I bound up to him, throwing myself into his waiting arms. He doesn’t admonish me for bruising the bouquet of flowers he’s holding; my husband will never fail to embrace me.
“You didn’t have to get me flowers.”
He touches two fingers beneath my chin. “How many times do I have to say it, my sweet pet? I know I didn’t have to. I wanted to. You will indulge me.”
“So bossy.” I brush a kiss over his lips, loving the little warning growl that vibrates into my mouth.
“The flowers aren’t even your surprise,” he rumbles, placing the bouquet on the table in our entry hall. “I can do much better than that.”
He reaches in his pocket and withdraws his wallet. I watch him in puzzlement when he pulls out a business card.
“This is for you.”
Baffled, I take the card from him. The familiar logo of his plastic surgery practice is emblazoned on the front.
“Turn it over,” he instructs.
On the back, there are three names: Dr. Dane Graham, Dr. Meadows Coatesworth, and Dr. Rachel Emory.
“Who’s Dr. Emory?” I ask, even more confused.
“She’s the new addition to our team. She starts next month.”
My brow furrows. “You took on a new business partner? Why?”
Dane hasn’t seemed stressed with his workload, but maybe he’s been hiding some professional strain from me.
I don’t like the idea of my husband hiding anything from me. We’re supposed to lean on each other for support.
He smooths the tension from my jaw. “I’m taking two days a week away from the practice. I’m going to do pro bono work at the hospital.”
My heart tugs toward his. “Really?”
He grins. “Really. I know you’ve never liked the nature of my career. I’ll never be a good man, but I can do some good for you, Abigail. You’re earning plenty from your gallery. I can take a step back at work and do something more meaningful with my life.”
I bracket his beautiful face with both hands. “You’re doing this for me?” I ask with awe.
He traces the outline of my parted lips. “Anything for you.”
Then he blows out a soft sigh. “But it’s for me too. Do you remember what you said to me on the night I first told you about my sister, Katie? You asked if her death is why I became a doctor—so I would have the power to fix people.” He shakes his head. “I’ve never been that altruistic, but you make me want to be the man you see when you look at me. I will do everything in my power to be even half the man you deserve.”
My eyes sting. “You do deserve me, Dane. I choose you. I will choose you every day for the rest of our lives because you’veproven your love for me. But this…” I swallow down the lump forming in my throat. “I never expected this. I never would’ve asked it of you.”
“I know you wouldn’t. You accept me for all that I am, but I think it’s time for me to adopt a little of your compassion too. Well, maybe not compassion. I don’t know if I’m capable of truly feeling that. But I can at least help people.”
I hold the business card to my heart like it’s my most precious treasure. “Thank you. I love it. I love you.”
He pulls me in for a deep, hungry kiss and carries me up the stairs to our bedroom. I stake my claim with my teeth, and he groans against me. He doesn’t rebuke me for my ferocity; he seems to revel in it.
We tear at each other’s clothes. Within a few frenzied minutes, I’m naked, and he’s shirtless. Before I can remove his pants, he places his hands on my shoulders and breaks our kiss with a firm shove. My shocked gasp turns into a delighted giggle when my back hits the soft mattress.
I reach for him, but he shakes his head with a small, regretful smile. “Patience, little dove. I don’t want to fight you today.”
“I don’t want that either.” I relax, waiting for his next move.
After the touching revelations about his career changes, I want to be intimate with my husband. I don’t feel like engaging in a power struggle with him right now. All I want is to hold him and have him hold me, but he has other, more wicked ideas.
He ducks into the closet for a moment, and when he comes back to me, he’s holding a thick, black wand with a cord attached. At first, I think it’s a vibrator, but it doesn’t have a rubber head. Instead, he inserts a narrow, rounded plug into it that’s attached to a long cable that ends in a metallic silver plate.
