He appreciated that.
“Thank you.”
Ethan headed out.
Curtis was holding his daughter, and he moved closer to the little girl. He got down and showed her the baby.
“Sadie.”
She looked at her from behind Sam. She pointed at the bow clipped into Sadie’s hair.
“Do you want it?” Kat asked, removing it from her daughter’s hair. When Kat reached for Petra, the girl moved out of her reach.
Instead, Sam held out his hand.
“I’ll do it.”
Kat gave him a kiss on the cheek. For the first week or so, they’d have to exaggerate everything. It was how they learned words. Dimitri had been patient, and they’d used him as their protector. It was clear that Petra had picked Sam.
Together, as a family, they’d teach her.
She’d be fine.
Sam turned around and pointed at her hair and then at the bow.
“Head?”
She nodded.
He clipped it into her hair. Immediately, she was back against his body where she clearly felt the safest.
“Dad, can I take her down and show Petra her room?” he asked. “She’s nervous around all the people. I won’t lose her.”
Dimitri knew how important it would be for Petra to find that one person she trusted. It would be the keystone to getting her to meld into the family.
One brick at a time.
It looked like Sam would be that person.
Dimitri handed him the key to their new condo, the one that had been Kat and Curtis’s. They were done moving their things, thanks to the help from their security.
“Yes, you can.”
“I’ll go,” Heath stated. “I like kids. I’ll sit there and keep an eye on them.”
Petra stayed hidden behind Sam.
“Can I have a piggyback ride?” Sam asked.
He turned and got down. Sam moved toward his back but waited. He didn’t want to leave Petra behind if she was too scared.
Sam knew that fear. He’d been dumped in foster homes with a trash bag and nothing else.
He’d help her.
“Home?” he asked Petra.
She looked confused.
Dimitri talked to her in Romanian, explaining that they had a nice bedroom for her.
She hesitantly went to Sam and Heath. When Sam jumped up on his back, he motioned for Petra to join him. He held out his hand.
She took it, and she climbed onto his back. When Heath got up and pretended to gallop like a pony, she and Sam both laughed as he headed out.
Her laughter was a welcomed sight.
“She’ll be okay,” Dimitri stated. “Children are resilient. She reminds me of Natasha. Although, she was a lot worse.”
Kat agreed.
“You had me a couple months before you found her,” she said. “She was so scared. Petra is tough. I love her name.”
Who could blame her?
Emma headed toward Dimitri and gave him a huge hug. What this man was doing was a beautiful thing. He was broken, battered, and bruised himself, but he kept trying to give others peace as he balanced the scale of justice.
“You’re a saint, Mr. Gideon. I’ve never respected a man more,” she said.
He dropped his good arm over her shoulder. As he did, both Chris and Greyson cleared their throats.
She pointed at Greyson.
“You lied. You said salad.”
He laughed.
“What did I do?” Chris asked. “I didn’t lie.”
“You were making me workout hard today, and you let him eat crap. You’re an enabler.”
Chris grinned.
She had a point.
“While the kids play, should we do some background searches on the women who were with Libby Raye last?” Greyson asked.
That worked for them.
The family settled down.
It was time to get down to work.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
It was easy to get into her home. She lived in a shitty apartment building on the second floor. There was a fire escape there, and he would use it.
He was willing to bet she was a stupid cow, like her mother. She was likely no smarter than the woman who sired her.
So, she likely left the window open.
Sneaking around the back, he found the window and lightly touched it with his gloved fingers.
It slid open.
Yeah, exactly.
He’d have to teach her to be smarter. When she was his, she wouldn’t be allowed to be so careless. He’d beat some sense into her.
Oh, and he’d love it.
She’d learn to love it too.
That was what he’d told her mother all those years ago. Only, she didn’t have faith in him.
She didn’t understand that he was the way to set herself free.
Well, now she did.
She was dead.
Her beloved daughter, the one who looked just like her, would be the next on his list.
If he couldn’t have the original, then he might as well have this one.
Slipping into her apartment, no one was around to see him. It appeared everyone was off working, slaving away to the man.
Well, he had better things to do.
He wanted to get his long-sought prize.
She wasn’t dead.
She wasn’t out of his reach.
His beauty was alive, and he was about to claim her as his own.
AGAIN.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Archer Home
Paris had a few meetings with some doctors at the hospital earlier that morning, and he’d been out before his wife had been awake.
Now that he was home, he was hoping she was around, so they could have a late lunch together.
He was hungry.
And not only for food.
He was thinking about her, and on his way home he picked her up a gift. She wasn’t a big jewelry person, but he still felt compelled to give her something.
She was carrying two babies and deserved to be shown how much he loved her.
So, when he rolled into their condo, he got ready to surprise her.
“Tessie!”
“I’m in the kitchen.”
He rolled in smiling at her. She was making something in a blender.
“I hope that’s lunch,” he said, staring at the green swirls spinning around. “Then again…maybe I hope it’s not lunch.”
She laughed.
“Well, technically, it is. Want to try it?”
He grinned.
“Absolutely,” he said, as she dipped a spoon into it. It was green and creamy, and he’d lick a public toilet if it meant making his wife happy. He loved her that damn much.
Now he hoped the concoction tasted better than it looked.
“Here,” she said, feeding it to him. “What do you think?” Tessa asked.
He mulled it over and was pleasantly surprised that it didn’t taste like shit.
“Uh, it tastes like pureed green beans.”
“That’s exactly what it is.”
He was confused.
“I’m in a chair, Tessa, not a nursing home.”
Tessa found her husband amusing. The look on his face was priceless.
“Well, I’m sorry to say but this isn’t for you. I’m making baby food. I want to make my own when the babies are born. This is a test run.”
For some reason, that hit him right in the feels. That was the most beautiful thing he’d ever heard. His wife was making baby food for their little ones.
“I have never loved you more.”
Tessa could say the same about Paris. While they couldn’t have babies, and technically, she was carrying someone else’s children, Paris never flinched. He loved them already. She could tell.
He was a good, decent man.
She was a lucky girl.
“It’s the apron, isn’t it?” she teased, mock curtseying f
or him.
Well, that had a whole hell of a lot to do with it.
“And the sexy mom stuff. You’re hot, playing Susie Homemaker.” Then he remembered what was in his pocket. “I bought you something.”
“What?” she asked.
He pulled a rubber ducky out of his blazer pocket.
“Am I taking a bath?” she teased. “Will you be joining me?”
Well, that had merit.
Paris already began picturing that bubble bath, and he was down with it.
But first…
“Look inside the duck.”
She flipped it over and there was a cut in the bottom of the duck. Tessa stuck her finger into it and pulled out some tissue paper. Gently, she unwrapped it.
There was a pretty bracelet with four hearts on it.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A mother’s bracelet. That’s my birthstone right there. Then there’s yours, and our babies are due around Christmas. So that’s theirs.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
It was such a sweet, beautiful sentiment from a simply amazing man.
“Oh, Paris. There are days when I think you couldn’t catch me off guard, and you do. This is so beautiful.”
“Want to put it on?”
She nodded and held it out to him.
Gently, he placed it on her wrist.
“It looks gorgeous there, Mom,” he said, trying out the title for his wife. It fit her.
Tessa was going to be an amazing mother.
She gave him a kiss.
“I love you.”
He touched her cheek with so much love and affection that her heart skipped in her chest.
“Oh, Tessie, I love you more.”
“Hungry?” she asked.
“Yes. Want to sit on the couch and eat pureed green beans with your husband? Have crackers? It’ll be like soup.”
She laughed.
“I have something better for you. Go sit. I’ll bring it in for you.”
Well, that worked for him. The best part of being his own boss was he could pick and choose his cases. Plus, being part of the Croft family helped. They owned their home, they owned their cars, and they didn’t have bills. They were going to be able to enjoy every second of their children’s lives.
He couldn’t wait.
While Tessa prepared their lunch, Paris rolled away and climbed onto the couch.
“Do you want to watch a movie while we eat? Then you can take a nap. You are growing babies. You should get some rest, so you stay strong,” he called into her, even though he was thinking about a bubble bath and that rubber ducky.
“I have a better idea,” Tessa replied, as she entered the room.
When he looked over, his wife was standing there in just the apron. When she turned around, there was the peek of breast and then cheeks.
Glorious.
Ass.
Cheeks.
Paris, immediately, got hard.
“Jesus. I’m buying you presents more often,” he said, watching her move his way.
“I actually had these heels in there for a reason,” she teased. “I know my husband. He likes a naked wife in heels.”
Paris laughed like a lunatic.
He had news for her. He liked a naked wife in sneakers, barefoot, and in pretty much any scenario.
“You have no idea.”
“Are you in the mood for some wife with a side of more wife?” she asked.
Then it hit him.
This all looked familiar. Paris had déjà vu. They’d definitely done this once before. His wife was replaying one of his sexiest fantasies.
Hallelujah.
“You were ready for me! That’s the apron you wore when we did this in our old place.”
She grinned.
“Oh, yeah, it is. If it’s not broke…”
He finished for her.
“Please never fix this. I like you just like this, Tessa. Jesus, just like this.”
It was said with such need and lust that Tessa felt it to her toes. This man genuinely loved her.
It was a beautiful thing.
“I wasn’t planning on fixing it,” she admitted.
He was glad.
Paris couldn’t help but stare. Here was his wife, and she was hot—the killer heels, the sexy cat eyes, and the fact that she was carrying his children.
He was the luckiest man in the whole world. How he got so lucky was beyond him. His wife was a gift, and he was going to treasure it.
And his children.
“Come to the doctor, Betty Crocker.”
She snorted.
“You’re a nut.”
It was true.
Tessa loved him in all his geeky glory. He wouldn't trade his life for anything. Yes, he lost his legs—for the most part—but he was with her. Paris had won the girl and battled through the demons.
That was a win.
It made them unbreakable.
Standing in front of him, she knew exactly what he was looking at, and it wasn’t the apron.
“Hungry?”
“Ravenous.”
Tessa straddled his legs and sat on his lap.
“For what, Paris?” she asked, pulling his mouth to hers. The kiss was so hot they both melted.
“Oh, Tessie,” he murmured as she began undoing his tie to get him out of his clothes.
“Want to know something?” she whispered.
“Hell, yes!”
“There’s something really hot knowing that you’re going to be a father. I can see you holding our kids, some gray in your hair, and you giving them rides on your lap.”
She ran her fingers down his chest.
Paris couldn’t look away.
“It’s no hotter than watching you carry our babies. We fought so hard to get here, Tessie. I couldn’t imagine my life without you.”
She took his tie off and placed it over her head.
“Thank you, Jesus,” he muttered.
“I can’t wait to watch you be a dad on Christmas mornings, and birthdays,” she added. “That’s sexy in a man. Fatherhood is hot.”
Oh, he was aware.
Motherhood was too.
They were making little people who would be theirs forever. It was beautiful.
It was life.
Paris leaned back, letting her fingers undo his shirt. If his girl wanted to fantasize about him being a father, who was he to complain?
“Tessa, show me.”
That’s all she needed to hear. When his shirt was open, Tessa slid down his body and to her knees.
“God,” he muttered when she unbuckled his pants. She was licking her lips and trying to tease him.
It was working.
Sex since the accident took more time, and she was glad. She had to spend time worshipping his body. When you took a quickie out of the equation, you had to focus more on your partner’s needs.
“Let me get you hard,” she whispered before she swallowed him.
Paris watched, his whole body waking up. This was the hottest thing ever.
Wife.
Knees.
Heels.
Now, after being hurt, he was more visual. This one picture was definitely getting him hard.
When she stopped, Tessa picked up his hand and slid it into her hair. “How deep do you want me?”
He laughed like a lunatic.
There was only one answer to that. Every man was going to say the same thing if asked.
“As deep as you can go.”
When she went back to work, getting him rock-hard, he didn’t look away. Paris could see his saliva, slick dick, sliding in and out of her mouth, and his body was alive.
He could feel everything.
That was the beauty of his disability. He wasn’t as sensitive as he used to be, so he could last a long time. They’d both get off, and Tessa a few times.
“Baby,” he whispered, as her hand joined in.
It was enough to make him breat
he heavier. While she worked his erection in and out of her mouth, her free hand slid up his chest to his nipple and she teased him.
He moaned.
His upper body was REALLY sensitive to touch, and it made him wild.
When he popped free from her mouth, he was watching her with so much need in his eyes.
That got her wet.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I want you riding me. I’m not turning down this opportunity for an almost naked wife in heels riding my dick.”
She grinned wickedly as she climbed up his body. As Tessa positioned herself over him, she waited.
“Help me.”
He ran his finger over her clit and the wetness. She was definitely ready for him.
“Pull me down.”
Paris was ready. Taking his erection in his hand, he slid it through her wetness to tease his wife. When she moaned, he knew he was going to enjoy every second of this.
Paris used his other hand to tug her down until he was fully buried in her.
He moaned more at the visual than the feeling. The picture unfolding in his lap was pretty damn hot.
“Ride me. I need to watch my wife using my body, so I can use hers,” he whispered. “I want to watch you fall.”
He braced his arms on the back of the couch as she braced her hands on his chest.
She began moving.
When her breasts bounced, he couldn't help himself. He watched like some sex-starved pervert.
God!
He loved her breasts.
They were getting bigger from pregnancy, and it was so damn hot—especially how they were visible behind the lacy apron.
“Oh, Paris,” she whispered.
As she rode him, it was that look on his face that turned her on the most. He was watching everything.
He was taking it in.
“Fall, Tessie. I want you to cum,” he said, as his fingers found that tight little bud.
She didn't last long.
Her body swallowed his as she bounced in his lap. The pleasure was out of control.
“Touch me,” she whispered.
Oh, he could do that.
As Paris pulled her down, harder and harder, she ground her body against his.
“Come on, Tessie. Come for me.”
It didn’t take long.
She exploded.
Mob Justice Page 11
