Page 103 of All The Happily Ever Afters

“I want it to be more, but that only matters if you want that too. So you tell me.” Vulnerability shines in his light blue eyes when he asks, “You want me to stay?”

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THE THINGS YOU DO TO ME

CHAPTER 1

Aria

The snow falls slowly, drifting in the wind along the once-dark tree line. With the blankets of snow covering every inch that I can see from the large kitchen window, everything shines brightly.

Parting my lips, I close my eyes and down the last bit of sweet red in the stemless wine glass. I’ve never been fond of the cold, but this ache in my chest today… it’s not from the feet of snow that keep us locked inside the house.

“He’s out there,” I whisper, feeling the brooding shadow of the man I call my husband behind me.

“Yes, songbird, our son is out there and just fine.”

With my long hair falling from my shoulder I turn around to face Carter. “When are they going to be home?”

With all of his hard features and dark gaze, Carter still manages a smirk that lights a fire in the pit of my stomach. It rages for him to deny the fact that our son is still young and lastnight was the first night he spent away from us. And now it’s snowing… feet of snow.

“Chloe said he’s having fun.”

A sigh leaves me and a part of me knows that ache in my chest is because my little baby boy is growing up. He’s on the move and wanting to play.

I miss the late-night cuddles and the way Anthony used to wrap his chubby little fingers around my pointer.

“I just wish I could see him…” I comment, making my way to the large polished counter where, upon inspection, the wine bottle I was going to get is now empty.

“You didn’t want to go. Miss ‘I don’t love the cold.’”

I stare down at my glass as if it’s a traitor and somehow it swallowed up my wine before I was able to drink it.

Two large hands grip my shoulders tenderly. Carter’s thumbs rub soothing circles along the blades of my upper back and then higher, where they dig in deeper, soothing my sore muscles.

With his lips at the shell of my ear, he whispers, “You’re stressed.”

I swallow thickly and admit, “I know.”

“You’re a good mother and he’s in very capable hands.”

“The house is empty…” I stress. Everyone else left to enjoy the snow. This house, typically filled with the sound of so many family members, is now silent.

“Yes,” Carter’s voice deepens. Moving his lips to the crook of my neck, he lets them fall and lays a kiss right there, sending a pulsing wave of desire through me. My back to his chest, he pulls me in closer and I drop the empty glass to the counter, bringing my hand up to run my fingers up the nape of his neck as he kisses me again and then says, not hiding the lust, in the shell of my ear, “We have the house to ourselves. We should take advantage of that.”

Carter

My worrying wife is beautiful.She’s always radiant and poised. When that soft smile hits her lips, life itself seems to melt away into nothing but peace. That’s what this woman gives me: a life I never thought I’d have, let alone deserve. One I want to share with her forever. I’ll give her everything to keep that smile that lingers on her wine stained lips in place, right where it belongs.

“Let’s get you another bottle…” As I take a step back, my songbird places her small hand in mine, letting me lead the way. After three years together, there’s no fight for power, no resentment at the way we came to be. I led her away from a pain and darkness that kept her trapped and she did the same for me. There is only love that remains and from me, a gratitude I’ll forever be in debt to her for giving to me.

In a dark blue, silk to the touch nightgown she glides to the wine cellar door, opening it with a soft creak, but only inches before turning on her heel in her bare feet to look up at me.

“Cross,” her voice turns tempting, with a hint of sin that dances from her tongue. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

A deep chuckle rises from my chest and the hint of a smile lingers on her lips… “Mrs. Cross,”I emphasize her name and remember a time when the idea of me responding in that way would have been an impossibility. A time when she called me ‘Cross’ out of pure resentment for who I was. “That goal is a little too easy to achieve for a man like me,” I tease her back, watching the simper on her beautiful face grow as the blush rises from her chest to her cheeks and she shyly looks away.

With a swat of her hand against my broad chest, Aria shakes her head. “Well if he’s not coming home tonight and we’remaking the most of this,” she speaks as she peeks up at me through her thick lashes, “I think I’ll have one more glass.”

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