Page 36

MERIT

I wrap my legs tighter around his waist.

My hands chart the muscles of his back, wishing moments like this would never end. Sliding my fingers through his hair, I tug on the blond curls, just the way he likes.

Just the way I like.

His hot breath skates across my neck, and his facial scruff scrapes against my cheek. “Tell me,” he commands, playfully nibbling on my ear.

“Your cock is so big,” I jokingly tease. My raspy giggle strangles in my throat.

Lifting on his forearms, he pumps into me harder, making my back arch. I bite back a scream. “The other thing,” he growls.

My eyes find his. It’s still dark outside, so the deep blue of his irises is black. “I love you.”

He gives me a winning smirk. “There’s my girl.” Rising to his knees, he lifts my ass in the air and feeds his body into mine. Over and over and over. “So fucking wet. So fucking perfect. So fucking mine.” His calloused fingers play across my heated skin, setting it ablaze, scorching every part of me.

I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t different. If I said it didn’t feel different.

Because it does.

I mean, it’s just science.

Holt? His body is the same. Long and lean. Hard and muscular.

But mine is different. And it always will be. I grew a tiny human, and that same tiny human came out of my body.

Yes, the sex is different, but I actually think it’s better. My orgasms last longer. They’re more intense, which I didn’t even know was possible. More than that, our emotional connection is stronger. He’s my husband. Forever. And we made a family. Together. It might not have been the most conventional approach, but we arrived at the same place, nonetheless.

And trust me, we are counting down the days until we can get rid of the condoms. I only started taking birth control pills last week, so we’ve been having to play it safe with Holt’s self-proclaimed super sperm. Much to his chagrin. Apparently, he made a promise to himself while I was pregnant that he would never again—in his life—wear another condom.

Seeing as how I am the one in control of my pussy and can withhold it from him if I so choose, he quickly modified his promise. I told him that if he wanted to stick it in this momma, he had to wrap it up until the birth control pills take effect.

“Merit.” My name is a whisper on his lips, letting me know he’s close.

I reach for him, only able to grab his thighs because of the angle. “More,” I beg.

That’s another thing. My orgasms may be better, but it takes me longer to get there, simply because I spend the first five minutes of each romp thinking I hear Daire cry.

My plea spurs him. Holt never wants to leave me unsatisfied. And because of that…I stay truly satisfied.

All the time.

He shifts his position. Bracing one hand on the headboard, he lowers his body onto mine, careful not to crush me, but using his pelvis to create the perfect amount of burning friction against my clit. “Rub against me, baby. Give that greedy little clit what it needs.” His other hand grabs my hip, digging into my soft skin with a bruising force, determined to mark me with his love for days to come.

Holy crap.

It hits me like a freight train. Bliss. Wonderful and pure bliss. Unable to help myself, I cry out. Holt captures my scream in his own mouth, kissing the holy hell out of me, not even caring we both have rancid morning breath.

And then he stops kissing me. Stops even breathing.

His own orgasm is so intense, I worry his heart might stop beating. I put my hand on his chest to reassure myself.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It hammers in a fast rhythm, soothing my nerves.

Eventually, he chuckles and slowly rolls off me. Pulling me against him, he kisses the top of my head. “You afraid I’m having a heart attack?”

“Well, you did kiss my morning breath. That’s enough to send anyone into cardiac arrest.” I giggle, snorting.

“Good thing I was caught up in other stuff besides your breath.” He grabs a tissue from the nightstand and rolls the used condom in it. “I’ll be so damn glad when we can stop using these.”

“For someone who never went without a condom before me, you sure are fond of riding bareback now,” I say, teasing him.

“That’s because your body is made for mine. My wife. Forever.” He lifts up on an elbow. “Besides, you basically just said I’m hung like a horse. Bareback should make you happy,” he says, giving me his sexy little wink before crawling out of bed. Hitting the alarm clock, he turns it off before it actually starts buzzing.

I stare at his naked body as he slinks across the bedroom. “Why are you still meeting the kids for morning workout? It’s the week before Christmas break. Aren’t they ready for some time off?”

He pauses at the bathroom door, gifting me more time to ogle him. “You’d think so, but I think they’re still dealing with the disappointment of the loss. I mean, they fought hard as hell, and there’s not one thing about our playtime that I would’ve changed.” He shrugs. “The title just wasn’t in the cards for us this year. But I can’t help but think they all wanted some triumphant return for me,” he says, using finger quotes. “Like something in an inspirational movie or something.” He sighs. “I think they feel like they let me down. Anyway, they keep showing up every morning. As long as they show up, I’ll show up.”

He’s right. It was a hard-fought game. It’s hard to even fathom that they made it to the State Championship for the second year in a row. But then, to lose by only one field goal? A field goal earned by a field position from a questionable penalty? It was hard on everyone. Especially Nate. Holt actually played him in over half the games. He even started in three of them. It’s clear to see he’s got a future in this.

But something about him reminds me of Holt.

Something tells me Nate’s view of football is just like Holt’s.

It’s not my life. It’s just a really fun game that I happen to be really good at. It’s fun. That’s why I love playing.

And that approach is good. It’ll help keep a level head on his shoulders.

“What about you?” he asks with a smile. “You and my son headed off to work today?”

“Yep. There’s a ton of deliveries scheduled. For both stores.” I can’t help but smile myself. Things are coming along great. We didn’t really hit the ground running until a couple of weeks ago. I needed time to bond with Daire and heal from giving birth, and Kyra still had to make a couple of trips back to Minnesota to finalize everything for her and Toby’s permanent move back here. I think Toby was more excited about the move than Kyra, considering they’d been living with her parents the past several months. But we’ve been hitting it like gangbusters the last few weeks. Yesterday, the contractors finally finished the interior door between the two stores. It’s an open archway, connecting everything so we can move back and forth as needed.

And I’m more than glad that work is done now. Because the noise was too much for Daire, so everyone’s been watching him for the past week while I was at work—Ridge, Ella, Cullen, Teresa, Dana, and Nancy. It’s been a revolving door of love. But I missed him. Like, a lot.

We agreed that Daire would come to work with me until it becomes impractical. I know that interaction with other children is important, and when the time comes, we’ll put him in the same preschool as Hardy and Ty.

He flips the light switch in the bathroom. “Well, I’ve got that meeting at the central office this afternoon. It should be done about two. I don’t have to go back to school after that. I’ll stop by and help.” Before he shuts the door, he stares at me. Deeply. Intently.

Quickly growing self-conscious, I cover my bare chest with the sheet and try to calm the wild strands of my bedhead.

Chuckling under his breath, he just shakes his head. “I love you, Merit. Get some more sleep.”

Snuggling back in bed, content and happy, I’m about to drift off to sleep when I hear Daire babbling through the baby monitor. That means he’s had enough rest. I’ve got about three minutes before he gets bored and starts crying. Tugging my nightgown over my head, I count my blessings with every step down the hall.

***

“How many more boxes?” Holt asks Craig.

“A bunch. I could barely fit anybody else’s stuff on the truck.”

“Hey, I’m trying to fill up two stores,” I protest.

Holt twists back and forth, stretching his back. When he catches me watching him, he winks. “You sure? Maybe you just like watching me flex my muscles.” Just to prove his point, he lifts his arms and slowly spins his ballcap around backward.

He likes to play dirty.

“My muscles too,” Craig jokes, rubbing his beer belly.

“That’s it,” I laugh. “Definitely.” Reaching into one of the boxes, I pull out a set of cardigans with butterflies on them. “Anyway, if you wanna blame someone, Craig, blame my husband. He’s the one who put me back in business.”

“Well, my wife deserves it.” Holt’s voice holds a delicious sweetness, a real honesty.

Craig wipes the sweat from his brow. “Congratulations, by the way. On the wedding, I mean.”

I’m about to thank him, but I’m interrupted by the front door chime. “That must be Raylee,” I tell Holt. She said she was going to stop by and check out the progress. The truth is, she needs her Daire fix. She can’t go too long without getting cuddles from her nephew. Tossing the unfolded sweaters to the side, I head out of the back room.

When I turn the corner, my life ends.

Literally.

One second, I’m fine. I’m happy.

The very next second, I die. My heart stops beating, and my soul drains from my body, slithering out of my pores and coiling on the floor around me like a snake.

A strange man is standing over my son as he peacefully slumbers in his playpen. In fact, the man’s not just standing over Daire, he’s picking him up.

The stranger glances at me, and our eyes meet.

I’m in shock, so I’m not exactly sure how long it takes my brain to process what I see. But at some point, it does, and I realize he’s not a stranger at all. He’s a man I know.

Trenton Trevors.

Heidi’s uncle. Denise’s brother. Delaney’s former boyfriend—the only person to speak on her behalf at the sentencing hearing.

I open my mouth, prepared to scream, ready to tell him to get the hell away from my child. But nothing happens. Just a small growl comes out, not the bloodcurdling scream that I want. My eyes blur, and my body feels like it’s weighted down in quicksand.

The first step is the hardest.

It feels like it takes me ten years to make that one small step. In reality, it’s probably the fastest I’ve ever moved.

Trenton scoops him into his arms, and Daire wakes up, gasping from the sudden movement. Racing forward, I reach for my baby, ready to punch and claw and pry this bastard’s eyeballs right out of their sockets. But he’s prepared for me. He sidesteps and slams me into the side of a metal rack that we haven’t finished putting together. I topple on top of it, slamming my right temple into a sharp edge. The pain seers through me, sending a sizzling ache down my spine. A bright white light flashes across my vision, blinding me for a second.

And in that second, I die again.

Because when my blurry vision returns, I watch that man walk right out the door with my son.