I slid into his chair and smoothed my hand down Lynx’s bare arm. A shiver ran through her, and I all too willingly absorbed it. When she looked at me, I pressed my lips to her forehead, marking her in front of everyone watching us.
That’s right, they should know. I was laying claim for good.
“You want a baby, Lynx?” It was a whisper, soft enough for only her to hear. When she closed her eyes, I traced the small furrow in her brow with my lips. “I want you to have my babies. One or ten, I don’t care, I just want it with you.”
“What if I don’t deserve them? Babies.” She leaned in, whispering in my ear.
“You do. You need to see someone, get over this. Nat has me all cock-blocked, keeping me at arm’s length, and I fucking hate it. Then you don’t sit next to me. I want to know what’s going on,” I said, my whisper more of a growl. “I want in, all the way in.”
My lips sought Lynx’s, and I kissed the fuck out of her. If she would have told me to stop, I would have, but she didn’t. So I kissed her.
Vaguely, I heard a catcall and a whistle. These were our friends, our family, so who cared? Not me.
“Lynx,” I said softly. “I’ll do anything to help you get over this, climb this mountain.”
“Michael.” This time when she breathed my name, it wasn’t meant to be a deterrent. It was a salve.
“Want to get out of here?”
She nodded.
Grabbing her hand, I stood from the table and gave everyone a quick wave. “We’re out.”
Natalie waved back. “Lynx, don’t forget we’re taking the twins to the playground in the morning. Quinney is going to go to work with Ash and Mike.”
“Quinn,” the young buck growled at her from next to his father.
With a smile like a cat that ate all the cream, Natalie turned back to her conversation. She didn’t care what any of those alpha brutes said; she did what she wanted. We’d all learned that a long time ago.
As for tonight, the little vixen set me up. Pushed my buttons by keeping me in the dark when it came to Lynx, tossing me right into the open flames.
“The place is really turning out gorgeous.” Lynx squeezed my hand as we walked through the almost complete lobby. Soon we would start bringing in a few travel experts to get a glimpse of the Firefly.
“I never thought I’d go into the hotel biz, but I guess it’s in my blood.”
“That’s not a bad thing. You can be like your dad when it comes to business.”
“Not entirely like him. I want to add my own touch. See things the way I see them. As for the personal stuff, we can’t ever really be family,” I told her. “I never wanted to do what he did—tear my family apart, make my kid feel unwanted, and walk away unmarked.”
“You could never. Your heart is way too big. That’s why they call you Big Mike.”
“You mean it’s not for my muscles?”
This got me the full-on smile, a laugh, and a punch in the arm. I’d take another.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked as we stood in the circular driveway, my convertible out front.
“Can we take a ride?”
“Yep, let’s go.”
Opening the door for her, I watched Lynx slide into my BMW and remembered all the nights I’d driven around, endlessly looking for her.
She was here now, and I planned to keep it that way.
After jumping in the driver’s seat, I pressed the gas pedal and we sped out. My hand worked the manual shift, and for the first time, I was pissed I didn’t buy the automatic.
I drove north to Miami Beach, past all the luxury hotels, and pulled over at the end of the strip. When I lowered the top, the ocean air surrounded us in its salt and humidity, and I took in the beauty in front of me.
