Page 118 of Contract Lover
“Look, Dada’s coming,” Sasha said to Paige. A pair of arms extended as I reached them, and my daughter was eager to wrap them around my neck.
“Hello, munchkin,” I murmured against her downy forehead beneath the brim of her brightly colored sunhat. “Are you having a good time?” Her warm, swimsuit-clad body wriggled against mine, and I wrapped my arms protectively around her. Sasha stepped forward and brushed her lips against my mouth. She tasted of salt and sunshine and coconut lotion. I could have eaten her up with a spoon.
“How are you feeling?” she asked softly. She’d become fiercely protective since our ordeal with Razortip and his goons. It seemed odd to me, since she was the one who’d lived through days of it. Days in which we’d been torn apart. I would never allow that to happen again. Even now, beyond the treeline, a crack security detail lingered, unobtrusively keeping watch. Andy’s guys were the best in the business. They’d make sure nobody would ever touch her or our child. Manolo Gutierrez may be dead and buried, but he’d left in his wake a paranoia I couldn’t shake.
“I feel great. One hundred and ten percent,” I responded eventually. It wasn’t an exaggeration. The physical wounds were long-healed, and I was back to full strength. Better even. She made me feel stronger, both in my body and in my mind. I had a family to fight for, toprotect.
Sasha’s lips curved into a smile. She stroked a hand over the scar on my chest that would be a reminder of what we’d been through together. It didn’t bother me. I’d take another bullet for her in a heartbeat. Every dark moment had only bolstered what we felt for each other, forming an unbreakable bond that shook me sometimes.
“You look one hundred and ten percent, too,” she said lightly, brushing her thumb over my nipple, which puckered instantly. I felt something tighten down below and shifted Paige up against my chest. “Nothing sexier than a hardbody dad.” Sasha smiled impishly.
“Save that for later,” I said with a grin. “I’ve been working up an appetite just watching you.” I ran an appreciative eye over her curves and saw her lower her gaze, her hand fluttering over her belly self-consciously.
Carrying our child had left a gentle swell to her stomach, her breasts fuller than before. Her lushness was irresistible to me. She may have been model perfect before – now she had reached goddess proportions in my eyes. That body was a miracle, and it had created another one in the form of Paige. I would spend the rest of our lives worshiping her.
I shot a look back up to the beach, and Sasha’s brow furrowed into a small frown.
“Do you need to get back?” she asked. We’d been on the sand all morning. I could see she was fretting that I might be worrying about getting some work done. She’d put her own career on hold while she carried Paige, though the contract remained open for her return. I was glad. It was important for her to find value beyond us.
“Nope,” I answered. “This vacation is for us.” It was true. The business had occupied too much of my time lately, but I’d taken care to balance my hours. My family would always come first, and my partners respected that. Every business trip included them. Extended periods away from home would be counter-balanced with a family vacation. Which was why we were now spending a month in Maui. It was where we had come on honeymoon, and I’d vowed to bring us back whenever we needed a reminder of what was important. I reached for Sasha’s hand as I turned and began to walk back up to where our towels had been left on the sand.
“Let’s get lunch, and go back to the suite,” I said to my wife. “Paige could use a nap.” I winked. “And I think I need a little…TLC.”
Her fingers tightened through mine, and she stepped close against my side as we walked together.
“I think I can manage that,” she said. “TLC is what I do best.”
I laughed lightly, surprised, yet again, at how much my life had changed since I’d met her. How full my heart had become since I’d changed the way I viewed the world.
Family. Love. The life we shared. These were my priorities.
I would never be the man my father had wanted me to be.
I would be better.
The End
