Page 12 of Valor

She beams over at me. “We should. Sofie is always telling me she’ll babysit anytime we want.”

I squeeze her hand. “The kids love them when they’re here.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I love them to death, but I forgot how much I loved it being me and you. That sounds terrible.” She laughs a little at herself. “I only mean we don’t take enough time for me and you lately. We’re nearly outnumbered by the kids, and sometimes it’s easy to forget the two of us when everything else gets in the way.”

“No one would ever doubt how much you love your family, baby.” Grinning, I bring her wrist to my mouth and nibble the delicate skin where her pulse jumps. “But I’ll never say no to more time with you.”

Her eyes darken. “We still have some time before Sofie is going to bring the kids back. We could probably squeeze a quickie in before she does.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice.”

Later, as she’s sprawled in my arms, I press my face into her hair and pull her as close as possible.

“That wasn’t very quick,” she murmurs, her breath tickling the hairs on my chest.

“Are you complainin’?”

“I don’t have the energy to do much of anything,” she admits breathlessly. “I still have to go out to get some groceries. We don’t have anything in the house. And I need to clean up before we go back to work tomorrow. The kids will probably be all hyper.”

“Leave ‘em here with me. I’ll put ‘em to work cleaning while you’re gone.”

She brightens. “Really?”

“No, I don’t want to hang out with my kids. Take them all and do all the work, while I sit on my ass and do nothing. Of course, really. Besides, you’ll get back faster if I keep them here.”

“I don’t know, we’re out of pretty much everything. It may take a while.”

“I’ve got some chicken I can throw on the grill with some of that corn my parents grew in their garden. We’ll do up dinner and have it ready for you when you get back.”

“Marry me,” she says wistfully.

“If I could marry you again, I would.” I don’t intend to be mushy, but from the glazed look in her eye, my words send her straight to mushyland. So naturally, I smack her on the butt. “You better get goin’ before one quickie turns into two.”

Her gaze turns heated and she reaches for me. A growl rumbles in my chest. Fuck it, I want her again.

Then, we freeze at a knock downstairs, followed by a cheerful, “Hello! We’re here!” Followed by what sounds like a small army stomps inside.

“Mom! Dad! We’re home!”

She blows out a breath, stilling against me. “Guess that answers that. I’d better get dressed before they bust in here. Rain check?”

“It’s a date,” I murmur, and watch as she rolls from the bed and walks naked to the closet.

“Do you think she’ll be ‘prised?” Phoebe whispers, a splotch of paint dotting her nose.

“Surprised,” Cole corrects automatically, his little face intent upon the stripe of paint he layers on the wall.

“That’s what I said, ‘prised.”

“I think she’ll be very surprised,” I answer to stave off the brewing argument.

Livvie had only been gone an hour, but I managed to whip the kids into shape pretty fast with promises of painting. I’d carefully carved out and patched the section of the wall with the kids drawings and cut in the molding with primer, while the kids happily painted away a section with rollers and heavy drapes underneath them. It was messier then if I did it myself, but I liked having them help me.

Livvie’s been wanting this room painted forever. It was about time I’d whipped myself into shape and helped her do it. I’d been slacking in that area lately, letting things start to slide, letting her take the brunt of the work, and I was going to start making that up to her.

Today.

We manage to get most of the room primed and ready for the first application of paint, Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams, when the kids perk up at a sound from the kitchen.