When she made it back up to his room around 10 that night when she was signed out, he was waiting. She was back in street clothes. It meant that much more of a challenge. “Welcome back Doctor Emily. I’m ready for my pain relief,” Jackson said as she closed and locked the door and covered the window. “I bet you are.” “And what do you have planned,” Jackson mewed. “Oh Jackson. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”
About Sue Langford
We can’t quite get enough of this one-of-a-kind author. From her intense Revenge series to her strong female lead characters, you’ll fall in love with every character. Her stories are made for real women, strong women, to empower us all with a little romance.
http://www.suelangfordauthor.com
Make Me Beg
Cameron Allie
Riley has always bested Heath when it comes to surprises, and this time she’s got a doozy. — Make Me Beg
Make Me Beg
“Your baby daddy is looking hot in that picture.”
Mercedes’ statement, projected from the iPad screen, pulled Riley’s attention away from the grapes she was slicing for her two-year-old. It was a busy job. He seemed to shovel them into his mouth about as fast as she could cut them.
She glanced at her sister-in-law through the video chat window. “What picture?”
“You know, the one the radio station posted on Instagram.”
The knife hovered over the cutting board. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. What radio station? What picture?”
Mercedes rattled off the name of the station, but Riley knew she’d have to wait until their conversation was over before looking it up. She didn’t really want to touch the screen with grape juice-stained sticky fingers.
“How’s work been for you and Scott?” she asked, referencing her brother.
Mercedes’s gaze flicked back and forth from the screen before holding up a picture for them to see. “This is my latest. I’m posting it this afternoon.” Mercedes drew a cartoon called Hijinks about a cat and dog who were always getting into trouble. It was rapidly gaining followers on Instagram. Her first collection of comics had come out just before Christmas and pretty soon they were adding merchandise to her website’s store.
Seth munched away on grapes, but when Riley reached over and flashed a white sheet of paper covered in marker scribbles, he grabbed for it.
“This is Seth’s latest.” Riley laughed as Seth waved the paper around so enthusiastically that there was no way Mercedes would be able to see more than a blurb of colour, which was pretty accurate to how the picture looked in real life. He was proud to show it off, and she was happy that this time more marker had ended up on the page rather than on him.
They continued to talk while Seth ate his snack. Scott popped on the screen for a bit to say hi to his nephew. He updated Riley on the news at the distillery. Winter’s Beer, the brewery her brother worked at, had gone into production making and distributing hand sanitizer. Scott was one of the sales reps and had boasted when he’d arranged for the three-year contract they obtained with the local hospital to provide all their sanitizer needs. He also mentioned that the Avalanche, the brew house’s restaurant, was starting to offer take out. Up until now the chef and his daughter, Joyce, had been going into the kitchen to prepare meals for senior citizens and homeless shelters in the area.
Riley was proud of her brother. She, on the other hand, had been holed up at her parents’ house. Her work had closed for the foreseeable future, since there wasn’t much need for wedding dress alterations when there weren’t any weddings going on. She’d moved herself, her son, and her boyfriend’s cat out of their new townhouse in favour of staying with her folks. She and Heath had decided it would be best, while he was on the front lines. Neither of them wanted to risk him bringing the virus back to their son.
“Seriously, you’ve got to check out this picture.” Mercedes pretended to fan herself, prompting a laugh from Riley.
Somewhere off screen she heard her brother say, “Are you talking about that picture again?”
Mercedes shared a smile with Riley, letting her know she was about to make mischief. “Heath is hot stuff, Scott. And that uniform! Yum. Lucky Riley.”
Scott returned to the screen and playfully grabbed a fistful of his wife’s hair. “That’s my best friend and my sister you’re talking about.”
Mercedes shrugged. “Like I said, lucky lady.”
“Careful, M, or I’ll have to ask Heath where to get the good handcuffs.”
With a roll of her eyes, and a smile tugging at her lips, Mercedes taunted, “Promises, promises.”
Heat flared in Scott’s gaze, before he swooped down and kissed his wife, a little too passionately for his sister or his nephew to see. Riley kept the “ew” to herself though. How long had it been since she’d felt Heath’s lips as passionately? Too long.
When the couple broke apart Scott disappeared from view, but clearly Mercedes was distracted as her gaze followed him, rather than returning to the screen. Her breath caught, and Riley had absolutely zero interest in knowing whatever it was her brother was doing off-screen. Quickly, Mercedes spat out, “I’ve got to go.”
This time the “ew” slipped out.
Mercedes chuckled. “Hey, you can’t blame me. You’d do the same.” She spared the screen a moment of her time. “Bye Seth!”
After saying goodbye and disconnecting the video chat, Riley wiped Seth’s hands with a warm cloth and plucked him from the booster seat. Her mother and father swept into the room as she was setting him on his feet.
“Gampa! Gampa!” Seth charged across the tiles, his bare feet slapping with each step, and launched himself into this grandfather’s arms. Her dad swung him around and hung him upside down.
With Seth occupied, Riley pulled up Instagram to find the radio station Mercedes had described. After a few swipes she located the account and found the post about the Toronto- based Black Lives Matter protest. She flicked through the photos and stopped on the one of her boyfriend, dressed in his uniform, kneeling among a crowd of people, each spaced apart.
Damn. Mercedes was right, he was looking fine. His black mask covered the lower part of his face, his dark hair was wind-tousled, his pronounced biceps pushed against the boundaries of his uniform. God, she missed the feel of that hard body against hers. What she wouldn’t give to lean on him, to borrow from his strength in this uncertain time.
Riley checked herself. There were a lot of people much worse off than her.
Her mother peered down at the screen from over her shoulder. “I still can’t believe that boy’s a cop.”
“He’s come a long way from pissing on people’s petunias.”
“Dad!” Riley scolded, objecting to this language, with a pointed look at her son. “Besides, Heath did that when he was fifteen and he’d been drinking.”
Her father gave her a sly smile. “All I’m saying is I’m glad he made something of himself. Now if he’d get his butt in gear and marry you…”