Chapter 8

He should have been asleep. He was used to many nights of little or no rest while on missions, and this really wasn't any different, except for the cold hard fact that he wasn't in his 20s anymore. He flexed a bicep to prove to himself he was probably in better shape than he was back then, at least before he went into SEAL training. But age was catching up with him. Every day he got older and older, but so did everyone else. It was just part of life. He paced the floor, stopped at the window and cautiously peered through the sheer curtains to see one of Paxson's men patrolling the drive. It was far too quiet after all the drama of the past two weeks. Or had it been longer? Sam shook his head. He'd lost all track of time so he didn't even know what day it was.

Gotta clear my head. He threw on shorts, a t-shirt, and shoes, and he stole past Yvette's closed door to tiptoe down the stairs. A guard stood at the foot and glanced up at him in the diffused light coming from the foyer chandelier.

"Hi. Just going to, uh, pump some iron."

The guy nodded and pressed a button on the earpiece sticking out of his left ear. "Subject one is heading for the gym." Sam didn't hear the answer. The guy just jerked his head toward the hall. "It's back that way, three doors down."

"Thanks. I know where it is."

Sam turned on the lights and within seconds another guard blocked the door behind him. "You go right on in, Sir. I've got you covered."

"Yeah, right." He eyed the well-built man. He could have fit in quite well in the military with his stance and the way he held his weapon. "What branch were you in?"

"I was a SEAL, Sir, until I was shot and they sent me home." He looked uncomfortable talking about it.

"I was a SEAL too. I retired a Commander."

The man's eyes bugged and he suddenly came to attention and saluted. Sam restrained himself from laughing. He hadn't had that kind of respect in a long time. He returned the salute. "What's your name?"

"Lt. Patrick Maury, Sir."

"It's nice to see one of my people watching over us." Sam nodded. "Keep up the good work, Lieutenant."

"Sir, yes Sir!" Maury turned his back and kept watch at the door without another word.

Sam started with a walk on the treadmill that built into a run. When that didn't seem to be enough, he worked on the weight machines. Whoever owned this place must have had some deep pockets. The equipment was gym quality. No skimping. He ended his workout with some situps, pushing himself until his gut ached and his shoulder protested again. After the last one, he hung upside down at a forty-five degree angle and panted. Maury appeared with a towel.

"You all done, Sir?"

"Yeah. I think so." Sam sat up and mopped the sweat from his face. "Thanks for keeping watch."

"Any time, Sir. You better get back to bed and rest. No woman is worth losing sleep over." He smiled conspiratorially. How he knew what tortured Sam's thoughts was anybody's guess, unless he heard something courtesy of one of the bugs.

He squinted at Maury, cocked his head to the side and asked, "How old are you?"

"Thirty one, Sir."

With a thin smile, he replied, "You've got time to learn that yes, some women are worth losing sleep over." He passed Maury and patted his upper arm. "'Night, Patrick."

"'Night, Sir." He turned off the light and followed Sam down the hall until he reached the kitchen. The guard in the foyer took over watching as Sam treaded lightly up the stairs and back to his room.

Each of the bedrooms had their own bathroom, so he was able to shower in complete privacy. The warm water cascaded down his tired body and relaxed him. By the time he emerged he was ready to just fall into bed and let a deep sleep overtake him. He quickly succumbed. The tangled web of Yvette and his career could wait until the next day.

It was nearly ten o'clock the next morning when Sam roused himself and dressed. If he hadn't worked himself into such a body-breaking exhaustion last night, he would have found it hard to believe he could sleep so late. Yvette made breakfast, but his portion sat cold and uninviting on a plate in the refrigerator. He wasn't sure where she was, until one of the guards directed him to the library. It was a well-lit room with large windows that faced the water. She sat curled up in an overstuffed chair, her attention gripped by a book cradled in one hand. She was so intent, she didn't notice his arrival until he was almost upon her.

"Good morning, Sam," she greeted him with a warm smile. "You must have been really wiped out. I tried waking you a couple hours ago, but you were really sleeping hard."

"Well, I was up until one or so. I couldn't sleep."

"I can't imagine why not! You've been stretched so thin lately."

Sam took a chair at an angle to hers and stared out on the water that sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight, then let out a deep sigh. "I had things to think about. What you said." He tore his attention away and locked his eyes on hers. "Yvette, I've made up my mind. If helping Mike means not having you in my life, I'd rather not work with him anymore. Besides, I'm starting to get tired of these close calls and tearing around blowing things up and shooting at people. Normal might be good."

"I'm afraid you'd find it all quite boring." Yvette closed the book, set it on a table to her left, and unfurled herself from the chair. She crossed the space between them and knelt at his feet. As she took his hands in hers, she asked, "What would you do if you weren't chasing bad men?"

His attention locked onto her hands and he curled his around them. "To be honest...I have no idea."

"Saving the world is all you know, Sam. And you and your friends do it so well, I can't bear to get in the middle and tear you away from that. You have a good heart and what you do helps so many." She shook her head. "I can't let you stop, sweetheart. Not for me. Not for anything."

"Yvette..."

"Does it really have to be either or?" She squeezed his hands and her midsection pressed into his knees. "Why can't we have each other and we both do what we do?"

"I might be gone a lot..."

"That's okay. It's not like I'd be helpless without you." She smiled. "Sorry, but it's true. I'm not that same damsel in distress that you found in the surf."

Sam chuckled, leaned forward and slid his hands up her arms. "I know, and I'm really proud of you. I just don't want you to have to worry about me every time we go off on a mission. And I don't want my other life to take away from ours. I did that before, and I lost out on something great." His voice reduced to a gruff whisper. "I can't do that again."

"I believe in quality time, not quantity, Sam. Every moment I spend with you is precious. I would like to collect many more so that when you're gone, I can take them out and hold them close. Almost as if you were with me." She bent into his embrace and planted soft kisses on his neck. "I love you so much Sam, I can't live without you."

He held onto her and clamped his eyes shut against the stinging behind the lids. Now he knew there was no way she would ever give up and he could never just let her down gently. Not that he wanted to. If he could, he would run away with her at that moment, find some little romantic place in the middle of nowhere and join his life with hers in the bonds of matrimony. There was no fear of commitment, only of failure, that he would let her down and be less than what she expected. After what he'd done with his life...

Emotion choked him as he whispered, "I don't deserve you."

"So you would deprive me of what I deserve?" She broke away enough to caress his jawline as she spoke. "By denying yourself, you deny me. Is that right? Is that fair to me?"

"No, it's not right. I'm afraid..."

She touched his lips with a fingertip. "No, there's nothing to be afraid of Samuel, dear. Nothing at all. I love you. You love me. That's what matters. That and the fact that I am willing to spend the rest of my life with you, if only you will have me."

He sat up straight and fell back into his chair, but he reached for her hand. "Was that...was that what I think it is? You're proposing to...me?"

Yvette laughed softly and grinned. "If you want to take it that way, yes. Yes, I am!"

He was glad he was seated, or he might have dropped to his knees in shock. "I don't know what to say."

"I think we women own that line. You'll have to come up with a new one." The light from the sun sparkled in her eyes.

In his lifetime, only one other woman proposed to him, and when she did it, he felt as if his whole world crashed down around his feet. He panicked. This time, he felt something different. Liberation. With her he felt free to let his emotions run without fear, and because of Amanda, he was completely unhampered to love again. Yvette was in deep, heart and soul. The only right thing to say was, "Yes."

"Yes, what?" Her eyebrow quirked up as she gave him an impish smile.

"You know what I mean." He laughed. "You're going to make me say it, so fine, I will. Yes, I want to marry you." His expression turned serious as he leaned forward again, took her hands in his, and continued. "I just hope you don't regret it."

"I hope you don't regret choosing me," Yvette responded with a light tone. "Sam, I love you so much!"

He reached behind her and pulled her into him so she lay against the length of his body as he kissed her. When they finally came up for air, he struggled with something behind her back. She tried to see, but he had her tightly wedged in his arms.

"Sam, what are you doing?"

"Just wait, you'll see." One tug, and his grip loosened as he brought his arms around to the space between them. "Here. Since I didn't come prepared for this..." In his fingers he positioned his pinky ring, zeroing in on her left hand. He stopped. "What's that?"

Yvette looked down at the plain silver band on her ring finger. Funny he'd never paid it much attention before. She worked at it until it was free, explaining, "It's a promise ring. Part of that vow I told you about? It's a reminder to keep myself pure, but now..." She slipped it into the palm of her right hand and clasped it tightly. She grinned and said, "So, where were we?"

"Right about here," he replied as he looked down at her hand and guided the ring over her knuckles. It fit perfectly.

"It's like it was made for me," she breathed. "I'll never take it off until you replace it with a wedding ring." She kissed him deeply, but restrained herself from getting him too excited. She pulled back and smiled. "I have an idea." Picking up his left hand, she slipped the silver band on his pinky that was noticeably naked without his ring. "There. Maybe that'll help us both behave until our wedding day."

He laughed. "Well, we better make that soon, because I think it'd take an act of God to keep me away from you."

"Uhoh, looks like we're interrupting something."

Yvette's eyes grew wide and she pushed herself off of Sam, while he struggled to get to his feet without knocking her over. They stood side by side, hands clasped as they stared at Michael and Fiona. He wished he could wipe off that annoying Cheshire cat smile on Fiona's face.

"It's not what you think," he blurted.

"Oh, really..." Fiona answered as she stepped into the room, approached them with Michael close behind, and grabbed his left hand. She held it up, showing off Yvette's ring. "What do you make of this, Michael? I never thought I'd see the day when Sam Axe would give up sex. Or womanizing." She regarded them as they stood under her gaze, still startled and swallowing back their surprise.

Sam ignored her. "So, Mike, what are you and Fiona doing here?"

"It's all over, Sam. We were able to track down the rest of Roche's men."

"Sorry you had to miss all the fun," Fiona added with a lecherous smile. "But I'm sure you two had your own...fun...in this romantic little getaway."

"Nothing happened, Fi." Sam tried to keep his irritation at bay. "And nothing like that will happen until we're married. I gave my word, and I'm wearing this ring to prove it." He snatched his hand away from hers and glared at her.

Fiona's eyebrows raised. She knew she'd touched a sensitive nerve. "Alright then. I suppose that Yvette and I have some shopping to do."

"First, why don't we just get out of here? I'd like to go back...home." Sam swallowed hard. He suddenly remembered that what he called home no longer existed.

"I'm sure my mom will let you stay in the garage, although there isn't much there now, since she gave so much stuff to Yvette."

"And all of that is gone." Yvette's brow crinkled. "What are we going to do?"

"We'll work something out. Maybe you can stay at Maddie's in the spare room, and I'll find a place we can call ours after the wedding." Saying the 'w' word caused Sam to choke up a little. He was still used to being gun-shy about the word and the concept that came with it. In time, that would go away. He was confident of that. Right now, he just wanted to get out of that mansion and start over with Yvette by his side, even if it was in some tiny cottage. Yeah, a cottage on a remote beach. He could get into that.