Page 143 of Savior

Celia stood on the porch with her hands on her hips. “Save you? Is mean old Pops getting you?”

“Old?” I cocked my head the side and set Charlie down before stalking toward Celia. “Did you just call me old, princess?”

‘Wun, Cece!” Charlie warned, before taking off through the paddling pool, kicking water over the side.

“I got her.” Dakota jumped up from the picnic table and took off after her niece with a growl.

A hint of a smile played on Celia’s lips as she watched Charlie tear across the yard like an excited puppy. “I’m not scared of him!” she called before walking inside.

As if she was concerned that I wasn’t going to follow, she looked over her shoulder with an arched eyebrow and licked along her top lip. “If I run like that, would you chase me?”

Every part of me hardened at the thought of chasing her through the orchard. “Guess it depends on what you’re wearin’…”

She lifted her chin. “Nothing.”

We were expecting a crowd within hours, but all I could think about was getting inside my wife. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Charlie would just have to wait for her ride.

I looked up at the clock on the wall. “What time’s everyone gettin’ here, princess? Need to fuck you. Hard.”

Her eyes flared with lust, and she popped the top button on her sundress with a wicked grin. “Do you need to take something first?”

“Goddammit. Bedroom. Now.” I swatted her ass as she slipped around me and down the hall. We both froze at the sound of a groan coming from the bathroom.

“You think someone’s sick?” Celia whispered with a frown.

I adjusted myself through my jeans and tapped lightly on the door, listening to the faint sound of running water. “Everything okay?”

When there was no answer, I turned the handle and immediately wished that I hadn’t. My daughter sat on the counter with her legs thrown over Nate’s shoulders, the back of her head resting against the mirror.

The tattoo I’d been so curious about was Charlie’s name woven in script. I knew because Kate wasn’t wearing a goddamn thing.

“Fuck,” I cursed, slamming the door behind me.

“Daddy?” Kate shrieked, sounding just like her daughter. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Thought you were sick, sweetheart. Obviously, I was wrong. Christ, was I wrong.” I fell back against the wall with a groan before looking over to where Celia was hunched over, shaking with laughter. “The fuck are you laughin’ at? They’re fuckin’ in our bathroom!”

“Because we thought we had a few minutes to ourselves,” Kate grumbled from the other side of the door. “Kinda hard to find time alone with a toddler.”

“Your father and I were just going outside to check on the kids. I assume we’ll be gone for twenty… maybe even thirty minutes.”

I frowned and jerked my thumb toward the bedroom. “I thought we were gonna—”

“Later.” She pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth and walked toward the front door, leaving me with a raging case of blue balls.

“The world’s in a sorry state when a man can’t fuck his wife in his own house,” I grumbled as I followed her outside.

Mikey waved me over to the smoker when I stepped out onto the porch. “Settle this for me, Pops. Hurricanes would be nothing without Killian Reed.”

I looked to Zane for a translation. “The baseball team out of Houston. He thinks that the only reason they’ve done as well as they have is because of Reed; not the organization as a whole. It’s bullshit. You’re just pissed that your Rangers are in a slump.”

I nodded dumbly. “Sure. Okay, well I’m just gonna find Charlie and take her for a—”

“Wait a second. Can you watch this for me, Big Guy?” He pointed toward the smoker.

Zane rolled his eyes. “Because you’ve been so much help. Don’t worry, sweetie, I’ll make sure we have dinner.”

“That’s why I love you, pumpkin,” Mike crowed, holding his middle finger in the air. He ran a hand through his short hair before asking, “You got a minute to talk? I got something I wanna show you.”

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