Page 75 of Southpaw Slots

“I want a house with my wife and kids. I want to be a dad. I want to feel safe and know that you all are, too. That’s it. I guess that’s pretty stupid. Or lazy or something.” Thinking about our boyfriend checking up on our security right now, I can’t imagine being away from him, either. But I don’t say anything. Not until I’m sure she’s okay.

“No! That’s my dream, too.” After a swallow, she asks, “Asa?”

“Yes, empress?”

“I think we should meet with Cal.”

My brow furrows. If I wasn’t in some post-coital bliss, I think I’d be mad at her suggestion, but I listen. “Why?”

“I think he’ll have some answers we need about Barrington.”

Shaking my head, I close my eyes.

“Am I interrupting something?” Wyatt stands withhis hand on the doorknob and his guns at his sides. Some momentary fear strikes me that we’re lying here in a vulnerable position while he’s loaded. But that’s ridiculous. This isWyatt.

Arianna slides off me and goes into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Standing, I pull up my jeans and zip them. “You gonna shoot me or what?” I ask him.

His neck takes a moment to relax, but he then sets the weapons on the dresser. His voice is flat as he asks, “What happened?”

I toss my arm over his shoulders and lead him into the hall. “Come on. Let’s talk in the office downstairs.”

Flopping into my leather chair at my desk, I prop my feet on the top as Wyatt sits in front of me. His elbows rest on his knees as he cradles his chin, which bobs as his leg bounces rapidly up and down.

When he lifts his green eyes to me, there’s hurt behind them. “You had sex without me.”

“I’m sorry. It just sort of happened. Like that day with us in the pool. It won’t happen again.”

His jaw clenches. “But you stopped it then. With us.”

“Yeah…” Somehow, I don’t really feel an ounce of guilt for having sex with my wife without him around.

If Arianna is telling the truth and didn’t misinterpret things, I could cause her more danger if I mention the video. She obviously didn’t tell him about it.

“I was thinking,” I say, and his eyes narrow even more.

He stills, not moving an inch. “You want me gone? You’re leaving me?”

Confused, my lips purse. “What?No. Not at all.” Wandering to the other side of the divide between us, I grip his hand. “The opposite. But I think Arianna is feeling, I don’t know, maybeprotectiveof the baby. And this is causing her to feel different about you. I think.”

His eyes widen. “Shit. Really? What should I do? Should I?—”

My first instinct is to tell them to talk it out, but I pause. “I think I’d give her some space for a bit.” Placing his hand on my thigh, I squeeze it. “Just for a little bit, though. I can’t be without you. But I…I’m going to try to calm her down.”

He sneers as his gaze drops to my crotch. “With your dick?”

The vitriol of his reply is like a dagger in my heart. “I mean, by trying to get her to come around to you because I fucking love you.” Oh, shit. I didn’t mean for that to slip out.

Standing, he presses his chest into mine. Our bodies are so close, I can almost feel the reverberations of his heart beating in his hard chest. “You do?”

I don’t say anything until he grabs my body and pulls me into him. His lips meet my neck, and he whispers, “Because I love you.”

My hands latch onto his ass, and we thrust into each other for a moment as our mouths meet. When his groan rips through his throat, I feel it on my tongue. But Arianna needs me to be on her side. And she wouldn’t like seeing this, so I pull back. “We-we’ll figure this out. I have a job for you.”

With his eyes closed, he pants out, “What’s that, maverick?”

“I wantyouto take over this political campaign you’ve been pushing on me. I think you would have a better time getting votes than me and you’d be much better at it.”

Holding me at arm’s length, his face lights up. “What? Are you serious? I have ideas that I can use to change this place for the better. Makerealchanges for the people. Do you want to see my plan?” Sliding his phone from his pocket, he shows me a note with some community organizers and places for rallies and so forth, but at the top are some slogans like, “You’ll have an Ace in the hole if you vote for Donovan!”

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