“Take it easy, son. Just have yourself a nice sleep full of happy dreams, okay?” He gently kissed his son’s head.
The sight of big, scary, masculine Jim turning into sweet, gentle, loving Jim never failed to warm Tasha from the inside out but watching him today almost took her breath away.
“Hey baby, you eavesdropping again?” He turned with a smile at the sight of her watching him.
“No,” she protested making her husband laugh at her denial.
“Are you okay?” Jim was a little more serious as he took in his wife’s sad and slightly haunted expression.
“I really don’t know. This is all such a mess, everything,” she began, tears filling her eyes.
Jim was already closing the distance between them and pulling her closer until she was engulfed in his arms and his embrace. “You want to talk?”
“I hit Dan.”
“What? When?” asked a startled Jim at his wife’s revelation.
“This morning. He was being a bit of a dick about things. Us. You. I smacked him across the face. At the time I thought he deserved it but the truth is I can’t hit people because they say things I don’t like or I’m no better than my parents or Liam.”
Tasha found herself pulled down into a sitting position on the bed so Jim could see her, to calm her down and to talk to her. To make her listen. She was right that she couldn’t go around hitting people because the words they uttered offended her in some way, but then he knew whatever Dan had said, whatever had literally forced her hand would have been about him. The idea that she was still looking for clues and pointers confirming she was no better than her parents, that she had somehow inherited their worst characteristics really did piss him off, enough that it made him mad, but more with them than her.
“You are nothing like them, and whilst you shouldn’t have hit Dan I am sure he must have provoked you, but I also know you’ll apologise and always regret that you did it.”
With no argument offered, just a nod of her head Jim breathed an almost silent sigh of relief.
“Was there a reason you came up here?” He hoped to lighten the atmosphere and his wife’s mood.
“I just kind of followed you,” she admitted making Jim smile with an arched brow.
“Mmm, I wonder why you’d do that, Mrs Maybury.”
“What? No,” Tasha cried innocently then admitted, “although, as we’re home alone and you did say that we might find an opportunity…”
“Then me, you and your mighty fine ass should see exactly what opportunity we have and then we might just have time to discuss our son’s name before everyone else gets back and we set about sorting everything out and making you smile again.”
Tasha was lying on her side, her back pressed firmly into Jim’s front. The feel of gentle kisses on her shoulder made goosebumps rise all over her body until she was tingling with sensation which she knew was ridiculous, even for her as her breathing was barely back to normal after a short but rather frantic round of afternoon sex. As an arm reached around her middle and a hand skimmed up her body, pausing before reaching her breasts the sound of a deep and shaky moan sounded around them, confirming that not only was sensation coursing through her body but arousal was rising to the occasion too.
“So greedy, baby,” Jim whispered against Tasha’s ear as his hand continued its journey north, only to pass between her breasts inciting a disgruntled groan to leave her lips.
Laughter was Jim’s response to that, but he did at least skim her nipples as his hand travelled south again; past her ribs, naval, belly and then slowed as it headed for her sex that was quivering with expectation and moistening once more with anticipation. Once Jim’s thumb stroked her tattoo Tasha instinctively spread her legs, hoping to entice him in.
“You need more, honey?”
“Yes, lots more,” Tasha replied to her husband’s amusement.
“I don’t know whether I should feel insulted that I don’t seem to keep you satisfied.” He laughed but did allow his fingers to dip lower until they were coated in her arousal that he was spreading along her length.
“You always satisfy me,” Tasha assured him as two fingers seemed to spear her, causing her body to quake and clench around the digits that were beginning to stroke and arouse her. “But I can’t get enough of you,” she whined as Jim hit a particularly sensitive spot inside her.
“Ssh,” Jim whispered against her ear when another, louder cry left his wife’s mouth as he allowed his thumb to skirt around her clitoris that was over sensitised courtesy of their earlier bout of love making. “You need not to wake our baby up or you’ll be anything but satisfied.”
As if siding with his father Connor chose that exact moment to release a single cry before suckling loudly on his dummy.
With fresh arousal coating his fingers with every movement he made, Jim could feel just how close Tasha was to her release.
“James,” she muttered between gasps and seriously considered biting down into the pillow her head was resting on because there was no doubt in her mind that she wouldn’t be able to remain quiet when she came and as Connor had already been asleep for over an hour there was every chance she’d wake him up.
“I know, baby,” Jim replied as he removed his hand from Tasha’s body to adjust their positions.
