very special woman to be with the Keeper.”
“Are you the only single one left?”
He chuckled and shook his head. “No, there are several of us that are still single, and our ranks keep growing as new people come on board. My boss was the first when he fell in love with Sylvie and her young son. The interesting thing was he met them when he was investigating a murder her son witnessed.”
Eyes wide, she gasped. “The little boy saw a murder?”
“From a distance, but yes. They started out when he was protecting them, but they fell in love. Another Keeper fell in love when he was in the middle of conversing with an informant and a woman literally dropped off a ladder on top of them.”
“You’re kidding me?”
“No, that’s how Rank met Helena.”
“So everyone is falling in love with someone they met on a mission?”
“Walker met Julie when he was rescuing her in Mexico. Babs works with us, and she and Drew had a thing for years but only gave into it when he had to fly to the Caribbean to help her out. Blake fell in love with Sara when she was kidnapped in French Guiana. The friend I was talking to, Tate, is with his high school sweetheart, but they were separated for many years. When she was kidnapped, he rescued her and they rekindled their romance. Levi was traveling across the country and picked up a woman who had car trouble. She was on the run from embezzlers, and as they traveled toward Maine, fell for each other.”
“Oh, my God, Jorge, this is crazy!”
“The last one to fall was Clay. He found a symphonic violinist who had nothing to do with the mission. But then she ended up in the middle of a drug investigation, so it turned out that every one of us has met someone like that.”
She was quiet for another moment, continuing to turn the information over in her mind. Sucking in her lips, she was uncertain what he was telling her was good. Hesitantly, she asked, “Isn’t anyone afraid that meeting under such extreme circumstances might not be the best way to start a relationship? Or maybe it’s a relationship that won’t stand the test of time once the crisis is over?”
“That’s the counselor in you, isn’t it? I get it, Josie. I used to think the same thing. But all I know is that there’s a certain type of woman that a Keeper looks for and a certain type of woman that is right for each Keeper. As I said, they’ve got to be smart, strong, independent, and trustworthy. Believe me, those are not easy traits to always find. Sweetheart, I found those traits in you, and you’re definitely in my heart.”
She smiled, still pondering what he was saying. “I guess—maybe—that makes sense. When you meet someone under extreme circumstances then you get to see them for who they really are. Not who they’re pretending to be. Not who they’d like you to think they are.”
His smile widened just before a chuckle erupted. “Not like a stranger who comes over to you at an event and tries to get you to dance.”
She blushed and nodded. “Exactly. The way we met was not really who we are. But this, right here, lying in your arms, is perfect.”
He leaned over and kissed her, new emotions flowing between them causing the kiss to flame brighter. His cock thickened against her stomach, and she reached between them to encircle him with her hand. Just as she hoped, he growled and rolled over her, encasing her whole body with his much larger one.
“Damn, woman.” His groan was swallowed by her own and she opened her legs, wrapping them around his hips with her heels digging into his back.
The kiss broke only long enough for him to grab another condom, roll it on, and then plant himself deep inside her channel.
She grinned, but he kissed the smile right off her face until she was lost in the euphoria of their combined releases. Later, much later, she drifted off to sleep, naked in his arms. And thinking she’d love to do this every night… not just for the mission, but for the rest of her life.
19
Josie glanced to the side, once again staring at Jorge’s profile. He’d insisted she take a day off of work, and they were going into Albuquerque to meet with her father. She hadn’t seen her parents since she first told them about the threats.