Page 105 of Deserving Maisy
Maisy smiled up at him, even as she widened her legs, making room for him. She was tight, and definitely not wet enough to take him hard and fast, but Stone didn’t mind, and she didn’t either. He simply needed to be connected to her at that moment. He felt her core gradually soften around him.
“I love you,” he told her as he gazed down into her beautiful brown eyes.
“I love you too.”
“I’m gonna be the best husband and father. I give you my word.”
“You already are,” she whispered.
They made love with all the devotion in their souls, then they fucked hard and fast. By the time they orgasmed, both were drenched in sweat and breathing hard.
“Well, now that we’ve gotten our workout for the day…I’m thinking a nap is in order,” Maisy said with a small smile as she cuddled against him in the tangled covers.
“I agree,” Stone told her, ignoring the fact that he’d told Owl he’d meet with him later, and that Maisy was supposed to meet with Cora to help her get their cabin ready for their foster child, who would be joining them in a few days.
As Maisy began to fall asleep in his arms, Stone pushed her onto her back, then rested his palm over her belly as he gazed at his beautiful wife.
“Are you going to do that for the next eight or so months?” Maisy mumbled sleepily.
“Do what?”
“Stare at me.”
“Oh, that. Yup,” Stone said easily.
“Whatever.”
She fell asleep with a smile on her face and her hand over his on her belly.
Stone closed his eyes and reflected on his life. How he’d ended up here, he had no idea. He was a lucky son-of-a-bitch,and he knew it. If he’d known when he was a POW that this was where he’d end up, he wouldn’t have believed it. But everything he’d experienced in his life, the highs and the lows, were worth it to be where he was today. The fact of the matter was, he deserved this. Maisy. And she deserved him right back. They’d lived through hell and this was their reward.
He needed to call his parents. Let the others know that he and Maisy wouldn’t need a marriage ceremony after all…and of course, inform everyone that there would be another baby on The Refuge soon.
He chuckled softly. Four new babies, plus Cora and Pipe’s new foster child. Lord, their plan to have an adult-only resort had been thrown out the window in short order.
Lowering his head onto the pillow next to Maisy’s, Stone fell into a light doze. There would be challenges in their future, he was sure of that, but with Maisy by his side, they could weather anything.
It was time for her to leave. Ryleigh knew that, but she was having a hard time actually doing it. She’d stayed too long already. Everyone was safe, there were no new crisis happening. She’d done everything she could for the men and women at The Refuge, and now she needed to go.
But every time she made plans to sneak out in the middle of the night and disappear into thin air, something stopped her. Jasna asking for help with her homework. Maisy asking how she was doing—and honestly seeming interested in her answer. Stone asking her to fix hismarriage certificate. Jess and Carly asking her to come chat while they folded towels…
Ryleigh had never been treated as…nicely, as she had here at The Refuge.
And in return, she’d deceived them. Wasstilllying. They didn’t know all the things she’d done. Didn’t understand that simply being around her could get them into serious trouble. She was poison, her father had told her that time and time again, and no matter how much she tried to deny it, to block his voice in her head, she couldn’t.
Her father had taught her everything he knew, which meant she was as much a criminal as he was. It didn’t matter that she’d tried to atone. That she’d fled from her good ol’ dad, that she’d used everything he’d taught heragainsthim. The cops, the Feds, no one would believe she hadn’t had a choice. She’d be locked away just as her dad would be…if she was caught.
And the longer she stayed in one place, the more comfortable she got here, the better the chance she’d be tracked down. She wasn’t scared of the police…she’d take the punishment they doled out because she deserved it. It was her father who terrified her.
He wouldn’t be content to make her feel like the worst daughter in the world. No, he would destroy her. And not only her, but everything she held dear. And for the first time in her life, she had something she valued. The Refuge, and everyone who lived and worked here.
Her father wouldn’t hesitate to destroy it, little by little.
So she had to go. Before it was too late.
But she had a feeling it wasalreadytoo late.
And it was all her fault.
