“Did you sleep much?” Griffin’s night terrors don’t seem to happen that often anymore. Perhaps because we’re being woken almost every three hours, or maybe it’s not being in his bed alone anymore, or maybe because he sleeps with my gran’s Bible under his pillow. Either way, something has helped him.
“A little.” He rubs my feet, the feeling of his large, warm hands relaxing me more than I ever thought it could. I’m so not used to treatment like this. He spoils me daily with his affection, and I’ll never tire of it.
“That feels so good…” I moan, feeling the release of any stress and anxiety.
“I love your little moans, sweetness.” The hungry way he says it has my eyes opening to look at him. We haven’t had sex since the night we brought on labor. But right now, there’s heat in his gaze that I feel wash over me like I haven’t felt since then. My body isn’t recovered yet, though. There’s nothing we can do without the approval from the doctor. But we both want to. I feel it in the way he caresses me in bed at night before we fall asleep. How he kisses me first thing in the morning. I feel it in the way his hands linger on me when he drops Tommy and me off at the bakery, like he doesn’t want to leave. How he looks at me like I’m the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, even when I’m a complete mess most of the time lately.
“You do?” I offer a soft smile as my body continues to melt at his touch.
“Oh, yes, baby, I do…” His voice is a rumble, one that vibrates around the room. Griffin’s hands slow their movements on my feet, his thumbs pressing just enough to make me sigh again.
“You keep making those sounds,” he murmurs, quirking his eyebrow at me “and I’m gonna forget we’re on doctor’s orders.”
I glance down at Tommy, still latched to my breast, blissfully unaware. “You wouldn’t dare.”
His eyes flick to mine, dark and amused by my teasing. “Sweetness, I’ve been daring since the day I met you.”
I shift slightly in the rocker, tired yet unbelievably turned on, the movement subtle, but his gaze tracks it like it’s seismic. He knows me all too well.
“You need sleep,” I mock, in disbelief that he’s wanting me now with the way I look.
He leans in, voice low. “I need you.”
My breath catches. The air between us thickens. His hand slides up my calf, slow and deliberate, massaging my muscles and stopping just below my knee.
“A few more weeks…” I tell him, trying to tamp down the way my core aches for him. Knowing that I have a follow-up visit with Hudson at the six-week mark. Hopefully, we’ll get the all-clear.
“I would wait a lifetime…” he whispers, as Tommy cries a little, and our moment is broken.
For now.
31
Griffin
It’s a Friday night, and I opened my front door to the gaggle of geese and all their gifts. Once Savannah and Tommy were settled, I grabbed my keys and left the ladies to do whatever it is that they do. Giggling and cooing at the baby seemed to be what was on their agenda, but the way Savannah was smiling, I didn’t mind one bit.
Now as I sit with Tanner at the Whiteman’s Bar, I’m enjoying a whiskey and feeling better than I have in a long time.
“You’ve been quiet,” Tanner comments as we relax in the booth, music playing around us, people milling about. Everything feels clearer to me now. Sound has less static. My eyes seem more focused and notice the little things. Which is ironic, because I’m fucking tired. But with how things are going, no matter how tired I am, I couldn’t be happier.
“Got a lot going on.” I shrug as I take a sip.
“How’s she going?” he asks, looking at me like he knows I’m holding out on him. I give in, my words falling from my mouth in a rush.
“She’s amazing. What she went through… she’s a powerhouse. I can’t live up to her.”
Tanner's eyebrows rise a little. A knowing smile spreads across his face. “Sometimes all it takes is a good woman to put us on our ass.” He huffs a laugh before he takes a sip of his liquor.
“How did you know?” I frown, looking at him, feeling vulnerable. I don’t talk about my feelings; I don’t talk about myself much. Must be the lack of sleep that’s making me share more than usual.
“Know what?”
“That Victoria was the one?” I ask him, and he takes a deep breath, leaning back in the booth.
“Truth be told, I think I knew the moment I saw her. Up on the porch at Marie’s Place, shoulders back, hair blowing in the breeze…”
My chest constricts as Tanner gets lost in his memories. I remember the moment I walked into that bakery, annoyed that I had to help fix the place when I had a million other things to do. I was even more annoyed that I could just walk in, the door unlocked, and I remember striding to the kitchen, ready to yell at whomever was in charge about their lack of security and preparedness with opening a new business. But the moment I saw her, I stopped, watching her in the kitchen from the doorway, completely mesmerized. Then she burned her hand on the hot tray, and my legs moved, and I was on her in an instant.
