She woke up sometime in the middle of the night feeling a man's arms around her and his body nestled against her back.
Then she remembered and smiled to herself. She'd spent the last night with her husband and what a night it had been. This time for sure he'd been left with memories that would take more than a knock to the head to wipe them out. She'd made sure of that.
But she had also left him very tired so he'd been asleep since the most recent time they had rocked the bed as her friend Julia called it.
She remembered the spirited woman she had known since childhood who she had spent hours talking to about everything in their lives. Often while sitting on the back porch swing at her house, sipping from tall glasses of iced sweet tea. Julia had often teased her about her earnestness about everything. Where C.J. had been a serious bookworm throughout school, Julia had been more of a party girl but still acing all of her classes.
They talked about their families which served in contrast to each other. Whereas C.J. had only her uncle who considered her more of an obligation than anyone else, Julia's had been extended with three generations living together on one spread in southern Texas.
Needless to say they'd spent hours talking about guys. The ones they dated, the ones that dumped them and the ones they had designs on. Julia usually had no problems going up to a guy she fancied and sweet talking him into asking for her number or doing that herself.
C.J. on the other hand had taken the more cautious approach. She'd had her relationships when she could fit them in her academic life but none of them had really lasted except Carl.
Both of the times he'd been in her life and if some ex-high school classmate named Christian Dean hadn't been obsessed with her, he'd still be alive today and maybe they'd be…she blinked her eyes because she really had loved him.
The arms around her tightened and she closed her eyes remembering how Julia had her own opinions about the relationship between her and Matt. She thought that guys and girls could be best friends but that one of them would always want more than the other.
For many years, C.J. had thought that would be her. She knew she had loved him when there had been gunfire flying all around him inside that abandoned building. But he hadn't said anything in response so she just hoped that he'd forgotten what she had said. That life could move forward as it had always gone. The friendship they shared had to be enough. But then there had been moments like when she had woken up after being shot and felt the warmth of Matt's hand in her own and looking into his reddened eyes and the beginnings of a beard on his face, she knew how long he'd been there. She'd held onto him so tightly when he and Roy had returned with his long-lost cousin in tow and when Will had stood on the brink of suicide on top of that skyscraper.
During the time she had spent talking to Matt's distraught cousin, she had thrown out every thought that came to her, every memory they shared to keep him from stepping over the edge. She knew what it'd do to Matt if he lost his cousin again.
Julia's death that had been hard but Matt had supported her through that and then he had met Elizabeth.
"You awake?"
His gravelly voice interrupted her thoughts. She loved how he sounded in the morning when he first woke up. God, she'd missed him so much the few nights they had been apart since the accident. Last night had more than made up for him as had waking up next to him this morning.
"Yeah…just a moment ago," she said, "What time do we need to leave?"
He kissed a shoulder.
"Not for a little while."
"Houston…we don't want Dmitri to come barging in because we got careless."
"No definitely not," he said, "but it's okay if we relax a little bit."
She sighed.
"We did a bit more than that."
"Yes we did and I enjoyed every moment of it."
So did she but she had to know something.
"You're going to remember what we did this time aren't you?"
He kissed that shoulder again.
"Most definitely…listen we might be on the go but we're also newlyweds."
She relaxed against him believing he did have a point and if she had her way, she'd stay like this forever with him but she wanted them to have a long time together. And that meant not only staying one step ahead of Dmitri and his goons but turning the tables on the master criminal.
After that there would be plenty of time for them to figure out what they had gotten themselves into by getting married.
"Houston, we have to figure out a way to bring him down since the authorities haven't succeeded."
He started nursing her neck with kisses and she wiggled around until she faced him. After brushing a couple tendrils of hair out of her face, he kissed her on her mouth. Her own pulse quickened just from how his lips felt against hers and she wove her arms around him.
"In a few minutes," he told her between kisses.
It took her less than that to agree.
They sat on the patio outside the French doors of the suite eating breakfast which had been a little bit of everything. She loved the Belgian waffles with strawberries and syrup but the omelets had looked good too and she found herself very hungry. Probably from all that exercise last night and Matt ate heartedly too.
"So when will we get in L.A.?"
He looked up at her, his hair damp from the shower they had just shared together. That had been some excitement, their hands sliding all over each other underneath the cascading water.
"In a few hours," Matt said, "We're going to meet Roy at that condo at Venice beach."
C.J. nodded, the elegant yet homey residence being owned by a friend of theirs who traveled frequently on business leaving it empty.
"Does he have the info we need?"
Matt dug into his omelet.
"He's digging it up as we speak and putting it on a flash drive."
She sipped her juice, enjoying its pungent flavor. Just as tasty as the food she had been eating. Maybe it had been the fresh air or the fast pace of their traveling but her appetite had been hearty.
And not just for eating.
"Houston, this is going to work isn't it?"
He nodded.
"We'll make sure of that," he said, "We won't have this hanging over us forever."
"I can't wait until it's done," she said, "and we can get back to our lives."
He smiled.
"The realtor is out looking for the perfect spread outside of town."
She narrowed her eyes.
"Houston, you didn't call a realtor in the middle of all this did you?"
He picked up his glass.
"Murray did," he said, "He had his misgivings at first about us going back to commuting to the office but I think I sold him on it."
"Hopefully we can find the perfect place."
"I know we will," he said, "Plenty of land, a big house with one of those porches that sweeps around."
C.J. nodded, imagining the two of them sitting on their porch with some wine watching the sun set after leaving the bustle of L.A. behind.
"And plenty of room for gardens," she said, "and a sunroom."
Matt smiled.
"A helipad and a barn with plenty of stalls for horses and a nice sized loft," he added.
Her eyebrows rose but she didn't need to be reminded what they had both used lofts for when they'd been growing up.
"Just in case we need some time away from the kids…"
She folded her arms.
"Houston, that's a ways off don't you think?"
He sipped his coffee thoughtfully.
"If we're going to have a whole baseball team of them we'd better start pretty soon don't you think?"
She just shook her head knowing that he was kidding or at least she thought. Sure she wanted children but they needed to spend time together first as a couple. Even though they were best friends, she still felt there was a lot she hadn't known about him.
But she was learning.
At least she had his sensitive spots nailed by last night. She smiled because really if she had any idea that he had been so talented in between the sheets…well yes she did but not first hand and she didn't think she'd ever have that chance to find out.
"Okay, well maybe we can start talking about it," she said, "But we got to get our new place first and fix it up and get the garden started."
He raised his hand.
"Now hold on there," he said, "You're making me tired just listening to you."
"Houston, it's not going to get done by itself," she said, "and I need to feel like I have my home ready before any new additions come along."
"Fair enough," he said, "We can hire a contractor."
She just looked at him making plans for their future when she couldn't look past the latest threat to their safety. And would it be a great idea to bring children into a situation that could be dangerous to them?
What kind of world were they going to create for the next generation of Houstons? She just watched him finish his breakfast and knew she wanted everything with him but they had to get through this crisis first. Then they could find some place quiet to sit down and work everything out between them and find the path they wished to take together.
But as it turned out life had other plans.