Defiance (The Protectors #9)(93)

Everett continued to struggle with Reese, who hadn’t warmed up to the idea of letting his father back into his life, but Gage had been trying to smooth Reese’s rough edges. And while I suspected part of that had to do with being Reese’s friend, I had to wonder if the man didn’t have an ulterior motive, since he seemed to have an awfully hard time taking his eyes off a certain former Commander-in-Chief whenever they were in the same room together.

Which seemed to irritate Agent Jon Nash to no end.

It was a dynamic that I still hadn’t made sense of, and I wasn’t sure Everett had even noticed, since he’d long ago dismissed the idea that anyone could take Pierce’s place in his heart. I hadn’t bothered to try to explain to him that it wasn’t about replacing one love with another. Not when there were men out there who were strong enough to love you and that piece of your heart that would always belong to another.

Men like my Nate.

“How about we finish this another time, Vincent Dorfmeyer?” Nathan said as he rubbed up against me.

“Fuck, I hate when you call me that,” I said.

I still wanted to kick Dom’s ass for the ridiculous last name he and Ronan had come up with for my new identity, but, of course, each man had pointed to the other when I’d asked about it.

“I had some thoughts about that, too,” Nathan murmured as he placed soft kisses all around my mouth, but never landed on it.

I snagged the back of his head and held him in place so I could take what he was teasing me with.

“You were saying?” I asked when I pulled back. The cocky grin faded and Nathan’s hungry eyes met mine.

He toyed with my hair. “Although Dorfmeyer has a certain ring to it,” – he yelped when I pinched his ass – “okay, okay.” He wriggled his ass against my palm when I went to rub the sore spot.

“Nate?”

“What?” he asked as his breath got heavy and he began to grind his cock against mine.

“You going to finish your thought?”

“What? Oh, right.” He began chewing on his lip, a sure sign he was nervous. “I was thinking…Wilder might be a better fit.”

I stilled at that.

“Vincent Wilder,” Nathan said softly. “What do you think?”

Was he…fuck, was he actually asking me to…

“Don’t fuck with me,” I said. “That better not be a hypothetical-”

“It’s not,” Nathan cut in. He kissed me hard. “It’s me asking you to marry me.”

“This is me saying yes,” I snarled as I slammed my mouth down on his and lifted him up. “Yes,” I repeated as I swept the blueprints that were spread out on the table to the floor.

“What are you doing?” Nathan asked with a laugh as I lowered him onto his back on the table.

“Christening our new table, what does it look like?” I asked as I skimmed my lips over his pulse point. He moaned and pushed up against me.

“The furniture’s rented, remember?” he said hoarsely.

“Not anymore, baby. Any piece I make love to you on goes in our new place.”

Nathan smiled and kissed me. “Well then, you better get busy. We’ve got a big house to furnish.”

I chuckled. “On it.”

“Love you, Vincent,” Nathan whispered.

“Love you too,” I said as I sank my fingers into his beautiful hair. “My Nate,” I said firmly.

His gorgeous eyes held mine. “Always,” he said simply.

And it was true. Whether he was my husband, my lover, my boyfriend…didn’t matter. He was and always would be, first and foremost, My Nate.



The End



Turn the page to check out a sneak peek from Shattered, Jace and Caleb’s story!





Sneak Peek





Shattered (The Protectors, Book 10) (M/M)





Prologue





Jace





“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” I muttered seconds after my phone began ringing. A glance at the clock on my nightstand showed that I’d been asleep for less than twenty minutes. I was half-tempted to ignore the damn thing, but something deep in my gut twisted with uncertainty. I’d learned long ago not to ignore the odd sensation. My grandmother had assured me it was just the gypsy blood running through my veins, but I suspected it had more to do with the years I’d spent learning how to read my uncle’s moods so it would be easier to dodge his fists. It had served me well in the military many years later and had saved my life on more than one occasion, so I wasn’t about to cast it aside in favor of some much-needed sleep.

I fumbled for the phone as I pulled myself to an upright position and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I glanced at the Caller ID and saw that it was my boss, Memphis Wheland. My plan had been to call him in the morning to let him know I was ready to be put back into the rotation, but the fact that he was calling me this late meant he likely already had a job for me.

“Yeah,” I said into the phone as I searched out the light switch on my nightstand.

“Jace?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” I asked as I wiped at my eyes. It had been almost thirty-six hours since I’d last slept, but the adrenaline was already kicking in as my body began to anticipate the job he’d be assigning me. Between work and my countless trips overseas, I’d been killing myself lately, but it hadn’t been without purpose.