I
t was late when I finally pulled into the driveway, sighing with relief at being home. I used to love traveling for work, but now, I found I dreaded going. I hated leaving Katy and my girls.
My flight had been delayed leaving Toronto, then again departing Calgary, and it had been a long day. I reminded myself to speak to our travel specialist who handled our bookings. I wanted direct flights—no more stops.
I noticed although the house was dark, two lights shone in the night. The one over the front door for me and the muted glow coming from the nursery window. That meant Katy was awake with Heather, no doubt feeding her.
I pushed open my car door and stretched. The streetlamp glinted off something white, catching my eye, and I glanced toward it with a frown. I jogged down the driveway, confused at the half-dozen campaign signs on my lawn. All the political parties were represented. With a curse, I yanked them all out of the grass and carried them to the garage, tossing them into the corner. I grabbed my small suitcase and hurried into the house.
I took the steps two at a time, stopping to drop my bag into our room, then headed next door to the nursery. Exhaustion, stress, and the tension of the day drained away at the sight before me.
Dozing in the huge cuddle chair was my beautiful wife, Katy. Cradled in her arms was our baby, Heather. Tucked beside them was my Gracie. She lay across her mother’s lap like a starfish, taking up as much room, and no doubt her mother’s attention, as possible. A discarded bottle lay on the floor. They were a beautiful trio, and my little girls were both growing up far too fast for my liking.
I bit back my amusement watching them. I pulled my phone from my pocket, snapped a couple of pictures before I crossed the room to try to help settle my girls in their proper places.
I eased Heather from Katy’s arms, whispering assurances to Katy as she stirred. “It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got her.”
“You’re home,” she mumbled. “You’re late… We waited.”
“I know, baby. I’m sorry.”
She tried to pat my face and missed. “S’okay.”
Chuckling, I held her hand, kissing the palm. “I’m here now.”
“Missed you.”
Her words warmed my heart. I pressed a kiss to her head. “I missed you.”
“Hmmm.” Was all I got.
“Is she all fed?”
“Yes, all fed. Again.”
I grinned. Heather had a voracious appetite. Constantly hungry and impatient when she was made to wait for her meal.
“Okay, stay there. I’ll be back.”
She smiled, sleepy and content, letting her eyes drift shut.
Heather snuggled close to me, and I stood by her crib, not wanting to tuck her in quite yet. She was a warm, sweet-smelling weight in my arms. I rocked side to side in the motion that always soothed her, loving how she felt nestled to my chest. Finally, I laid her down, stroking the wild hair away from her forehead. She had inherited my cowlick. If she was anything like me, it was going to drive her crazy.
Once I made sure she was settled, I went back to the chair, studying Gracie. She was a light sleeper, and I knew there was a good chance once I tried to move her, she would be awake, and nothing short of one of our Daddy and Gracie raids on the ice cream tub would lull her back to sleep. We would sit at the table, her on my lap, the ice cream tub in front of us, and I would feed her tiny mouthfuls and listen to her babble on about some great event in her day, trying not to grin like an idiot the way her lisp made some words sound.
“It wath tho funny, Daddy! I laugh and laugh!”
Luckily, she must have been exhausted, because she stayed asleep through the lifting, carrying, and re-tucking into her little princess bed. Bending low, I kissed her curls, my love for her bursting in my chest.
Then I returned to the nursery. With no children on top of her, Katy had curled into a ball and was sound asleep. I tried not to laugh. She probably wouldn’t remember me coming home or talking to me, albeit briefly, when she woke up in the morning. I bent, sliding my arms under her and carrying her to our bed. Her side of the bed was straight and tidy. She had obviously been sleeping on my side, the pillow wrinkled and bunched, the blankets thrown back. She always slept there when I was gone. She said it was the only way she could sleep when I was away. My side of the bed, dressed in one of my shirts, and clutching my pillow.
I pulled back the blankets on her side and slid her in. I left her sleeping, grabbed a long, hot shower, and got ready for bed, slipping in beside her. In a second, she was nestled against me, her head on my chest and her leg tossed over mine—my own personal starfish. There was no doubt Gracie had inherited that from her.
I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
She shifted, lifting her leg, her knee rubbing over my groin, making my cock stir. Maybe she wasn’t as sleepy as I had thought.
“Katy,” I warned. “Don’t be starting something you’re too tired to finish.”
She burrowed closer, running her hand down my chest, her voice low and raspy from sleep. “I missed you so much.”
I lifted my head, peering down at her. Her eyes were drowsy and narrow but still filled with adoration. She had a way of looking at me that made me feel ten feet tall. As if I could do anything. Be anything for her.
I tugged her up my chest, my lips close to hers. “I missed you too, baby. I always miss you.”
Her hand slid under the waistband of my sleep pants. Nude sleeping had stopped once Gracie began to walk. She was adventurous and had no trouble climbing into our bed in the middle of the night.
Katy’s hand closed around my hardening cock. “I missed this, too.”
“We’re both happy to be home.”
She sat up, throwing her leg over my hips and gripping my waistband. “Up,” she commanded.
I arched, and she dragged my pants down, lowering herself until we were skin-to-skin.
“Jesus, Katy, you had underwear on a few minutes ago.”
She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “My undies exploded.”
“Exploded?”
Her voice was raspy and sexy. “They heard Richard VanRyan was back. Boom! They were gone.”
“Is that a fact?”
She stretched over my torso, the heat of her sliding along my cock. “Yeah.”
“I hope you weren’t hurt during the blast.”“A little scorched. I’m sure you can put out the fire.” She kissed me, her lips devouring mine, hungry and urgent. I gripped her hip and wound my other hand into her hair, kissing her back. The taste of my wife, the feel of her skin on mine, was like nothing else. I loved these moments with her—when it was simply us. Together.I eased back, gazing up at her. Her quiet beauty overwhelmed me at times. I stroked her soft skin, spreading my hands over her stomach.She bit her lip, for the first time not meeting my eyes as I ran small circles over the gentle curves of her. She stilled my actions, her fingers restless on top of mine.“Hey,” I called quietly. “Katy, baby, come back to me.”She lifted her eyes, and I shook my head, knowing exactly what she was thinking. I traced the light lines that bothered her so much along her hips and stomach. It wasn’t very often she was insecure with me anymore, and this was something I needed to address, once
“That would work.”“What would?”“Richard VanRyan. I’m not running for anything. I just wanted a damn sign. We could print them and put them everywhere.”I started to snicker at her silliness. “Maybe I will. I need to come up with a better slogan, though.”She giggled. “Richard VanRyan. Panty exploder.”I had to turn my head into the pillow to stop the loud peals of laughter. Only Katy could make me laugh this way. She was the first and the only one to be able to do so.“I don’t think that’s exactly PC.”“You have something better?”I thought about it, then grinned.“Sure. Richard VanRyan—I’m kind of a big deal.”It was her turn to be amused. “Whatever.” She rolled over, still laughing. “Such ego.”I wrapped my arm around her waist, dragging her back to my chest. I nibbled on her earlobe. “But I am, Katy.” I thrust my hips into her, letting her feel how big a deal I was.“Oh, go fuck yourself, VanRyan.”I snickered at her favorite expression. “I would rather fuck you.” I lifted her le
I chuckled. “So does Daddy.”He lifted one eyebrow in amusement and kissed me fast. “Yes, he does. I want to spend the weekend with my girls. I’ve missed you all too much.”I cupped his cheek. “A family weekend sounds perfect.”“Great. I looked at my calendar and next week is going to be crazy. Graham has me booked solid. You have a sitter for Thursday, right?”“Yes. The dinner?”He nodded, a grimace crossing his face. “Graham is certain we’re going to grab a few awards for the campaign for BAM. Otherwise, I’d skip it.”I studied him for a minute. “Why?” He usually enjoyed the dinners and spending the evening talking with his peers about marketing and strategies.“David will be there. From the rumors I’ve heard, things aren’t going well with his company. That will make him especially nasty. I don’t want him anywhere near you.”I stroked along his jawline, feeling the tension simply talking about David caused him. “He’s in the past, Richard. He can’t hurt us now.”He huffed out a long
The noise level was intense, the lights too bright, and the dinner, as usual, ho-hum. Looking at the two awards, however, sitting on the table and knowing it was my efforts that brought them to The Gavin Group was an incredible high. Graham had been lavish in his praise, accepting the awards and making sure the entire room knew who made them possible, even making me stand up and take a bow. Katy was so proud, she wept—silent drops of joy that told me how she was feeling. I kissed them away, then kissed her mouth.“Does this cinch the lucky part at the end?” I asked against the softness of her lips. I felt her wide smile.“Definitely.”“Win for me.”I waited in line at the bar, accepting congratulations. I ordered a round of drinks for the table and waited patiently for them to be ready, glad for a quiet moment to myself.“How does it feel?”I stiffened at the voice and turned my head slightly. David Anderson stood beside me. He looked older, the deep furrows on his forehead more pron
“Good for him.”There was a pause. Graham leaned back, now relaxed and confident. “We had a family meeting yesterday afternoon. We discussed Terence and the void that will be left with his departure. We’re going to change things up. Spread out his duties and make some adjustments. And we’re going to hire a new associate.”I was confused. Hiring a new associate wouldn’t really fill Terence’s spot. “Okay?”“We’d like it if you took him under your wing.”I was even more confused. “Sure, Graham, whatever you need.”“He’s a bit of a handful. Brad is Laura’s nephew—not long out of school. He interned with a place in Calgary but has decided to come back to BC. I know Laura and her sister have hoped he would end up here. Her sister lives an hour away, which means he’ll be close to her again. Frankly, I was never sure why he insisted on going elsewhere to work when he had the chance to be here, but he was always adamant on forging his own way.” He paused, rubbing his chin in amusement. “Lots o
Her eyes widened as she picked up the box and opened the lid. She lifted her gaze to mine then back to the box. “Richard…”She removed the diamond and sapphire bracelet from the box, the gems glinting in the light. “It’s lovely!”I reached across the table and fastened the clasp around her wrist.“The blue reminded me of your eyes, Katy. I love how they look at me—the way they see me.” I held her hand, staring at the glittering jewels. “I wanted to give you something to mark today.”She blinked at the tears forming in her eyes. “Thank you, my darling. I will treasure it always.”I leaned close and kissed the tender, thin skin of her wrist. “I’ll treasure you.”Her gaze was luminous as she regarded me. “Take me home, Richard. I need to be alone with you.”“I got a room here, and I told Mrs. Thomas we’d be really late. She said she’d sleep in the guestroom.” I winked. “I want you loud tonight.”“Take me upstairs.”I signaled for the check.We barely made it into the room. Katy was all
RichardThe next morning, I was still high from the evening with my wife. We had slept for a while, then I had made love to her again before we drove home in the early hours of the morning, dawn beginning to break as we arrived home. We snuck into the house like a couple of kids worried about being caught breaking curfew by their parents, and we tiptoed upstairs. Our girls were sleeping, safe and sound, and Mrs. Thomas snored away in the guest room, the monitor beside her blinking and ready to alert her should the girls need her.I tucked Katy into our bed and went for a run. As I pounded the pavement through our quiet neighborhood, I contemplated my life over the past few years. How it had changed. How I had changed. Contentment and happiness were two emotions I never expected to find in this life. Love was another one.Katy gave them all to me.Her gentleness, the sweetness that resided in her soul, had transformed the terse, emotionless man I had been into a person I barely recogn
He swallowed, suddenly still in the chair. “Of course. I apologize.”“Better,” I acknowledged. “Now, I have work to do. Go find Graham or Laura, and they’ll direct you to HR. Get your paperwork done, and come back and see me—knock this time before you come in. We’ll talk about my expectations.”With another hair flip, he headed for the door.“One last thing,” I called.He turned.“Get a damn haircut.”He left, pulling the door shut behind him. I sat down, staring at the closed door. I was somewhat amused, a little annoyed, and mostly confused.What the hell was Graham thinking?It wasn’t long before I had my answer. Graham appeared, pausing in my doorway, lifting his hand to knock.“May I come in?” he asked, his eyes dancing.I waved my hand. “Funny.”He sat across from me, still grinning. His wife, Laura, followed him in as he sat down.I stood and greeted her, accepting her kiss on my cheek and smiling at her. You had to smile at Laura—it was impossible not to do so. She projected