He sighed and pulled her into his embrace and she held him tight. "I didn't mean for it to go down like that, D. I was going in to smoke some vamps that had done our whole family wrong. In and out. Hit the targets hard and be gone." Again, silence filled the void between them and she gripped his arms tightly. "You know what? Okay, maybe you did kick it off." She stepped back and folded her arms over her chest. "Who else to do it?" When he looked down and turned into the spray, she grabbed his arm, making him look at her. "My husband is the baddest shut-your-mouth on the planet, okaaaay? And my man is soooo wild and off the hook that he went in and did some crazy soldier shit, and kicked off the galactic prophecies of old. He's got sooo much juice, all right, that Heaven picked him to make it jump off." She smiled wider as a sly half-smile snuck out of hiding on his face.
"You think so ... think they actually wanted me to do this?"
"Did you get a vibe?" Damali's hands were on her hips. He turned to fully face her. "Yeah. For real, I did."
"Well, did Adam come and help you, no questions asked, like they dropped the Caduceus on me from just a shout out? They must have had a reason."
"Yeah, D ... now that you mention it, there was no static about what went down." They stared at each other for a long time.
"I am so proud of you, Carlos."
He traced her cheek. "That's only because you're insane, like me."
"Yeah, true," she said, her expression serious. "But I still love you so much."
"Baby, you know I love you," he whispered over the spray, his hands sliding down her arms. "I'm just glad you're not still mad at me, because, D, I couldn't have stopped myself from doing that drive-by if I wanted to."
"I know... because it was a prime directive from a higher source than this team." She touched his face, suddenly wanting to just be out of the water, dry and curled up with him, warm in the bed. "I've had a few of those prime directives.... Some I listened to, some, in my headstrong days, I missed and didn't listen to ... but I only got angry because this is some scary bullshit - that's why we all had that reaction, at first... still, I am proud of you."
She took his mouth nice and slow and allowed her wings to gradually unfold. She wrapped them both away in her protective covering as his hug pulled her in closer.
"I'm sorry I'm always so crazy, D, starting shit... it's just who I am."
"I'd do lifetimes of crazy with you, Carlos," she whis pered, closing her eyes as she laid her head on his shoulder, "rather than the alternative of never having done crazy with you at all."
CHAPTER FOUR
The team had begun to assemble in the main suite, and it was clear to Damali that the guys had no incentive not to go to war. From the looks on everyone's faces as they walked
through the door, and the jubilant male camaraderie that was exchanged, and even more so, based upon the hot glances being passed between couples, it was clear that they'd been handsomely rewarded for their heroic, albeit foolhardy, deeds. They'd been lucky this time, and then ob viously really gotten lucky.
Damali forced herself not to roll her eyes and suck her teeth when she saw them. She took a seat on the wide, white sectional sofa and tried to put it all into perspective. The only subdued one in the group was Carlos, and that made her sad.
"Good morning, Vietnam!" Berkfield yelled across the room when Mike came through the door with Inez.
"Yo, yo, man!" Mike said like rumbling thunder. "What it look like, people?" Marjorie's face had gone beet red and her voice dipped to a private admonishment. "Oh, Richard, really ..."
"Don't start talking dirty to me this morning, Marj," he said, laughing, with a wink that made her giggle. "Because if you say, 'Oh, Richard, really' ... I can make it so, Number One - and you know that."
Marjorie slapped her husband's hand away from her der riere when he tried to pinch her as she passed by the sec tional seating. Inez glanced away with a too-wide grin, beaming at Big Mike.
"It's you, man," Jose said, grabbing Big Mike's massive hand and then yanking him into a quick warrior's hug as he came through the door.
Mike threw his head back and laughed at Jose's rare ability to practically make him fall.
"Naw, brother, it's obviously you."
Jose play-boxed away from him as a rosy tinge crept up Juanita's cheeks. She slipped into the room, waved to everyone shyly, and sat down. "Hey." When Shabazz walked into the suite with Marlene, Damali glanced at the floor to be sure he wasn't levitating. He'd strolled in so cool, with a smile so sly that even Mike had to shake his head.
"What it look like?" Shabazz murmured, chewing on a toothpick and smoothly sliding into a large leather chair like he was made of pure liquid.
"Damn ... You tell me," Mike said, laughing and signi fying all at the same time. Shabazz leaned back in his chair and stretched like a lazy panther, closing his eyes. "It's all good, brother."
"Uhmmm, morning, folks," Marlene said, swallowing a grin, hustling over to the coffeepot on the wide credenza to heat some hot water for tea.
When Bobby bounded into the room, it was like watching a Labrador puppy do a happydance greeting.
"Hey, yo, whassup?" Bobby hollered with his arm slung over Jasmine's shoulders. His megawatt smile was infectious, causing the older men in the room to burst out laughing. The bright light of joy in Bobby's eyes made Damali lean back on the sofa and briefly close hers with a quiet groan.