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Standard FF disclaimers apply.
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I Need You. Beginnings and Endings
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The lights were so dim, she could barely see her surroundings. But within a few seconds of opening her eyes, Stephanie smiled and remembered exactly where she was. The quiet hush of the smooth flight allowed her to hear the steady breathing of the man who was holding her in his arms.
Stephanie was now only slightly groggy from the motion sickness pills she had taken before her flight left from Newark. But she could still keenly remember how she felt when she had landed at Dulles International airport last night. Unfortunately, Stephanie was suffering from nearly every side effect listed on the back of the box of Dramamine in her purse. What was worse, she wondered, having motion sickness or being drowsy and dizzy, and having blurred vision?
She actually stumbled off of the plane into Ranger's arms, he had been right there to meet her. Stephanie was overjoyed to see him, albeit through blurred eyes, in the middle of night. But she could never mistake that it was him, especially when he wrapped her in his arms and kissed her.
Oh yes, it was Carlos, even if she could not see him clearly, she could smell him, and feel him, and taste him. What else was she to do? Stephanie melted into his arms and let him guide her to their next flight. "I won't ask you how the flight was," he teased her. All she could do was roll her eyes, but she knew that even that motion would make her more dizzy, so she resisted the urge and just slightly shook her head.
The lights in the terminal seemed to glare so harshly, Stephanie kept her head tucked into Ranger's shoulder as much as she could. She was pretty much just walking along, not paying any attention to where they were headed. That drowsiness seemed to be getting worse, she was starting to regret taking the medication. She wanted to enjoy every minute with her husband. It was so sweet of him to plan all of this for them. She was absolutely not going to ruin it by being sick. Once they were on the train to take them out to the international terminals, Stephanie curled herself into the curve of his arm around her. "I love you, you know," she said and looked up in to his face. His smile told her everything, and she kissed him before he could respond.
"I know", he teased her, nodding. "Te amo mi amor." Ranger held her closer, once again he knew that there was no where he would rather be than right here, right now, with his beautiful wife in his arms. They were almost to their gate, Ranger stood, helping Stephanie as she swayed with the motion of the slowing train. She held on tight to him, through another dizzy spell.
Before she knew it, they were in a first class suite aboard the Emirates Air Lines. All of a sudden everything seemed so quiet. The lights were soft and she didn't see anyone else around. Stephanie thought that she she must be delirious, it did not look like any plane that she had ever been on. And then Ranger was actually tucking her into bed. Now she knew that she had to be seeing things.
"I'll never take any of those motion sickness pills ever again," she told him, "You would not believe the crazy hallucinations that I am having right now."
Her head rolled back onto his chest and she could feel the rumble of his laugh. "As long as I am in those hallucinations with you it's all good," he whispered into her ear. The feeling of his warm breath on her neck sent tingles throughout her body.
"Yeah, I'll take this kind of illusion any day," she giggled. Her grip with consciousness was slipping. All she could think was that this was the best dream that she had ever had. She could actually feel Ranger kiss her neck, her cheek, her lips. And this dream was in smellavision, there was a distinct scent of Bvlgari, mixed with the unmistaken essence of Ranger. She even felt his strong arms surrounding her as she drifted off to oblivion! Bliss, perfect bliss.
Easing out of the best sleep she could remember in her entire life, Stephanie let the smile she had worn last night came back to her lips. She was in love with the most wonderful man in the world. She would do anything, go anywhere to be with him. Flying was not her favorite thing because of her tendency to become air sick so easily. Those pills had done a number on her, but now she realized that the illusions she'd had were real. They were on an airplane, but there was a bed in a mini suite with just the two of them wrapped up in each other.
She realized that Ranger had arranged everything for their Honeymoon. He knew that a regular flight, like the one she had taken from Newark, would have made her miserable. So he had made other arrangements. This, laying in his arms and sleeping, would be the one thing that could make flying enjoyable for her.
Her movements woke him and Ranger opened his eyes to look into hers. "Morning Babe," he said.
Stephanie placed her hand on the side of his face. Running her fingers down his cheeks, she let them wander all the way along his neck to his shoulders. She squeezed his muscles. "You are not an illusion," she blurted out, causing him to laugh again.
She looked around, "Where are we exactly," she asked, taking in the luxury of their accommodations. What looked to be silk curtains closed them into the small bed, just wide enough for the both of them to lay on comfortably. Satin pillowcases covered the abundant supply of pillows that provided the soft cocoon that enveloped them.
Indirect light created the soft illuminations circling around the ceiling. It was just enough to let her see, but not enough to hurt her eyes first thing upon waking. Everything around them was shiny and smooth and perfect. She snuggled closer to him and sighed. "Never mind," she whispered, her eyes closed in a contented satisfaction. She could stay here, just like this, forever.
"Actually Steph," Ranger said, his voice deep with sleep. "We are almost there." He smiled as she rotated to look at him, never losing her contact with his body. He hated to say this next part, staying with her like this would be just fine with him too. " We slept the whole way, and if we want to eat breakfast, we should probably get ready now."
Stephanie thought for a moment, and all of a sudden she felt so shy. To avoid looking at him, she focused on his collar bone and asked a question in a barely audible voice. "I had some incredible dreams last night," she started, waiting until he nodded and she could feel him tilt his head to look at her. "Did we..." she leaned her head forward against his chest. "Did we..." she tried again. What was the matter? she thought desperately. They were married. They had been together. Why couldn't she ask this simple thing?
"I had some really incredible dreams," she said again, her voice muffled against his skin. Ranger lifted her chin so that he could look at her. Stephanie swallowed, "Are we part of the mile high club?" she finally said in almost a whisper, lowering her eyes. Before he answered, he kissed her gently on the lips. And then he waited for her to look up again.
"We slept the whole way," he repeated softly.
Her relief was immense, and she relaxed against him, her head now tucked into his neck. "Good," she said firmly. "I prefer to be completely conscious.." her comment was swallowed up when his lips found hers.
"Are you conscious now?" he asked.
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An endless darkened sky covered the skyline as far as the eye could see. The view from the fifth floor offices did not offer much of interest to Ed, so he turned and walked away from the windows and paced the open spaces. The moment that they had been able to get out of the care if the US government agencies, they had made their way to their New York offices.
It had seemed like a good idea at the time. But now, Ed was wondering if he wanted to know how things were going with the business. All he knew from the hours that he had spent here, was that the staff had been thinned out, due to budget concerns, and that he could not yet talk with Karl about how the team was doing with the small amount of information that he was able to get him. Because of the time difference with the home office, Karl was not yet answering his e-mail or phone calls.
Suffering from a deplorable lack of relevant information, he was restless. Leo was nowhere to be seen, so Ed moved through the maze of desks to the Library, hoping to find him there. He knew that Leo was anxious to get back to his research of the serum, he was as aware of the urgency of it as he was. If he found a computer to use, Ed was sure that Leo would be trying to access the files they had encrypted online. They all needed answers.
The library was the research center of this office, and Ed was sure that he could find a few available computers there. Floor to ceiling shelves occupied three of the walls of the spacious room. Long tables ran parallel to each other in the center of the room, the computers were set up on each end of both tables. As predicted, Leo was using one of them, so Ed joined him, sitting down to check his own messages. Moments after opening his private account, Ed froze. The information he was reading was alarming. He may have made a sound that he was not aware of, Leo looked over at him and saw the expression on his face.
"Ed?" he said cautiously. "Anything wrong…" he ventured to ask.
"He is coming here."
"What?" he hesitated, "Who?" Leo inquired, even though he was pretty sure who Ed was talking about. Not many people could make Ed look that worried, or even scared.
"These messages were sent yesterday," Ed whispered in disbelief. "He is going to show up here in the morning."
Slumping in his chair, Ed tried to think through the problem facing him. Even if he had looked at his emails first thing when they had arrived today, there would still have been nothing that they could do about this. There was no information about how to get in contact with Gentleman X. He had always preferred his privacy, leaving Ed only a phone number in Europe to use.
The man was here for the formula. The serum that was not ready yet. When Karl had last told him of their progress, he said that they had hit a snag. Ed was pretty sure that they were still without the answers that they needed. If only he had been able to find the research that Brian Taylor had at the lab. How had everything gone so terribly wrong?
Now he tried to rationalize the situation. As much as Ed knew that the time frame he had given the buyer had long past, he knew that this guy was a professional, a man with a business to run. He had said that he needed to get the formula to his manufacturers in plenty of time to market the new serum. Ed understood all of this, this was Business 101. But he had been taken out of commission by no fault of his own, surely it would have to be understood that he could not honor the original delivery date.
Staring at the screen without seeing it, he envisioned his whole plan collapsing around him. How had it all come to this? He had been keeping Jasper's company going for all of these years. He had been good at it. The changes that had happened had been out of his control. But he had still kept his head about him and had devised a plan to keep the company on top.
Ed thought that he had come across this once in a lifetime opportunity. A chance to take care of his responsibilities to the company while at the same time, fulfilling his own dreams. It had all been so clear when he had stolen that first peek at the research being done by Dr Brian Taylor. The same information that Tom had planted for him to find. He had decided that he could be the one to save Humelik. He had liked the sound of that!
As distasteful as it had been to work with a man like Gentleman X, he knew that it was a necessary evil to get his product out into the marketplace. It was also the only way he had found to get the huge payout that he needed, that Humelik needed. Richard Alvari would never have approved of a transaction outside of his normal channels. But Ed had found this one time deal that would put him and the company ahead of the game. It had been a risk he had been willing to take, but only because of the benefits of the end results. And because he thought that with Leo and Karl in this with him, he had all he needed to develop the full potential of Taylor's formula.
But now, as far as he knew, he had nothing to offer anyone. He had lost his big chance, and he was not sure what to do next. Leo continued to stare at him. He wanted answers too. Ed shook his head, he didn't have any.
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As Tom entered the room, he could tell that Hector was on to something interesting. He was moving from one keyboard to another, his chair rolling him smoothly from one place to the next. Tom stayed at the door for a few moments just watching in stunned admiration.
"What have you found?" Tom finally asked as he moved into the room. Hector looked up at him briefly, nodding once and turned back to his monitor.
"We have a reciprocal link," Hector said, pointing to one of the monitors. Tom grabbed the stool and pulled up next to Hector. The same connection that they had made with Karl's computer was now showing up on Richard's. The message they sent must have opened his computer to them too. Thank Karl and his attempts at spying.
Tom started reading, the messages were offering more information than he could have imagined. He was becoming a bit alarmed. Karl was getting ready to make his move, and it looked like he intended to offer the formula the way it is right now. It was clear that they had not been able to finish it. Brians last bit of research had remained hidden away from them, but instead of keeping them from going ahead with their plans, it appeared that they were willing to give out the unstable formula that they had come up with.
This was bad. Tom was getting worried. With a look, Tom asked Hector if he could use one of the computers. Quickly he accessed his contact account with the agency. It was the only way he had, while he was undercover, to get information from the agency and other operatives about the mission. Immediately he saw the reports from Kara. What he read was absolutely amazing to him. After all this time, without having a single lead, she had found some of the most useful information on Wyvern. Now it was Tom's turn to be surprised that the man in question was actually coming here. He kept reading the report. The fingerprint that Knight had found was priceless. It not only identified the man, it connected Wyvern with a known group of arms dealers. The team was on it. Tom was able to follow all of the communications from the moment he was out of the loop after the kidnapping. Kara's discoveries had brought them right into the game again.
Suddenly he got a surge of excitement. The end was near, he could feel it. He sent a communique to the team. He had become too recognizable, first as the scientist associated with Brian, and then as one of the men who had been kidnapped. He would not be able be there personally, but he could send his encouragement and some suggestions. Especially to Kara. She was back and she was going to want to be in the middle of the whole thing. She deserved to be.
As much as Tom was concerned for the safety of every member who worked on the team, he had a special connection to Kara. Many people had moved in and out of the operation since it began so long ago. As the only woman that had been recruited in a while, he thought of her like a little sister. Funny, he thought, since they still had never met face to face, but they had been in close contact up until the kidnapping had happened. She was funny and dedicated and he did not want to see anything happen to her.
Hector had been humming an unfamiliar tune while Tom was working, and suddenly he realized that the humming had stopped. Tom looked up from his work. Hector was staring at a larger monitor that had a map lit up with several bright dots. He was studying the indicated positions. Scooting over to look at the map, Tom knew exactly what they were looking at. These were the last known locations of the men who worked with Wyvern. Next to the dot identifying the addresses, there was also a date. This was the date they were last seen in these places. Also accompanying the information was the name of an agent that was close to the vicinity. There were at least one or two listed in each area. Except for one.
Pointing at that dot, Hector was trying to work something out in his mind. Tom watched and waited patiently. Finally he said, "We have someone there, in that area." He pushed back from the table and sat as still as a statue, as if saying that had taken everything he had, and he was now drained of all energy. Tom continued to watch him.
"Who?" he asked Hector.
Abruptly he stood and stared at Tom for a moment. Then Hector walked out of the room mumbling something unintelligible in spanish, leaving Tom watching him in confusion.
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Beyond the sparkling sands on the beach, the ocean stretched to the horizon in a deep blue that defied description. The screeching of seagulls high over head, blended in with the rhythmic surge of the waves. She could hardly believe that she was in Spain. They had immediately left Barcelona and found this beautiful beach.
Ranger stood behind Stephanie, his arms circled around her waist, as they took in the view. A large cruise ship was navigating the waters, its gleaming white exterior a stark contrast against the water. They watched it for a few minutes.
"This looks just like the photo on your desk," she said in admiration.
Ranger looked at her in surprise. "You knew?" he asked, a bit shocked.
Stephanie laughed, "Not even close," she said. "I just saw a picture of a beautiful ocean scene."
He hugged her closer, spending time alone with her was the only thing that mattered. And he intended to make the most of each moment. "Are you ready to go?" he asked as they left the pier and walked back to the rented car. "We are going to follow the same path as that ship. My family still thinks that we are on a cruise, I told them that we could not be reached on a ship," he said with a wink.
Suddenly their little party made more sense. The gifts, the things that they were packing. They were all perfect for a vacation on the ocean. They just didn't realize that with her motion sickness, it would have been a miserable trip. But Ranger had, and he had come up with an alternative that would make her happy. She loved him all the more for it.
Now they were off to their next destination. After a drive along the coast, they would be spending the night in Narbonne, France. Stephanie knew that it did not matter where they went, being together was all she cared about. That and the fact that they were truly alone for the first time since they had been married.
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A/N I'd like to thank so many of you for your interest in my book. As well as on Amazon, Breathless in Misty Falls can be found at Authorhouse dot com.
It is the first book in my Misty Falls series. I hope you'll enjoy it!
Sandra St James
