by Lynn Burke
Devon is dead.
My stomach heaved, but nothing came out.
Dead. And, Skye is safe.
I thought I’d sobbed my emotions dry the night before while Reid had held me in his arms, but guess not.
Footsteps shuffled behind me, and a hand gathered my hair back away from my face.
“You okay?” Reid asked, the love in his voice pouring over me.
“Y-yeah,” I managed through the tears coursing down my cheeks.
I sat back on my heels and tipped my head back.
Reid smiled down at me. “Skye’s sleeping peacefully, Devon will never bother you ever again, and I love you so much I would have gladly taken a bullet fifty times over to keep you both safe.”
More tears.
He pulled me up and held me close, my cheek pressed against his bare chest. Hard as a rock and smelling so damn delicious … the water works stopped.
“Better?” he asked, thumbs running circles on my back.
I murmured an affirmative, and he stepped back enough to look me full in the face. “How ’bout we hit Friendly’s for breakfast and take a walk on the beach?”
“What time is it?”
“Almost nine.”
“Shit!” I tried to pull away. “I never called off work!”
He tightened his hold on me and smiled. “Already taken care of. I called Blake, too, letting him know I wouldn’t be in until Monday.”
A heavy sigh ripped through me, and I sagged against his chest again.
“Come on.” He swung me up into his arms and walked back to his bedroom.
Skye let out a soft snore before plugging her mouth with her thumb and rolling away from us.
Reid chuckled and laid me back on the bed. “Scoot over,” he whispered and crawled in beside me. He pulled the comforter up to my chin and stretched out on his side, facing me.
“I was so afraid I was going to lose the best thing I’ve ever found,” he whispered, pushing my hair back from my face, dark eyes serious. “Thank God you messed up that curtain, otherwise I would have waited for your text telling me Skye was sleeping. I would have been too late.”
I closed my eyes and snuggled into his soft mattress and satiny sheets. “You win, Reid.” I opened my eyes again and met his stare. “I can’t say no to my heart anymore. I love you. I want this.” I placed my hand against his heart, and he grasped it with his own, brought it to his lips, and kissed my knuckles. His slow smile brought a twinkle to his eyes and the stirrings of desire to my body.
“I want you so bad right now,” he whispered and kissed my knuckles again. “Think we can get away with slow and quiet?”
“Goggie!” A little knee poked me in the back, and I groaned as Skye crawled across me to get at Reid.
“Welcome to my life,” I muttered. “I can’t even pee in peace.”
“Morning, Munchkin,” Reid said with a chuckle, helping her to sit on his chest.
She grasped the hair sticking up on top of his head and did a little dance, her bum rubbing his chest. “My goggie!”
Reid’s laughter shook the bed. “Yes, I’m your goggie, and always will be if your mom agrees.” He glanced over at me, eyes twinkling, lady-killer smile flashing his white teeth.
“Sex tonight sounds real good,” I whispered, sliding my hand beneath my cheek.
His brow rose. “Promise?”
“Sex. Tonight.” I smiled for the first time in twelve hours. “Promise.”
Epilogue
2 months later…
Jessica ran from the breakfast table to the bathroom for the third morning in a row. I glanced over at Skye. “Mommy’s not feeling good again.”
Her little eyebrows furrowed. “Ah, canny?”
“Candy?”
She nodded, whiskey-colored eyes wide.
“You think too much candy made mommy’s belly hurt?”
She nodded again.
I smiled and ruffled the mess of blonde hair knotted from sleep in her new big girl bed I’d set up the day before in my guest room. “Pretty sure it isn’t candy.”
“Ugh.” Jessica stumbled back into the kitchen a minute later, the back of her hand to her mouth. “What the hell is wrong with me?”
I chuckled and pushed her chair out again with my foot. “Where are you in your cycle?”
Her face scrunched up as she plopped back down. “I-I’m not sure. Between Devon, moving in with you, and—” Her head jerked my way, her pale face taking on a sickly pallor. “Oh, shit.”
“Well?”
“I think I skipped last month.”
“You sure?”
She bit her lip and moaned, eyes filling with tears.
I pushed back from the table and held out my hand. “Get over here,” I said, wiggling my out outstretched fingers.
Took her a few seconds with indecision in her eyes, but she finally complied. I tugged her down onto my lap and kissed her good and hard.
Skye giggled.
I didn’t pull back until Jessica relaxed in my arms. “Skye,” I said, still smiling at the love of my life, “I think my days of being the third wheel in this relationship are over. We’re going to be a full-on four-wheel drive in eight months or so.”
A tear slid down Jessica’s cheek, and I swiped it away with my thumb. “I’m getting tired of asking, Jessica Lindy, but now will you marry me?”
She laughed as more tears rolled. “Ye—”
I kissed the word off her lips, and Skye giggled some more.
The End
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