Total pages in book: 33
Estimated words: 31414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
“Love you, too, baby.” I leaned in for another kiss, but she danced away to explore the place.
When she stepped into the hallway and noticed the number of doors lining it, she raised a brow, eyeing me suspiciously. “This is awfully big for just the three of us.”
I smirked. “Don’t worry, baby. We’re gonna fill it.”
She turned, one hand on her hip and an adorably sassy expression on her face. “Oh really? Just how many kids are you expecting me to pop out, exactly?”
I stepped closer, brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and kissed the corner of her mouth. “However many you’ll give me.”
Tamara’s breath hitched, and she looked at me with that expression that always made me feel like the luckiest man alive.
Taking her hand once more, I led her to the nursery and pushed the door open.
Her gasp was everything.
Because this one was all me. I hadn’t let anyone step foot in this room. It had to be fucking perfect for my girls.
The room was warm, painted in soft sage and cream, bathed in the sunlight slanting through gauzy curtains. The crib, dresser, and rocking chair were all in honey-colored wood. Stuffed animals lined the shelves, and the bedding set was the exact one she’d pinned three separate times without realizing. I had Deviant print out her old boards and spent weeks getting every detail right.
“You did this?” she asked, voice thick.
I nodded, then frowned when her eyes got suspiciously wet. I hated when she cried—even happy tears.
With a knowing smirk, she wiped away the moisture, then walked slowly into the room. She trailed her fingertips over the dresser and the top of the rocking chair, then bent over the crib to adjust a stuffed bunny.
I brought the baby carrier over and carefully set it inside the crib.
Tamara ran a fingertip over our daughter’s soft cheek, then bent to kiss her forehead. Calida let out a soft sigh in her sleep, and my heart was so full it fucking ached as I watched them both.
After a minute, I stepped behind Tamara, gripped her hand, and pulled her gently toward the door.
“Come on,” I rasped, picking up the baby monitor as we stepped out of the room, then quietly shutting the door.
Tamara let me lead her down the hall, past the other doors, to the primary bedroom. I opened it and guided her inside. This was the one other room I’d done alone. It was our space, and I hadn’t wanted to share it with anyone, not even to let them help me pick out the paint color for the walls.
She walked to the center and did a complete turn, taking it all in. Low lighting, dark wood furniture, and a massive bed already turned down.
“It’s beautiful. Perfect.” Then she turned to me, eyes dark and knowing. “I take it we’re not unpacking?”
I growled low in my throat, already backing her toward the bed. “Later.”
My mouth caught hers in a kiss that promised everything.
Because tonight, I was going to worship her all over again.
And tomorrow, we’d start filling another room.
EPILOGUE
TAMARA
The late afternoon sun slanted through the windows of the Old Bridge free clinic’s staff lounge, casting a gleam against the bulletin board I’d helped decorate earlier that week. The task had fallen to me because I was the only mom on the nursing staff. It was not exactly fair, but I didn’t complain since I was happy to have a flexible position that allowed me to use the degree that had taken me so long to get while still having time for my husband and our children.
After what I’d seen at the mobile clinic, on top of what had happened to my mom, I wanted to help for real. Talon had encouraged me to go to nursing school, and I never would’ve made it through without him.
Juggling a growing family and my studies hadn’t been easy, but I’d been luckier than most students because I had such a great support system between him and the Iron Rogues crew. If it weren’t for Blade, the club’s doctor, I wouldn’t even have this job as a part-time float nurse since I’d only gone back to school long enough to become an LPN.
“Don’t forget to clock out, Tamara,” one of my coworkers called as she walked past.
“Got it,” I smiled. “Thanks, Marie.”
I finished entering a note into the charting system, then logged out and tucked my badge into my tote. My shift had ended a little early today, and I was excited to get home.
I stepped out into the fall breeze and zipped my jacket. Old Bridge was finally getting chilly, and I couldn’t wait to get home and curl up under one of the soft throws I’d left on the couch.
Talon’s bike rumbled to life from a spot on the far end of the parking lot before the door even shut all the way behind me. I grinned as he rolled to a stop, that familiar scowl tugging at his lips even though I knew he’d been watching for me since I texted that I was off early.