Page 234 of Deceit

“Depends on who you ask.”

“Well, I’m saying you’ve been bad—“ He nestles his face into the crook of my neck. “—and do you know what they get?”

I smile wickedly. “Dick.”

“No,lackof dick.” My nose wrinkles before Bishop’s tongue tastes my carotid artery. “But there’s always extra credit and good deeds that can be done to make up for it.”

“Such as?”

“Giving me what I want.” His lips softly clasp around my neck as he slowly makes out with it, sending shivers down my whole frame. “I want to take what was supposed to be mine.”

The twins.

I can’t help the immediate defeat that slams through my body. How it slumps and coils to keep from hurting anymore.

I haven’t even begun to wrack my brain on how or what I could’ve done differently in our relationship so we didn’t come to this.

I won’t do it.

I refuse because I wouldn’t stop blaming myself. We were both stubborn when we shouldn’t have been.

Fear is a powerful and petty bitch.

It’ll eat at you so much that the alternative really isn’t one anymore. It acts as a safety net, claiming that if you stay, you won’t get hurt. That you won’t suffer.

I suffered.

I hurt the ones I loved the most.

Bishop nudges me with the tip of his nose. “When you’re quiet, you freak me out.”

I adjust my body to face Bishop and see into his blue eyes. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but I know that I like to be within their scope.

“You’re too good to me.”

Bishop’s forehead creases. “Do you know who I am?”

“Take me home.”

Bishop shakes his head. “Can’t, baby. Not yet.”

My nostrils flare but—fuck me, man, he’s on a roll—he’s right again.

“I kicked Mills out of his place so we could hang out alone with the kids. We got all day.”

“I’ll take it.” I give him a small smile and press a kiss to his lips. “Thank you…for everything.”

Emmy and the babies are bonded like no other, and they definitely know who she is.

We spent the day in Mill’s condo, holding, feeding, and changing diapers—I’m actually pretty decent at everything. Alaric and I connected and chilled while watching the scores on ESPN. Atlas and Emmy sang horribly and made up songs but my wife—she’s still mine in my head, I don’t give a fuck what a piece of paper has to say—is a natural.

Magnificent in each second and moment of us all being together.

A family.

I ordered food, and we ate while the babies napped. Emmy cuddled up with me on the couch, her head resting on my chest as I watched TV, always on alert, not trusting that Alexander isn’t all that stupid as I believe him to be.

Never underestimating the enemy.

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