Page 62 of War

“Ha,” I cough out a sarcastic laugh. “As if I’ll let him anywhere near me.”

“You say that now.” She sighs, like she expects me to break. “But he’ll walk in there being allWar, flaunting those tattoos. Then you’ll get a whiff of him, and before you know it, you’ll be on your back, and he’ll be eating you for dinner.”

I blink down at the phone. “Did you just make his name an adjective?”

“Did you just skirt past the whole tattoo thing?”

Scoffing, I roll my eyes. “He’s not that irresistible. I resisted him for a whole two years.”

“Exactly. You had to actively resist him. And that was before you were married. Before he was being all hot dad. If you don’t put your foot down now, you’ll never get the upper hand in this marriage.”

“Oh, don’t you worry. I know what’s at stake, and I know precisely what I need to do.” The sound of a car door slamming has my heart skittering. “Oh, he’s here.”

“You’ve got this. Remember, he wanted to restrict your orgasms, andnobodyrestricts Baby’s orgasms.”

“I think the line is nobody puts Baby in a corner?—”

“Work with me here.”

“Right. Okay.” With a tap on my phone screen to end the call, I spin toward the door, ready for action. “No one restricts my orgasms.”

Tyler

“I’m home!” I slam the door and hold my breath, waiting for the sound of squeals, for the feet padding across the floor, for the little humans hurtling their bodies against mine so they can squeeze the life out of me.

But I’m met with nothing but silence. “Hello?”

I drop my suitcase by the door and tug on my tie. Where is everyone?

“Coming,” Ava calls from deeper inside the house.

Chin lifted, I search the main floor for her. The tree is still up and twinkling in the corner, there’s a fire roaring in the hearth, and the smell of garlic and rosemary fills the air.

At the sound of footsteps on the hardwoods, I turn and spot Ava. Her red hair is a mess on her head, and she’s wearing a cozy-looking sweatshirt set without a stitch of makeup on her face.

She’s never looked more gorgeous.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes.” On instinct, I pull her into my chest, cradling her head with one hand and wrapping my other arm around her waist. Then I tug gently on her hair, tipping her head back so I can drink her in up close. “I missed you.”

Her lashes flutter, and her cheeks pinken, like maybe my reaction has surprised her. Like she didn’t expect me to be so affectionate, so honest.

Good. I like to keep my wife on her toes.

She blows out an unsteady breath, and though I’m dying to taste her, I want to give her time to adjust, so I restrain myself. For now. “Where are the kids?”

Ava shifts in my arms, like maybe she wants some space, so I release her. Then she straightens and looks up at me, wearing a smile that seems forced.

“They went to dinner with Maria. After so much travel, I assumed you’d like to decompress in a quiet house with a drink before they came home.”

Disappointment washes over me. “Decompress? Fuck no. I miss them.”

Her lips part, her eyes widening, like once again, she’s thrown off by my answer. But she quickly pulls her shoulders back and dons a neutral expression. “Well, we probably need to discuss some things before they get home. Dinner should be ready shortly.” With that, she spins on her heel and heads back to the kitchen.

With a frown, I watch her go. Something is off.

Even so, she’s right. We do have things to discuss. She didn’t answer when I FaceTimed her last night. It was late, so I wasn’t surprised that she’d fallen asleep waiting. But it means we didn’t get to have the conversation that Fitz and I discussed.

“Feel free to get yourself a drink while I finish up,” she calls.

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