by Sam Mariano
“My little brother wants to watch a movie tonight,” Cassidy announces as she releases his foot and marches toward the back patio.
“Oh, does he?” I ask, following Derek.
“Yep,” she verifies. “And he thinks we should have popcorn and candy bars.”
“Jamie has a lot of ideas for a little guy who can’t talk yet,” Derek remarks.
“And a big appetite for a little guy who only drinks breast milk,” I add.
Cassidy shrugs. “I read it in his mind.”
“You can read minds now?” Derek inquires.
“Yep,” she says confidently.
Hanging back, Derek murmurs to me, “See, now that must be a Noble trait. I read your mind all the time.”
“Uh huh.”
“And even Jamie knows you’ve gotta give a woman popcorn if you want her to enjoy her movie.”
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?” I ask.
“Nope. That was in the contract, too. You’re the one who should’ve read that thing better.”
Sighing dreamily, I bat my eyelashes at him. “I was just so desperate to become Mrs. Derek Noble, I couldn’t be bothered to read the fine print.”
“Finally, she admits it,” he jokes.
Derek hauls Cassidy upstairs for her bath while I settle in on the couch in our bedroom to feed Jamie. When we got the new house, we decided since we had such an enormous down payment from the sale of my house, we could afford to step it up a little. Not only does our bedroom have an en suite bathroom and a walk-in closet, but in front of the walk-in closet there was so much space, Derek put up some bookshelves and a couch so we have our own little sitting area in here. It’s a ridiculous amount of space for a bedroom, but it has been so nice to have while Jamie adjusts to how humans sleep.
His only flaw so far is his sleep schedule. He keeps me up so much during the night. I didn’t take any maternity leave from work beyond the two days I spent in the hospital, so adjusting to working while having him up all hours was a challenge, but it has to end eventually.
In the meantime, I’m just going to nurse him on this couch right now and try not to fall asleep.
Once Cassidy is bathed and in her pajamas, she runs in ahead of Derek and jumps on the couch beside me. I grimace, looking down at Jamie. He fell asleep nursing, but her jostle didn’t wake him.
“He’s sleeping,” she whispers.
I nod my head, absently rubbing my thumb over his arm. “He’s so cute when he sleeps, isn’t he?”
Cassidy nods, then informs me, “I still want a little sister.”
Chuckling, I tell her, “Goodness, child, give my body time to heal first. I still have a balloon belly.”
“That just means the baby already has somewhere to sleep,” she says reasonably.
Derek finally makes his way into the bedroom. He comes over to the couch and looks down at us all snuggled up. “Are you girls gonna pass out on me? I thought we were having movie night.”
“I’m awake,” Cassidy assures him, even as she rests her head heavily on my shoulder.
“I can commit to trying,” I volunteer.
“Lightweights,” he says, shaking his head at us.
I smile sleepily as he picks up Jamie and moves him to his shoulder. Just when I think my heart can’t get any fuller, Derek goes into daddy mode and makes my heart explode. His big hand rubs Jamie’s back reassuringly to keep him asleep as he heads for the nursery right next to our bedroom. He’s back a moment later. Cassidy gave up the good fight and passed out on my shoulder, so he picks her up, cradles her much longer body in his arms, and hauls her to bed, too.
He lifts an eyebrow when he comes back and finds me yawning on the couch. “Do I have to carry you to bed next?”
“We’re supposed to watch a movie,” I tell him, yawning again.
“How ‘bout a raincheck?” he offers.
“I don’t want tomorrow to be Sunday. Weekend is almost over. The work week is dumb.”
“The work week is dumb,” he agrees, taking my hand and pulling me up off the couch.
I wrap my arms around his neck and rest my head on his shoulder; he wraps his arm around my waist and hugs me tight. “Weekends are the best.”
“You’re the best,” he tells me, before kissing his way along my jaw.
“Cassidy is still trying to breed me,” I tell him.
“Now that I’ve seen how cute our babies can be, I can’t blame her,” he reasons.
Grinning sleepily, I bob back and look at him. “That’s true. I think we made the cutest human being in the known universe.”
“We owe it to the world to make at least one more,” he agrees.
I sigh, closing my eyes and resting my forehead against his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he answers.
“I love our house. I love our kids. I love our whole life. Together we have more than I ever could have wished for, Derek.”
“I have everything I ever could’ve wished for right here in my arms,” he tells me. “All the rest is extra.”
Brushing my lips against his, I murmur, “You make it really hard not to jump you when you say things like that.”
“I know,” he says smugly.
Groaning, I rest my head against his shoulder. “But then you say things like that...”
“And make it impossible?” he teases.
I shake my head at him. “Shut up and kiss me.”
“With pleasure,” he replies, brushing his lips against mine and backing me through the room until we get to our king-sized bed.
“Derek,” I murmur, pulling back.
His lips travel down the side of my neck and his fingers tangle in my hair. “Yes?” he murmurs.
“I’m too tired for a bedtime story tonight.”
He chuckles as his hands roam down my back to cup my ass. “That’s fine, hon, we can expand my literary horizons tomorrow night. Are you too tired to climb up on this bed, get on all fours, and let your husband pull your hair while he fucks you?”
With an impish grin, I assure him, “I’ve never been that tired.”
The End
Author’s Note
I hope you enjoyed Nikki and Derek’s love story! If you have a minute or two to leave a review, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for reading. :-)
I am working on another YA/NA enemies-to-lovers romance in the vein of Because of You. It will be a standalone called Untouchable. Carter is a touch darker/more damaged than Derek, so it will definitely be several shades darker than this story, but if you’ve read my Morelli books, it’s no darker than Accidental Witness. Most of my books tend to straddle the dark/contemporary line, and this one will be no different. If Derek is close to being too dark for you, then you probably won’t enjoy Carter, but if not, hey, give him a shot!
At any rate, if you want more enemies-to-lovers naughtiness written by me, keep an eye out for Untouchable, likely releasing later this year. It takes place in a football town, so I’ll probably release it when football is actually in season. The characters are in no way attached to Nikki or Derek, as I’m writing it I’ve just had the feeling my Because of You readers would enjoy it, so… something to look forward to. :-)
About the Author
Sam Mariano loves to write edgy, twisty reads with complicated characters you’re left thinking about long after you turn the last page. Her favorite thing about indie publishing is the ability to play by your own rules! If she isn’t reading one of the thousands of books on her to-read list, writing her next book, or playing with her adorable preschooler… actually, that’s about all she has time for these days.
Feel free to find Sam on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, or her blog—she loves hearing from readers! She’s also available on Instagram now @sammarianobooks, and you can sign up for her totally-not-spammy newsletter HERE
If you have the time and inclination to leave a review, however short or long, she would greatly appreciate it! :)
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