by Penn Rivers
We raced. I won.
He said it was because Hulk muscles are waywayway bigger than tiny Noah muscles. Later, I found a can of green beans under his pillow.
My grin crept up my cheeks.
He was mine too.
Now they’d stay with me permanently and Rosa—or Rosita, I’d learned was her real name—could have the place for herself.
I opened my mouth to mention it to Gemma, but was cut off by the faint rattling of her snore. Staring down at her, my heart contracted, that sweet ache in my chest returning the way it always did… always would.
Sleep pulled at me too, but nature overrode it, dragging me out of bed and to the bathroom. When I finished, I washed up and went back to Gemma.
But I’d barely reached the bed when a terrified cry drifted down the hall from the spare bedroom.
Not a spare, I reminded myself. Noah’s.
Gemma stirred, a look of panic twisting her face. This happened often. Under the spell of sleep, it was hard to remember they were safe now.
“I’ll go,” I told her.
She stared to argue, but I leaned in, kissing her lips soundly.
“Lay down. Go back to sleep.”
I pulled on my boxers while she snuggled under the blankets. Noah cried out again, and I jogged down the hall to his room.
He huddled in his little bed, the covers pulled up to his chin. We hung a picture of Hulk over his bed to keep the bad guys away, but sometimes it wasn’t enough. Sometimes he just needed to be held.
“Hey, buddy,” I whispered, kneeling beside his bed. “You have another nightmare?”
He nodded, little tears tracking down his cheeks.
This was still new to me, knowing what to say to a kid. But we’d bonded some, and I was determined to get this dad thing right. It’d be hard, because I didn’t have the best examples to follow. So I went with the best part of me. The part that made me a good bouncer. The part that led me to Gemma. My instinct.
“It’s okay. Nightmares happen to everyone.”
His little shoulders eased and his eyes went round. “They do?”
I nodded. “Sure. Yeah.”
“Even you?” he asked skeptically.
“Absolutely.”
He turned on his side, blanket forgotten. “No way. How could even you have nightmers?”
I smirked at the way he said the word, but didn’t correct him. He’d get it right soon enough.
I ruffled his hair and his suspicious grin grew. “Because. I told you. Everyone gets nightmares. Even me. Even your mama and Nana.”
He frowned at that, and I wondered if it was the wrong thing to say.
“I hope they don’t have scary ones like I do.”
All I knew was to be honest. “They do, Noah. I’m sure they do. But it’s okay because there’s always a way out of a nightmare. Did you know that?”
He shook his head, eyes big.
“Yeah. It’s true. You just wake up.”
“What if I can’t?”
“Then you close your eyes so you don’t see the scary things until you do.”
“What if I don’t?”
“You always will. Because that’s how nightmares work. It’s… a law. The law of nightmares. You will always wake up. And when you do, you won’t be alone. You’ll have your mama, or me. Or nana. Or…”
“Hulk!”
“Or Hulk. Yeah. See? So there’s nothing to worry about.”
Noah nodded, thinking. “But they are scary though.”
“I know. This is where we learn to be brave. In our nightmares.”
He pushed out his chin looking like he was ready to go to war. Toddler war, but still.
“I can be brave. I’ve done it a few times.”
“I know. And you’ll keep doing it. Because you’re tough shit.”
I snapped my mouth shut as Noah let out a peal of giggles. Shit. I’d said shit. Pretty sure you weren’t supposed to say shit to a four-year-old. Shit.
“Yeah, uh… let’s not tell your mom about that.”
“His mom heard.” Gemma’s voice came from behind me and I twisted to find her looking sleepy yet amused. She strolled over, bending low to drop a kiss to the boy’s head. “Don’t talk like Kane does, okay honey? Not until you’re forty at least.”
I shook my head, giving him a wink. “Twenty.”
He giggled and yawned, curling under his covers again.
I waited by the door for Gemma to tuck him in before we headed back to our room.
She climbed into the bed—the one I’d hated for so long—and all I could think about was the way her night shirt rode up to show her sleek thighs and the perfect, sexy curve of her ass.
I didn’t dread getting into this bed now. Didn’t fear the nightmares or the guilt of being born. Didn’t despise the dirtiness of sex and lust that had been taught to me. Because she was there. My girl. Safe and warm. And no matter what memories haunted me at night… I could always wake up. Best of all, when I did, I wasn’t alone.
I pulled her close, breathing in her scent. It was laced with what we’d done earlier.
“Do you remember what you promised me?” I murmured against her cheek.
“Pancakes in the morning, right? Wasn’t that it?”
I pinched her bottom to let her know I was serious, and she pressed a punishing kiss to my lips.
“Of course I remember. Forever. My safe place forever. And I’ll be yours.”
“For eternity,” I reminded, sealing it with a kiss.
And they lived naughtily ever after.
*************
Thank you for reading Kane and Gemma’s story. I hope you loved these characters as much as I loved writing them! I hope to return to the Sassy Sapphire soon but in the meantime, I hope you’ll venture over to my other pen name and check out some of those books. Under P. Jameson, I write sexy paranormal romance with growly alpha males and sassy, curvy heroines. You can start reading my P. Jameson books for FREE by clicking HERE!
About the Author
Penn Rivers is the secret pen name of a USA Today Bestselling author. She likes sweet things. And hard things. And things that are both. In other words, she loves a bad boy with a hard shell and soft center. Also, she might be describing her favorite candy right now. You'll never know.
She promises to bring her readers stories of hot-as-hell alphas who want naughty-ever-afters.
You can find her on Facebook HERE or her website HERE. Or for new release alerts sign up for her newsletter HERE (or copy/paste this link to your browser: http://eepurl.com/cFANzH ).
Happily ever always!