Page 83 of The Locksmith's Promise

With a guttural cry, he arched back and froze in place, his cock pulsing as he spilled his seed inside me.

And for just a moment I wished we’d foregone the condom that I might bring another little Baxter into the world.

That we might get a do-over.

Curling around me, he pressed his mouth to mine, once, twice, a third time, then carefully withdrew and padded into the bathroom.

Coming back out, he lifted first one foot, then the other, slipping my shoes off and setting them on the floor. Then, flopping onto his back on the bed, he wrapped his arms around me and hauled me into his side. “Come cuddle with me.”

Nestling my head against his chest, I traced the thin line on his lower abdomen that so utterly entranced me while he ran his fingers back and forth along the lace edge of my stockings.

“You probably shouldn’t do that until you’re ready for round two,” he murmured.

“Who says I’m not?” I teased.

He chuckled softly. “I’m not the young man you remember either, baby. I’m going to need more than thirty seconds to regroup.”

I sighed dramatically. “The downfall of dating an older man.”

“If your pussy hadn’t just sucked the life from my body, I’d make you pay for that remark.”

“I’ll take a raincheck,” I murmured, happy and replete, the man I loved more than life stretched out beside me.

We lay quietly, his breath evening out as my own body gently returned to earth. My mind drifted, lazily reliving every moment of the past hour.

My hand stilled. I splayed my fingers wide and smoothed my palm up his torso to press it over his heart. “Bax, what happened to your back?”

He stiffened, his hand pausing momentarily before carrying on. “I woke up like that the morning everything went to hell.”

Something wasn’t right. “Don’t you think you would have woken up no matter how drunk you were?”

He inhaled deeply, his wide chest rising and falling. “I think I’ve never been as happy as I am in this moment, Mags.”

He rolled me onto my back and wedged his hips between my thighs. “We have several far more important things to discuss.” Eyebrows wagging, he dipped his chin and looked at me from beneath his brow. “And not one of them requires words.”

20

Reprieve

Baxter

The temperature had dropped since we’d arrived.

I stuffed my hands in my front pockets and bent my head against the wind as I half walked, half jogged, to Ayana’s.

I left Maggie and her little purple toes soaking in the jacuzzi tub with a glass of champagne.

I’d gaped at her toes as the penny dropped. “They match your lingerie,” I stated.

She smiled. “Lingerie is my other indulgence.”

I thought back to every colour I’d seen thus far. Did she have sexy lingerie in every colour? I’d be peeling her socks off every day just to torture myself until I earned the privilege of sleeping beside her every night.

I shook my head and picked up my pace because I promised my lady dinner. What I didn’t tell her was that I called ahead to Ayana’s and ordered us dinner to go.

It wasn’t something Ayana’s usually did, but when I explained the situation, the woman who answered the phone sighed and confessed she was a sucker for a second chance romance.

The fact I ordered twice as much as I would have had we shown up for our reservation might have helped.

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