Chapter 35: Ties to the future and ties to the past

Thank you all for the lovely reviews! This is the last chapter before the epilogue! I hope this is what you Babes had in mind… ;)

WARNING: SMUT, HOT SMUT and BOILING HOT SMUT…

"Then all you have to do is lay back and enjoy the ride," she whispers in my ear, softly kissing a pulsing vein in my neck.

I suppose I'm about to find out if it is really true that love, lust and a touch of fear combined give the best sex ever…

Stephanie is sitting on top of me and is kissing me in the most soft and loving way ever. It makes me want to hold her, but instead my arms are over my head, far away from her lovely body. Slowly she kisses my eyelids and my forehead, moving along my cheek and I turn my head so I can capture her lips with mine, but she moves away.

"No need to be impatient, Ranger. We've got all night," she huskily whispers in my ear.

"Babe, I want to kiss you," I whisper urgently to her. She looks up at me and smiles.

"I know," she says in a sexy voice. There is no doubt about the fact that she is hugely turned on by seeing me restrained and it drives me nuts. She bends forward again, and I can feel her breasts touching my chest. She kisses my face some more and finally her lips rest on mine. I kiss her hungrily, my tongue sliding into her mouth to play with hers. She moans into my mouth and it sends a shiver through me. I want to feel her whole body and normally I would've flicked her over to cover her body with my own, but tonight I can't. I pull at the cuffs in frustration and they rattle against the iron bar that is in the middle of the headboard. Steph stops kissing me and lifts her head enough to look at my cuffed wrists.

"Getting frustrated, Ranger?" she teasingly asks. She looks at me with her face inches away from mine and I strain against the cuffs to pull myself up a little so I can kiss her again.

"Babe," is all I can groan.

Steph POV

When Ranger pulled at the cuffs, for a moment I was afraid that he would rip the whole bed apart, but luckily that didn't happen. In stead I got to admire his bulging muscles. I could feel his frustration, but to be honest, it only turned me on. Ranger loves to touch and normally he was able to turn us with one move, but tonight that wasn't going to happen. Time for the serious teasing to start!

"Getting frustrated, Ranger?" I'm not afraid of him, and since he can't retaliate right now, I'm not above baiting him. I know I am playing with fire, but I'm really looking forward to his retaliation! Besides, I'd like to think I'm doing him a favor by getting him all worked up. The better this experience will be. He pulls himself up and kisses me hungrily while groaning 'Babe'. I pull back and he flops back on the bed with a frustrated sigh. I resume kissing his ears, my teeth scraping his earlobe and feel his muscles jump in his stomach. More kissing down his neck and a little bite in his shoulder. His breathing is getting unstable, just the way I want it. I slowly kiss my way down his shoulder and suck on his nipple, causing him to shift and I move on to his other nipple. While I trail kisses and licks down his stomach I look up to watch him. His head is back, his eyes are closed and his arms are straining against the cuffs. He has actually pulled so hard that he moved up a bit, and now his hands are directly above his head. He can't move up anymore because of the headboard. I feel deep love and hot desire for this man pulse through me and I can feel myself getting wet. I kiss each ridge on his sixpack before moving further down and I can feel his muscles tremble in anticipation. I lick his belly button and move down to his groin area. He's biting his lower lip now and his hands are fisted. I kiss my way further down, just not touching him and then gently lick one of his balls. A sharp intake of breath is my answer and hot feeling shoot through my body.

"Do you like this, Ranger?" I suggestively ask him.

"Babe, don't stop, please," he moans back and I take it as a yes. I gently lick the other one as well and then move off to the inside of this thigh. Ranger moves his head up with an almost disbelieving look in his eyes.

"Babe, please, continue…" I smile a seductive smile at him.

"I am continuing this, Ranger, just not in the direction where you want it to go." I am bad, and loving every moment of it. A pleading look crosses his face before he drops himself back on the bed and I resume kissing his thigh. It is smooth, soft and very nicely shaped. It has one scar, from a bulletwound that he got when he helped me. My hands sneak up and my fingers start tracing little patters low on his stomach. He's hypersensitive by now and he immediately pulls his legs up in response.

"Aarrgh, Babe… you're killing me!" I push his legs back down and settle myself on them with my legs on the outside and my butt on his knees and continue my little torture. The cuffs once again rattle and hot desire pulses through me at the sound. I kiss the tip and he jumps, taking in a sharp breath in anticipation, but then I move over to his other thigh. He is moving his head slowly from side to side now, taking deep breaths to control himself, his teeth biting into his lower lip. Maybe I should give him some release… Slowly, of course, good things come to those who wait. I nibble my way back and lick his length in one long stroke.

"Babe…" he moans and his hips move off the bed for a second. I continue with little licks all over his pulsing desire and his breathing is positively ragged by now.

"Oh… god…" His voice is strained. His hands have grabbed a pillow and he squeezes it so hard his knuckles are white. Then, finally I take him into my mouth and wait for a second for him to relax a bit. But when he does, I suck and his breath comes out in a whoosh.

"Babe… Please… I'm so… close… Please," he pleads. My hand cups his balls and gently massages them while the other closes around him and I squeeze. Another ragged breath from Ranger. He doesn't know that I bought a book about sex techniques, but he is about to become my test person. I don't think he'll mind that much, do you? In the book I read that if you squeeze hard enough you can actually temporarily stop him from ejaculating and make his orgasm more intense and longer lasting. I was going to put that to the test. I slowly move my mouth up and down in long, deep movements while I massage him in the same slow speed. I can feel all his muscles tense and I know he is close. I stop again for a moment while he is still in my mouth and another rattle from the cuffs is my reward. I'm so hot for him by now I have to restrain myself not to climb on him and have our orgasm together.

"Don't stop, please! Continue…, Babe, please." Ranger is begging alright. I look at him and his eyes are completely black. He has pulled himself up again and his body just screams out 'ready'. I slowly let him fall out of my mouth and the look in Ranger's eyes turns to desperate.

"You want me to continue, Ranger?" I ask teasingly. I gently blow some air over him and he jumps.

"Please, Babe, please!" He almost growls now. This is Ranger on the edge.

"You want me to make you come?" I slowly move up his body until my face is hovering over his, but just out of his reach. I lower my body over his and trap his pulsing desire between our bodies. He is straining against the cuffs to reach me, but I just move back a bit.

"Yes... Please…" he growls. I move forward a bit, and our lips almost touch. His arms are shaking with effort to hold him up.

"To give you some release?" I kiss his lips and he tries to move up to claim my mouth with his, but I move back again. He growls in frustration.

"Babe, please… " I push on his shoulders and slowly I push him back down again. He is squirming now. With him still trapped between our bodies he tries to move against me, to get his release.

"Ranger, what are you doing?" I asked with a wicked grin.

"Babe… Please." These seem to be the only words he is able to say and I suppose I have teased him enough so I lean down and kiss his lips.

"I'll see what I can do." I kiss my way down his body again and then take him back into my mouth. A sigh escapes Rangers lips. My hands resume their original position again and I slowly suck him deep into my mouth.

"Yes… oh, yes…" Ranger moans. I start moving my head up and down, increasing the speed just a little. His muscles are trembling and his hands are fisting the pillow and I can feel the moment that his orgasm starts to build. My hand that is around him firmly grabs around his base and squeezes hard while I increase my speed a bit more.

"Oh… God… Yes… Faster… More… Please…" I can feel his muscles starting to convulse and I grip him a bit harder while increasing my speed again. The orgasm hits him hard.

"AAAaaarrrrhhhhggggg…" Ranger is squirming, the cuffs rattling and his whole body moving. I hold on to him as long as I dare before I loosen the grip my hand has on him and his breathing stops for a moment. Then I feel warm fluid in my mouth and I suck gently. His hips are bucking of the bed and his whole body is moving with the orgasm. I keep sucking and massaging him until he has come back to earth again and then slowly release him, kissing my way up to his face. He breathing is labored and his eyes are closed. A fine sheen of sweat covers his body and his face and chest look flush. I can see his heart beating wildly. He swallows and slowly opens his eyes. They are little black pools of satisfaction and I lean in for a soft but sensual kiss. I grab the pillow that he had in his hands earlier and gently lift his head up to put it under there. He sinks back down and looks at me with grateful eyes. He clears his throat before he is able to speak.

"Babe." It sounds soft, special and like he is amazed.

"Ranger." I stretch out beside him on my side and sling an arm and a leg over him. My head resting on his chest, my forehead against his neck.

"That was…" He seems lost for words.

"Yeah…" is all I can say.

"Could you unlock the cuffs now?"

"No, Ranger. I'm not finished with you yet," I purr into his ear. I feel a shiver going through him.

"You aren't?" He sounds torn between the prospect of more mindblowing sex versus being free again.

"No." As long as it is dark outside, I'm not done!

"There's more?" He sounds hopeful now. Seems he likes mindblowing sex.

"Oh yeah, Ranger. Lots more," I smile and look into his eyes. He is recovering already and his breathing is slowing down again to a normal rhythm.

"Babe," he moans.

"You bet, Ranger." I can see he is getting aroused again and I slowly climb on top of him on all fours, without touching him.

"So, you're ready for round two?" A slow smile spreads over his face and he gives a nod. I lean down and soon our tongues are battling together.

We kiss deeply and passionately and Ranger manages to get hold of a few curls so he can pull me down to him.

"Promise me you won't leave me," Ranger whispers between kisses.

"Ranger?" I ask. There is no doubt in my mind that this love is forever.

"Please, Babe, (kiss) promise me."

"I promise, Ranger."

"Promise me (kiss) you'll never cheat on me." I look at him and see he is very serious. The anger I felt at him asking that question disappears immediately. I have no idea what brought this on, but it seems very important to him.

"I promise, Ranger."

"Thank you," he whispers and I can feel him relax. His body relaxes, he deepens his kiss and when I run my hands through his hair he sighs a contented sigh. I pull back and hold his face between my hands, looking at him. This is the man I love, the man I want and the man who loves me. His face is the most beautiful I've ever seen and his heart is in the right place.

"I love you, Ranger."

"I love you, Babe," and we kiss some more. Slow, sensual kisses that change into hot, lusty kisses.

"Mmmm, my turn," I mumble between kisses. I sit up and Ranger looks almost sad at the loss of contact. At least until his eyes roam over my naked body and lust becomes evident in his eyes.

"You are so beautiful, Babe."

"Thank you, Ranger. So which part do you like best?... Would that be my hair?" I slowly lift my hair up and then let it fall back down again.

"Or do you like my breasts?" I whisper. My hands move down from my neck to my breasts, and I massage them. When I roll my nipples between my fingers I moan. I'm so hot I can't believe it myself. My head falls back for a moment. When I move back up again I watch Ranger and see his eyes are staring hotly at my hands playing with my breasts.

"Or maybe you like my legs?" I know Ranger loves my long legs. I sit on his hips and move my legs so I can stretch one out in front of me, in front of Rangers eyes. He breath catches when my foot trails through his hair, and down to his chest. He wants to touch and tries to pull his arms down, but the cuffs stop him again. I move my leg back again and shift against his hips, feeling him twitch.

"Oh, Babe. You're so hot…" he moans.

"What's my hottest part, Ranger?" I move my hands, caressing my legs slowly, moving upward.

"My thighs?" My hands move further up.

"Maybe my hips? Are my hips hot, Ranger?"

"Oh yeah…" he sighs, eyes liquid black, mesmerized by my hands.

"How about my…." I trail of suggestively and turn my ass towards him. I sway my hips a few times and look over my shoulder at the same time. Ranger licks his lips and his arms are bulging.

"Or," and I turn back again, straddling his hips while I sit on my knees, "do you think it is this?" and my hands slowly slide down my belly until they are finding my wet folds.

"I'm so wet for you, Ranger…" I say, while using one hand to open myself a bit and the second to touch myself. I'm so sensitive I almost come after my fingers makes one stroke. Ranger is staring at my hands, mesmerized.
"I'm so ready, Ranger…" I moan, sliding one finger inside me.

"Babe… let me touch you… please…" He's moving frantically against the cuffs again.

"Watch me, Ranger," I moan. His eyes are on my fingers again.

"Watch me being wet for you… watch my fingers… sliding inside me… aaahhh… watch me play with myself…" I'm so hot for him, it is almost overwhelming. I'm going to within seconds. I open myself a bit more for him to see and then look at him. He is fighting the cuffs, his hands fisting the pillow again. I wait until he calms down a bit and looks at me.

"Watch me come for you, Ranger." And with that I move two fingers inside me while my thumb plays with my clit and I feel the orgasm starting to build immediately.

"Ooohhh… yes… yes… aaaaahhhhhh!" I scream when I'm going over the edge, my hips bucking and my hand moving frantically for as long as possible. Slowly the orgasm comes to an end, and I fall forward, bracing myself on my hands above Ranger's shoulders.

"Unlock me… please… I need to touch you…" I can see that his wrists show some marks from pulling the cuffs, and for a moment I really contemplate freeing him. But then I think of all the things I still have in store for him.

"Not yet, Ranger… " He looks desperate and frustrated and I know I have to give him something.

"But… I'll let you… taste me…"

"Yes… please… let me taste you." The wonderful thing for women is that they can have orgasm after orgasm and they don't a 'recovery period' like guys do. And since I was still boiling hot for him, I was ready for another orgasm.

"In a minute… you can taste me… but first…" I sit down on his rock hard penis and move my hips. I'm so ready that he could slide just in me, but that is not what I'm planning. I just move forwards and backwards, enjoying the sensation. So is Ranger, because his head falls back and he takes deep breaths, moaning.

"Keep moving, Babe… please." That means that he is getting closer to his orgasm and because I have other plans for his second orgasm I moved myself up his body and sit myself down on my knees, my wet folds hovering just above his face.
"Want to taste me, Ranger?" I whisper.

"Yes…" He is already trying to lift himself again to be able to lick me. I grab the head of the bed with both hands and slowly lower myself until I can feel his tongue. A strong sensation shivers through me and I lower myself some more. Ranger's tongue moves around, licking me around my entrance and I whimper in anticipation.

"Yes, like that…" I moan.

"Mmmm, do you like this Babe?" Ranger asks between licking.

"Oh yes, Ranger…" He moves his tongue around my entrance and I shift to try to get him to move his tongue inside me.

"Please, Ranger…" I whimper. He dips his tongue inside me and my breath comes out in one whoosh.

"Yes… like that… Ranger, please." I move a bit so that his tongue is getting closer to my clit. He touches it with the tip of his tongue and then stops licking.

"Lick me, Ranger… Please." Despite the fact that he is tied up, Ranger has control now. I'm so close to an orgasm that I'm reduced to begging now.

"Babe…" he says in a sexy voice and I know there is an equally sexy smile on his face. He gives my clit one lick and my hips buck forward. Oh, I'm sooo close.

"More, Ranger… more... Please… I'm so close…" I moan. Rangers tongue is touching my clit again, and my muscles tremble in anticipation. I can feel him increasing the pressure on his tongue and my back arches involuntarily. Oh yes, this is going to be so good. Ranger licks and sucks a few more times and I feel the orgasm build up from deep inside me.

"Oh yes… yes… more…" Suddenly Rangers tongue is everywhere, doing delicious things and the orgasm crashes through me. It takes all my strength to keep my hips as still as possible so Ranger can continue his wonderful things and my hands are white knuckled from the effort on top of the headboard.

"AAAaaaaahhhhh!" I scream out loud, this orgasm being even more powerful that the one before. I don't know how long the orgasm lasts, but I feel dazed by the time it finally dies down. I slowly slide down his body again and stretch out on top of him, capturing his lips in a deep kiss.

"Thank you, Ranger."

"My pleasure. Now will you… please… let me out of the cuffs?" He puts on his most pleading face and my heart skips a beat. This guy is so beautiful it's almost unbelievable.

"Mmmm." I pretend I'm thinking about it, just to see how far he will go.

"My arms are tired and my shoulders are sore." He puts on his pouty face and I laugh.

"Aww, poor baby."

"Yes, and my wrists hurt." He puts on his best 'I'm wounded, help me' look and I almost melt on the spot.

"Ranger, are you telling me that the big, bad, Special Forces guy can't take it anymore?" I whisper in his ear. I'm bad and I know it. Ranger is a lot, but above all he is a masculine man. He is proud of his military achievements and the hard work that he has put his body through. And he will never ever let someone get away with calling him weak. I'm counting on it that that won't be any different this time.

"Aww, Babe! That's… that's… BAD." But his eyes are sparkling and he is smiling and I know I've won.

"I'll give you a massage to make it up to you..." I know Ranger loves to receive massages. It's one of the very few moments, apart from when we are making love, that he is able to let go of the responsibilities surrounding his business. The first time I gave him a massage he actually fell asleep. Granted, he was very tired that day, but it had surprised me anyway. After the first few minutes he will just slump and turn into mush basically. You can feel his muscles relaxing and no useful word comes out of him anymore. It is an amazing process to see, especially because of the big contrast with 'normal' Ranger, who is always prepared for anything. No need to tell you that I use this knowledge to my advantage…

"Mmmm, okay. But that better be a VERY LONG massage," he says.

"Of course, my darling," I say while giving him another kiss.

"Sooo… what did you have in mind for round three?" he asks in a low whisper.

"Why don't I show you?" I purr back. I can feel him twitch under me. He is ready for round three alright. I glance at the clock on my bedside table and see it is already past 3 am. Wow, we've been making love for almost 3 hours already. Time flies when you're having fun. But round three won't last that long, I think. We are both too hot for each other.

I slide down until his tip is at my entrance and he takes a sharp breath. So do I for that matter, the anticipation of finally feeling him inside me is sending shivers through my body.

"Are you ready for me, Ranger?" I ask him.

"Oh yeah, Babe." I slide further down and feel him slowly filling me, stretching me a little. We both take deep breaths and I moan.

"Mmmmhhhh." I just can't help it, it feels like a perfect fit. When he is inside me, I slowly sit up and slide down another few centimeters.

"Oh Babe, you feel so good," he sighs. I clench around him and his breathing hitches. I start moving in a very lazy and slow rhythm, hoping to make this feeling last as long as possible. He tries to move with me, but I stop. He pulls himself up and opens his eyes to look at me with heated eyes.

"Ranger, I told you to lay back and enjoy the ride, didn't I?" I ask playfully. He nods slowly.

"Then lay back and enjoy the ride." I push on his chest to get him to lay back down again and he slowly sinks back. I kiss his lips and then sit up again, resuming my slow rhythm again. My hands find their way to my breasts and start kneading them. I close my eyes and let my head fall back.

"Babe, you are so beautiful…" The cuffs rattle again and Ranger groans.

"I want to touch you so badly, Babe. To feel your firm breasts… and your sensual hips… and your sexy ass…" Lust surges through me and I lean back on my heels while I grind my hips to push him in me to the hilt.

"Oohh yeah... Mmmm… Ranger…" I moan breathlessly. I can't wait any longer. I can already feel a massive orgasm building and my whole body is ready for it. I sit up and place my hands on his chest, enjoying the feel of his soft skin and hard muscles under my hands, and start moving up and down with hard and decisive strokes. The rhythm isn't frantic or fast, but solid and delicious. Each stroke gets us closer to release, each grind builds up the tension, each movement radiates love and lust.

"Yeah, Babe… like that… yes… yes…" I can feel my walls clench around him and on the next stroke I feel myself going over into the promised land with his name on my lips.

"Ohhh… Raaannngggeerrrrr…" I keep moving and he follows me.

"Yeah… yeah… Baaaabbbeee." He can no longer hold still, and his hips move against me, driving him even deeper in me, bringing us to new heights. We keep moving until finally with the last bucking of his hips and clenching of my walls the orgasm ends. I feel utterly spend but extremely satisfied and when I take a look at Ranger I see he has the same feeling.

"Babe," is the only thing he says, his chest moving up and down in order to get his breathing under control again. I'm not doing much better. I caress his chest and suddenly see 4 scratch marks on each side of his chest. Oops.

"I seem to have scratched you…" I say. Ranger's head shoots up and he looks at his chest.

"Babe," he says, but it doesn't sound like he minds. More like he is proud… Men… I stretch out and kiss him.

"Shall I release you now?" I ask him.

"Yes." I reach into the drawer and pull out the keys. I first unlock the cuff that holds his hands above his head, and he moves his cuffed hands around me and pulls me to him with a contented sigh.
"MMmm, finally I can feel you again," he murmurs while kissing me.

"I still need to uncuff your hands," I say, but he nods his head.

"Later, first I want to feel you." I lay in his arms and feel I'm home. I listen to his heartbeat, strong and steady and bury my head into his neck. Mmmm, this is the good life. Suddenly a question pops into my head.

"Did you ever do this before?" He looks at me.

"The cuffs, have you ever done that before?" I ask. And suddenly I can see the same panic and fear across his face that was there when he first realized that he was cuffed. His blank face slides in place and I am watching him carefully. Something has happened in his past that is related to cuffs or being tied down. I'm curious to see if he will in the end tell me about it. Ranger seems to be thinking and I let him. After a minute or so he cuts his eyes to me and looks me deep into my eyes. I look back at him, quietly waiting to see what he will do next.

"When I had just been accepted into the Special Forces, I met this woman," he started. I nodded at him, to encourage him to continue.

"I fell head over heels for her and we saw each other as often as my training would permit. She said she was an exchange student from Europe and was studying American culture or something. She had this small apartment where we would meet. Then one night we get some information for a mission and are being told we have 12 hours to prepare ourselves before we are shipped off. Officially we are not allowed to leave the base, but I manage to get away to meet up with her. Because I know this mission is dangerous, I want to see her before we leave. I realize I might not come back alive and I want to say goodbye to her. So she suggests we try something new, because this may be the last time we can have sex, and I agree to it. I was so riled up that I never saw any warning signs. She cuffed me, hands and feet, and then her whole attitude changed. She started… hurting… me. First I thought she just got carried away, and as a trained Special Forces guy I could cope with a lot, but then suddenly she starts asking questions about the mission. Questions that I am not allowed to answer and she knows that. Then she makes some calls in Russian and suddenly there are 2 more persons in the room and they demand the details for this mission. I tell them no, and tell her to untie me, but she just laughs at me. Turns out that the woman I thought I would spend the rest of my life with is KGB and has been playing me from day one." I gasp.

"Oh, Ranger! You must have felt so betrayed!"

"I felt betrayed, angry, stupid. You name it." He snorts and he gets a faraway look in his eyes, like he is going back to that time. I cuddle into him and his arms come up around me, and the cuffs around his wrists rattle.

"Let me get these off you." I wouldn't want Ranger to think that I wanted to hurt him or anything like that. I grab the key from the bedside table and free him. There are angry red circles around his wrists and I trace them with my finger, feeling guilty. I know so little about his past and I made him relive his worst nightmare. I shouldn't have surprised him like that. Ranger's ESP seems to be working, because his finger sneaks under my chin and he lifts it up to meet his eyes.

"Babe, you couldn't have known." I slowly nod, still feeling bad about it. I mean: the only thing I do know is that I know nothing about his past other than that it was wild and dangerous. I should've guessed that something like this might have happened. But Ranger doesn't agree.

"Besides," he continues in a more playful tone,

"This was the best therapy I could get to forget that incident." And he gives me the 1000 watt smile.

"So you liked it?" I ask cheekily. Like I need any confirmation…

"Oh, Babe, I loved it. That was amazing." Couldn't agree more.

I tug on his shoulder.

"Move over, I still owe you a massage."

"That's right," he says happily and flips over on his stomach. I grab the oil from his bedside table and poor some on my hands. I figure, after this night and the confession he just made, he deserves a good massage. And massaging someone with a body like Rangers is delicious. I slowly slide my oily hands up his back and back down again, distributing oil everywhere. Soon he is shiny with oil. Then I move over to his neck and shoulders and start kneading. I can feel him starting to relax and he just sighs in content.

"So, how did it end? I mean: how did you escape the KGB lady?" I ask suddenly. He tenses and I berate myself for asking.

"I'm sorry. If you can't talk about it, I understand," I quickly add. It's silent for a moment and I gently massage on, not sure what to do or say next.

"It's difficult for me to talk about it. After that episode I never trusted a woman to get close to me again, until you. I never had any meaningful relationships after Natalia because I was sure that they were just interested in me because I was in the army and they wanted information from me."

"Ah, the no-relationship rule…" I softly say.

"Yeah, that's from that time," he admits. I continue massaging him and he starts to relax again. I can feel his muscles are stiff from pulling against the cuffs and I work on the knots.

"Mmmhhhh, you are really good at this massage thing," Ranger purrs.

"Thank you. You're really good massage material," I purr back and Ranger chuckles.

After I'm done I gently push Ranger so he is laying on his side. He is half asleep and when I snuggle in to him his arms automatically come around me. He gathers me to him and I feel myself getting sleepy as well. We are silent for a while and I'm thinking Ranger is asleep when I feel him taking a deep breath.

"The KGB captured me and tortured me for some time before I was rescued by a team of Rangers. After 6 weeks of recovery I was declared fit for duty again and left on my first mission with Special Forces three weeks later. Natalia was killed during the rescue. I never told them anything I knew about the mission." He kisses my shoulder and shifts a little. I turn around in his arms and give him a kiss.

"Thank you," I whisper. His arms tighten around me and once again we snuggle up with full body contact.

We are both asleep within minutes.