Page 65 of State of Retribution (First Family #9)

“You just had to toss in clumsy, didn’t you?”

“Did you hear anything else I said?”

“I heard it, and most of it was nice, but the clumsy thing sort of ruined it for me.”

“Is there any way I can redeem myself?”

She shrugged. “We’ll see.”

“Have you had enough of the cake?”

“I might have some more after we pack.”

He stood and held out a hand to help her up. “Dance with me.”

“To what?”

He could tell he surprised her when he pulled his iPhone from his pocket and used the music app to pick a song.

“I thought you had to give that up when they gave you the BlackBerry.”

“There’s no phone or internet service on it.

But the music app still works.” He drew her into his arms as the Bon Jovi song “Make a Memory” came on.

“Remember the night I came home from making the ‘welcome to Virginia’ video as a senator to this song blasting through the house while you read Congress for Dummies ?”

“How could I ever forget? That was the night I learned about Seersucker Thursday and when our favorite saying—fill her buster—was born.”

“That’s one of my best memories from here. What are some of yours?”

“The time I told you not to pee on me to mark me when you were afraid Avery Hill was going to steal me from you.”

He scoffed. “I was never afraid of that.”

“Sure you weren’t.”

He spanked her ass and made her laugh. “What else?”

“The first time Scotty came to stay with us for the baseball camp, and we were so freaked out about what kind of mac ‘n cheese to buy for him.”

“As I recall, we got it just right where he was concerned.”

“Because he’s the perfect kid for us.”

“That, he is. I’ll always remember your dad coming busting through the door in his chair, smiling from ear to ear because he could go somewhere on his own.”

“Thanks to you and the ramp, which ranks right up at the top of my reasons why I love Nick C.”

“Remember how you thought someone had bombed the place and called in the bomb squad?”

Sam laughed. “Mortifying.”

“This is where you brought the twins to stay the first night they were with us.”

“And then Miss Picklestein came to determine whether our home, which was fortified by the Secret Service, was safe for them while trying not to stare at your hotness. When you came out of the gym all sweaty with no shirt on, I swear she spontaneously combusted. She is, after all, only human.”

“Shush with that.”

“All those glistening muscles and rippling abs.” Sam gave an exaggerated shiver. “The poor thing was lost.”

“Lalala, I can’t hear you.”

She laughed at his usual resistance to talking about his hotness. “Harry and Lilia met here, and we staged that get-together to bring down Melissa Woodmansee. That was a night to remember.”

“I’d prefer to forget how crazy that got.”

“All in a day’s work.”

The next song was their wedding song, “Thank You For Loving Me.”

“Ah, I love this song,” she said. “It’s so perfect for us.”

“Sure is.”

“We really ought to do some packing.”

“If we have to.”

Nick released her but only because he knew she’d be back in his arms in a few short minutes. As he followed her across the hall to her closet, he was right there when she opened the door to an empty room except for a few things that’d been left at his request.

She spun around. “What the hell?”

He put his hands on her hips and kissed her. “Did you honestly think I was going to waste precious time alone with you packing boxes? It’s all done.”

“This is a full-on hoodwink.”

“Nah, it’s just a night alone together. Look in the box.”

She bent to flip open the flaps and found the pillows and blanket he’d asked them to leave behind.

“I was thinking we could re-create our first night here, when we made a camp in front of the fireplace. I think we even used that blanket.”

“We did.” She smiled up at him. “This is perfect. I hate to pack, and I hate to move.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

“What about the kids’ stuff?”

“It’s already been moved. It’ll be brought up to the residence tomorrow for them to go through what they want to keep and what can be donated.”

“You think of everything.”

“I didn’t want to waste any time with you. Shall we go make a camp?”

“Yes, please.”

They carried the pillows and blanket into their room. Nick lit the electric fireplace while she arranged the pillows on the floor.

“I remember thinking that having a fireplace in the bedroom was the most bougie thing I’d ever have in my life, but of course you had to go and top that a million times over with butlers and ushers and chefs.”

Smiling, he unbuttoned the peach silk blouse that he’d been dying to get his hands on since the moment she appeared in it earlier. Her stretchy black pants landed next to it on the floor a minute later, followed by his sweater and jeans. “I do what I can for my person.”

“Trademarked.”

“That’s not the exact phrase, so the trademark doesn’t cover it.”

“Quit being a smarty-pants if you want to get laid tonight. I already know you’re the smartest person in every room you’re in. You don’t have to keep proving it to me.”

“I’m just saying…”

“Clearly, there’s only one way to shut you up.” She went up on tiptoes to kiss his face off. “Thank you for this, by the way.”

“Anything for you.”

With the music still playing in the background, he spun her around and into a dip to lower her to their setup on the floor.

“Wow, smooth move, babe,” Sam said as he came down on top of her to nuzzle her breasts.

“I practiced that in my head before I did it.”

“I’d give it a ten out of ten for execution—and you didn’t throw your back out. That’s impressive.”

“Oh please, you’re lighter than a feather.”

“Sure I am.”

“I love every delicious curve.” He released the front clasp of her bra and pushed it out of his way. “I love your soft skin and the sexy scent of your skin and the way you taste. Everything about you does it for me.”

“I feel like I’ve said this before, but you know I’m a sure thing, right?”

Smiling, he said, “Don’t interrupt me when I’m on a roll telling you all the things I love about you.” He sat back to help her out of her panties and his boxer briefs before coming back to kiss her.

“I love being here all by ourselves.”

“With agents outside.”

“Shhh, we’re as alone as it gets these days.”

With her arms and legs holding him hostage, he kissed her as he joined his body to hers and felt himself completely relax even as the blood pumped through his veins the way it always did when they were together this way.

She was the only one who could make him forget the relentless demands he lived with every other waking moment.

“Mmm, Samantha… How does this get better all the time?”

“I don’t know, but I never get enough.”

Her phone rang, and they groaned.

“Don’t stop. I’ll get it after.”

He wished the whole world would leave them alone for a few hours so they could wallow in the time to themselves.

The phone rang again.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he withdrew from her and flopped onto his back, knowing she could no more ignore a ringing phone than he could.

She got up to retrieve her phone from her coat pocket. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He took advantage of the opportunity to watch her walk around naked.

“Hey, Trace? What’s up?”

Sam went completely still. “For how long?” After another second, she said, “I’m coming.”

“What’s wrong?” Nick asked, alarmed by her tone and expression.

“Ethan is missing.”