“Stubborn’s more like it,” I reason as I kiss the top of her head. “But most brilliant people are, wouldn’t you say?”
“That’s what the professionals believe,” she surmises.
“You’re human, Van, which means you’re fallible. No person alive is perfect, we all make mistakes. I wish you would give yourself some leeway and not take on everyone’s problems as if they are your own.”
“I just feel guilty for dredging up some bad memories for Chaney,” she concedes. “I don’t know what I was thinking by bringing that up.”
“You were thinking that your friend is on a sinking ship and wanted to toss her a life preserver, Van. But she has to do the swimming, you can’t do that for her.”
“I could give her a few lessons so she can make it to shore,” she says, deflecting my point.
I sigh. “Van.”
“I know, that’s not what you’re trying to drum into my head, Rush. I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t come up with a counter argument.”
“If nothing else, you’re strategic,” I muse. “But can we not play a game of Battleship tonight and just enjoy it being the two of us without needing to drown in another's problems? I get enough shit on a daily basis and want to let it all go when I’m home and have you in my arms.”
“You’re like Calgon,” she teases.
“Good. That means I can take it away and help you de-stress in more lucrative ways,” I say, running the pads of my fingers over her nipples. After pinching them until they’re erect, I trace her sternum until I find the promised land. I insert two digits inside and am ecstatic when I discover she’s already wet and ready for me.
“What’d you have in mind?” she asks, her voice hitching.
“This,” I say as I lift up her hips and line her up with my rock hard dick. “Do you want me, Van?”
“More than the air I need to breathe,” she admits as I slide her down my shaft until I’m balls deep inside of her. “Fuck.”
“My sentiments exactly,” I tell her as I lift her up and impale her down on me again. By the time we’re sedate and our needs have been fulfilled, there’s more water on the floor than there is in the tub. “Love you, Van.”
“Love you more,” she whispers as I reach out with my foot and turn the taps back on, refilling the basin of the tub. Once it’s full, we wash, dry off, and flop face first into bed where we stay the remainder of the night. When we wake, our limbs are tangled and we make love again before our little man wakes, ready to start his day. At least he didn’t cockblock me this morning, he must be intuitive and know we need each other before we are forced to face the rise of the sun and the problems it’ll bring.
CHAPTER
SIXTEEN
Van
“Zoey’s dropping off Elodie today,”I remind Rush as he takes a sip of his coffee. “Which means we need to get the guest room ready because Icer will be tagging along.”
“Shocking,” he mumbles.
“You’re still mad at him for the other night?” I ask. I’m not sure why he’s carrying such a grudge when it comes to Icer’s reaction, I could’ve told him that would happen once the man discovered his princess was being targeted at school.
“I’m not mad per se, just disappointed that my men act like a bunch of prepubescent boys instead of grown men whose balls have dropped,” he says, sighing. “I keep trying to drill into Icer’s head that he needs to get all of the facts before he flies off the handle and goes batshit crazy. After all of these years, it hasn’t sunk in and I feel like I do nothing more than bang my head on the wall when it comes to him and his cognitive thinking.”
“I was wondering where that melon-sized indention on the wall in your office came from,” I tease. “I always imagined that you tossed a bowling ball at it in frustration, but now that I’m thinking about it, it’s the same size as your head.”
He snickers before replying, “That was a bowling ball, smartass.”
I jerk back in shocked surprise. “Who the hell was tossing around a bowling ball in a mortuary? Those two things don’t go hand-in-hand. Make it make sense, Rush.”
He waves his hand dismissively through the air as if what happened wasn’t significant. “It wasn’t a big deal. The guys were blowing off some steam and were there trying to talk me into calling it an early day and hitting the alley with them. I was on the fence about it because I was doing my yearly reports and didn’t want to put it off for the following day so they decided to play hot potato to pass the time while I debated the pros and cons of staying or going.”
“With a bowling ball?” I ask, my tone bewildered. “If someone had been hit by that, specifically in the head, they could’ve been knocked out or permanently damaged. Head injuries are no joke and aren’t always recoverable.”
“You know how they get when they’re antsy,” Rush defends, dismissing my concerns.
“Yeah, they don’t wear their thinking hats,” I comment, rolling my eyes. “Something you learn how to do in kindergarten.”
