Page 148 of Seizing Control: Part Two

“Baby,” Slash interjects in a deeper than usual voice.

“Yes, Carter.”

My sweet thing brushes her fingertips over the uninjured side of his scalp in a way that tells me she misses his long hair. I feel her flinch as she realises that she’s given me a glimpse of their private bond, and I make a mental note to explain that I was there the first time she taunted him into breaking.

“I’m sorry?—”

“I know.”

“About that, too.” He laughs. “But, right now, I’m sorry to inform you that you’re leakin’.”

“Oh, my God.” Lily grabs hold of her chest with both hands. “I need to express.”

I allow her to slide off the bed, and watch with wide eyes as she sets up to electronic pumps. It’s the first time she’s allowed us to see this side of motherhood, instead of hiding away from us, and I am left awestruck by the miracle that is my woman’s body.

“Holy hell,” Slash mutters.

He’s perched on the end of the bed next to me.

The same awe I feel has him rapt as he observes Lily.

“Hey.” I nudge him with my shoulder. “You gonna walk away from her... from this?”

“Never.”

“Good... ’cause the next time you try, I’ll put a bullet in you.”

“Was only goin’ for the night, not forever,” he informs me in a voice only I can hear. Lily narrows her eyes, scanning us to see if we’re about to fight. I quirk my lips to show her that everything is fine. “Still, I get what you’re tryna say... so I’ll stay. Tonight, and every night.”

“That’s all she wants.”

Slash smiles in Lily’s direction. “Then that’s what she’ll get.”

Forty-five minutes later, after I’ve labelled the freshly expressed milk and deposited it into the small fridge I added to her room for this purpose, I wait for my sweet thing to finish up in the bathroom, then I follow her to bed. Having fed Garrett, her husband is already laying prone on his back on what I’ve come to understand is his side, so I assist Lily to shuffle into the middle. She’s changed into a fresh t-shirt and a pair of cotton panties that I’ve never seen before. Thankfully, the sleep shirt Lily’s chosen is a plain black one that I left here a few months ago. With her face washed and her hair secured on the top of her head, my woman smells as good as she looks, fresh faced and pure. Her bare legs are exposed momentarily, and I take in the sight until the smooth, lightly tanned skin is covered up by the covers.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I grin at her. “Although, the view was all the thanks I needed.”

Pink travels up her neck to pool in her cheeks. “Lazarus.”

“Just calling it how I see it.”

“Bloody perve,” Slash grumbles as he pulls his wife into his side.

Grinning even wider, I check Garrett a final time. He is out like a light, and will likely slumber until morning. The little man is a champion sleeper who only needs one feed a night since he started on basic solids a couple of weeks ago. Crystal has made it clear that the little man’s sleep pattern is not the norm, so we should be thanking our lucky stars that he’s so easy.

I’m dancing with danger, on the cusp of breaking the cardinal rule of never waking a sleeping baby, when I run my knuckles over his chubby cheek. He stirs, momentarily. I hold my breath. Then, after he flings an arm over his eyes and sucks faster on his dummy, I risk another touch. The sight of my hand, as big as his head, capable of murder and violence, next to Garrett’s innocent face is mesmerising. He’s a blessing. The first piece of our new existence. As the original symbol of our future, a fundamental slice of the life I died to secure, having Garrett in the same safe orbit as the twins will only cement our happiness together.

“Sleep tight, little man.”

Climbing into bed, moulding Lily’s curves to my body from behind, I hold her and breathe in her perfume. Although he has his arm flung over his eyes, just like his son, I know that Slash isn’t asleep. My sweet thing is also awake, caught between her exhaustion and worry that the two men she’s slowly allowing back into her life will start another fight. As much as I wish her husband would get his head together, I know it’s going to take time for him to fully come around.

I battle the same jealousy.

I simply hide it better.

“Go to sleep, metukà shelì.”

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