CHAPTER ONE
Gideon
“Night, Daddy.”Olivia beamed at me from her bed, her curly reddish hair fanning out over the pillow and her tired brown eyes holding the lingering excitement from the day.
“Night, Livy. Happy birthday.” I couldn’t believe the twins were seven now. The last two years had flown by in a great way.
“Thanks for the bestest day ever!”
I chuckled. “Sweet dreams.”
I closed the door and passed Owen’s room. He’d fallen asleep an hour ago while watching television downstairs, so I knew he was out cold.
The house was quieter since Dean, Rita, and Matteo had moved out. Their home had finally been rebuilt after the devastating fire that had almost claimed the lives of my children and nephew a couple of years ago. I often thought of that time, how I’d come so close to never hearing their laughter or seeing their excitement. Milestones that had almost never happened. There was only one reason the three of them were still alive andthriving today, and he was currently standing in front of the long mirror in our bedroom, naked.
It was part of his nightly ritual. The gene mutation, FAAH-OUT, had left him with the inability to feel pain or fear. Because of that, he had to do thorough checks of himself, take his temperature often and, at the insistence of my sister-in-law, Rita, go to the doctor often for in-depth physicals that often led to full-body MRIs. Her defense was: If he had something wrong inside, how would he know? That was a scary thought, and no one tended to argue with her.
Penn never disagreed with Rita, often letting her have her way, and he knew all the medical fussing was because she loved him. As much as I hated the fact that he had to check himself daily, it was one of my favorite parts of the day.
Pennsylvania Garrand’s body was a work of art. He stood at six foot two to my six foot five. His skin was perfectly tanned due to the summer and he was muscular, toned, whatever you called it. He exercised some, but he loved to do projects outside—much to the dislike of my landscaper and gardener. He kept his hair buzzed, and I knew that was so it was easier to see his scalp for issues, but it suited him. Through the reflection, his piercing green eyes were assessing his skin and hadn’t noticed me enjoying the show.
He was about to turn around to check out his ass, and I took that as my cue.
“Let me help you with this part.”
He met my gaze in the mirror and smirked. “I can do it.”
I hummed. “I know you can, but where’s the fun in that?”
He held out his arms and legs wide, looking like Leonardo Da Vinci’sVitruvian Man. I closed the bedroom door and sauntered over to my gorgeous man.
“Now, try and stay still so I don’t miss a single spot. This is important work I’m doing.”
He snorted. “Mmhmm, okay, Mr. Hendrix. Whatever you say.”
I slapped his ass, but he didn’t flinch. “Sometimes it’s annoying that I can’t give you a spanking.”
He shrugged as best he could in his position. “I mean, you can, but I won’t feel the sting. However, your hands on me…that would do something, for sure.”
I pressed a kiss to his shoulder blade, flattened my hands on his back, and slowly went to my knees behind him.
Penn’s ass was like a plump Georgia peach—more muscular, but I wanted to sink my teeth right in. I leaned closer and did just that.
“You’re supposed to be checking me for injury, not inflicting it.” I glanced up and saw him watching me over his shoulder.
“Excuse me, I’m a professional. Turn around and let me do my work.”
“So sorry to interrupt; continue.”
I placed one hand on each cheek and squeezed. “Damn,” I whispered.
“You act like you don’t do this every night.” Penn’s voice was alight with amusement.
“Shush, working.”
Penn’s body shook with laughter, and I smiled. I loved this man with everything I was and three years ago, that had not been something I’d ever believed would happen. After Ella died, I’d been sure my heart had shriveled up and gone. Then Penn had stormed into my life like a savior in the night and stolen it. My kids—hell, my whole family adored him, and Penn loved them in return.
I spread his cheeks open and gently blew against his hole, loving how it reacted.
