Page 70 of Rectify

“No.”

“Mateo,” she said sternly. “Come here, please.”

“No.” He glared at her, his lower lip poking out. She wasn’t about to give in to him, though. Not only because her fear was close to bubbling over but because he needed firm boundaries. If she let him, Aedan would spoil him terribly. She needed to have a word with him about setting rules and sticking to them.

“Mateo, I’m going to count to three. One . . . two . . . th?—”

Mateo took her hand.

“Good boy.” Thank God he hadn’t let her get to three. She didn’t relish racing around the park to catch him.

“Ice cream?” Mateo asked.

“No ice cream; it’s time for lunch.”

“No fun.”

No, this wasn’t fun at all.

Aedan answered his cell quickly.“Declan? Everything okay?”

“All good. They’re both home safe and sound. They left the park abruptly, though, and Mateo looked upset.”

Aedan didn’t feel guilty about sending Declan to secretly watch over Natalya and Mateo. He didn’t think someone would actually try to hurt them. All the men who’d been involved with Mateo’s kidnapping had been taken care of.

However, he didn’t want Mateo or Natalya always looking over their shoulders, constantly worried that someone might hurt them. There were so many crazies around; he was just trying to protect them.

He’d sent Declan to keep an eye on them because even though Natalya might be ready to do this on her own, he wasn’t. He’d give them the illusion of being alone, but he took his vow to take care of them seriously. He would never risk their safety.

“All right, I’ll head home.” He was due in a meeting, but nothing came before his family.

And they were his.

“I don’t think that’s necessary,” Declan replied. “They’re both having a rest.”

“All right.” He checked his watch. “I should be home just before dinner.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll look after them until you get back.”

Aedan slowly walkedinto his house. He felt so old today. He’d planned on getting home much earlier, but another crisis in London had needed his attention, so he’d spent the last few hours dealing with it. He’d much rather have been wrapped up in Natalya’s arms.

Maybe it was time to pull back permanently. His staff had proven themselves more than capable over the past few months, and he finally had something worth being at home for.

Shedding his jacket, he placed it in the hall closet. Leaning down, he picked Mateo’s jacket off the floor and hung that up as well.

Hopefully, Natalya was still awake. He really wanted to take up where they’d left things that morning.

Aedan walked into the living room, his body tightening as he spotted her on the sofa, the television playing softly in the background. As soon as she saw him, she smiled, her brown eyes warming.

“Damn, I have been looking forward to coming home to you all day.” He strode over and, picking her up, sat back on the sofa with her on his lap.

He cupped her cheek and kissed her leisurely.

“Hmm, that was worth waiting for,” she murmured.

“The only thing that would have made it better is if you were naked.”

She grinned. “Might give Declan a shock if he walked in.”

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