The days passed by casually after that. During the day, Luke and Val would travel across the lake so Luke could help finish the boat house for Brenda and at night, Luke would teach Val how to handle her new gun. It was a simple Ruger LC9. It was lightweight and it seemed to fit perfectly in Val's hand.
Luke could see with each time she worked with the gun that she was getting more and more confident with it. She barely hesitated when she reached for it in its case. He could see in her eyes that she was no longer dreading her lessons on how to properly care for her gun. He showed her how to clean it and how to properly hold it though he said it would be much different once it was loaded.
He figured she was getting comfortable enough with it to shoot it so he decided to teach her how to properly load it. She was a quick learner, but guns were pretty self explanatory though he was more impressed with the fact that she was able to learn to take the gun apart and put it back together so quickly.
Her hickey was disappearing nicely with each passing day, though he was certain she was going to have to cover it up still when Samantha arrived. An hour or so spent in the hot tub at night was helping the bruise he had left on her rear.
Luke woke up slowly to the smells of cinnamon rolls baking. He felt his stomach tighten in hunger as soon as all of his senses came to. He sat up on the edge of the bed and stretched his muscles out with a groan. He blinked away the previous night's sleep then made his way into the kitchen.
Val stood at the counter spreading the icing across the cinnamon rolls as she baby talked into her phone. She saw Luke from the corner of her eye and turned to the coffee pot to pour him a cup while she continued to talk.
"Who is Auntie Val's handsome boy?" She paused for a moment then giggled. Luke stepped behind her and placed his hands gently on her waist. He lowered his head and kissed her shoulder gently. He could hear Jack as he squealed and jabbered away. "That's right and you're no one else's. Auntie Val misses you Jackie Boy." Val handed Luke his cup of coffee as he heard Jack start jabbering away again.
Val finished putting the icing on the cinnamon rolls as Mia got back onto the phone. Luke didn't pay attention to their conversation as they chatted away casually. After she was done talking to her sister, she grabbed a cinnamon roll then turned to Luke.
"When is Samantha going to be here?" she asked between bites. Luke checked his phone for the time.
"Here in the next couple hours, I guess. Depends on how many times they have to stop on the way up here." Val plopped down on the couch next to him with her coffee and cinnamon roll. She was excited that she was going to be spending the rest of her time at the cabin with Samantha. She hated that she and Luke had been together for nearly a year and she had only been able to spend time with Samantha once for a very short weekend. She hated that Luke had waited so long to introduce the two. Whatever his reasoning behind it was. He had been away for the majority of their relationship it had seemed like. She really hoped that it wasn't going to be that way forever. She hoped him being away for all that time was just a fluke. She wasn't sure how she was going to be able to handle him constantly gone.
It was around four o'clock in the evening when Samantha, Shana, and Jerry finally pulled into the driveway. Luke stood and stepped out on the front porch just as Samantha jumped out of the car before it was even turned off. Val stepped on the porch just as Samantha screamed, "Daddy!" and jumped into his arms. Her tiny body seemed to disappear once Luke's arms wrapped around her. Val smiled at the pair as she felt her heart melt.
She turned her attention to the car that Shana and Jerry were driving as they stepped out to stretch their tired bodies about a little. Shana appeared to be Native American with long, beautiful, black hair that matched Samantha's. She had soft eyes and a mischievous grin. Jerry was, for lack of a better term, lanky. He seemed sickly, but Val just chalked that up to the diabetes. He seemed to have been at once a large man, but once his disease got him, he lost it all. His skin was pale and his eyes seemed a little unfocused. He looked ill. Shana walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his waist. He put his arm over her shoulder and leaned on her as if he was too weak to carry himself. His sugar must have been low.
Val's thoughts ended abruptly when she felt tiny arms wrap around her waist and her name being called out by Samantha. Val smiled looking down at the child and wrapped her arms around her. She was glad that Samantha wasn't going to play shy around Val as if their meeting before had never happened. Granted Samantha was nothing but shy the first time they had met.
"How are you doing, kid?" she asked wrapping her arms around Samantha.
"Good. Come on, meet my mom," she said grabbing Val's hand and nearly jerked her arm off. Val happily followed along with her since she was finally going to be meeting Shana and Jerry. She had wanted to meet them pretty much from the moment that she had discovered Samantha's existence.
Shana gave her a warm smile as they approached.
"So, you're Val," she said holding her hand out to shake. Val immediately took the woman's hand and smiled. "It's about time. I have been riding Luke for months to let me meet you." Val glanced back at Luke who was walking to the car to collect Samantha's things.
"I think he might be a little greedy. He wants to keep me all to himself." Shana giggled glancing Luke's way as well.
"This is my idiot husband, Jerry." Jerry held his hand out and Val shook his hand as well. She didn't give him a smile, however. She was worried. His hand was cold and clammy.
"Are you okay?" Val asked genuinely concerned. He looked like he was getting ready to fall over at any second.
"No, he's not. He let his sugar drop because he knew Luke was going to have dinner ready by the time we got here. And Jerry can't resist Luke's cooking." Val frowned not really agreeing with what Jerry was doing to his body, but no one could resist Luke's cooking, diabetic or not and the meatloaf burgers that were currently grilling away to perfection on the back porch made Val's mouth water.
"Well, we'd better get him inside before he falls over," Val said stepping on the other side of Jerry. She put her arm through his to give him some extra support. He protested greatly, but Val and Shana just ignored him as they began to walk him to the front porch.
They got him inside and sat him at the dining room table. The smells coming from the back porch were taunting the people inside.
"Alright, Sam, take your stuff upstairs," Luke said dropping her luggage at the bottom of the stairs. Samantha huffed looking up at her father. Luke paused staring back at her.
"But daddy!" she whined. Luke sighed shaking his head then bent to collect her things. He began his way upstairs grumbling to himself. Val couldn't help but chuckle.
"And that's why your ringtone is the sound of a whip," Jerry said looking very tired. Val cackled. It was perfect. It didn't take long for Val to realize that Samantha had Luke completely wrapped around her finger and that she knew it and abused her power at any given chance.
"Shut up, Jerry," Luke snapped at the top of the stairs. Samantha trotted over to the table with a very smug smile gracing her lips and plopped down in the chair next to Val. Val grinned looking at the child. She seemed tired from the trip. Her eyes were droopy, but she could still see the shine of excitement of being on a little vacation with her father.
"Mommy and Jerry are going to Vancouver tomorrow," she said. Val turned to Shana and Jerry getting ready to ask what was taking them up to Canada, but frowned. Jerry was slumped over the table a little and seemed to be a little out of breath. He was even paler and his skin looked clammy. Shana was leaned into him with her arm around his shoulders and her other hand resting on his forearm. She had a frustrated crease showing, but Val could see the worry in her eyes.
Val wanted nothing more than to shove a chocolate bar down his throat to make him feel better. She didn't care how good Luke's cooking was, it wasn't worth forcing one's self into a diabetic coma just so one could enjoy it. He looked like he was going to pass out at any given moment. She fought against every fiber of her being to not go full on "doctor mode", as Mia always put it, and fuss over him. She felt her skin start to itch as if she was craving it, but she held strong.
In order to keep her mind off it, Val stood to start putting condiments on the table because she knew that the meatloaf burgers were nearly done. Luke had managed to slip by her without her hearing him and had placed the burgers on a plate. He set them on the table and allowed Shana to make Jerry a plate. Luke watched Val as she took it upon herself to prepare Samantha a plate.
"So, what's taking you guys up to Vancouver?" Val asked truly curious. She had never been that far North and was curious as to what would draw someone's attention there.
"We're going to be seeing some of his family for a while. That is, if Jerry doesn't slip into a diabetic coma first," Shana said sending a not-so-playful glare towards her husband. Jerry hummed as he bit into his burger with his eyes closed.
"If I do, then it would be totally worth it," he said through his food. Val saw Luke shaking his head in disappointment out of the corner of her eye. Val felt the itch start to come back and wanted nothing more than to fuss over Jerry or at least scold him about how he was harming his body by doing this.
"You know, I would love to sit here and tell you all the reasons why what you're doing is bad for you, but I feel like I would be wasting my time," Val said before taking another bite of her burger.
"It's because you would be," Jerry said.
After dinner, Jerry wasn't feeling too well and said he needed to rest up a little. Shana had went with him to bed in the other bedroom upstairs while Luke, Val, and Samantha decided they were going to go down to the dock and go swimming.
Val nearly had a heart attack when Luke grabbed Samantha and practically threw her halfway across the lake. Samantha emerged from the water and went to yell at her father, but didn't get a chance.
"You can't just throw her into the water like that! She could have been hurt! What if she hit her head or something and got knocked out?" Val fussed as she poked her finger into his chest. Samantha giggled as she watched Val give Luke the third degree.
Out of nowhere, Luke grabbed Val by the waist and tossed her into the water as well. Val screamed, but they were muffled when she hit the water. She emerged with a pout and looked to Samantha who was floating next to her giggling.
"Well, this isn't fair," Val stated simply then glared at Luke. He was grinning at them looking very proud of himself. All she wanted to do was slap him around a couple times just to get that look off his face, but she knew it wouldn't help. There was no way she was going to be able to hurt him. Even if she wanted to. Luke dove into the water and emerged quickly.
Luke was able to stand in the water and Samantha took advantage of that fact by crawling up onto his shoulders then jumping off him. Luke would sometimes let her stand in his hands and would fling her through the air so she could dive into the water.
Val loved watching them play together. Luke never once seemed to be annoyed with the constant harassment from Samantha. The smile never left his lips as she would climb up onto his shoulders so she could be flung into the water. Luke never seemed to tire out because of it. Of course it was hard to tire him out no matter what he was doing.
Hours seemed to pass when Samantha claimed to be hungry and wanted to eat. As if Shana knew she was going to be hungry, she stepped out on the back porch and screamed down to the docks that she had made her some sandwiches. Samantha turned to Val.
"Are you coming?" she asked sounding hopeful. Val grinned.
"If I must," she said swimming over to the ladder on the dock. She allowed Samantha to climb out of the water first. Val climbed out behind her and grabbed the towels they had brought down with them. She wrapped one around Samantha first then wrapped one around herself. She felt Luke's arm wrap around her waist. Val turned to him and smiled, then squeaked when Luke threw her back into the water.
After another hour or so after Samantha ate, she began to yawn. Jerry had joined them again and he was looking much better once the food had settled and leveled out his sugar levels. Luke had carried Samantha up to bed to tuck her in as per her request.
Val thought it was absolutely how wrapped he was around her finger. Not even Val had him that wrapped. Jerry, Val, and Shana went out onto the back porch to enjoy the cooled air of the evening. Luke joined them minutes later.
"So, Val, everyone has been really vague about how you and Luke met. So, I'll just ask you. How did you and Luke meet exactly?" Val glanced to Luke as a pang of nervousness shot through her. Shana's eyes widened a little as her gaze settled on Luke as well.
Luke watched Val out of the corner of his eye running his finger through his beard slowly. They had never talked about how much they were going to tell people about how they really met. They never really talked about how they met. Sure, they made idle jokes about it every once in awhile, but they never really talked about it. It wasn't like they were indifferent on how they met, it just as if it was a silent agreement that they never spoke of it.
"She was one of my targets, Jerry," Luke said. Val didn't have to look to Jerry to feel the hole that was currently being burned in the side of her head.
"What do you mean she was one of your targets," he growled. Shana reached over and placed a hand over Jerry's as a way to calm him down, but Jerry jerked his hand away from her sending a glare her way. Luke watched him carefully while all Val wanted to do was melt away. "Did you know about this?" Shana tried to give him an innocent smile, but it only made Jerry angrier. "And you let Samantha around her? What the fuck?" he snapped standing from his chair.
"It's not what you think, Jerry," Luke said standing up slowly as if trying not to seem threatening to Jerry.
"Not what I think? How long were you two planning on keeping this from me? I know the type of people you go after out there, Luke! Every last one of them are as dangerous as the one before them!" Jerry turned his attention to Val. "And what exactly made you an international criminal?" Val opened her mouth to let him know that she was technically innocent, but he held his hand up to stop her before she even started. "You know what? I don't even want to know. Come on, Shana. We're leaving," he said turning to Shana. Then he turned to Luke. "And we're taking Sam with us."
Jerry stormed into the house leaving the trio in his wake. Shana shot up from her chair quickly looking up to Luke desperately. Luke stared at the doorway trying to keep his calm.
"Well, he took that a lot better than what I thought," Luke said simply then followed Jerry inside. Shana glanced down to Val who, by that time, had practically curled up inside herself to make herself as small as possible. Shana sighed and knelt down in front of her and grabbed her hands. Val looked to Shana her eyes filled with regret and sorrow.
"It wasn't my fault, Shana, I promise it wasn't." Shana gave her a kind smile and nodded.
"I know. Luke told Samantha everything and she told me." Val gave her a grateful smile, but the look never left her eyes. Shana stood pulling Val up with her. Shana went to tell Val something that Val suspected was going to be very reassuring, but the sound of something thudding around inside the cabin drew their attention.
They hurried inside to find that Jerry had slammed his and Shana's luggage next to the door. He turned to make his way back up the stairs, but Luke stood in his way.
"You and Shana can leave, but you're not taking Samantha with you," Luke stated simply. Val was very impressed with how Luke was able to keep his calm. If it was Val in his place, she probably would have been saying things just to start a fight.
"To hell, I'm not! There is no way I am leaving her here with that bitch of a convict that you call a girlfriend!" Val gulped as she watched Luke visibly tense.
"Come on, now, there's no reason for that," Luke said as his voice changed in tone. He was starting to get angry.
"Daddy? Are you and Jerry fighting?" All eyes were drawn to the top of the stairs where a groggy Samantha stood rubbing her little eyes.
"No, baby girl, go on back to bed." Any other time, upon hearing Luke call her that, would have made Val's heart melt, but all she really wanted at that moment was for Samantha to go away. Val didn't want her to hear any of it. She was too young to understand.
"No, grab your bags. We're leaving," Jerry snapped. Samantha frowned and tilted her head a little.
"But I thought I was staying," she asked confused.
"There's been a change of plans. Go on and grab your things." Luke stepped in.
"No, there hasn't. Just go back to bed, Sam." Samantha nodded to her father, then looked down to Shana and Val before turning to go back to her room. Val kept her eye at the top of the stairs to make sure she actually went back to her room. She saw some movement at the top of the stairs and just knew that Samantha had simply just slipped into the shadows so she could hear was what going on. Val's heart leapt up into her throat.
"She's coming to Canada with me and Shana. I'm not leaving Sam here with her," Jerry snapped flinging his finger in Val's directions, but she wasn't paying any attention to his hurtful words. Honestly, she thought that Jerry was completely overreacting to the whole situation. Everyone had a past. Sure, Val's past was a little more colorful than most people's, but that didn't automatically make her a bad person. He was actually getting along with her before he had found out. What had changed other than the fact that he found out that she used to be a criminal?
"You're taking this way out of proportion," Luke argued.
"Samantha, please, sweety, go back to bed," Val said catching everyone's attention. Luke looked over his shoulder to the stop of the stairs half expecting to see his daughter there, but he didn't see her.
"Don't you dare talk to my daughter, you bitch," Jerry snapped glaring at Val. By the time the last word of the sentence left his lips, Luke's hand was around his throat and Jerry was slammed into the wall.
"Daddy!" Samantha shrieked from the top of the stairs. Val had gasped rushing forward and grabbed onto the arm that was currently clutching Jerry's neck. Val heard Shana rush up the stairs to get Samantha back in her room so she didn't have to see the scene unfolding. Val wasn't sure what she was going to do in order to stop Luke from harming Jerry, but she was willing to try anything.
Jerry's eyes clearly stated that he couldn't believe what was going on. Luke pointed his finger in Jerry's face, his eyes dark with a calm rage that sent chills even down Val's spine.
"You listen and you listen good because I'm only going to say this once. Samantha is my daughter. Not yours. You seem to have forgotten that. And I swear to God, if you ever, ever insult Val in front of me again, I will tear you to fucking pieces." Val's eyes widened as she looked to Luke. She couldn't believe the seriousness in his voice. She ran her hand across the bare skin of his arm drawing his attention to her.
"Come on, Luke. Let him go." His eyes softened a little and he loosened his grip on Jerry's throat. Val pulled his hand away from Jerry slowly then pulled on him so he would step back. He turned his body to face Val and ran his fingers across her cheek slowly. "It's okay, Luke," she whispered. His eyes darkened with anger once more as he looked to Jerry.
"It's not okay," he growled and acted like he wanted to go after Jerry again, but Val grabbed him and somehow managed to keep him from moving. She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes under her touch and took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself.
"Shana, come on! We're leaving!" Jerry screamed up the stairs then moved for the luggage. He picked it up and moved it out to the front porch before going for his car keys. Shana came down the stairs once Jerry had made his way outside to load the car down with their luggage.
She looked upset and embarrassed. Her footsteps were heavier than what they had been all evening. She ran her fingers through her hair in aggravation as she made her way to Luke and Val. Val let her hand fall from his cheek and rested her palm against his chest as he pulled her to him.
"I'm so sorry, you guys. There was no reason he should have acted like that," she turned her attention to Luke, "And I can't say I'm too happy with you right now either, putting your hands on my husband like that and in front of our daughter no less." Luke finally looked to her. "But I still can't say he didn't deserve it." The front door swung open and Jerry poked his head into the cabin.
"Shana, we are leaving." Shana sighed looked back to him.
"I will be out in a second." Jerry acted like he wanted to protest, but he shook his head closed the door leaving them alone again with Shana. She turned her attention to Val. "I'm so sorry for the way he talked to you. I'm going to talk to him and force him to get his head out of his ass. I really hope that his actions didn't reflect on me. Because, well, I think you're great." Val grinned and broke away from Luke long enough to wrap Shana up in a hug.
"It was really great meeting you, Shana. I hope to see you again soon." Shana patted Val on the back lightly.
"Take care of Luke for me," she whispered in Val's ear. They separated and Val nodded to Shana. Shana patted Luke's arm then turned to walk out of the cabin. They watched as their car pulled out of the driveway before turning to each other.
"I'm sorry, Val," Luke whispered placing his forehead against hers. "I should have kicked his ass for insulting you like that." Val chuckled as she ran her fingers up his chest slowly.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't." She tilted her head to kiss his lips gently. "Why don't you go check on Samantha and I'll go take a shower to get this nasty lake water off me." Luke nodded slowly then kissed her lips.
Luke watched her as she stepped around him letting her fingers brush against his torso until he was out of her reach. He watched the sway of her hips as she made her way into the bedroom to grab a change of clothes.
There was nothing about his woman that deserved to be talked down to the way that Jerry had. It took everything in his power not to completely deck the man for speaking about her the way he did, but he managed to keep a level head about it because, in the end, he was Shana's husband and he respected his ex-wife enough not to do that to her.
He sighed rubbing the back of his neck. It was all his fault. It was all his fault that Jerry had said all those things to Val. If he wouldn't have burned Val and the others just to get to Dom, Jerry would have never said those things. He was so irrational, that he wasn't even wanting to listen to what Luke had to say. He had tried to explain what had happened, but Jerry was having no part of it.
Val didn't deserve it. She wasn't an international criminal. Hell, her family was a bunch of trouble makers, but they weren't terrorists. It didn't matter what their records showed before Luke had wiped them clean.
He was glad that their files had hit his desk because he would have never met Val otherwise. He could still remember the exact moment that he had become attracted to her. It was just a glimmer of an attraction, but still an attraction no less. Luke had been hovering over Tej's shoulder as he worked away on his computer hacking into systems to try and track Shaw's movements.
Luke had been more than impressed at Tej's hacking skills. He clacked away on his keyboard with practiced ease as random windows popped up for him to put in codes to break through firewall after firewall. Val had come up to them and wrapped her arms around Tej's neck from behind. She kissed his cheek roughly, earning an annoyed huff from Tej.
"What do you want?" he asked without taking his eyes off his computer screen.
"I'm bored," she complained.
"And what do you want me to do about it?" he asked.
"I want you to help me pull a prank on Rome." Tej's fingers faltered a little on the keyboard.
"Give me five minutes," Tej said then got back to work. Val giggled and kissed his cheek again before standing up straight. She glanced at Luke and gave him a kind smile before walking passed him. And that was when he caught it. Her scent. That smell of a wildflower after a summer rain mixed with engine grease. He turned to watch her leave. He caught his gaze wandering down her back to her waist and watched as they swayed back and forth with each step that she took.
He loved her playful nature and how excitable she was. Her energy was always so carefree and it was enough to put anyone at ease. He found himself so relaxed around her that he would let his guard down completely. It was one of his favorite things about her.
He made his way upstairs to check on Samantha just to make sure that she was okay. Jerry and Luke hadn't argued since Samantha was a toddler and they had a major disagreement on discipline. It was before his diabetes had hit him and he was still a very muscular man. They had beaten each other into the hospital. After that, they had a certain respect for each other and was always able to talk things through, just like adults should.
Luke tapped on Samantha's door lightly, silently hoping that she had already fallen asleep, but he doubted it. He opened the door slowly and saw her lift her head up from her pillow.
"Why were you and Jerry fighting?" she asked in a tired voice. Luke stepped into her room and walked over to her bed and knelt down next to it. He flipped on her bedside lamp. She flinched at the sudden light, but didn't complain.
"Don't worry about it. We're not fighting anymore." She rested her head back on the pillow staring up at her father. Her eyes were filled with questions.
"Why did he say all those mean things about Val?" Luke sighed as he adjusted the blanket covering Samantha.
"I don't want you worrying about that either. I just want you to get some sleep because we have a busy day tomorrow." Samantha beamed as excitement clearly coursed through her body.
"Are we going fishing?" Luke chuckled leaning his elbow against her bed.
"You bet." She giggled as she snuggled down into her blankets more.
"Okay, daddy. I love you." Luke grinned leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
"I love you too." He flicked her light off the stood to leave her alone so she could sleep.
"Hey daddy?" Samantha called out when Luke reached her door. Luke looked over his shoulder at her. "Do you love Val?" The question caught Luke off guard and it took him a moment to collect himself. He grinned.
"You're damned right I do." He heard her giggle.
"Good."
He heard the shower running when he walked downstairs and made his way into the bedroom to change into some pajama bottoms so he could get some sleep.
He put on a pair of pajama bottoms and laid down on the bed above the covers. He stared up at the ceiling absorbing all that had happened. He hated that it had to happen, but there was nothing he could do to change it. He grinned thinking about how he had admitted to Samantha that he loved Val. He had felt that way for a while and wanted to tell Val, but there was a small part of him that didn't want to rush things. He didn't want to admit how he felt for fear of being rejected by her because it was too soon. He knew it was pathetic of him, but Val could make him feel like that like no one else could.
Samantha had never went through the cliche way that children always dreamed that their parents would end up back together and live happily ever after. At least, she never voiced it. Shana and Luke both had sat down with her when they thought that she was old enough to understand and explained to her that it was better the way they were living now. She seemed to understand completely and even seemed okay with it.
He worried greatly that when he told her about Val that she would have disagreed with it, but she didn't. She was excited. The relief that washed over him was incredible.
He heard the bathroom door open after a while. Val stepped into the bedroom wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. She carried her hairbrush in her hand. She crawled onto the bed and turned her back on him as she started running the brush through her wet hair.
She sighed half way through and placed the brush in her lap.
"Is there a reason why he freaked out like that when he found out how we met?" she asked fiddling with the the bristles on her brush. Luke sat up on the bed leaning his back against the headboard.
"Yeah, for whatever it's worth," he said. Val looked back at him waiting for him to continue. She turned to face him and started brushing her hair out again. "His brother was in the DEA and was deep undercover with a major drug cartel. He had been undercover for years earning the trust of the leaders and had finally become one of the most trusted people. They were getting ready to close the whole operation down from top to bottom and it was all thanks to him." Val had finished brushing her hair and had discarded the brush on her nightstand. "There ended up being a leak in the department and they made him." He paused for a moment rubbing the back of his neck. "They tortured him for days only to behead him." Val's mouth slacked open in shock. "They filmed the entire thing and sent the tapes to the family."
"Oh my God," Val whispered unable to say much else. "Oh my God."
"That doesn't make it okay with how he talked down to you. He has to understand that the only reason you were labeled like that was because of me." Val grinned a playful grin and Luke knew she was getting ready to say something smart ass to him, but he stopped her. "Even if you were technically breaking international law right along with Dom." Val tilted her head in question. Luke gave her a flat look. She was unbelievable. He held up his hand to start counting all of the laws that she had broken. "You broke your brother out of prison and fled the country. Aiding and abetting. Harboring a fugitive. Evading arrest."
"Alright, alright, that's enough. I get it," she said scooting in next to him and rested her head against his shoulder. Luke chuckled wrapping his arm around her waist. "At least we didn't go and take all the credit when we took down Shaw." Luke gave her a playful glare.
She squealed as his grip tightened around her waist and lifted her up to lay her on her back. He twisted his body so he could pin her. She rested her hands on his shoulders.
"And miss out on that hefty bonus I got? Not a chance." She giggled as she rose and kissed his lips gently.
"And what kind of bonus does saving the world get you?" Val asked. Luke smirked.
"Not nearly as much as getting away with a hundred million." Val hummed softly, but she frowned.
"I didn't take any of that money." Luke paused for a moment taking in what she said. He had always assumed that she had taken some of the money since she was able to pay for her home in cash. They never really discussed their financial situations. He knew they both did very well for themselves.
"You didn't?" Val shook her head. "Why not?"
"It was dirty money. I didn't want anything to do with it." Luke frowned. Dirty money or not, even he would have taken some. "I spent a lot of time making a lot of money by stealing cars. All it did was land me in jail and ruined my life. I wasn't about to go and do it all over again." Luke shook his head.
"Then where did you get the money for your house?" Val wiggled under him until she was able to spread her legs and wrap them around his own. She sighed at the new position.
"That's better. I gave Hector free range of my finances when I left to be with Dom. That guy is a genius in the stock market. He quadrupled my money within the first year."
"Shit. That's really impressive." Val nodded. Luke lowered his head to brush his lips against her neck slowly. Val felt her hair raise at the sensation and felt her pulse quicken. She began to run her fingers over his skin slowly. Luke pressed himself against her when his lips found hers.
He kissed down her jaw grinding his hips into her earning an eager groan from her. He nibbled at her skin as he felt her fingertips trace random patterns in his skin.
"Are you still sore?" he whispered before nibbling on her earlobe.
"Want to find out?" she asked with a shaky breath. He grinned as his arms wrapped around her to pull her closer to him.
Author's Note: Sorry about the huge delay on this guys. It's been fucking crazy in my life here recently. I would go into detail, but quite frankly, it's so much that I don't think there's enough time to get it all out there. But I went on vacation for a week down to Myrtle Beach and went to Charleston to see the eclipse so that was pretty fun and that at least makes up for a week of no updates because I was too busy to do any form of writing.
Anywho, reviews and shit!
Love you guys!
Aven