Page 68 of Skin Deep

“It’s a warning tale for children not to sleep on the edge of their beds or else a wolf will come and steal them away,” he said and kicked off his pants.

I frowned. “And that’s supposed to be comforting?”

“About as comforting as songs about the Black Death and falling from a cradle blown into the trees,” he said with a shrug. “Lullabies are all terrifying. They’re meant to be that way. People need to fear something. Without fear, how can anyone know what it’s like to feel safe?”

I wasn’t sure I agreed. “Well, maybe keep that between us.”

“Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” I said, undressing. “It worked. That’s half the secret to parenting. You try shit until it works.”

War kissed me and pulled me toward the shower. “You’re a good dad.”

It meant a lot to me to hear him say that, especially as much as I’d been second-guessing myself since Maya died. “You’ll be a good daddy too,” I promised him. “They love you.”

“That’s because I’m still new. They’ll find something not to like.”

I hummed in agreement. “And then you’ll fall in love all over again. That’s how it works. People love, fight, fall back in love. It’s work, you know? But it’s worth it. Least I think so.”

War relaxed as I started to wash him, distracting him halfway through with a lazy hand job.

While he returned the favor, I ran my fingers through the stubble on his chin, admiring how it looked on him. “Have you ever considered letting this grow in? It looks good on you.”

He made a face. “Beards are germ traps.”

I laughed and pulled his lips to mine, thrusting into his hand until I came again.

“Teach me something in Russian,” I said as we were toweling off.

War lifted an eyebrow. “Like what?”

I shrugged and put my arms around him, pulling him close. “Whatever you want.”

“Hmm.” He hummed and leaned in to kiss me. “How aboutlyubimyy?”

I tried to pronounce it and butchered it. “Starting me off easy, I see.”

“Pay attention, then.” He brought my fingers to his lips so I could feel the way they moved as he said the word again.

I wasn’t sure it helped. I was a little too distracted by all the other things I wanted those lips to be doing instead of speaking tome in Russian, but I tried. “Lyu-BI-myy. What’s it mean?”

War smiled. “It’s a specific term of endearment used only between romantic partners. It means something like…”—he thought a minute—“my favorite.”

“Oh, I like that one. Now say something dirty to me in Russian.”

He laughed. “Surprisingly, Russian is not so good for dirty talk. Flirting in Russian is very reserved. All about double entendre and subtlety. But I could curse at you all day. Good for telling a man to go fuck a dead goat. Not so much for sweet nothings, I’m afraid.”

I chuckled. “How on Earth do Russians manage to get laid then?”

“Russia’s a cold country,” he said with a shrug and got out his razor.

I leaned against the doorway, watching him shave, and I thought,this could be us. Our whole life could be like this one day. Just lazy hand jobs in the shower, early mornings with coffee and flirting before we both go off to work… We could be a family. We could be happy.

The only thing standing in our way was his other family, and the river of blood we’d have to cross to get there.

Irubbedthescarson my stomach, my eyes glued to the front door of the Foxhole. It was minutes to midnight, and Pax and I had been parked in the parking lot, waiting on the call from Beau for over an hour.

My mind drifted back to how we’d laid around all day and relaxed. I’d gone out for a run, but otherwise, I didn’t bother to leave the house, opting to stay home with Pax and the girls. In between naps, I read to Charlie, who seemed to share my love of books. She probably didn’t understand much ofThe Hobbit, but her eyes remained glued to the pages as I turned them. While I read to Charlie, Pax spent close to an hour putting braids in Scarlett’s hair while she watched TV. It was a nice day, a quiet day. Agoodday.

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