The bedroom door opening took Carter’s attention from her schedule. Nathan walked into their bedroom quickly and darted straight for the bathroom.
Carter’s brows furrowed and a smile pulled at her lips. What on earth … Not too long after his speedy entrance into the room, Carter heard the sink running.
“Everything all right, honey?” she asked.
The water went off, and a few seconds later, Nathan came walking out of the bathroom. He had removed his sweats and T-shirt, and now he wore only a pair of light blue boxers.
Carter sighed. Nathan was so damn gorgeous.
“Aleksandr made me jump through hoops before he finally fell asleep.” He fell back on the bed and rested his head in her lap.
Carter smiled and sat her tablet on her side table. “Did he?” she asked, gently running her fingers through his hair.
“When I put Maksim in his crib he got right under his blanket and went to sleep, just like he always does. Usually Aleksandr falls asleep after a few animal crackers and warm milk, but tonight he cried every time I put him in his crib. I had to walk around with him until he fell asleep. Even then it took me a long time to pull my shirt out of his little death grip without waking him.”
“Did you feel his forehead? He could be getting sick. You know how they get when they have a cold.”
Both twins were the same when they got sick. They would cling to their parents, refusing to be anywhere without them. Carter hated to see her babies sick, but even with runny noses they were so cute. They were extremely cuddly whenever they had a cold. Their little noses would be all red, and their big, innocent eyes all teary. They were just so perfect.
“Damn,” Nathan sighed. “He did feel a little warm when I kissed his forehead, but I’m not sure if that was because he’s getting a cold, or because he had his head on my shoulder too long.”
Carter nodded. “Well, he was fine when we went swimming earlier today. We’ll just see how the night goes. If they’re sick, they’ll wake up tonight.” It was never just one of them sick, it was always the both of them at the same time.
“They told me about their day. I’m glad you all enjoyed yourselves.”
“It was fun,” Carter said with a smile. “How was the rest of your day?”
Since they spent most of the evening every night with the boys, when they were in bed was the only time they got to talk about their days with each other.
“Other than that run-in with Niko, my day went well.” A frown fell over his face at the memory of it. “It took everything in me not to kill him for talking to you the way he did.”
Carter leaned forward and kissed his lips. “I know, bubby,” she whispered. “But that’s just the way things go for me sometimes. Men always assume they can talk to me anyway they like until I show them otherwise.”
“How often does that happen, Carterina?” He sat up and faced her. “And why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you can’t fight all of my battles, honey. This lifestyle is not kind to women who are active in it. It takes us a lot longer to earn respect, and even after we earn respect we are still tested.”
He shook his head. “I’m not okay with that. I wish you would tell me these things so that I can handle it.”
Carter sighed and sat back against the headboard of the bed. “Me running to you for something like that would only make me look weak, Nathan. This is just something women have to go through in every lifestyle. My mother had to endure much worse, and look at her now. No man or woman would dare disrespect her because they know the consequences are not worth it.”
Nathan’s jaw ticked with annoyance. “Your mother had to do it alone because she had no one that would stand up for her, Carterina. I can make this stop. Why the hell is it always so hard for you to just let me?”
“Nathan, there are times when I need you to speak up for me, and there are times when I don’t. Today, dealing with Niko, I needed you, and you were there for me. I would have just cut out his tongue, but Mickey held me back, and you came in and handled the situation the way it was supposed to be handled. I am grateful for that, and I’m grateful for you, but you have to realize that I will never be the woman that runs to you crying every time someone hurts my feelings. You know I’m not wired that way. If someone pisses me off, I handle it. Right after its handle, I let the shit go. I don’t tell you because there’s no reason to. If an idiot disrespects me, they get fucked up. Honestly, it’s always been that simple for me.”
“Carterina—”
Carter shook her head, poking her lips out in a pout. “No, bubby,” she whined and slipped her arms around his neck. “I don’t want to argue about this. I’m sorry that I’m so frustrating. I’m crazy, I know this, but it’s true. I’m capable of defending myself.” She sighed, deciding that she should give him an example. “Once, a Jersey mob boss that invaded Salerno territory called me ‘the Salerno’s sexy black bitch’, then he turned it up a notch by grabbing my ass. I beat him with a baseball bat that he’d had framed because it was signed by Derek Jeter.”
Nathan laughed. He pulled her to straddle his lap, and wrapped his arms around her waist. “So I guess you don’t need me, huh?”
Carter gave him a soft kiss on his lips. “Of course I do. You’re my husband, Nathan. There will always be times when I need you. I just want you to trust me to know when those times are. Trust that I won’t hesitate to tell you if I’m in trouble, if I need your help.”
Nathan nodded. “I trust you. And I love you, too.”
“I know,” she whispered.
“I know, you know.” He smirked. “Just like you know that I’m going to find that Jersey mob boss, chop off the hand that touched your ass, and cut out the tongue that aided him in calling you a bitch.”
Carter nodded. “I know that as well, yes,” she laughed. She gave him a kiss, then gazed into his eyes. “You’re a good husband, Nathan. I couldn’t have dreamed of a better husband, a better father for my babies.” She pushed a strand of hair back from his face. “I feel very … blessed.” Carter had never been a religious person, but this had to be God’s love for her, right? Nathan, and the twins; her life, her family, both were just too good to be true.
Smiling, Nathan rested his forehead against hers. After kissing her lightly on the lips he laid back on the bed. Carter rested comfortably on top of him while he ran his hand up and down her back. She loved nights like this, when they weren’t so tired that they’d just pass out. She loved spending time with Nathan, just her and him. They never even had to say a word to each other. It was always enough just being in a room with him, being held by him. He made her feel safe, like nothing could hurt her when she was in his arms. He was her superhero.
My Super-Man, she thought as she placed a kiss on his chest. “I’m starting to get more and more excited about our week vacation coming up, bubby. I’m going to miss the boys when they go away with your dad, but I am happy that you and I are going to have some time for just us. I miss having you all to myself.”
He brought her in for a kiss. “Me, too,” whispered. “Who knows, maybe baby number three will be conceived while we’re away.”
Carter saw the hopeful gleam in his eyes and smiled, even as her brows furrowed in confusion. “You want another baby? Already?”
He chuckled. “Why wait? The boys are almost two …”
“Yeah, only two. I was thinking you’d want to wait until they were like ... five. I mean, it took me six damn months to get the weight off. And what if we have twins again, Nathan? We’d be screwed.” More like she’d be screwed. She remembered how huge she’d been when she was pregnant with the boys. She had barely been able to see anything in front of her. She hadn’t been able bend, and she couldn’t even put on her own damn shoes.
“We wouldn’t be screwed, baby, we’d be blessed,” he said with a soft smile. “Come on. I know you love being a mama as much as I love being a papa.”
“I do love it.”
“Let’s have another one. Then
we’ll wait however long you want for the next one. Just one this time, I promise.”
“You can’t promise that, Nathan,” she giggled.
He chuckled and laced his fingers with hers. “You’re right, I can’t. But I can promise you that this is a good idea.”
“Can you?”
“Yes, I can. Come on, Carterina. You’re telling me that you don’t want to try for a baby girl?”
Carter had hoped he didn’t see the answer to that in her eyes, but his wide grin indicated that he had seen it.
“See, I told you,” he laughed.
Carter bit his chest and he laughed harder. He was such a jerk. He knew her weakness was the possibility of them having a little girl. Her baby boys would be good big brothers to a little sister. Just the thought made her smile.
“I see that smile, Carterina. You want to try for another baby, too.”
Dammit! I do want another baby. “What the hell, Nathan? I can’t believe you just made me want another baby,” she groaned.
“Blame me if you want. You know you wanted to try, too,” he chuckled. Reaching forward, he tucked her hair behind her ear. “We make some beautiful babies, Carterina Salerno.”
“We do,” Carter agreed with a bright smile. “Sometimes I still can’t believe they’re ours; that we made them.”
“They look so much like us.”
“They act so much like us. Maksim is a sweetheart like you. He’s polite, and caring.”
Nathan nodded. “But he’s headstrong, just like you. And I swear to you he’s a little genius. So much so, that he terrifies me sometimes.”
Carter laughed. “Seriously, Nathan?”
“Yes, seriously, woman. And Aleksandr’s a genius, too. He’s just more of an—”
“Evil genius,” Carter finished with an amused grin.
Nathan chuckled. “He acts like you.”
“Yes, he does, but he has that finger pointing syndrome, like you. Always quick to say something’s someone else’s fault.”
“That’s because it is everyone else’s fault. It’s not his fault that he does everything right all the time.”
Grinning, Carter sat up. “You’re arrogance has plagued our son, bubby.”
“You say arrogance, I say confidence.” He smiled slyly. “You should be proud of our boys for being so perfect like their papa. They will face much jealousy for it in the future.”
Carter leaned forward and kissed his smiling lips. “You’re so silly, Nathan.” It was one of the things she loved most about him. Those who didn’t know him would never believe how funny he was, how much he loved to joke around after he stripped off the hard demeanor that he had to have at work. He was indeed perfect. The perfect man, husband, and father. “You’re a good papa,” Carter whispered. “Do I tell you that enough?”
He tucked her hair behind her ear. “You tell me every day, and every day it means more to me than the day before. Thank you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered in return, right before she captured his lips in a deep, passionate kiss.
Carter inhaled, reveling in the incredible feeling of his mouth moving against her own; the softness of his full lips, the gentle caresses of his tongue, the low, involuntary moans he released into her mouth as he kissed her deeply.
God, she loved him so much. They’d been through hell over the past few years, yet he had managed to give her countless moments of pure happiness. He’d found her when she was lost, gave her a family, a smile, love, two beautiful, perfect twin boys, and she wanted more with him. So much more with the love of her life. She wanted to give him anything and everything he wanted from her. She wanted to make him as happy as he’d made her from the first moment they’d met each other as children.
Slowly, Carter pulled back from his lips, sat up, and removed the shirt covering her body. Her husband’s stormy gray eyes darkened, and he slowly dragged his gaze over every curve of her naked flesh. He wasn’t even touching her yet, but Carter could have sworn that his hands were all over her. It was the hot, tingly feeling she felt every time they were about to make love, and it spread, gradually, throughout her body. The moment he did touch her, it felt as if her whole body was consumed by a fire of sensation.
His hands made a slow journey up her thighs. “Did you take your pill today?” he asked, his eyes never ceasing their perusal of her body.
After the boys were born, Carter had started taking the birth control pills instead of going for the shot again. She’d been taking them faithfully up until yesterday.
She shook her head. “No,” she whispered.
Resting his hand on her waist, Nathan sat up and placed his forehead to hers. “So this morning?”
Carter smiled. “We technically started trying for a baby.”
Nathan kissed her lips, then her jaw, and finally the sweet spot on her neck. Carter moaned while lacing her fingers in his hair. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed her body closer to his, loving the feel of his soft growl against her neck when her sex ground against his erection. Her head fell back, allowing him more access to her neck. Nathan sucked, licked, and nipped on her neck, making her body quiver with every sharp bolt of pleasure shooting through her.
“Make love to me, Nathan. Give me another baby boy, or a baby girl with your eyes and your big heart.”
Nathan turned them over and laid Carter gently on her back in the middle of their bed. He brought his mouth back to hers and kissed her softly. “Give me a baby girl with your smile, and your beautiful laugh.” His gentle kisses began to journey down her body. “She’d grow to be smart, confident, and strong. Just like her mother.” He pressed a kiss to one of her sensitive nipples.
“Nathan,” she moaned breathlessly, “please …”
Right before he captured the nipple in his mouth, he sighed as if he knew how much enjoyment it would bring both of them. Carter gasped as her back arched from the bed and her fingers sunk into his silky hair. So amazing! Everything he did to her body never ceased to drive her wild. She tried her best to catch her breath, but the struggle seemed pointless. Her head fell back and she surrendered to the sweet, hot sensations sweeping through her body. He released her nipple and continued his journey down her body, pausing at her navel and running his masterful tongue over her scorching hot skin, while pressing his hands to her inner thighs, opening her legs wider to him.
She closed her eyes and bit down on her bottom lip in effort to prepare herself, but there was no use. Nathan delivered a quick lick to her sensitive clit, and she jumped back from the host of sensations that shot through her body. It felt so damn good that she swore it hurt. Nathan held her firm and moaned right before he gave her one long lick that made her body shake. She gripped the bed sheet tightly and released a cry through clenched teeth. “Nathan!”
“Quiet,” he whispered with a sly smile, “I’m concentrating.”
When his mouth descended on her once again, Carter nearly exploded. Slowly, he worked her until she nearly lost her mind, desperate with need for release. He took her higher and higher, then pulled back the moment she nearly fell over the edge. Carter wanted to kill him, but she couldn’t release her death grip on the bed sheet. She could only beg him even though she knew it would make him want to torture her even more. By the time he began the slow journey up her body, she had tears in her eyes and sweat beading on her forehead. When his mouth neared hers, she grabbed his face impatiently and kissed him hard. She’d past the point of mere arousal and was now nearing desperation. She swore if he didn’t make love to her now that she’d die.
“Make love to me, Nathan. Now.”
And God, did he make love to her. No more games. Pure, fiery passion ignited, and surrounded them like a raging wildfire. Carter spent the next two hours either holding on tightly to the bed, or clinging even tighter to her husband, crying out her pleasure while their bodies moved together in a perfect, fluid, motion. Nathan held on to her just as tightly as they both slipped into that familiar world that was
reserved for just the two of them.
He made love to her in a way he hadn’t in what seemed like a lifetime. Though their sex life was still satisfying, lately—with the kids and work—it seemed that the time they spent together was always so rushed.
Tonight was different. Tonight they took their time, reacquainting themselves with one another. Tonight was their reassurance that no matter how much work they had, or how much parenting had lessened the time they spent in each other’s arms, they were still connected, they were still solid, and they were still one. Their bond—the love that tied them together—was impenetrable and ever growing.
She loved him more. She didn’t think it was possible, but she did. And that love bound her to him. So even when they weren’t in the same city, even when they were fighting a never-ending war, or chasing their sons around the house, they were still Nathan and Carter. Even now, as she lay in his arms gazing at him while he slept soundly after hours of making love to her, all she could do was think about how lucky she was. Pressing her ear to Nathan’s chest, she listened to the strong beating of his heart. She hadn’t asked him about it, but she knew he’d increased security around the house, and she was positive he’d only added it based on one of his gut feelings. Over the years, Carter had come to find that his feelings were to be trusted. She didn’t know what he felt coming, but she hoped to God it wasn’t Silas. Closing her eyes tightly, she silently prayed the same prayer of protection for her family that she’d been repeating every night for the past eighteen months. However, this time she added to it, praying that her biological father wouldn’t do anything stupid and attack their family after all of the progress he’d made with her and Gabriel throughout the last year. They barely talked about Silas Steele because Carter had been sure that all of the gifts he’d been sending to the twins meant they were at peace. But now she wasn’t sure. She just had a bad feeling.
She didn’t want a war with Silas … she just didn’t.
Chapter 26: Daddy Day! 1 week later…
“Aleksandr Salerno!”
Nathan used the exact same tone that his father used to get his attention when he was a child. Just as Nathan had done, Aleksandr turned to face him with a look of innocence, acting as if he weren’t just doing something that he knew he shouldn’t have been doing.
Dangerous Beauty: Part Three: This is War Page 50