Page 4 of Fall of a Kingdom

“No one likes a braggart, Flynn.”

His resonant laugh echoed across the marina. I slid off my heels and let out a low moan of relief. The yacht was lit up well and we easily traversed the steps and boarded astern the starboard hull of the massive catamaran.

“I know they hurt you, hen, but damn…they make your legs look a mile long.”

“That’s why I wore them,” I said, absently rubbing my hip. “The pain is worth it. Especially when you look at me the way you do.”

He brought my hand to his lips. “Check in on the lads?”

“Yes.”

They were three peas in a pod. They slept in one of the yacht’s forward cabins, the twins on a set of bunk beds and Hawk in a single bed on the other side of the room. Flynn and I had the yacht custom designed with the children in mind and had placed them in an area where they could spend time together when they wanted away from us.

Flynn and I crept quietly so as not to disturb them, but they slept soundly, and our presence went unnoticed. They had burned off hours of energy playing on the beach, and nothing took it out of them like the sunshine and sea spray. Even after their baths, they still smelled of sun and sunscreen. Their mouths were slack with the deep sleep reserved only for children.

I still couldn’t believe they were ours.

Flynn’s eyes caught mine and with the aid of the moonlight streaming through the porthole, I could see the love for his children permeate his expression.

He gently tugged me from the cabin, and we headed back toward the aft stateroom and closed and locked the door. It was expansive and lavish, more so than a normal sailing vessel. But that was how we lived. We had a crew and a Captain that saw to our every need and ensured we stayed on course.

“What do you have planned for me?” I asked as I turned my back to him and gestured to my zipper.

He gently tugged it down and then grazed his lips along the sensitive skin of my neck, causing me to shiver.

“Get into a bathing suit. The black one that barely covers anything.”

Laughing, I spun and wrapped my arms around his neck. “How do you know I even brought the little black one?”

He grinned. “I made sure it was packed before we even set sail.”

I kissed his lips. “Your wish is my command.”

Flynn’s arms tightened around me. “You’re so compliant tonight, hen. I’m not sure how I feel about it.”

“You like it.”

“I do. But I don’t trust it.” He winked.

I slithered into the black suit that drove Flynn wild, and then turned to look at myself in the mirror. He stood next to me, wearing a pair of navy-blue trunks. I marveled at the scars on both our bodies.

“Can you believe it?” he asked quietly, his eyes meeting mine in the glass.

“Believe what?”

His fingers danced across the bullet wound marring my abdomen. “We’re both alive.”

“We are,” I agreed, taking his hand and bringing it to my mouth.

He looked down at me, studying me. “There’s something on your mind.”

I hesitated and then nodded.

“Something big?”

I nodded.

“Something you’ve been thinking about for a long time?” he prodded.