Book Two/Chapter Forty-Three: "Making Plans"

It was funny how things had worked out. I had never actually asked Ami to move in with me, but following the miscarriage, she was in such a bad place and needed me. It just sort of happened.

Even with everything going on in both of our lives, she had managed to complete her internship but failed to enroll in her final class. She was lacking three hours of Psychology and had been putting it off. She had also allowed her lease agreement at Mrs. Delaney's to lapse and had now had nowhere else to go.

I wasn't complaining. I enjoyed her presence and I looked forward to coming home each day after getting off my shift, especially now that she'd begun to recover from the loss of our child.

The death of an unborn baby is something you can never completely recover from. It took nearly a month, but eventually, the light returned to her eyes and Ami appeared to once again be searching for her purpose.

As soon as I rolled the squad car into the driveway, she came running out of the cabin to greet me, throwing her arms about my neck and hugging me enthusiastically.

I was glad she was in such a good mood. It had been a long time since she had done anything but cry on my shoulder.

"How was your day?" she asked, her wide smile sparkling.

"Okay," I told her. I was once again on a rotating schedule which messed up my sleep cycle. Honestly, I was tired; rightfully so since I'd just pulled an all-night shift.

"Gosh, Ben," she noted, placing her hand on my cheek in some vain attempt to try and coax away the dark circles beneath my eyes. "I'm going to have to talk to Quinn about these ridiculous patrols. You have seniority at the station. Why is he making you do them?"

How could I explain to her that I preferred patrolling at night? There was always more going on then; more people out and about making really bad decisions. And I was the one who needed to catch them. Most of the time, the ones I arrested or gave warnings to were acquaintances of mine. I had grown up with these people and had known them all my life. I wasn't about to let some officer who was a complete stranger intervene! They wouldn't understand the circumstances of what was causing their actions.

Protection didn't need a savior. That wasn't what I was trying to be. But they did need someone who cared, and honestly, I didn't think some of these new recruits had any idea what being a public servant really meant. One thing it didn't mean was harassing innocent people and provoking high-speed chases. I wasn't sure what the police academy was teaching these new officers these days, but there were better and kinder ways to keep the peace.

"That's okay," I informed the woman in my arms. "I can handle it."

"Well, you look terrible," she insisted with a smirk before pulling me in for a kiss; a long, languorous greeting that took what little energy I had left. "Come inside," she whispered after we separated. "I have something for you to eat and then you can get some sleep."

I dragged myself into the cabin and quickly drank the soothing tea Ami had prepared as well as wolfed down two biscuits with butter and jam and a piece of ham. She sat next to me staring the entire time. I realized there was something on her mind, although I wasn't sure what it could be. If I asked her now, she would most likely keep me up longer to explain and I really needed some rest.

When I didn't ask, she smiled at me graciously and began unbuttoning my uniform shirt.

"I'll put these in the wash while you rest."

Without any complaint for me, I was soon standing in my undershirt and boxer shorts. Although her smile had broadened, she had apparently decided to keep her secret; at least for now.

"Have a pleasant sleep," she told me as she intentionally swayed her hips while walking to the laundry room. "We'll talk when you wake up."

She was in such a good mood, I was dying to know why, but my bed was drawing me to it and I collapsed on the mattress, immediately falling asleep.

Several hours later, I woke up to slobber dripping onto my face. For a second, I wasn't sure where it was coming from, but then a warm tongue began lapping against my cheek.

"Obi, get off the bed," I told him. "You're not supposed to be up here."

"Obi! Down!" I heard Ami's voice coming from the doorway.

The obedient mutt did as he was told and left the room just before Ami stepped in. She took a seat on the mattress first and then changed her mind and crawled up to my side, humming appreciatively as I drew her into my arms.

I remembered there was something I wanted to ask her, but decided that could wait. There were important matters to take care of first. Particularly, I wanted to know how quickly we could both undress.

Before I could make the suggestion, however, she began speaking. Her head was in the hollow of my shoulder and her words landed against the skin of my chest.

"I signed up for an online course that will transfer as my final credits," she informed me. "It starts in two weeks."

"That's wonderful!" I lifted her chin with my free hand to place a tender kiss on her lips.

"Mm," she hummed again. "You taste like butter and sleep."

"Sorry." I placed my hand over my mouth to block my offensive breath although she pulled it right back down.

"Don't worry about it," she told me. Once again, her eyes were filled with light and I was so pleased to see her back to her old self again. "I love the taste of butter. And I love you."

"I love you too," I returned immediately. There was no doubt in my mind about it and I wasn't ashamed to admit it. "More every day."

"Good!" she announced playfully. "Because I want to talk to you about a wedding."

"Who's?" I asked. She obviously wasn't the only one in a good mood. "Is it someone we know?"

"Ugh," Ami said before rolling on top of me. "You know very well that I'm talking about us! Don't you think it's about time we made this official?"

I had no argument against that. "Any time you say. Just name the place and the day and I'll be there."

"Okay," she thought carefully while gazing down at me, her loose hair falling around us like a curtain. "Two months from now at the peak of Mount Protection."

"The peak?" I asked astonished. She had barely made it to the halfway mark before and had gotten winded doing that! "Are you sure? What about the other guests? How is Quinn ever going to get up there?"

"Oh yeah," she exclaimed with concern. "I guess we have to invite other people. They might be a little disappointed if they don't get to come."

"Indeed."

While she took her time recalculating, I enjoyed the study of her neck and the softness of the skin that dipped below it. With the gentlest of touches, I traced the hem of the pink blouse she had on, which curved provocatively above her breasts and revealed the tiniest hint of the lacy bra she was wearing beneath it.

"If you don't stop doing that, I'll never be able to figure this out!" Ami complained, slapping away my hand in a joking manner.

I did as she asked, placing both hands at the small of her back instead, although they started drifting further down on their own accord until they were filled with delightfully firm flesh.

"Are you going to let me talk or should we just go ahead and…you know…do this?"

I chuckled at her choice of words. "If you want to 'do this,' that's fine with me," I told her honestly since we could talk any time. This moment, however, seemed like the perfect opportunity for something far more enjoyable than discussing our future plans.

"It's a good thing you're so cute," she teased, bringing her head off her propped-up arms to kiss me again. "Or else I might be thinking you don't want to talk about this at all."

"Oh, we will," I insisted as I began unbuttoning her blouse. "After this, you can talk all you want and I promise I'll listen to every word."

Every time I made love with Ami, it was better than the last. I realized that it most likely came from getting to know each other intimately, and understanding what we both preferred as well as what we disliked. I had not only learned where and when to touch her but could read her body language to know what she was feeling at any given moment.

It had been a month since we'd been together like this, but it seemed like just yesterday that we were holding onto one another as if our lives depended on it. We slowly climbed the mountain, taking one step at a time, leaping off its precipice together, to plummet back to the earth unharmed.

"Now," I huffed while lying back on the bed experiencing the ultimate euphoria while catching my breath. "What was this about a wedding?"