* * *
Huck rolled over onto his side and punched his pillow, trying to keep from awakening Laurel. So much danger was coming for her right now that he couldn’t sleep. That psycho sister of hers was going to make a move sometime, and he had no idea what that would look like. Abigail’s interest in the baby bordered on terrifying.
He was in the way. He knew it. Though he had faced plenty of danger in his life, he’d never had something he wanted to protect so badly. Somebody. Laurel Snow had grabbed his heart and held it from the first time he’d met her, although he’d fought his feelings as long as he could. He was grumpy and difficult, and nobody should have to deal with him on a long-term basis. But she seemed to want to stick with him, and somehow, she accepted him with all of his many faults. He didn’t deserve her.
But she was pregnant now, and he had to protect her and the baby. No kid of his was going to grow up without a dad as Laurel had. Or the way he’d grown up without a mother. Not if he could help it.
The ring he’d bought was in his sock drawer. The timing had to be right with Laurel, and he knew she wasn’t there yet. She had just wrapped her mind around the idea of being a mom. He didn’t want to push her. For somebody with a genius IQ, she truly didn’t see herself clearly. The woman had more heart than anybody he’d ever met, but she had no clue about that.
He could be patient. She seemed to accept his need to protect both her and the baby, so he could wait forever for the words or a ceremony if that’s what she wanted.
His presence in her life was what she needed. His ability to protect and defend.Thathe’d provide for sure.
She rolled over to face him. “You are thinking so hard I can’t sleep.”
He blinked. “You can feel me thinking?”
She frowned, pursing her pretty pink lips. “I suppose not. I guess from your movements, and your punching the pillow, I surmised that you were having difficulty sleeping. Most people can’t sleep because they’re thinking or worrying and not relaxing. Hence . . .”
Hence. He loved that. Hence. It was adorable how she explained every situation with logic. He tugged her onto her back and covered her, noting her small smile and letting it fill him. “You think you’re so smart,” he teased.
“I am smart. Objectively speaking.” She scratched her nails down his bare flanks.
Of course she was. She was also fucking gorgeous. Moonlight filtered in, showing those incredible heterochromatic eyes. One blue, one green, both hugely intelligent. The extra starburst in one was just another sign of her being a unicorn among people. If he said that, she’d calmly explain that unicorns didn’t exist.
She was wrong.
They most certainly did, and she was one of them.
Her lips curved. “What are you thinking about?”
“You.” He kissed her, delving deep, loving how quickly she returned the kiss. Her small body shifted restlessly beneath him. Sometimes the delicacy of her frame caught him off guard. Her brain was so big, sometimes he forgot that the woman was a mere five foot two. He licked along her jawline and down to her collar bone, smiling at her quick intake of breath.
She bit into his shoulder.
Fire lanced through him.
“You bit me.” He levered himself up.
She grinned. “You’re being too gentle again. I’m perfectly healthy.”
Oh, yeah? He shifted to the side, rolled her over, and smacked her perfect ass.
She jolted and then burst out laughing. “You did not.”
“I did.” He smacked her dead center again.
“Huck Rivers.” Laughter and something else sounded in her tone. Need.
He yanked her T-shirt over her head.
She laughed.
He cupped her butt and ran his fingers down and between her legs, finding her wet. “Interesting, Agent Snow.” He tore off her panties and kicked his boxers out of the way before pulling her up onto her hands and knees.
“Huck?” she breathed.
“Yeah.” He positioned himself at her entrance and then slowly pushed himself in.
