She nodded slowly, her hand snaking to his backside to guide him in deeper.
“That’s it, baby,” he whispered inches from her lips. “Bring me in. Just like that.”
Her lids fluttered, head tilting back, exposing her neck, as only the whites of her eyes became visible.
Xander grunted at the sight, slowed his pace to a generous glide to make it last.
“Oh, God,” her voice trembled. “Mmm, Xander.”
His hard exhales matched his strokes until he was closing his eyes to the rush that swept through him, too, challenging his restraint and forcing him to gradually move faster to ride the wave of his release.
He felt as she clung to him, shook when he reached the peak of it all. And even though he would always try to be mindful of the crash, his arms, like always, gave out, causing him to collapse on his woman.
As always she caught him, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. Giving him all the reasons to believe that she got him. Despite it all, she had him, and for Xander that was all that mattered.
He rolled off and onto his pillow, catching his breath but pulling her to him too.
His chest rose and fell, fighting gravity to pull in more air but blissfully struggling.
Why couldn’t I have this every night?he wondered to himself, but still allowed himself to enjoy the moment with that question on his mind.
It was quiet in the room after that. And he couldn’t tell if Rylee was still awake or if she’d fallen asleep like she usually did after they made love.
Still, Xander said to the air, “I love you, Rylee, and I don’t just say that because it sounds good. I say it because I mean that.”
Rylee didn’t say any words back. But her tightening her grip around his waist let him know he had her attention. So he continued.
“And I love those kids.A lot.” He nodded. “I’m not him, baby… I know I’m not Lennox. But I swear I’ll never stop showing up for you the way he would’ve wanted someone to. At least what I’d think he’d want if he loved you as much as I love you.”
And though she didn’t speak any words after that, the fact that she kept him in her hug, her head on his chest, her heart beating against his rib, for Xander… that was enough confirmation, and it would have to do.
nine
RYLEE
Rylee climbed the stairs,headed to her bedroom, eyes down on her phone. She was scrolling through her stocks app, checking market data like stock quotes, charts, and other financial metrics.
Though parenthood had become a priority for Rylee—a stark contrast to the stockbroker she once was, stalking the floors of the New York Stock Exchange—she was still ambitious. Only now, she ran her own firm from her basement, with fewer clients and a more balanced schedule.
After putting her children to bed an hour prior, Rylee spent some time in her basement office, analyzing numbers, reading articles, as she dried her family’s clothes in the dryer.
Now that the laundry was done and tucked into the basket, she carried up the stairs with one arm, Rylee used her free hand to check the stock numbers on her phone one last time before bed.
She’d stopped by the children’s rooms on the way to hers. They were sound asleep and soon she would be too.
But first, she needed to fold laundry.
In her room, with the clothes piled high on her king mattress, Rylee stood over them, folding the garments neatly, her eyesbouncing from the TV—that was on a 24-hour news channel—to a pair of tiny jeans in her hands that belonged to Nova.
She’d only turned the TV on to see the weather for tomorrow so she could plan the kids’ outfits accordingly for school.
It was Monday night, quiet on this side of Brooklyn, just after 10 p.m. All was well until…
“We have some breaking news out in Brooklyn tonight that is developing,” the news anchor said from Rylee’s TV screen. “Our reporter Candace Anthony is on the scene. Candace, can you tell us and the viewers what’s happening?”
Rylee looked up from Nova’s jeans to the mounted flatscreen.
“Yes, James,” the reporter Candace replied. “We’re coming to you live from Park Slope, Brooklyn, where an evening blaze has devastated a full commercial strip on 7th Avenue between 10th and 11th Streets.”
