Page 56 of Tusk's Fury

“How do I look?” I ask Tusk.

Without missing a beat, he responds, “Like a beautiful woman who might need her pussy licked later.”

I press my lips together to keep from laughing because I know he’s just trying to be outlandish for a laugh. We can’t do that kind of thing in the middle of the day with a houseful of active kids and a baby between us.

“Babe, I’m afraid we’re going to have to work on our timing.”

My devilishly handsome old man just grins as he stretches out on his side with one arm folded under his head and the other resting on our baby. I follow his good example. We gaze down at the miracle we created together, all curled up warm and sleeping between us. I watch how Tusk gazes down at her small form. His expression is almost adoring.

“I never get tired of looking at her tiny face.”

“My son was right. Victoria is tiny, soft, and pretty like her mother. She’s got your pretty blonde hair, and she definitely has your eyes.”

“She has your nose, strong and straight,” I reassure him.

“I hope she gets your kindness and understanding, ‘cause she’s gonna need it with four older brothers and an overprotective dad like me.”

“If she’s as smart as I think she’s going to be, she’ll love you and your boys with her whole heart. I mean, what’s not to love?”

A smile ghosts over his face as he reaches up to graze the back of two fingers across Victoria’s cheek. She shifts in her sleep, nuzzling closer to his touch. “It feels a bit surreal. All those months we were apart, you having my baby was the last thing I expected.”

“But you’re happy about it, right?” I shouldn’t need to ask that question. It’s my self-doubt. I just need to hear him say the words.

“I’m fuckin’ ecstatic.” After a heartbeat, he adds, “I’m also ecstatic about you giving me another chance. I promise that I won’t mess it up this time. That ex of mine is staying in the rearview where she belongs. I’m warning you right now that she’s gonna pop up occasionally and say anything she thinks will get her what she wants. Don’t believe a fuckin’ word she has to say. You call me straight away, and I’ll deal with her. After being married to her and having four kids with her, I know exactly how to handle her kind of crazy.”

“What about my kind of crazy?” I ask.

He grins because he knows I’m teasing him. “I fuckin’ love your kind of crazy because it’s not all that crazy and comes with a supersized side of love. I’m not stupid. I see you doing everything in your power to take care of our daughter and make sure she’s fed, clothed, and comfortable around the clock. I also see how sweet you are to my boys. And you don’t treat their dad half bad either. You’re the one for me, Britt, the only woman I’ll ever want.”

“Aw, you say the sweetest things, babe. It’s easy to love you and your boys, and despite all the round-the-clock feeding and diaper changes, I am somehow still crazy about our daughter.”

“Do you ever think about the future, Britt, or are you happy to just live in the now?”

“You mean what our life is going to look like moving forward?” When he nods, I think it over for a second. “I guess I always assumed it would look like what we’re doing now. Living in your apartment, taking care of your boys when they come over, you working, me working when the baby is a little older, and us just making out like crazy every night.”

He chuckles under his breath. “If you think we’re gonna have the time and energy to make out every night, you clearly have not lived through the toddler and preschool years when they are into everything that’s not nailed shut.”

“It’s fine. Once I fully recover from giving birth, I’ll get my energy back. I plan to spend it all chasing our kids.”

“Alright, but I gotta point out that trying to stay in our apartment is probably not a good idea. We’re cramped as it is.”

“I don’t mind where we live as long as it’s together, and I don’t see that we have a choice. We’re not millionaires, you know?”

“Yeah, but I’m currently half a millionaire.”

I laugh so hard that I almost wake the baby up. “What’s half a millionaire?”

“A guy who has five hundred grand, or close to it. When I joined the club, I kind of threw myself into work. And sometimes I do dangerous jobs for the club, and payouts either seem to be nothing or several times they were five figures.”

“That’s great,” I tell him. “I’ve got ten grand to add to the pile, if that helps.”

“It might. What I’m suggesting is that we start looking for a house together at some point in the not-too-distant future.”

I swallow thickly. “So that we can have the stability of a real family?”

He nods, gazing at me like he doesn’t know if I understand the significance of what he’s saying. I do understand, but I’m still worried about my past catching up with me. “We can get a good security system installed, right?”

“Of course. Zen and Tex team up to make sure every brother’s house has a security system. As you probably noticed, I have a Ring camera on the door and double deadbolts. We don’t need anything other than that because visitors have to get buzzed in through the front desk if they don’t have a keycard at this apartment complex.”

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