one woman he could not live without.

He kissed his way down her body. Had her moaning and twisting beneath him. He loved her br**sts—so perfect and full. He licked her. He kissed.

He explored every inch of her body.

Her nails raked over him.

Good. She wasn’t worrying about his stitches any longer.

Dylan positioned his body between her legs. He looked up and met her gaze.

He saw his future when he looked into Rachel’s gleaming eyes. A future he’d only dreamed of before that moment.

He thrust into her.

She wrapped her legs around him and met him, thrust for thrust.

When the pleasure hit, it swept them both away. So intense that the world seemed to go dark.

He looked only at her—because to Dylan, she was all that mattered.

He kissed her once more.

He wouldn’t live for the next mission any longer. From now on, Dylan knew he’d only be living…

For her.

Epilogue

Bruce Mercer stared up at the EOD building. The explosions could have been much worse. He could have lost a lot of good men and women.

All because someone wanted to kill me.

He knew the list of his enemies stretched far and wide. He’d always made waves in this world.

He glanced around at the wreckage. Two vehicles had been placed near the building. One in the front. One in the back. Loaded down with explosives. Set to go.

But his security personnel had noticed those vehicles as soon as they arrived. The EOD had cameras all along the street. No vehicles were ever allowed to park immediately near the building.

And in light of the fear that he’d already been feeling, red flags had gone off immediately when those cars arrived.

There were numerous exits from the EOD building. Not just those that the public saw. Getting his agents away from the building and away from those cars had been easy.

But his teams never had the chance to disarm the bombs. They’d gone off too quickly.

The men who’d driven those vehicles? Dead. His agents had taken care of them. They’d tried to bring the men in alive, but, in the end, there hadn’t been a choice.

“So…” The quiet voice came from right beside him. Noelle Evers turned to study him. “What are you going to do now?”

“The same thing I always do. Go after the bad guys.” He’d find the man who’d paid Kenneth Cross.

And he had just the agent in mind for that job.

Thomas Anthony. The Dragon.

Noelle raised her brows as she studied him. “Does any of this ever affect you? Or have you really closed that much of yourself away?”

Ah, now he wouldn’t reveal that, not even to her. “Don’t profile me, Noelle,” he warned her. “I don’t think you’d like the man you find hidden inside.”