Burn For You
Page 4
“It took them a year?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “Endless paperwork, back and forth… but it turns out I actually had quite a bit saved up.”
Carlos eyes flicker to my baby bump. “You’ll need it.”
“Like you can talk,” says Ryder. “How long have you been going steady now?”
“Never!” exclaims Carlos, hands on his hips like some sort of superhero. “And with that I’ll make my exit.”
“Bye, Carlos,” I chime.
He backs out the door, Ryder breathing a sigh of relief now he’s gone. “Where were we again?”
I take hold of his hand and press it down my panties.
“Oh, yes. That’s it.”
I close my eyes and let his fingers dance, the man of my dreams, my everything, doing what he does best.
FIVE YEARS LATER
“Daddy, daddy, we need more water!”
Our baby girl, Alice, is running around the backyard with Ryder, garden hose in hand and one of Ryder’s old uniforms on that looks about twenty sizes too big for her. From what I can gather, they’re attempting to put out an imaginary fire in the playhouse.
“Quick!” yells Ryder, scooping her up in his ripped arms and holding her high so she can spray water into the middle of the small house.
Somewhere in the mix Alice loses control of the hose and they both giggle and squeal as they’re drenched, Ryder lowering her to the grass and the two of them tumbling and laughing along.
It’s the most beautiful sound in the world.
I didn’t think life could be any better after I got pregnant, but I was wrong. Every time I see Alice and Ryder together, I melt anew. You’d think five years living the dad life would have turned Ryder into a saggy mess, but he’s as chiseled as ever.
I’m certainly sagging here and there, but Ryder never seems to mind. He still treats my every curve and imperfection with the utmost care and attention.
He’s a Captain now, area command, which means he’s out of danger’s way for the most part—much to my relief. He says he can do the most good being at the top. In fact, he won Captain of the Year at the annual awards last week, and I couldn’t have been prouder seeing him up there in his new suit, the man of my dreams, a husband and father and lover.
I still think back to my time in the hospital, the stoic man who sat beside me and stole my heart. As for my stalker, well, he died in prison four years ago, got caught in some bad business there. I’ve hardly thought of him since.
Alice runs up to me, her chestnut hair spilling around her shoulders. She has the most incredible eyes, her father’s eyes. “Did you see us, Mommy?”
I sweep her up in my arms, Ryder crushing us in a three-way bear hug. “Yeah, Mommy. Did you see us?”
“Quiet you,” I laugh, pulling them tight and never wanting to let them go.
*
With Alice safely tucked away in bed, Ryder enters the bedroom, lying down beside me and pulling me into him. “How’s the restaurant going?”
It’s been three years since I opened Alice’s and business is better than ever. “We might get a Michelin Star.”
He kisses my forehead. “That’s my girl.”
“How about you?”
He lifts my thigh over his, hand running up to my backside. “Enough about business, baby, isn’t it time for pleasure?”
“Do you ever stop?”
He pulls himself back, staring deep into my eyes. “Baby, if you could see what I see, you wouldn’t be able to resist either.”
I press my lips against his then, let his hard body swivel over me.
It’s been five years since I was saved, but time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.
Because it’s love, life, and the little things.
And I can’t get enough of it.
###
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Title Page
COPYRIGHT
VIP SIGN-UP
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
EPILOGUE