Page 34

MERIT

I pull back the fabric on the baby wrap carrier and look at Daire.

He looks like an angel when he sleeps.

Who am I kidding… he looks like an angel all the time. My baby. My son. My perfect little boy.

And I can’t get enough of him.

I decided to get us out of the house today. We both needed fresh air and sunshine, but I thought he would get too hot with us just sitting by the pool. So I decided we should take a walk through one of the parks in town. There’s a mile-long walking trail that winds through a wooded area, so the temperature is naturally several degrees color.

I’m about halfway into the walk when I hear something. It sounds like someone walking through the woods. Like feet crunching on leaves and sticks.

Who the heck would be walking through the woods when there’s a path right here?

I slow my stride and meander closer to the edge of the concrete, trying to see what’s out there. If there’s a damn bear or bobcat in these woods, I’m gonna be shitting a golden brick. And fighting like one of those MMA guys to keep Daire safe. I wrap my arms around him, hugging his little body close to mine. The hairs on my arms stand straight, and it feels like ants are crawling across my skin.

What the heck?

I hold my breath. Do I hear someone breathing?

Is someone out there?

Watching me? Following me?

Following us ?

Another stick cracks in the woods, right in front of me.

All of a sudden, Holt’s voice catches me by surprise. “I would run up there, but I don’t wanna scare you.”

I yelp. And a little pee comes out.

I spin around, catching him standing about ten feet behind me. “Holt Hill! You gave me a freakin’ heart attack. What are you doing here?”

He eyes me up and down, studying my body like he can see right through my clothes, and then his mouth turns up into that sexy, confident, signature smirk. “You peed a little bit, didn’t you?”

Bastard.

I snort, looking down to see if my scream woke Daire. Nope. Out like a light.

“Mer?” Holt draws out my name in a teasing voice.

I scoff. “Well, what do you expect? You scared me.”

His laugh is breathless and perfect. As always. He trots up to me, wrapping an arm around my waist and stealing a peek at Daire. Lovingly, he rubs his fingertips across the crown of our son’s head, brushing the soft hair away from his closed eyes. And then… he looks at me. I mean, he looks at me. Lifting his arms, he grabs his ballcap, and turns it around backward.

Slowly and methodically.

His right arm finds its way back to my waist and slides down to my ass, squeezing it. When I open my mouth to protest that someone may come along the path and see us, he uses that as an opportunity to kiss me. His mouth slants over mine, and his tongue pushes into me, licking and lapping, tasting and tangling.

There’s a thousand different ways for Holt Hill to kiss me. And just when I think I’ve had the best he has to offer… he surprises me. Each and every time.

My breasts grow heavy and throb, pulsing with passion…and milk.

Desire and longing pool low in my stomach, making my core vibrate with an ache for more. So much more than the quick ‘clit job’ he gave me last night. We played nice, and he kept his tongue and fingers all in exterior territory , if you will. I was more than happy to return the favor with a blow job, but both of us are definitely excited—and nervous—to get the clearance from the doctor for intercourse.

Eventually, he pulls away, peppering my lips and jaw and neck with sweet, tender kisses. “Four more days,” he whispers.

The countdown is officially on. I go to the doctor on Monday for my six-week follow-up, and we pray he will wave the white flag, giving us permission to do what we want.

What we need.

And if I’m truthful… the need is real. I need sex. I need his physical touch. My body is different than it was. Thoughts of inadequacy have plagued me off and on since Daire’s birth. Sometimes, the feelings come out of nowhere, so sharp and so fast, it’s like a knife to the chest. And Holt’s the only one who can stop the bleeding. He’s the only one who can stitch me and make me whole. I need him to love me and cherish me and make me feel beautiful.

And there’s nothing that makes me feel more beautiful than when Holt stares into my eyes while making love to me.

“Think you can make it four more days?” I tease.

His gaze drops to my lips. “If you wrap those pouty and perfect lips around my cock and drain me like you did last night, I can probably make it.”

Shit. My nipples are hard.

“And what about me?”

His head lowers, and his breath whispers across the shell of my ear, sending shivers down my spine, one slow inch at a time. “There’s my girl. Greedy and ready for more? I can fuck that clit with my tongue. I watched the cum pour out of you last night, that beautiful little pussy of yours begging for more. And I can give it to you, baby. If you want my tongue and fingers on you for the next four days, you can bet that fine ass I’ll give it to you.”

And… Daire starts to cry.

We both frown and look down at our wriggling son, our feverish and lust-fueled trance broken.

“Maybe he doesn’t like it when we talk dirty,” I say, thinking about what we just exposed his ears to.

Holt just laughs and reaches into the baby wrap so he can wrangle Daire into his arms. I hold back the fabric, giving him easy access. “I bet he doesn’t mind. He’s probably thinking how incredibly lucky he is to have a Momma and a Daddy who love each other so much. A Daddy who wants to do nothing but worship the ground Momma walks on.” He leans over and gives me a peck on my kiss-swollen lips.

In his arms, Daire settles down, eyes open, peacefully looking left and right to see what’s happening in this new and unfamiliar surrounding. Falling in step together, we continue my late afternoon walk. “What are you doing here?” I ask him again, curious considering he never answered me the first time.

“It’s Thursday. Remember…short practice today.”

“Oh, that’s right.” I shake the baby fog from my brain. “My days are still so messed up and jumbled.”

“I got your text saying that you were coming here, and I wanted to see you, of course.” He looks around, studying the trees, bushes, and flowers lining both sides of the trail. “I’ve never been here. It’s nice.” He nods over to his left. “What were you doing when I got here? You were looking in the woods. Did you see something?”

“It was probably a squirrel or a chipmunk.” I giggle, snorting on my laugh. “I was plotting in my head how I would attack if it were a bear or a bobcat.”

Holt bounces with laughter, making Daire grin sideways. Yeah… he started smiling last week. He’s a genius. And if anyone tells me it’s just gas, I’m gonna throat punch them. “And just how would you fight if a bobcat pounced out of the woods?”

I shrug and thread my arm through his, taking care not to tug too hard so he doesn’t lose his grip on Daire. (Like that would ever happen.) “I’d have to be scrappy. I’ve gotta protect what’s mine.”

He leans over and kisses my head, giving a soft and loving sigh when he breathes in the scent of my shampoo. “That’s right. You do.”

We’re getting close to the end of the trail, looping back around to the parking lot, when a woman jogs past us. She’s a perky little thing—perky boobs, perky ass, perky ponytail. And a perky little eyebrow that lifts and then winks at my husband.

My. Husband.

Red hot anger flares in my body.

How dare she? The man is holding his infant son in his arms.

And he’s obviously not a single dad. I’m right freakin’ here. Unless I somehow obtained the superhero power of invisibility without even knowing it.

Once again, Holt catches me off guard when he bends down and kisses my nose. “And there’s my girl, protecting what’s hers…right down to the scrunched-up nose.”

My jaw slacks open. “I don’t scrunch my nose.”

Holt turns around. Walking backward, he pumps Daire’s tiny fist in the air, like Daire’s the one talking to me. “Oh baby, that’s not a battle you’re gonna win.”