Page 20 of Enduring Magic

From her position beneath Coop,Summer stretched her arms over her head and yawned. “Best nap ever!”

His deep chuckle resonated inside her chest, causing a tickling sensation. Running her hands down the smooth skin of his back, she settled them over his generously muscled ass and squeezed.

“Goddess, you’re good at that.”

“I could say the same about you, sweetheart.”

Coop dropped a kiss on her lips and started to roll, but she held him in place.

“I’m not done with you yet,” she said. “I’m going to need more. Much more.”

His brows shot up even as his penis twitched against her belly, hardening inch by delicious inch. “Far be it for me to deny you, but what if our baby comes out with a dent in his head?”

She laughed. “Olivia didn’t, and you know how insatiable I was then.”

“True.” Gathering up her hair from beneath her neck, he spread it out on the pillow around her, then he gazed down at her with all the brightness of the noonday sun. “There is nothing I would deny you, Summer. You know that, right?”

“Good. Because you know what I want,” she said huskily.

He grinned, and she felt a rush of heat at the apex of her thighs. How the hell he made her wet with a grin, she’d never know, but the carnal look in his eyes only added to her desire. And when he slowly entered her, joining with her until she couldn’t tell where her body ended and his began, she moaned her pleasure.

Coop took his time loving her, not rushing despite her urging. And as frustrated as she was, she appreciated his thoroughness that much more. When she was finally satiated, the baby monitor let her know Olivia was awake and ready to play.

“Ugh. Is it wrong to say I miss the days of single, childless adulthood? I mean, I wouldn’t trade what we have for the world, but all my limbs are refusing to cooperate. I feel like I’m made of rubber,” Summer complained.

“I’ve got this. Take a real nap, and I’ll wake you in a few hours.”

“You’d do that for me?”

“Anything, remember?”

“I adore you.”

He laughed. “Good. Let’s keep it that way.” With a quick, affectionate kiss, he drew up his jeans and pulled a shirt over his head. “Get some rest. Dinner will be ready when you wake up.”

As Summer listened to Coop talk to Olivia through the monitor, she smiled sleepily. The love he felt for their child was evident in his tone and teasing. Olivia’s giggles were proof positive that she loved him just as much. How could she not? Coop was everything a father should be: attentive, caring, and protective.

Summer pressed her palms together. “Thank you, Exalted One, for the blessings you’ve bestowed upon my family.”

She almost imagined she heard, “You’re welcome, child.”

Smiling, she drifted to sleep.

9

ONE MONTH LATER

Summer grabbed Autumn’s wrist and dragged her into the closest room, putting her finger to her lips until she shut the door.

“I can’t find it!”

“It?”

“Yes, it.It!Coop’s wedding ring.” A full meltdown was imminent.

“What did you do with it?”

Giving her sister the universal look foryou’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Summer threw up her hands. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here, freaking out onyou! I’d be getting ready to walk down the aisle.” She picked up the tulle hem of her dress and started to pace. “I can’t get married without that ring. Coop and I spent two hours designing our matching set, and Knox went through the trouble to make them for us.” Stopping, she fanned her face, overly warm in her heightened state of panic. “I’m drawing a blank, and even if I could remember the design, I can’t just conjure another one, Tums. I’m a water elemental, not metal.What am I going to do?”

---