Page 93 of Off the Rim
"I'm so fucking proud of you, baby." I kiss him hard, not able to wipe the smile from my face. "I love you so much."
It's not long before the kiss grows heated all over again. Ten years, and we're still so hard for each other.
"Drive, Princess. I need you."
MARCUS
Another Fifteen Years Later
Leather creaks as I lean back in my chair, looking around at the mostly empty space. The large glass-topped desk and comfortable new chair were a surprise I found waiting for me in my new office when I arrived an hour ago. That's not all that was waiting for me. There was also a very tall, very sexy, and very naked Ashton bent over said desk to welcome me to my new job. It's my first day working behind a desk, which I haven't been sure about, but I'm admittedly feeling much more comfortable with it now.
Ash walks out of the private bathroom attached to my office and hands me a warm washcloth.
"I could have done this," I say, trying to hide the fact that I'm still panting.
"You put in more than your fair share with that one," he laughs. "Shit, I might be getting too old to keep up with you. Maybe now that you've got a desk job, you'll be less fit."
Laughing, I shake my head and clean myself up. It was definitely athletic. It's been a while since we flip fucked on every available surface, none of them soft. These days we're a lot tamer and keep it to the bedroom, although we're still just as needy for each other as we were in our twenties.
"We're not old."
"Tell that to our kids."
"They're five and seven. Anyone over high school age seems ancient to them."
Our daughter Ashley and younger son Rome are our entire world these days. Even just bringing them up in conversation makes me smile, and I can tell Ash is getting choked up.
"Are we sure they're going to be okay for a whole weekend? I know your mom and Greg can handle them just fine, but what if they miss us?"
I chuckle and stand to wrap my arms around my husband's waist. "They'll be fine. They know they can video chat us anytime, and I'm sure they know their daddies will drop everything to come get them if they need us to."
The best part of being dads is getting to see Ash give his daughter and son the childhood he never had. He's so incredibly tender and sweet with them. I'll never forget the day the nurse placed our daughter in his arms for the first time. She looked so tiny.Despite assuring me he wanted kids just as much as I did, I could tell he was apprehensive. It took what felt like forever to file all the paperwork with the adoption agency, and for the longest time we worried it would never happen for us.
We'd planned to adopt an older child, but when our adoption agency called and said there was a baby born less than an hour from us that needed a home, we were there. The moment we saw her, we knew she was ours. Then, two years later, we got another call. Ashley's birth mother, Renae, was going to have another baby. She was in a bad situation and had made the decision that she couldn't care for the baby. I have so much respect for the woman that not only brought our babies life but was aware and compassionate enough to make sure they were taken care of. After Rome was born, with a little extra help from her new family, Renae was able to escape her abusive boyfriend and go back to school. These days, she’s still a close member of our family. She keeps in contact and visits on holidays and for special events.
Ash takes a breath. "I know you're right. And this is a big day! What time are they getting here?"
"Their flight doesn't get in until one, so I imagine they won't be here until two-ish. You scheduled the car service, right?"
"Lana did."
"How excited are you to meet your celebrity crush? I'm surprised you aren't primping right now."
"Oh, shut up."
"You shut up. We both know you're going to drool all over the poor man while he's here."
"I'm pretty sure his husband is coming along with them. Besides," he says stuffily, straightening his shirt cuffs. "I'm a professional."
I snort, unable to help myself. "However professional you are, I know you're going to be picturing him in baseball pants the entire time."
"Like you're not."
He's not wrong. Gabe Rodgers and his business partner Elliot Hope are both gorgeous. But my husband has a long-standing obsession with bubble butts, and the former catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays has more junk in his trunk than even I do.
"You forget I've already met with him several times. Unlike you, I can control myself. And I'm not the one on trial here."
"Why am I on trial again?" He asks, pulling me against him tighter and trailing his hand down my back to cup my ass.
