“Oh, wow,” she says, taking it. “These are gorgeous. Thank you.”
“Mommy, I got flowers too,” Cara says, waving her bouquet around.
“Wow, aren’t we special?” Rae says.
“Yes, you are,” I reply.
“Come on in,” she says.
The house smells like comfort—something meaty and delicious bakes in the oven. Pots and pans simmer and boil on the stove. She offers me a beer as Cara hurries outside to play.
“Thanks for coming,” Rae says.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I tell her. “I guess I was a little surprised to hear from you. Surprised and happy.”
“I’ve been doing some thinking the past few days,” Rae says, sighing and setting her beer down. “And I owe you an apology, Josh. I freaked out on you, and that was wrong. You didn’t deserve that.”
“I understand,” I insist. “You’ve been hurt. Bad.”
“I have,” she says quietly. “But that’s no excuse to mistreat you when you did nothing wrong. I’m sorry.”
“You’re forgiven.” I smile.
“Good.” She takes a step closer. “I’ve also been thinking a lot about what I need to be happy. Truly happy. And I think my life is missing something important.”
“What’s that?”
She lifts her beautiful green eyes to me. “Love.”
I reach for her hand. “Tell me what you want. What you need.”
Rae places her other hand on my chest, then slides it up to my cheek. “I would love for us to have a real chance at building a relationship. Finding that love.”
I hum and nod, pursing my lips. “I see. Well, you’re a little too late.”
She blinks. “I—what?”
I grin and pull her into my arms. “I’ve already found that love.”
Rae gasps softly but slides her arms around my neck. “How is that possible?”
I shrug. “I just know.”
“I’ve been trying to tell myself it’s not possible, but…” She leans up and kisses me tenderly. “I’ve found it too. And I’m not letting it go.”
“So you ‘do’ love now?”
She rolls her eyes, but smiles. “I guess I do. I do love…you.”
I lean down and kiss her. “I love you too.”
Epilogue
Rae
Five years later
“I,” I announce, walking into our bedroom, “am so tired.”
Josh looks up at me from the bed, where he’s lounging in nothing but sweatpants, and gives me a sexy smile. “Come here, beautiful wife of mine.”
I trudge toward him, yawning enormously. “Did Mikey go down okay?”
“Like a tree,” Josh confirms of our two-year-old. Mikey is notoriously anti-bedtime, but he gives his daddy zero problems when Josh puts him down.
“What about Cara?” I ask through another yawn, letting Josh pull me down. Now eleven, Cara is, most day, more mature than I am.
“She’s in bed, reading. She’ll fall asleep in no time.”
“Okay,” I murmur, snuggling into his arms. “Remind me to go check on her in an hour and make sure she turned her lamp off.”
“Right now, I don’t want you to do anything but relax,” Josh says in my ear.
“Mm.” I’m so tired, it takes me a minute to realize he’s undressing me. “I don’t think I’m going to be too much fun tonight, babe.”
“It’s okay.” He trails kisses all over my back. “I just want to give you a massage. Okay?”
“Yes, please.”
His hands are magic all over my body, and I doze off and jerk awake several times. His touch is utterly relaxing, and if he weren’t a killing machine—a little joke between us—he could be a professional massage therapist.
He follows up his massage with more kisses down my back, then noisily plants kisses on each butt cheek. I giggle—until his kisses dip lower, landing between my thighs. I let out a moan.
“Pillow,” he says in a low, sexy voice, then resumes eating me with long, leisurely licks.
Before I know it, my back arches up until my ass is in the air as he sucks on my clit. I moan into the pillow, which builds into a muffled cry as he licks me to climax.
“That was plenty fun,” Josh says, sliding up my back, covering it with his chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t stop,” I whine, pushing my ass against him.
“Thought you were too tired.” He’s teasing; he’s pulled his sweatpants down and his long, thick, hard cock is hard along my thigh. He wants it as much as I do.
“You get to do all the work tonight,” I say.
He slides inside me with ease, and we both have “pillow” as he thrusts hard and fast. Sometimes quickies are as good as regular sex sessions—at least they are with him.
As always, we come together, gripping fistfuls of the pillow. Josh presses kisses to the back of my neck.
“I’m grateful for you,” I tell him, reaching back to stroke his cheek.
He tilts my chin back toward him to kiss my lips. “As you should be.”
I snort and elbow him, then turn around on my back. “I’m serious.”
“I know. I’m grateful for you too. You gave me a whole new lease on life.” He leans down to kiss me.
“You changed my whole outlook on love,” I tell him, “and you never let me down.”
“Well, we’ve only been married four years. Give it time.”
“Be serious!” I laugh. “I’m trying to tell you how much I love you.”
“I know you love me.” He kisses me again. “That’s what makes this so beautiful. I earned your love, and it’s an honor to have it.” He presses his lips against my chest, over my heart. “I’ll never take it for granted. I love you, Rae of sunshine.”
I pull him close, feeling him harden against me. I smile up at him. “I’m not too tired for a round two. You up for it?”
“I’m up for anything you want to do,” he says, and yanks the blankets over us as I squeal with laughter.
The End
1
Casey Knight
I pull open the heavy wooden door of The Draught, a pub-style restaurant that’s near Joint Base Andrews where my big brother Alex heads up an elite military squad—I think that’s what it’s called, anyway. I’ve never been very knowledgeable about military jargon, even though Alex has been in the military in some capacity ever since I was six years old.
We’re twelve years apart but as close as twins. So close that when a job I had in Hollywood dropped out from under me suddenly about five months ago, he immediately made arrangements for me to move across the country to live with him until I figure out what I want to do next.
“You can do anything you want and go anywhere, but until then, I want you to stay with me,” he said when I first moved here. I knew he was supremely pissed about what happened to me in Hollywood and wanted to make sure I was okay, and truth be told, I didn’t mind at all. In my eyes, my brother is the toughest guy around. If he says I’m safe with him, I believe it.