Cam reached over and squeezed Steve’s thick shoulder.My heart pinged as I watched my boy connect with my man.
I’d always wanted this for Cam…and for me.
“Keeping Nash in line when he was in his self-destruct stage wasn’t easy.Taking his lip and absorbing all that nasty he needed to get out was even harder.”
Cam paused and Steve set his jaw as he forced his gaze back to Cam’s.
“He had every right to feel that way?—”
“Maybe so, but you were there, solid and sure, through it all with him.You stood by him when he tried so damn hard to shove you away.”Cam glanced over at me, his eyes filled with his own ugly past.
My throat ached as I swallowed.I love you, sweet boy.Always.No matter what.And for always.
He seemed to catch on to my unspoken words because he offered me that lopsided grin I adored.Just to be utterly Cam he followed it up with a wink before he turned back to Steve, his countenance once again serious.
“That’swhat I want for my mama: a man who cares for her and won’t back away from whatever challenges life tosses at you, even when they hurt.”His gaze shifted toward the house where Jenna and his son remained.“Because that’ll happen.”
Steve offered Cam his hand, and the two men shook while I cooled my heels a few feet away.Steve turned toward me, a thick blond eyebrow raised, as Cam headed into the barn.
“Fancy finding you out here,” I said.
Cam chuckled from the tack room.“Now that I got that put away, I’m going to fetch my lovely bride and my boy.”
Cam hugged me before sauntering off toward the Big House.Jenna waved to him from the porch before she set Cash on his feet.The little boy churned his sturdy legs, squealing as he ran to his father.Cam picked him up, hugging him tight, before holding open his free arm to his wife.Jenna settled against his side and they headed toward their place, all entwined.My heart tugged with love at the sight of them.
I rose on tiptoe and swiped a kiss along Steve’s stubbled cheek.“Get what you came for?”I asked.
He’d been staring down at me, his expression intense.He shook his head slowly.
I shoved my hands into my back pockets.“All right.I’ll bite.What did you want?”
He snagged an arm around my waist and reeled me closer so that our bodies were pressed together from torso to booted toes.“You.Us.My bed, your bed.Together.”
I lifted my arms and wrapped them around his neck.“I like how you think, Sergeant.”
His eyes smoldered.“I like that you know my rank.”
I trailed my fingers down the center of his chest, next to the buttons of his crisply ironed dress shirt.He’d made such an effort just to talk to my son.His desire to do right by our relationship warmed my heart.“I knowlotsof things.”I let my lips curve a little, enjoying this game, especially when Steve’s eyes darkened and his breath hitched.
“Do you, now?”
“Yep.”I popped the “p”.I leaned in closer so that our noses brushed.Steve inhaled sharply.“Want to guess one of them?”
He groaned rumbled through his chest and into mine.I shivered as the heavy weight of arousal settled in my core.
“Wrong answer.”I nipped his ear lobe, pleased when he gripped me tighter.A warm pulse in my core made me shiver.
“Hell, I can’t think…what’s that, Jasmine?”
I slid my chest against his as I rose up enough to put my lips to his ear.“I love you.”
He tightened his hold even more, though he was careful not to dig his fingers into my skin.I felt like prized porcelain—treasured and treated with utmost care.
We were products of our pasts, of secrets and trauma, and that’s what made us who we were—made us ready to be the other’s lover, beloved.Life had led us here, and I was very okay with that.
He kissed me, slow and sultry with a hint of sweetness that left me hotter and more than ready for some naked time.
We broke apart, panting.Jagged need curled from my core and I bit my lip to keep from crying out.I wanted him.Now.
