Page 43 of The Light to My Darkness (The Light to My Darkness 1)

I wasn't sure how it had morphed into killing a beast instead of attacking a prince.

James opened one eye to look at me laughing.

"Kids, I think he's still alive!" I pointed to his opened eye.

"Get 'em!" Scarlett jumped onto his back.

James cringed when she landed right on his spine.

Crap. Every now and then James' back would give out. Based on the expression on his face, I was pretty sure Scarlett's landing hadn't magically fixed it. And I couldn't imagine taking care of these kids all day without his help. "Okay," I said and lifted Scarlett off his back. "How about you guys go clean up the board game and pick out a new one to play?"

The three of them ran off toward the family room.

"Are you alright?" I asked.

"Ow," he mumbled and turned his face away from me. He hated when I saw him in pain. The years together hadn't changed that.

I knelt down next to him on the floor and gently touched his lower back. He didn't seem to have any reaction to that, which was good. I pushed up the bottom of his t-shirt and applied the smallest amount of pressure on his skin. "Does that hurt?"

Suddenly, he rolled onto his back, pulled me on top of him, and started tickling my sides.

"James!" I said in the small amount of breath I could take between fits of giggles. "You liar! You're not hurt at all."

He continued tickling me.

"Stop!" I laughed. "I can't breathe."

His hands settled o

n my waist. "How many times do you think we've had sex right here?"

I put my index finger against his lips. "James, lower your voice. The kids are in the other room."

He tickled my side again so my hand slipped from his mouth. "God you're beautiful."

I smiled down at him. "You can't flatter me out of this one. I think Scarlett picked up this lying fix from you."

He shook his head. "A trick is different than a lie."

"I thought you were really hurt."

"No. I just wanted you on top of me." He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "But really. We used to come back from events and have sex right when we stepped into our apartment. Do you remember that?"

I bit the inside of my lip. How could I possibly forget? "I might need a reminder."

He ran his thumb along my lip so that I'd stop biting it. "Kiss me, Penny."

I leaned down and placed my lips against his.

He grabbed the back of my head to deepen the kiss. And he wasn't kissing me like our house was filled with company. He was kissing me like we had just gotten back from a gala where we both had too much to drink.

"I remember," I whispered.

I could feel his smile in the kiss. I could feel every emotion when our bodies were intertwined like this.

"What on earth are you two doing on the floor?" Ellen said as she came into the apartment. "James, you're going to throw out your back again."

"We were just getting up," he said and slapped my ass.

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