Yawning, I make myself sit up. “We need to get up. Dray and Gregory probably want to go home.”
Owen flops onto his back, and I spot the exact moment when he remembers the takeaway from tonight—we’re going to be parents again—because his faceglows.
His smile. It’s nearly bright enough to burn away the remaining shadows in my soul.
Then his green gaze meets mine and once again I’m that guy in a dorm room watching my new, younger roommate as he struggles to put his side of our shared space into some semblance of order, and I’m falling in love with him all over again.
Leaning in, I kiss him. “Get up,Daddy,” I tease.
His grin widens, if that’s possible. The boys call me Papa, which helps keep the confusion in our house down to a minimum.
Our boy, however, was meant to be a dad. He lives for it. If it hadn’t been for the greater plan to get Susa elected governor, we could have become parents a lot sooner, let her make her way through the political ranks without Owen parting the jungle for her, and he would have been perfectly happy with that.
Except Susa might not have gotten elected governor.
Doesn’t matter now. She’s free to fly or fail from this point on. I helped get her elected, Owen’s able to retreat from the limelight, and I’m about to start another chapter in my life.
I’m thinking retiring from law sounds like a damn spiffy idea. I could take campaign consulting jobs if I’m bored, but it means I could set my own schedule and focus on my boy and our children.
My own dream come true.
We finally manage to get vertical and clean up. We strip the bed and get dressed and I pick up the ornament to stare at it, a smile on my face.
This will go onourtree this year. No more juggling schedules and having to be extra sneaky to get Owen to an appointment first so the press doesn’t catch on. No more worrying about having ready excuses in case someone asks. Because in a case like this, a non-answer is worse than an outright lie, and will send reporters off on the scent of a juicy story.
Susa’s already proven herself to the voting public. Pictures of her nursing the boys while working in her office helped us with a breastfeeding campaign that was one of her special projects during her second term as lieutenant governor. She easily silenced any detractors who thought she wouldn’t be able to fully devote her time or energy to her work.
Surviving a plane crash helped, too.
“Oh, grab the bathroom trash,” I remind Owen.
“Right.” He ducks back in to grab the bag. I’m paranoid, yes, but no reason to get sloppy now, with less than a month left in Owen’s term.
I text the head of the security detail that we’re ready to leave, and by the time we make it downstairs, they’re waiting for us in the driveway to ferry us back to the townhouse. There, Owen enters his townhouse through his front door, but he’s back in ours in seconds through the door upstairs.
After Susa tells the men our news, we bid Dray and Gregory goodnight. As they’re getting ready to leave, I say it, ever the bastard.
“Tell Ethan we said hi.”
Gregory still looks a little embarrassed, but Dray’s a pro now, after eight-plus years of my tutelage. He turns with a smile on his face. “Will do, Chief. He’s pretty…anxious for us to get home. I might have been mean and tormented him before we left and told him he had to wait. Gave him an early Christmas gift. He’s going to have to learn how to get comfortable…locked up.”
I…fuckingroarwith laughter and now know why Dray asked me for recommendations for a chastity cage a few weeks ago. “You’ve learned well, Grasshopper.”
Dray’s smile turns evil. “Hey, I learned at the feet of a master, mister.”
I give him a lazy salute and lock the door behind them once they’ve departed.
Susa goes to the utility room to put the sheets in the washer. I hand the ornament to Owen to hang on our tree and watch the way his throat works as he tries to swallow back his emotions.
“Best Christmasever,” he whispers as he stares at it.
“Sure is,Governor.”
That earns me a smile, and he pulls me in for another long, soulful kiss that probably would have stirred my cock were I not already exhausted.
“Love you so goddamned much, you fucking bastard.”
I reach up and brush the hair away from his eyes. “Love you, too, Owen.”
