Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Altogether or just right now?”
He growled, and Hannah whirled around to face me.
“Pa, where are the boots?”
“In the closet in Lucy’s room,” I told her.
She shot up the stairs with Lucy right behind her.
“I feel like I borrowed the hat for a Halloween costume at some point,” Kola said, getting up from the table to cross the room to the stairs. “Now I just have to remember where I put it.”
“Never mind,” Sam ordered him, “come back over here and siddown.”
But he wasn’t listening and took the stairs in threes, just like Sam had earlier.
“Really?” Sam grumbled, turning in his chair to face me. I heard the sound in his voice, and because I could read him better than anyone, I could tell he was actually annoyed.
Walking to the kitchen, I went through and then into the laundry room, hopping up onto the counter by the sink. Sitting there in the dark, I had a moment to think of how lucky I was to have my family home safe with enough supplies to take care of not only my children but their friends as well.
“What’re you doing?” Sam snapped at me from the doorway. “Why’re you sitting in the dark? You need to––”
“Come here,” I said softly, holding open my arms.
“There are kids to––”
“Sam,” I murmured with a sigh. “Come here.”
He moved quickly, and when he reached me, he bent into my arms, wrapping his around me and clutching me to his chest. The long exhale told me everything I needed to know.
My husband loved, adored, utterly lived for his children, and to be trusted with the safety and protection of their friends was, for him, a privilege. He was a caretaker at heart; it was why he rose through the ranks with the marshals service, because his superiors knew that the men who worked for him would be sheltered and secure in his vigilance. All of that was pressing down on him at this moment in time, and because of that, he needed me. I made the man bulletproof; I gave him his armor to face the world. I was his strength, his home, and his foundation. I grounded him. It was what every partner did in successful long-term relationships. None of that mattered at the moment, however, because lately, with extra kids around, visits from family and our friends, Sam and I had both been exhausted. After days of us focused on other people, my dear, sweet husband was grouchy and growly for one singular reason—he wasn’t getting enough attention.
Sam was not a selfish man…except when it came to me. He wanted me to hold his hand. He wanted to watch TV with me, have me sit beside him on the couch, curl up on the rug or have me draped over him as he fell asleep. If he was going to play Monopoly, he wanted me sitting beside him arguing over the rules. The flipside of having a big strong alpha man in your life was that there was never time to do your own thing. Moments to yourself, for reflection or meditation? Not so much. There was no staying up late, alone, downstairs. I could stay up all night and read if I wanted, but it had better be done propped up on pillows, in the bed, with my reading light on. Sam needed constant contact with me, touching, hugging, kissing, and of course sex, which had also been neglected lately.
When I lifted my legs to his hips, locking my ankles behind his back, I felt the shudder roll through him. “I miss you,” I whispered against his throat, kissing up to his chin before he dropped his head so I could take his mouth.
I wasn’t gentle, letting him feel how much I wanted him as I coiled my arms tighter and pressed against him.
He broke the kiss, panting, as I wriggled in his hold, my breath hitching, catching on a whimper. His smile, seeing me, hearing me, was smug, the curl of his lip so very sexy.
“You want me?”
“Yes,” I croaked out, ready to beg him to go to the garage with me. The back seats in his SUV were collapsible, and the windows were tinted even darker than the law permitted. There were perks to being chief deputy. “Always.”
He made a sort of rumbling, purring sound and then kissed me again, this time sending tingling electric sparks all though my body. My cock especially took notice of his closeness.
“Okay,” he huffed, breaking the kiss, taking hold of my thighs, his forehead against mine as he closed his eyes. “I’m not gonna be a caveman and carry you out to the garage––” We were so on the same page. “––but since I’ve been dreaming about you…I’m taking what’s mine tonight. You understand?”
It was the sound of his voice as he said it, low and rough, and the look in his eyes, all heat and promise, that made my mouth go dry. “Whatever you want,” I assured him, breathless, my heart pounding. “You know that.”