Page 94 of The Hero
“Are you sure you want to hear this now?”
“I’m wide awake,” she said with a shrug.
He nodded. “West is being charged with a whole slew of things. Kidnapping, attempted murder, money laundering, smuggling, and a bunch of other charges I forget right now. The maximum charge for the smuggling alone is twenty years in federal prison.”
Marlowe lifted her head. “Yeah, but he’ll only have to serve a portion of that before he’s eligible for parole, right?”
“True, but customs wants to charge him separately for each coin.”
“Oh, that’s good,” Marlowe said.
“They’re also going to dig into his past, check into the other sites he worked on, continue to scour the dark web, and see if they can find evidence of other artifacts he stole and sold ... and charge him for those too. And since they believe his attempt to kill you was premeditated, they’re going to go for life in prison. It’s all on audio and video. His intent was to get you to an out-of-the-way place, kill you, collect on the money from the buyer of those coins, and go on with his life. He’s not going to get away with any of his crimes.”
“And the coins will go back to Thailand?” Marlowe asked.
Bob closed his eyes and pressed his lips together. He shouldn’t have been surprised that she was so concerned about the coins going back to the country that had imprisoned her, but he still was. “Eventually, yes.”
“Good.”
“And Tex is working with a lawyer over in Thailand to get the charges on you overthrown. They’re using the evidence that you got today as proof that you had no knowledge of the yaba pills found in your stuff, and that it was all West.”
Marlowe nodded against him, but didn’t comment for at least a minute. Then she lifted her head and stared at him in a way that Bob couldn’t read.
“What is it, Punky?” he asked.
“I love you.”
He smiled. “I love you too.”
“Since we’re both awake and all ... I’m thinking we should find a way to pass the time. It’s way too early to get out of bed.” One of her hands trailed down his side and pushed under the waistband of his boxers.
He quickly caught her hand in his. “You were hurt yesterday,” he said.
“I was,” she agreed, holding his gaze. “But I’m okay now.”
“Are you in any pain?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I’m a little stiff and my throat is sore, but otherwise, I’m good.”
“I’m thinking we should give it another few days,” he started, but Marlowe shook her head and shifted until she was straddling his stomach. She stared down at him.
“I’mfine,” she insisted. “And I need you, Kendric. For a moment, I thought I’d never feel you inside me again. Would never watch you fly over the edge. Would never see the adorable little grimace you make when you come.” She grinned. “Please?”
Well, hell ... how could he resist such a pretty plea? The truth was, he couldn’t. Bob had a feeling that didn’t bode well for him. Anything his wife wanted, he’d cave in a heartbeat when she looked at him like she was right now.
“I don’t grimace when I come,” he protested.
She giggled. “Uh-huh, sure you don’t. Prove it.”
“A challenge. I like it,” he said with a grin. “But then again, I’m tired. I think you should do all the work.”
Bob was surprised at how quickly his wife moved. She stripped off her pajamas and was sitting astride him naked as the day she was born before he could blink.
The next twenty minutes were the most erotic of his life. He made love to his wife, just as she made love to him. They reaffirmed their feelings with every touch, with every thrust of their hips. Being able to be with her like this again was a true gift, and Bob vowed never to take her for granted. Ever.
When he’d made her come twice, and had emptied what seemed like gallons of come deep within her, she was once more lying boneless on his chest, his half-hard cock still inside her, their juices dripping out of her body onto his balls. Bob had never felt so content.
“This is more like it,” Marlowe said sleepily.
