Caressing her face, he bent and gently kissed her. “How are you?” he asked.
“Better now that you’re home. But how are you? Is everything okay?”
He touched her nose and rolled a shoulder. “It’s over, and that’s what counts. The team is in one piece although a bit worse for wear. There’s nothing else to say really.”
She nodded. Lacey always understood. Not every little thing had importance. Some shit just was. The sooner they could put this episode behind them, the better.
“I brought you a present.”
Her shocked giggle was what he expected. “Airport gift shop?”
“Yep,” he proudly declared. “Had several hours to kill during a Paris layover. They have interesting stuff in the duty-free shops.”
Lacey laughed and sat up. “Do I have to wait for this present? What’s your plan, darlin’? Just gonna discuss it?”
He grabbed her chin and kissed her with fierce passion. “Hold on.”
Running down the hallway, he retrieved his carry-all and hunted through it till he found the right bag.
“Sorry it’s not wrapped,” he quipped when handing it to her.
She eyed him with mocking suspicion and carefully accepted the bag.
“It won’t bite.”
“Mmmhmm. That’s what your son said before he chomped down on my thumb.”
Conscious of his sleeping baby daughter, he laughed quietly.
Reaching into the bag, his wife pulled out a piece of ruffled white fabric. “What’s this?”
He took it from her hands, shook it out, held it up and stood to demonstrate. “It’s a French Maid’s apron, see?”
His wife’s mouth fell open.
He shrugged. “Thought it might come in handy when you’re feeling up to it.”
Her stunned expression was award-winning funny. “Remember our first Thanksgiving? Was one of the first big meals you made in our kitchen. You wore a cute little apron and nothing else. I recall the vision fondly.”
After a couple of heartbeats, she laughed. “I think I love you.”
“Just think?” He snickered.
She dropped the apron and twined her arms around his neck. “It’s been six weeks. We have the all-clear if you want to initiate a proper homecoming.”
He looked at her doubtfully. He remembered feeling like a bit of a pig after Dylan was born even though they waited the full amount of time. That didn’t mean, though, that they weren’t doing everything else under the sun.
“The longer we wait, the better it is for you,” he reminded her.
She looked at him slyly and batted her eyelashes. “The doctor says orgasms help things get back to normal.”
It required a superhero effort to keep a straight face. “And when was the last time you had an orgasm?”
Cam thoroughly enjoyed the rosy blush that moved onto her cheeks. He smiled and sniggered at her embarrassment.
“Manual or vibrator?” he asked.
She whispered so the baby wouldn’t overhear. “You were right. The little bullet packs a wallop.”
He looked at the sleeping baby and then at his beautiful wife. “I think I should perform a careful inspection, don’t you? If things seem okay, you can show me what you like about the bullet.”
“Show and tell?” She giggled.
“Something like that,” he answered before swooping in for a ravishing kiss.
“Honey, I’m home,” Drae hollered. He dropped his bag by the front door. Three seconds later, Raven was jumping on him, yipping happily.
A happy voice hollered, “Daddy home!”
A huge smile spread across his face. Wearing a pair of Woody from Toy Story pajamas, his son came running at him.
“Daddy! Daddy!”
He swept him up and laughed. “Miss me, big guy?”
“No sues,” Danny babbled with a jerky headshake.
Victoria came around the corner from the kitchen. She was wearing a big smile and a baggy t-shirt that said Baby on Board.
“He means shoes.” She chuckled. “He’s showing you that he hasn’t any shoes.”
She came to him and stood on her toes for a hello kiss. It was as if he was coming home from work at the end of the day. The perfectly normal vibe was exactly what he didn’t know he needed.
“How was your day?” he asked.
His wife chuckled. “Well, let’s see. Meghan quit her job. Heather too. So that means Sophie and I are suddenly in charge of everything. Fun times. But Heather now has the time to play kid wrangler, so that’s kind of cool.”
He smiled.
“Uh, I should warn you about something, though,” she said.
Drae arched a brow. From the corner of his eye, he swore Danny did too.
“FiFi got loose in the shop, and she didn’t exactly behave.”
This right here, he thought with deep satisfaction, this is what I live for. Everything else was bullshit.
Danny hit his chest a couple of time and made a mad face. “FiFi poop.”
Victoria’s giggle reset his whole world.
“Yeah, sorry. We cleaned it up, but you know how that goes.”
He just spent a month in the Middle East chasing terrorists and bad guys. Guns were drawn. Blood was spilled. People got fucked up. But nothing had ever been more important or sounded more wonderful or welcome than learning there was dog poop in his woodshop.
“I have news too,” he told his family.
“Oh?”
Danny lay on his shoulder and rubbed his face on Drae. It was good to be home.
“Yeah. So listen, hon. I sort of quit my job.”
Victoria started to laugh. Then she stopped and looked at him more closely when he didn’t say he was kidding.
“You’re serious?”
Feeling his son against his chest and seeing his wife’s pretty eyes was all he needed to know he was making the right decision.
“Yes, I am. We haven’t figured out all the details yet, but the three of us are done. We’re over it. Alex hired Domineau to run the programs, and we’re gonna headhunt a general manager.”
She stared at him with shock on her face.
“I don’t wanna do it anymore, honey. And honestly? I don’t need to. Money isn’t exactly an issue.”
“Well, okay,” Victoria murmured. “What does this really mean, Draegyn?”
“It means, dear wife, that I wanna use my talents in another way. Making stuff. Teaching the kids how to make stuff and take care of things.”
He could tell by his son’s dead weight that he was drifting off to sleep. She snickered softly so as not to disturb him.
“Did you get hit on the head or something because that wasn’t exactly eloquent. You wanna make stuff?”
He bent and kissed her luscious lips. “Yep, that’s me. Draegyn St. John. Maker of stuff and things.”
A hushed laugh erupted from his wife’s throat. “This is so cool.” She sniggered.
“It is? I expected more of a reaction, babe.”
She wrapped her arm through his and walked them slowly to the elevator.
“Well, Sinjin, let’s tuck our boy in and then you can describe in detail all these things you’re going to make while I work up a scenario in my head to ask Alex for a raise.”
“What? Why?”
The elevator took them to the second floor. Victoria opened the door for him and Danny.
“If you’re going to be a slacker, someone has to bring home the bacon.”
He thought the comment especially funny. “Uh, I didn’t know he still paid you.”
“Are you serious?” She giggled.
“Yeah. Mostly, I thought you just hung out with him because he’s a huge pain in the butt when not closely monitored.”
In Danny’s room, he looked around at the familiar decorations and felt complete peace. He lowered his precious boy onto his bed and carefully tucked him in. Victoria stood by his side and kept her hand on his back. When he looked down at her, she s
miled into his eyes. He caressed her growing bump.
“I love you,” he murmured.
The love he felt for the little woman who never took his shit was too big for his heart to contain.
“I missed you. We missed you,” she added with a glance at Daniel and a pat on her belly. “Are we truly done with this crap, Draegyn? Can we move on?”
“Yes. You have my word, Victoria. None of us plan to look for trouble. We have kids to raise and wives to make crazy. That’s enough.”
Her bright, happy smile made him feel complete.
The team came home. The past was put in its place. They could focus on the future now.
She kissed their son, turned out the bedside light, and took his hand.
“Come on, you. Nerves overtook me, and I cooked everything in the kitchen so I hope you’re hungry.”
He caressed her face with his fingers. “My nerd queen.”
Victoria smirked, crossed her eyes, and made a goofy face. “Silver-tongued devil. Such a way with words.”
They clung to each other and had a good laugh. All was right in the St. John household now that he was home and back with his family.
Tomorrow would have to take care of itself.
Meghan was waiting at the end of the walkway when Ben pulled up. She couldn’t stand waiting inside because it robbed her of a full minute before she could touch him.
The passenger door on the far side of the car swung open, and her husband climbed out. She very nearly hyperventilated with excitement when she saw him.
Resembling a grizzly bear, he had a full beard and looked like he needed a shower and a haircut.
He came straight to her and folded Meghan in a powerful embrace.
She wanted him to know she heeded the message in the flowers. “I stayed strong,” she whispered. “I kept faith that you’d come back.”
He pulled back and framed her face with his hands. “I knew you would.”
Burying her face in his neck, she breathed kisses on his skin. He moved her until their lips met, and he kissed like a whisper. He quickly pulled back when one or both of his babies kicked him but good.
“Holy shit, that was strong. Are you okay?”
“I think they’re happy you’re home.”
He ran his hands all over her giant bump and grinned. “You’re huge.”
“Twins. Remember?” she answered with teasing sarcasm.
She waved to Ben, who was watching them like a smash hit rom-com. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure, double M.” He saluted them both and got back in the car. As they walked along the path to the open front door, he drove off.
Before they entered the house, she stopped him. “I don’t want to take the last month into the house. So tell me everything I need to know right here.”
“We did what we said we were going to do. It’s done. No regrets.”
“Good,” she said. “I hope you made them pay.”
He nodded and then blew her mind in a very straightforward way. “And I’ve hired Domineau Rivera to take over the Justice programming.”
“What?”
“I’m done, Meghan. We all are. The truth is we could retire today, shut down the agency, and never feel a financial pinch. At first, it was fun, and then it was challenging, but now, it’s just work. I’ll figure out something for the agency as a whole. We’ll still need a managing director for the business end of things—but Domineau can do the trainings with an eye patch and one hand in her pocket. It took some convincing, and she only promised eighteen months, but it’s a start.”
“Well, if we’re confessing career changes, Sophie has taken over at the family center. Same thing. Eye patch and one hand. She’s amazing.”
His smile crowded Alex’s entire face. “Drae wants to play Geppetto full time. Some Zen bullshit about wood and working with his hands. I’m pretty sure that’s your influence, madam. So actually, it’s on you that the agency needs new management. Once we lose 007, the brochure gets dull and boring.”
“Where does Jason fall in this whole thing?”
Alex chuckled. “Lacey, right?”
She nodded. “Got a whole lecture one night. She doesn’t want the kids confused and feels that nosy people ask invasive questions over names and stuff. It’s hard, though. I can’t think of him as anything except Cameron.”
“Well, Lacey can go stuff some cookies or something because he’s going to be Uncle Cam and that’s that. If you ladies want to call him something else, what-fucking-ever.”
“Oh, thank god.” She laughed. “I’ll blame it on you. Use that Uncle Cam line.”
“It’s a good one, huh?”
She elbowed him playfully. “Danny calls him Uncle Cam, so don’t get all high and mighty. Not unless you’re stealing material from a toddler now.”
He had a good laugh and hugged her tight. It felt wonderful to hear his voice and feel his presence.
“Are we done here?” she asked. With her foot out, she drew a line across the doorway. “All bullshit remains out here. Our anniversary is a few hours away, and that’s all I want to think about.”
“Our anniversary? You’re right! Well, damn. Good timing on my part.”
“You’re an ass,” she quipped.
“Yet you love me.”
She beamed into his face. “I understand from your housekeeper and Calder that there’s a returning warrior ritual.” She waved him into the house. Soft music played on the sound system.
“There are two beautiful steaks waiting to go on the grill and a full ice bucket with a bottle of Glenfiddich. Just for you. Only for you.” She smirked with a pat of her belly. “Pussy,” she coughed into her hand.
“And after you eat, I’ve been instructed that a steaming bath and quite possibly a cigar will be in order although not at the same time unless you want me to throw up.”
They were in the kitchen when he pulled her into his arms. “Did you miss me?”
His eyes told her the kidding and light banter were at an end. Her beast needed something more, and nothing served that purpose more than honesty.
“I can’t breathe without you, baby.” She searched his face. “Until you were gone, I didn’t know.”
Maybe her words made sense, and maybe they didn’t. She wasn’t sure it mattered. He was so much a part of her that without him, she didn’t feel complete. The babies kept her going. His baby humans were her life.
He nodded solemnly. “One more thing,” he muttered. “I did that mission for you. For the kids. So nothing can come at us from the past and bite our asses.”
“There’s nothing else?”
“No.”
She thought for a minute. “I have to ask you one question, and you can refuse to answer.”
He scoffed at her remark. “Baby, I’m an open book with you. Ask away.”
“Did you, Parker, Cam, or Draegyn ever sleep with Domineau?”
“Excuse me?” he bellowed on a gale of laughter. “Are you insane?”
“Alex,” she grated in her bossy, teacher voice. “It’s a perfectly reasonable question.”
“No, it’s not. For you, anyway. Let me guess. Is this Tori? No,” he said with a headshake as he answered his own question. “So it’s Angie’s fear? That Parker did Domineau?”
“Or the other way around,” she said with a haughty sniff.
The snotty teacher tone and annoyed sniff earned her a blazing look that set fire to her lady parts.
She could tell from the way his jaw clenched that he was trying really hard not to smile.
“Full disclosure. I’ve seen her naked. Not in a sexual way,” he quickly amended when she grabbed the front of his shirt. “Shit happens in a war zone. But I can fully swear that neither Parker nor I have ever touched her.”
“And what about the other two?”
He looked at her like she was genuinely crazy. “What about either of those dumb fucks do you imagine she’d get off on?”
It was her turn not to laugh
. “Okay, cool,” she cheerfully yipped. Wrapping her arm through his, she kicked the whole topic into the dustbin and went back to taking wifely care of her manly beast.
She took him into the courtyard. A fire crackled in the enormous outdoor fireplace and a hundred strings of fairy lights draped the trees and along the high stone wall.
A warm breeze ruffled her hair. He touched her face and played with a long curl. “Tell me about the kids. Is everything okay? What have I missed?”
“Five weeks to go. Getting crowded in there. My blood pressure is good—she’s not concerned about that.” She gasped. “The last ultrasound was amazing. I could see their faces.”
“Can I see it?”
“Of course,” she purred. “I have the picture on my phone. And I kept all the ribbons and bows from my birthday to show you.”
“I’m so sorry I missed your big day.”
“Oh, pfft. Whatever! The only big day I care about is the debut of these two.”
He stroked her belly and measured it with his touch. “Are you sleeping okay?”
“Alex,” she drawled. Grabbing his shoulders, she tried to shake him. “Honey, I’m fine. Hush now. Let me take care of you. I’ve been thinking about this all day as I waited.”
He gave in and let her weave a magical homecoming spell. They ate fantastic steaks with his favorite grilled veggies. She waited on him hand and foot, refilling his drink and stroking his arm as they talked. It was heaven. The best of times were simple ones like now. Relaxing together, laughing, talking, touching. It was extraordinary intimacy.
After dinner, they held hands and walked up the big staircase. He wanted to stop by Abuelita’s portrait and say hi. She watched her magnificent beast connect with his ancestral past with a jaunty bow—the way he’d been taught as a child. He thanked Dona Lucia for keeping watch over his family.
In their bedroom, she took control—rather like a stern nanny because his wandering hands were quite busy.
“I’m going to run you a bath, and just to be clear, I won’t be joining you.”
“You’re no fun,” he teased.
“I’ll make it up to you,” she assured with a throaty chuckle.
He soaked for a long time—most of the time alone. When she felt certain he was somewhat relaxed, she joined him and pulled a bench from the dressing room next to the tub. He held her hand and smiled when she propped her iPad up and started the slideshow she’d put together of everything that happened while he was gone. The last two pictures were from the latest ultrasound.
Everlasting (Family Justice Book 6) Page 45