I needhim.
But trying to sniff the tears away is a failure, and Warren stiffens when he discovers them. “Darlin’, why are you crying? Do you not want this?”
“No! Don’t leave me.” I wiggle my arms and legs free and hook them around him to stop his retreat.
“I’m not gonna leave you, wife, but I didn’t mean to make you cry. We don’t have to do this if you’re not ready for it. I can just hold you instead. I can wait as long as you need me to.”
I swipe at my eyes in the darkness with one hand. “Youdidn’t make me cry.” Not on purpose, at least. Now there are even more tears because he acknowledged the damn things. “Having you hold me and be with me like this makes me feel safe and protected. I just…I’m feeling a lot of other things right now, too. Just know that I love you and I want this and these are good tears. So don’t stop. I know that it’s you here with me, and I want this more than anything. Please…don’t stop.”
Warren hesitates, thumbing away the fresh wetness at the corner of my eyes before lowering onto me again. “Nothing can ever keep me away from you, Mara.” His cock pushes back into me, and a sob of stark relief leaves me at the full sensation. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. So much.” The tears never fully cease, but between kisses that burn as much as they soothe and the slow, lazy thrust of his hips, the heated desire builds again. I surrender myself to the love he so freely gives, and when my release comes, it triggers his in a wash of husky groans that makes mine last even longer. Panting, he slips out of me, and before I can protest the loss of him, he latches onto my breast.
“Ah,” I cry out at the unexpected sensation of his facial scruff rubbing the tender skin. But the intimacy is too intense, the closeness too peaceful, to push him away, so I cradle his head until he takes his fill of my milk and moves on to the other.
I must fall asleep from exhaustion and release before he finishes, because the next thing I know, I wake up to tiny hands patting my face and a heavy weight on my legs. And when I open my eyes, I see the most beautiful sight in the world—my little girl babbling and beaming at me before turning at the last moment and launching herself towards her papa. Patches—the heavy weight on my legs—gives ashort bark before bathing the back of my hand in soft doggy kisses.
“Morning, wife.” Warren’s voice is scratchy with sleep, and when his gaze catches mine and softens, a tender seed of resolve sprouts in my heart.
This is a beautiful life, and everything is going to be all right.
I have all I could possibly need here in bed with me.
I refuse to let Montgomery Blackwood steal any of my happiness in this new life I somehow found myself in.
CHAPTER 26
WARREN
When one Shay hurts,all of us do. And I’ve never been more proud and grateful to have my family than when I see them draw a circle of protection around Mara and Emmaline.
Like they did today. Momma and Dove showed up on our doorstep this afternoon with husbands behind them, bearing wool, ribbons, and lace, and announced to a bewildered Mara that the ladies were going to knit blankets for both Emmaline and Dove’s unborn baby while the menfolk took all their “dry, boring talk” to the porch. I didn’t mind being kicked out of my own house because it’d do Mara good to have some time with just the women. I even took Patches and Emmaline with me so she wouldn’t have any distractions.
I know everyone’s been worried about her. So was I. A full week of nothing breaking through her misery? That was honestly unsettling as hell because I didn’t know how to fix it aside from hunting Blackwood down right then and there. That’s all about to change, though, because now there’s less than a week until the poker tournament. I even put two newshiny brass shells just for him in the double barreled shotgun hanging over the fireplace. Right alongside our family portrait and the six of spades I carved for her.
“Hey there, little miss.” Pop plays peekaboo from the rocking chair at my left, pulling a high pitched squeal from his granddaughter every time his face is revealed. I catch Mara’s gaze through the window and help Emmaline wave a chubby fist to her. She waves back with a soft smile and then holds up a yellow square of wool for my mother’s inspection.
“Am I doing it right?” Her voice is a little muffled through the glass, but I can still make out every word. “It looks crooked to me.”
“Exactly like that,” Momma answers warmly. “A little crookedness doesn’t hurt a thing when it’s made with love.”
Guess the love’ll make up for how loose it is, too. I’m proud of my wife, though. For someone who never learned how to knit, she sure is taking to it. And she looks fetching as hell doing it, especially in an apron that highlights her waist and hips.
“Jed, lookahere,” I call when Emmaline stands on my thighs and bounces up and down just like a pent-up spring. So damn cute. But when my brother doesn’t answer me, it only takes me one second to realize he likely won’t hear a word I say. It’s a wonder he doesn’t fall off the porch railing as he stares through the window at Dove with a lovestruck smile plastered on his face.
Part of me’s jealous, because what would it be like if my wife was in the family way? Emmaline’s mine, through and through, but I can’t help but wish I could have been there with Mara for all of it instead of just the birthing.
Maybe one day.
Emmaline’s still jumping like a jack rabbit, so I nudgemy brother’s foot. Nothing. This time I try a kick, and he loses his balance and pitches forward. Guess I got his attention now.
“The hell was that for?”
His scowl is pretty impressive, but at this point, Emmaline’s traded her grasshopper legs for limp worms and given up her antics, so I just shrug. “You hoping for a boy or a girl?”
The mention of his baby wipes all traces of irritation from his face, and he takes the rocker next to me when Pop leaves it to play fetch with Patches. “Was hoping for a boy, but now that I see how dang cute Emmaline is, I’m not as sure. Hey there, Little Bit.” He smiles real big as she grabs his finger and gnaws on it. “Sure is a good thing you look like your momma and not your papa here.”
“Hey!” This time I target his stomach with an elbow, and Emmaline’s instant giggles make me do it again, much to Jed’s dismay.
