Page 9 of Wham, Bam, Marry Me, Ma’am (The Billings Brothers Trilogy #1)

"Alright, everyone. One, two, three. Eyes on me. Thank you, Daniel. Poppy. Thank you." Deborah expertly corrals the two and three-year-olds into a straight line. I wait for her cue to start the music.

Vaughn and I weren't sure what to do about my job after we got married.

On one hand, I love what I do and spending the entire day with my husband comes with a lot of sexy perks.

On the other hand, it was weird to assist my husband and brothers-in-law.

In the end, I helped them find a new Executive Assistant, and I took on more of a Special Projects role for the entire organization.

My first initiative was to host a number of focus groups to assess organizational climate and happiness at work.

After my talk with Stacey, and hearing some of the same frustrations from other working parents in the company, I presented Vaughn and his brothers with the idea of opening a daycare in the building.

It's free for employees and gives the parents in our organization a chance to spend more time with their kids.

Better work-life balance leads to happier employees, and the extra money in their paychecks only adds to the value of being a member of Billings Corp.

Productivity is up, and employee satisfaction is through the roof.

Stacey stands by her desk with the rest of the accounting group, smiling brightly. She waves at me from across the room. Her phone is out and ready to record Poppy in the Halloween parade.

As I start the music, strong arms wrap around me from behind, and I nestle back against my husband for a moment. "Well done," he whispers into my ear, and I shiver from the unspoken promises in those two simple words. He's going to reward me later.

I turn and give him a quick peck on his cheek as I put on my witch hat. "Stay here. I'm the caboose." I slot into line behind the last two-year-old, helping keep pace as we weave in and out among the desks.

As we march on, Clint pokes his head out of the R&D office, holding a black bowl filled with candy. He looks almost as excited as the kids, dropping a piece of candy in each of their outstretched bags.

"What do you say?" I coach the toddlers within hearing distance of me, and a chorus of little voices call out thank you .

"This is the most adorable thing I've ever seen." Clinton's deep, gruff voice and flat affect makes me laugh, but the shine in his eyes tells me he is dead serious.

"Well, this time next year, you'll be taking a video yourself, Papa," I say, and Clint grins, his chest swelling with pride as he gives me a shy smile. Clint's camping trip in May was as productive for the company as it was for his heart.

The parade circles back to the elevators, and Vaughn patiently helps me get the superheroes, vampires, and princesses back to their floor to finish the Halloween festivities in their classrooms.

"In a few weeks, we'll be skiing in Aspen and enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving meal for the first time as husband and wife." Vaughn pulls me into him and moves my hair to the side as he kisses up and down my neck. It's our first moment alone today.

"Hmmm," I hum, enjoying his lips on my skin. His hard bulge presses against my backside, and I grind back against him.

"Don't start something you can't finish," he growls playfully in my ear, and I grin, shrugging my shoulders innocently.

"I always finish. Usually more than once thanks to you," I add cheekily, and he gives me a husky laugh.

My husband is obsessed with me, and I'm not complaining. He's obsessed with me in the morning, at night, midday. If he sees me, he wants to give me an orgasm. It was the main reason I decided to move my desk two floors down. We weren't getting anything done.

Barrett and West are thrilled for us. They said they've always wanted a sister and loved me like one long before Vaughn figured his shit out. West's words, not mine.

They were the best men during the small wedding ceremony we had over the summer in Festival Valley.

Vaughn said he wanted to be married by the end of April, but I like to ignore him sometimes.

It's good to ruffle his perfect feathers every once in a while.

My sister and Naomi were my maids of honor, and my best friends, Scarlett and Violet, came over from Passion Ridge with their husbands.

Both are pregnant with their first babies and cried throughout the entire ceremony.

Our wedding was big enough to invite immediate family and friends, but small enough we skipped most of the reception to board a plane to Hawaii for our honeymoon. It was paradise.

"Let me take you upstairs. You can read me more of the werewolf book you started last night." Vaughn massages my breast through my shirt, and I turn and wrap my arms around his neck.

Scarlett gave me some monster romance books from her friend Miranda's book cafe as a wedding gift. She said I needed to find a new genre since I manifested my own real-life book boyfriend.

"Did you like the part we left off on?" I kiss up his neck, and he pulls one of my arms behind my back, locking me in place as he nudges me to open my legs wider.

Turns out I have a total monster smut kink and my not-so-grumpy husband loves when I read aloud while he shows me what he can do with his tongue.

"As you know..." I use my teeth lightly on his earlobe. "I do love a monster cock."

Vaughn groans and picks me up, carting me toward the elevator at top speed. "Let's go for a ride, Mrs. Billings."

Yes, sir.