“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 and for all.
“These don’t bother me, Katy, and they shouldn’t bother you. They don’t make you less beautiful—only more so to me. They’re part of you. Part of us. You have them because for nine months you cradled, nurtured, and carried our children—my children—inside you. These little lines are proof of the strength you have. Tiny reminders of the wonder that your body is to me.” I raised myself up and kissed her, pouring all the love I felt into the kiss. “Of the wonder you are to me.”
“How do you always know the right thing to say?”
“It’s not the right thing, Katy. It’s the truth.”
“I love you,” she whispered.
“Good.” I winked at her. “Because I’m about to fuck you, and I need you to be with me on that.”
She grinned, her dark moment passing. She pushed me back to the mattress. “Oh, I’m with you, VanRyan.”
She shifted, lifting her hips, and my cock slid along her folds, the heat and wet making me hiss. She sat up and engulfed me fully.
I slammed my head back into the pillow. “Fuck!”
“Yes,” she moaned and began to move. “Yes. Fuck me, Richard.”
I matched her rhythm, thrusting up into her. “Katy, baby, you’re wild tonight.”
“I’ve been thinking about you all day.” She rolled her hips, leaning back and taking me deeper. “Thinking of you inside me. Oh God, Richard…”
I flipped her over, staying inside, and drove into her mindlessly. She whimpered and cried out, her blunt nails digging into my shoulder. I covered her mouth with mine, needing her taste and her silence. I didn’t want Gracie wandering in right now. I would scar my daughter for life, because there was no way I could stop fucking my wife.
Katy stilled, screaming her release into my mouth. I rode it out, my orgasm crashing in around me, tightening my balls, sending shards of pleasure down my spine. I thrust one last time, groaning her name as I came, hard and shaking.
Then I collapsed on her.
She wrapped her arms around me, her touch a gentle balm to my soul.
“I love you, Katy.”
I felt her smile against my skin. “I know.”
I chuckled, pulling myself away. I tucked her into my side, tugging the blankets over us.
“Everything okay while I was gone?”
“Yes. Jenna and Laura came for a visit and checked on us. Graham called to make sure we were okay. How was the trip?”
“Good. It went well.”
“The BAM boys behaving themselves?”
“For now. Becca sends her love. There are some gifts in the suitcase for the girls.”
“Oh, lovely. I miss her. Is she okay?”
“Seems to be.”
“Is Reid treating her well?”
I snorted. “The boy is head over heels for her. He’d give her the world if he could, so yeah, she’s fine.”
“I need to call her and check up on her. Make sure she’s all right. I know she’s still settling. She sounded stressed last time I spoke to her.”
“She’s gonna come home for a visit soon. I’m sure she was busy the day you spoke. If she needs to talk before, she’ll reach out.”
“Nope. I’m going to call her. She might be worried about bothering me. You know what she’s like. I want her to be okay.”
I sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing with her—it was a lesson I had learned in our time together. Katy was stubborn—a fact I adored about her. She loved my old assistant Becca and missed her greatly. Another fact I adored about my wife—the way she cared for people.
I remembered what I had seen when I’d pulled up to the house.
“Hey, what are all those bloody political signs on the lawn for?”
“Oh. Well, the candidates asked, and I didn’t want to say no to anyone, so I let them all put up a sign.”
“I hate those things.”
“So, take them down.”
“I did. I tossed them in the garage.”
She laughed. “They’ll probably put up new ones.”
I groaned. “Damn it. How can I stop it? Cover the grass with poison ivy? Fence it off and station a guard dog inside?”
“A little drastic, don’t you think?”
“You have a better suggestion?”
“Maybe you should put up your own sign.”
I was confused. “I’m not running for anything, Katy. I don’t have a damn sign.”
“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
He shifted. “I’m not used to that.”“Neither was I when I got here. This place, the people, are different.” I studied him. “Graham told me he offered you a job right out of school, but you refused. May I ask why?”He was quiet. “I thought Uncle—I mean Graham—was boring. That his company was old-fashioned and dull, which is why I went to Calgary and got on with a different firm. I wanted to make a mark. My mark.”“Graham is anything except dull. This company is one of the most respected marketing firms in the country—the world, in fact. Dull isn’t a word associated with The Gavin Group.” I indicated the walls and the awards sitting on my shelves. “Their track record speaks for itself.”He stared, not saying anything.“Never confuse integrity and class with being dull, Brad. Be proud to be part of this team. Use it and learn. This place will make you better.” I closed the files on my desk. “This is an opportunity to grow.”He stood, contemplative and silent. He took the files I held out