Page 42 of Wrecked (McIntyre Security Bodyguard #16)

These are the kind of evenings I enjoy the most—sitting out on the back patio with the people I love: my fiancé Sam, Shane and Beth, and their kids, Luke and Ava.

Tonight, dinner is a team effort. I’m grilling barbeque chicken breasts and legs and roasting corn on the cob.

Sam and Beth are in charge of making mashed potatoes—Lord help them.

Shane is baking store-bought dinner rolls.

Luke is in the process of setting the patio table, with a little bit of guidance from me.

I show him where to place the plates, silverware, glasses, and napkins.

He’s barely tall enough to see over the table.

As for Ava, well, she’s too young to do anything but watch from her highchair.

“Is it ready yet?” Luke asks as he comes up behind me as I’m standing at the grill and wraps an arm around one of my thighs. “It smells so good.”

I chuckle. “I’m glad you think so. Yes, it’s almost ready. Would you run inside and see how Mama and Sam are doing with the mashed potatoes?”

“Sure!” Luke runs back into the house to fulfill his task. That kid loves to be helpful. A moment later, he races back outside, huffing and puffing from all the sprinting. “They’re ready!”

“All right. Have a seat at the table, kid.”

Luke climbs up onto his booster chair and waits eagerly while I plate the barbequed chicken and load the roasted corn cobs onto a large platter.

Just as I’m setting the grilled food on the table, Beth comes out carrying a massive bowl of mashed potatoes.

Shane brings out a basket of hot dinner rolls.

Sam brings the butter dish, salt, pepper, and a pitcher of homemade iced lemonade.

Shane returns to the kitchen and comes back out carrying Ava in her highchair.

Tonight, we’re celebrating because in less than one week, Sam and I are tying the knot at the Kenilworth house.

Shane will officiate the ceremony for us.

A week later, Sam and I will travel to Bryce, Colorado, to spend our honeymoon at the McIntyre Wilderness Lodge, run by Shane’s sister Hannah and her husband, Killian Devereaux.

“Are you going to ride horses?” Luke asks.

“You bet,” Sam says.

“And go fishing?” Luke asks.

Sam nods. “Cooper is. And I’m gonna try, at least.”

“And climb the mountains?” Luke asks.

“No!” I say. I’m going on record as putting my foot down. “No rock climbing.”

“But Aunt Hannah climbs the mountains,” Luke points out.

“Yeah, well, that’s fine for her, but Uncle Sam is not climbing any mountains. He’s broken his legs enough for one lifetime.”

Luke giggles. He’s too young to have seen any of Sam’s broken legs, but he’s certainly heard the stories. He’s constantly begging Sam to tell him about the time his parachutes malfunctioned.

He’s less keen on hearing the story of how Sam got run down by a car because his Mama got hurt in the process—when she was pregnant with him.

I taste the mashed potatoes and give the two junior chefs a thumbs-up. “Great job on the potatoes, guys.”

We’re having an early dinner because Beth and Shane are going out tonight to see a philharmonic concert downtown. While they’re gone, Sam and I will watch the kids.

By the time we’re done with dessert—bread pudding without raisins , as requested by Luke—it’s time for Shane and Beth to change into their evening attire.

Sam and I are almost finished cleaning up the kitchen when they return to kiss their kids goodnight.

“Goodnight, sweetie,” Beth says as she kisses Luke on his forehead.

“Wow, Mama, you look pretty!” he says as he admires her dress.

“Thank you!” She kisses Ava, too. “Goodnight, pumpkin.”

“Be good for Sam and Cooper,” Shane tells Luke as he picks the boy up and kisses his cheek.

“I will, Daddy!” Luke says. “Have fun.”

Once we’ve got the kids cleaned up and in their pajamas, we hang out with them in the family room until it’s their bedtime at eight.

Sam lies on the floor next to Luke as they build some crazy structure with these brightly colored, chunky building blocks that snap together. Ava sits in my lap while I read her a storybook about a baby kangaroo going on a walkabout to find her mommy.

As I watch Sam interact with Luke, I can’t help thinking he’d be a great dad. He’d be one of those hands-on dads who help their kids build forts and make snowmen.

We’ve talked about having kids. We both want them. The question is how we go about doing it. Obviously, surrogacy is an option, although you’ve got to find the right woman. And there’s adoption, too. Maybe we could do both.

We love kids. But honestly, I never saw myself getting married, let alone having kids. That has always been a pipe dream to me. And now, maybe it’s not. We’re getting married soon. Starting a family would be the next logical step for us.

Eight o’clock rolls around. We help the kids brush their teeth, and Luke has his last potty break of the night. Then I read two story books to them before we tuck them into their beds.

Sam throws a laughing Luke over his shoulder and carts him off to his bedroom. I take Ava to hers. As I start to lay her in her crib, she starts crying and clings to me like a little monkey. I end up rocking her instead, hoping she’ll fall asleep, and then I can simply lay her in bed.

The rocking goes well. She falls asleep pretty quickly, but I don’t have the heart to put her in bed.

So I just keep rocking, enjoying the slight weight of her warm little body against my chest. Her knees are tucked up beneath her, and her head is resting on my shoulder.

I’m pretty sure she’s sucking her thumb.

I just happen to glance over at the nursery door and see Sam standing there, leaning against the door jamb, his arms crossed over his chest. He’s watching us with a wistful look on his face.

“She started crying,” I whisper.

Sam walks over to us and gently runs his fingers through her light brown curls. “I want us to have kids,” he says quietly.

Hearing him say that just kills me. “I know you do. So do I.”

“I want a baby. Specifically, your baby.”

“Then you’re talking about surrogacy.”

Sam nods. “Yeah.”

“We’d have to find someone. I don’t think it will be easy.”

Sam shrugs. “We will. I have faith.”

“I mean, we have to find a woman who’s willing to be a surrogate for two men .”

“I know,” he says. “We will.” Sam carefully lifts Ava into his arms, carries her to her crib, and lays her down. He stands there a minute to make sure she’s not going to wake up.

I join him at the side of the crib. “Luke’s asleep?”

“Yeah.” Sam takes my hand and leads me to the door.

“Where are we going?” I ask as he leads me back to the family room.

“Let’s snuggle on the sofa and watch a movie.”

When Shane and Beth return from their evening out, they find us asleep on the sofa lying in each other’s arms.

* * *

The following evening, we get ready to head out for our bachelor party—the queer one. We’re meeting our queer friends at Sapphires.

I strip as I walk into our private bathroom.

Sam’s already in the shower, oblivious to my presence as he hums to himself under the spray of water.

For a moment, I stand outside the walk-in shower and indulge in the sight of him.

He’s put on a little bit of weight since we first met, filled out a little bit, and maybe he has a bit more muscle.

But he’s still pretty lean, especially compared to me.

He still wears his nipple piercings, which make me hard every time I see them. And he gets hard when I play with them.

He’s still my freckled redhead who drives me crazy both in bed and out.

I watch as he lathers his chest with soap, and then his arm pits and lightly muscled arms. As he soaps up his thighs and between his legs, I realize I’ve spent enough time watching. Now I want to do some touching.

I walk into the shower, which is easily big enough for four people. Two waterfall showerheads hang high overhead, releasing a gentle rain shower on the gray Travertine tiles beneath our feet.

When he hears me coming, he turns with a smile. I take the lavender-and-vanilla-scented soap from him and turn him back around. I lather my hands and proceed to wash his shoulders and back, kneading his muscles firmly.

Sam groans. “You have magic fingers.”

Chuckling, I slide my soapy fingers down his abdomen, following the path of his happy trail to his penis, which is half- erect now. As I stroke him, my fingers glide over his smooth, velvety flesh.

His groans deepen when my touch turns firmer. Standing behind him, my chin resting on his shoulder, I speed up my stroking.

“You’re going to make me come,” he says, breathless now.

“That’s the idea.”

Sam leans his head back and rests it on my shoulder, further exposing his throat. I kiss the tender spot where his neck meets his shoulder.

He groans. “Not another hickey.”

I continue to stroke him firmly from root to tip, running my thumb over his sensitive head.

I smile when he shivers in my arms. Before long, he’s thick and throbbing in my grasp.

His muscles tense, signaling his orgasm is close.

I suck harder on his neck as he ejaculates.

His cries are muffled by the sound of the gentle rainfall pouring down on us.

* * *

When we’re out of the shower and dressing, Sam admires his newest hickey in the mirror. “You sure do love marking me.”

I walk up behind him, put my hands on his shoulders, and lean in to kiss my artwork. “Yep. This way, every guy who sees you at the club tonight will know you’re taken.”

His beautiful brown eyes meet my gaze in the mirror. “Does this mean I can give you a hickey, too, so they’ll know you’re taken ?”

I laugh. “Baby, that’s not something you need to worry about. Nobody’s going to be hitting on me .”

He turns to face me. “Don’t be too sure.” He starts buttoning my white shirt. “If I was single and looking to mingle, and I saw a hot silver fox like you in a club, I’d be making my move.”

I cup his face and lean in to kiss him. “It’s a good thing you’re not single then.” I lift his left hand and kiss his ring finger. “In four more days, you’ll be a married man.”

“Yeah, I will be. Samuel Harrison-Cooper. I like the sound of that.”

The way his eyes shine when he hears those words is everything, and I’m tempted to delay our departure for a little bit of quality alone time. “We’d better leave right now, or we’re not going to make it at all,” I tell him as I tuck my shirt into my trousers.

He grabs his shirt and pulls it on—a teal silk shirt that complements his red hair nicely. He’s wearing a pair of blue jeans that are more ripped than not, and a pair of black sneakers. I’m dressed more conservatively in black trousers, a white button-down shirt, and black loafers.

As we’re heading to the garage, we come across Shane, who whistles at us. “You two clean up well. Are you off to your other bachelor party?”

“Yep,” Sam says with a smile. “Sorry, Shane. You’re not invited to this one.”

We already had a bachelor party the week before with our work friends and Shane’s brothers.

“Well, say hi to Tyler and Ian for me, will you?”

“Will do,” I say as I open the door to the garage and nudge Sam through.

Beth’s older brother, Tyler Jamison, will be joining us at Sapphires tonight, along with his much younger husband, Ian. At least we’re not the only age gap couple in our friend group. Two of Ian’s friends—Chris and Trey—will be coming as well.

Shane tosses me the keys to his vintage silver Jaguar. “Take the Jag,” he says. “It’ll be easier to park.”