“And that’s my fault?”
“Yep.”
“Good to know.”
“I joke around a lot with you, but you know how much I love you, right?”
“Yes, Landon, I know that, and I love that you joke around with me all the time. You’re very good for my ego.”
“Your ego should be very, very healthy. The one thing I’d never joke about is how much I love you, how much I want you and how much better everything is now that I have you and Stella and Matilda in my life.”
“I love our little family. It’s the best thing to ever happen to me. You’re the best thing. You and Stella…”
He reached for her and brought her down to him for a deep, sexy kiss that had him on the verge of begging her to put him out of his misery. Fortunately, he never had to beg. She knew what he needed and was almost always happy to give it to him.
She raised herself up and came down on him, taking his cock into her tight, wet heat in a slow, sexy slide that had his eyes rolling back in his head.
“Fuck me, that’s so good,” he whispered.
“I am fucking you,” she said with a teasing smile, moving like the sexiest seductress he’d ever seen as she rode him.
“Shit, this is gonna be fast, which is also your fault.”
“How so?”
“You’ve had me primed for hours.”
“Again I ask, how so?”
“By breathing.”
She tweaked his nipples and made him jolt. “You’re ridiculous.”
“Only with you. I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you. All you have to do is walk in the door, and I’m ready to go.”
“Oh, lucky me!”
“You’re so lucky.”
She laughed and bent to kiss him. “So very lucky indeed.”
Chapter Twenty
“Close your eyes and I’ll kiss you.
Tomorrow I’ll miss you.”
—Paul McCartney
Lucas followed Dani into the room where they were sleeping with Savannah and hoped it wasn’t too much to ask that she’d go down easy so he could have some time alone with his love.
“She’s on fire tonight,” Dani said. “I can’t believe she’s still going with no nap today.”
The minute Dani put her on the bed, Savannah popped up to start jumping.
Lucas nabbed her out of the air. “Time to settle down, sweet girl. Santa can’t come if little girls are still awake.”
“Santa, Lu.”
“That’s right, baby girl. If you want Santa to come, you have to go night-night.”
“No, Lu.”
“Yes, Savvy.”
“No, Lu.”
Dani covered her mouth to contain the laughter that was trying to get out. After Lu, her nickname for Lucas, no had become their little girl’s second-favorite word. She hadn’t even said Mama yet, but she had no fully mastered.
“Do not laugh,” he said to Dani.
“Trying so hard.”
Lucas walked her around the room for thirty minutes until she began to surrender to sleep. He rubbed her back and whispered to her about sweet dreams and sugar plums and Santa coming on his sleigh to bring good girls lots of presents. All the while, he thought about what he’d been doing a year ago on Christmas Eve. After dinner with his family, he and Landon had gone barhopping with some friends from the firehouse.
How different both their lives were now, and he wouldn’t go back to how it’d been for anything. Having Dani and Savvy in his life was the best thing to ever happen to him. In this coming year, he and Dani would get married and maybe add to their little family. He couldn’t wait for everything they had ahead of them.
When he was sure that Savvy was asleep, he kissed her and put her down in the portable crib. Then he shook out his arms, which were tingling with pins and needles from holding her for so long.
“My hero,” Dani whispered when he joined her in bed.
“I love her so freaking much.”
“She loves you just as much. You’ve got the magic touch with her.”
“Do I have it with you, too?” he asked, cupping her backside to bring her in closer to him.
“Always,” she said, smothering a yawn. She’d been working seven days a week for two months at the warehouse and was off until after New Year’s Day. He’d taken the week off, too, and couldn’t wait to spend it with her.
He kissed her forehead and then her lips. “Get some sleep, love. You’re exhausted.”
Her eyes fluttered open. “You don’t want to…”
“Always,” he said, echoing her comment. “But you need sleep more than you need me tonight.”
“I need you more,” she said, yawning again.
“Sleep. We’ve got a whole week to snuggle.”
“Mmm, can’t wait.”
“Me either.”
“Colton.”
“Hmmm.”
“Colton.”
He opened one eye to his favorite thing to look at—Lucy’s adorable face.
“We need to go to bed.”
“I can’t move.”
“You have to move, or your pregnant wife is going to sleep on the floor, which will make me cranky on Christmas. Do you want me cranky on Christmas?”
“Nope.”
She poked his ribs, and he startled awake.
“Damn, woman.”
“Take me to bed, Colton, or else.”
Since he didn’t want to find out what or else entailed, he forced himself to stand and to help her up, holding her for a second until she was steady. As she reached the last month of pregnancy, she lost her balance more often. “You good, babe?”
“I’ll be better when I’m in a bed.”
Their dogs, Sarah and Elmer, looked up to see where they were going, but decided to stay put next to the fire, where they were snuggled up to Tucker and Tanner as well as George, Ringo, Homer and Horace. There were nearly as many dogs in the house tonight as there were people.
Colton and Lucy said good night to his dad and grandfather, who were enjoying a nightcap before bed.
“Sleep well, children,” Elmer said.
“I’ll let the pups out one more time before I go to bed,” Linc said.
“Thanks, Dad,” Colton said. “Good night.”
“Night, son.”
“Are you feeling okay?” Colton asked Lucy when they were on the way upstairs.
“Other than being fat and my boobs aching, I’m just dandy.”
“You’re not fat. You’re beautiful.”
“I can be both.”
“You’re the most gorgeous pregnant woman I’ve ever seen.”
“You have to say that. You did this to me.”
“I did a rather spectacular job of knocking you up, didn’t I?”
She turned to face him and squeezed his lips shut.
Colton, being Colton, kept talking anyway. “Admit it,” he said, his voice muffled. “No one has ever knocked up anyone better than I knocked you up.”
Lucy, being Lucy, knew just how to shut him up when she’d heard enough out of him. She curled her arms around his neck and kissed him.