Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 113741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
“Trent, I love you, you know that, right? I meant everything I said to you.” They were talking quietly together and Gage found he couldn’t let Trent go. He got it wrong at Sophia’s. It was Gage that wanted to hold this man so tightly he never lost track of him. It was time he fought for his future.
“Gage,” Trent wouldn’t look at him and didn’t say it back.
“No, listen to me… I meant everything I said to you and even the things I’ve left unsaid. Trent, tell me the truth, did you mean what you said to me? Do you still love me or have I ruined everything?” Gage asked. Trent looked down, clearly weighing his options.
“It’s a yes or no, babe,” Gage said, ducking his head down, trying to make eye contact. It took a few minutes, but finally Trent looked up at him and rolled his eyes a little before he spoke.
“Yes, I do, Gage,” Trent said, but he turned back to the door. Gage slid in behind him, keeping his arms around Trent.
“Good. Thank you,” Gage said as relief swarmed him. No way could he live without this man in his arms. In such a short time Trent had become his everything, and because of it, this whole thing was going to play out differently than anyone could have planned. He wouldn’t let Trent or Emmie and Hunter be hurt by this. He and he alone had the power to protect them, and honestly, he’d known from the minute he’d calmed down on Sunday night this would be his path. He’d tried valiantly to hang on to his goals, to the importance of his career, but after meeting Trent those things were less important to him than keeping this man in his arms safe and happy for the rest of their lives.
“Trent, kiss me one last time before I go.” The front door opened and Gage watched his head of security exit through Trent’s back door in the living room. Trent never said a word, he just turned around in the entryway, his face full of emotion, and he leaned in, slanting his mouth over Gage’s. The swipe of his tongue thrust forward, and Gage opened for him, wrapping Trent in his arms, and swirled his tongue forward for the sweet kiss. There was no aggression in this kiss, no promises of a night of sex. It just held love and Gage never wanted it to end.
Trent moved his hands up to Gage’s face and turned his head, deepening the kiss. Trent wrapped an arm around his neck and pressed him into the wall, consuming every part of him. This felt very much like the goodbye he knew Trent intended it to be. Gage lifted his arms, running them up and down Trent’s back, and his heart again left his body, landing straight inside Trent’s caring hands. The movement sealed the deal for him. He pulled from the kiss and kept Trent in his arms, but fished his phone from his pocket.
“Baby, I need to make a phone call in private,” Gage whispered, his eyes still on Trent’s now kiss swollen lips.
“You can call from my bedroom, or the garage, either would be the most private for you. I need to see if the kids are downstairs with Rhonny. Let me just make sure their doors are shut.” Trent stepped back, averting his swollen red eyes, but Gage kept him close, not letting go of the hand that he clasped.
“I’ll take care of this, Trent. You have to trust me.” Trent didn’t say anything, but his face said that trust would not come easily; it would take a long time to rebuild. That brand new protective mechanism that had spiked in Gage upon meeting this wonderful man roared to life at that look. His world tilted on its axis, and he wanted nothing more than to have Trent safe and in his arms for the rest of his life.
Trent stepped far enough away until he was able to look down the hall. Gage followed him, keeping their hands together, and they made their way to Trent’s bedroom. Trent poked his head in the kids’ bedrooms as he went, both were gone and he assumed still with Rhonny.
“Let me go check on them with Rhonny,” Trent said, and Gage went into the bedroom. Trent quietly shut the door behind him. Gage waited until he heard Trent’s footsteps retreat down the hall before he made the call he needed to make.
“I have something for you,” he said into the phone to the groggy hello on the other end of the connection. He never took his eyes from the shut bedroom door, and he didn’t let himself think of everything he gave up with this one phone call.
“It’s one in the morning. Why can’t you ever call at a decent hour, Synclair?”
“You need to get to Executive in Chicago before dawn. Call me before you land, I’ll meet you at my gallery. It’s the most private place. This is you and me and no one else, got it? But you’ll need a field commander back at base ready to coordinate,” Gage said, surprised at how good he felt with this decision. Trent wasn’t going to understand it. The kiss they shared minutes ago was so final to the man he’d held in his arms.
“Wait, what?”
“You heard me,” Gage said, a smile coming to his lips at the other person’s confusion.
“Usually you have me playing catch up while you’re making the military look like an ass.” The statement caused a bigger smile to tear across his lips.
“Not this time.”
“Why?”
“If you get moving, you can be here in five hours. It’ll be easier to meet at the gallery. I’ll be waiting. And in the end, this time you’ll be saying, ‘thank you, Gage.’“ He laughed as he said the last part.
“Yeah, right, I’m not sure there’s anything you can do to change my standard, you’re a motherfucker, Gage,” He heard the doubt in the voice over the line.