“Mmm,” she hummed noncommittally, shivering despite the warmth inside the cab.
He put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close while being careful of her injury. Once again, he was ready for her to pull away. Once again, he released a sigh of pleasure when she didn’t.
In fact, far from pulling away, she snuggled into his side, placing her head on his shoulder. It felt so good. So right. A smart man would’ve kept his trap shut and enjoyed the moment.
Wolf was not a smart man.
“Were you serious when you said you wanted to settle down and start buildin’ a life?”
She frowned up at him. Her mouth was close enough to kiss. All it’d take was for him to tilt down his chin a mere two inches.
But if he filled her mouth with his tongue, she wouldn’t be able to answer him. And he was keenly interested in her answer.
“Sure.” There was confusion in her cornflower eyes. “What? You thought my plan was to wrinkle like a raisin in the sun and then die a spinster?”
“No.” He shook his head. Then he reconsidered. “Sometimes you give off a vibe that says you’re hell bent on goin’ it alone.”
She tucked down her chin. He didn’t know if he was disappointed or relieved her lips were no longer within easy reach. “Like most men, you confuse a woman’s self-sufficiency for a desire to live her life solo. That’s never been my intention.”
“So what’s your intention?”
“Ever since I was little girl, I’ve dreamed of having a big family.” She yawned so wide, her jaw cracked. “Four kids.” Her voice sounded sleepy as she continued. When he glanced down, he found her eyes were closed, the pain meds doing their best to pull her under. “Enough to fill a house with madness and mayhem, all commotion and clamor. I hated being an only child. It was so…” For a moment, he thought she was searching for the right word. Then he realized she was falling asleep when she softly finished with, “quiet.”
The physical and emotional trauma she’d been through partnered with the warm air and the lulling hum of the engine to have a soft snore issuing from the back of her throat.
Four kids.The perfect number in his opinion since it was the exact amount his parents had had. And it happened to be theexactamount he’d always envisioned having himself.
Recognizing he’d fallen in love with Chrissy had been epic.Huge.But not as big as knowing when it came to family and a future, they shared a common dream.
This is good.He felt something warm unfurl in his chest. It spread to his limbs.This is right.
Of course, the trick would be convincingherof that.
Well if there’s one thing myelisialways says about me, it’s once I set my mind to somethin’, I’m like a clock that never stops tickin’.
When he glanced up, he caught Billy watching him in the rearview mirror. “She’s the absolute best, in case you didn’t already know that.” The cab driver kept his voice low so as not to wake Chrissy. “Don’t go texting pictures of your dick to someone else.”
“Not a chance,” Wolf vowed solemnly.
Chapter 14
9:52 AM…
Chrissy dreamed she was held tight against a warm, solid chest. She dreamed she was being carried.
Correction. She wasn’t dreaming. Shewasheld tight against a warm, solid chest. And shewasbeing carried.
By Wolf.
Up the front porch steps of her little conch house with its yellow siding and teal hurricane shutters. She wasn’t the sort to fall asleep in the middle of a conversation. And shecertainlywasn’t such a sound sleeper she wouldn’t wake up when someone picked her up out of a cab.
But pain meds are miracle drugs,she thought groggily, peering over Wolf’s shoulder to see Billy pulling away from the curb with a smile and a wave. Then her wherewithal returned. Quick on its heels were her pride and self-sufficiency. Her next thought was,What kind of grown-ass woman needs to be carried into her own house?
The kind who got shot?a small voice at the back of her head answered.
She ignored it and wiggled in Wolf’s arms.
“Be still, woman,” he commanded in a tone that made her realize his enemies must’ve shit bricks when they faced him on the battlefield. “Or I’ll drop you.”
