Pratt took off her vest and duty belt, putting her gun in the drawer by her side of the bed. Grabbing her towel off of the closet hook and her night clothes, Pratt headed to the bathroom to take her shower while Highlander did his thing.
Standing under the hot spray of the water, Pratt felt the tears falling down her face. Covering her face with her hands, Pratt started sobbing, trying her best to be quiet as she fell apart in the shower.
Several minutes after the first sob broke, Pratt jumped when she felt arms wrap around her from behind. Trying to step out of the embrace, she was held onto tighter.
“Talk to me, lass. What’s wrong?”
“No one was supposed to ever know about the hell I went through with Jon. I fought hard, for years, to keep it quiet, to protect everyone I love!” Pratt broke into with more sobs.
“I know, love! That’s what makes me love ye even more. Ye endured hell for years to protect ye brother, our son and ye teammates, never once telling anyone or complaining about it.” Highlander smiled into his wife’s red swollen, tear stained eyes.
“I’ve allowed men to continue doing what I fight, day in and day out. I’ve killed to protect those I call family. I’m tainted, my heart and soul are black!” Pratt shouted at her husband hitting his chest with her fist as she cried.
“Bad men! Evil men! And ye may have let them continue lass, but in reality, ye have been dismantling their operation, one target at a time, rescuing victims from them. Ye have been unconsciously dismantling their lives without realizing what ye were doing.” Highlander lifted his wife’s head off of his chest with both hands, forcing her to look up at him.
“I understand if you want to leave and file…”
“Lass, ye finish that sentence, I will tan ye arse red!” Highlander told Pratt, glaring into her eyes, clearly upset by her train of thoughts.
“I’m just…”
“And I’m telling ye Iwillspank that delicious arse until it’s cherry red and ye can’t sit for a week! I’m not leaving ye because ye did what was necessary to survive and protectourson. Ye have ye team, my team, ye godfathers, Trident Security, Carter and his lass, ye brother and always me to help ye now. Not one of us condemn or blame ye for the past. In fact, we, minus ye brother since he doesn’t know anything, yet, but the rest of us, we are in awe of ye with what we’ve found out in the last several days.”
“But they were all so angry about what I told them I’ve done!”
“Oh, lass! My bonnie, beautiful, clueless wife! Aye there were angry, but not at ye! They were angry ye felt ye needed to protect everyone alone. They were angry because ye shouldn’t have had to go through what ye did. Women, to the men ye have now surrounded yeself with, are to be cherished lass. Women are to be loved, treated like goddesses. Eddie, his team, Pattrick, his team, and even my brothers all strongly believe women are to be treated as the goddesses ye are.”
“Even the ones who carry guns and kick ass on a daily?”
“Aye, love. Even lasses like ye! Women like ye need that treatment even more, because ye see shit what we warrior men are trained or even raised to protect ye from. Just because ye carry a badge and gun doesn’t mean I love ye less or differently. It means, to me, that I cherish ye more than I do now, because of what ye have seen on a daily. Ye deserve more of my love than I have given in the past. I am a blessed man because of ye in my life, I am blessed ye are my wife and mother of my bairns.”
“I just don’t understand what I’ve done to deserve you. I keep waiting to wake up and realize I’m dreaming.” Pratt sobbed into her husband’s hands that framed her face.
“Ah, beautiful, ye deserve love just by being ye! Ye are so beautiful inside and out that it makes my heart burst with joy when I see ye, hear ye voice or even feel ye next to me.”
Sobbing a little harder, Pratt started hiccupping and gasping for air as she cried. “I love you!”
“Aye, Laura Renee MacCleod, I love ye more than ye will ever know!”
Highlander leaned down, fusing his lips to Pratt’s. He started nibbling a little on her lips, trying to calm her down. As Pratt started to sniffle, Highlander nibbled and licked her bottom lip.
Pratt opened her lips slightly, licking her lips, teasing Highlander with her taste. Pratt whimpered low in her throat when she felt Highlander’s hands move from her face.
“It’s okay lass, give me ye lips, love!” Highlander demanded in a low voice.
Highlander’s hands roamed from Pratt’s face up to her wet hair. Highlander gripped her hair tightly with one hand as he angled her head just how he wanted. His other hand gently wrapped around her throat and walked her gently back towards the shower wall. As soon as Pratt’s back touched the wall, Highlander went for the kill.
Gripping her hair tighter, squeezing just slightly around her throat, Highlander growled as he feasted on Pratt’s lips, drinking in her moans as they escaped her throat. Highlander devoured her kisses as if he was a man starved for her taste.
Pratt’s hand reached up to grab Highlander’s forearms, grasping to hold onto something, afraid of drowning from her need for Highlander’s taste. Their tongues dueling for dominance in their fight for pleasure.
When Pratt started to shift from foot to foot, Highlander broke the kiss, leaning his forehead against hers. Leaning down, he turned the water off then moved the shower curtain before breaking contact with Pratt.
Before Pratt could say or ask anything, Highlander pulled her out of the shower, replaced his hands in their original position on her throat and hair as he leaned down to start kissing her again. With their lips fused together once again, Highlander slowly walked Pratt backwards out of the bathroom towards the large king bed they shared in their hotel room.
When the back of Pratt’s knees hit the bed, without losing his grip on her hair and on her throat, Highlander placed one of his knees on the bed, helping her slowly lower herself to the bed. Once Pratt was laying prone on the bed, Highlander started to kiss and tenderly bite his way from her lips to her breasts.
Removing his hands from her hair and throat, both hands cupped her full breasts, massaging them as he teased her nipples with his tongue. Loving the whimpering sounds coming from Pratt’s throat, Highlander leaned back down sucking one of her needy hard nipples into his mouth, sucking, nipping and licking it into an even harder point.
