Page 210 of Three Reckless Words

This kid is going to grow upjustlike his father, and I couldn’t be happier.

Because I’m more madly in love with Archer Rory by the day.

Not a little bit in love.

No, this is full-on obsessed in a slightly unhealthy way.

The kind of smitten where I like to watch him sleep if I wake up before him and wonder how someone who’s a certified mess ever wound up with a man as wonderful and gentle and sweet and strong andperfectas him.

I mean, he’s not always perfect.

When he’s tired, he can be the king of grouchy, but his heart never wavers. It’s always in the right place, and I can tell he’s working on being less snarly.

He rolls over sleepily, catching me in the act of creeping on him.

His eyelids flutter open and he squints at me through the darkness. I don’t know what time it is, but fall has come, and there’s a lot less natural light seeping through the blinds than summer mornings.

“Are you watching me?” he mutters.

“Edward watched Bella sleep inTwilightand that was totally normal,” I assure him. “I rest my case.”

“Normal, huh? I promise I don’t sparkle, woman.”

“Hey, look at you! So youdoget my references, old man!” I snuggle back against his chest. Today, we’re going back to Solitude for the first time since my little escapade, and I’m buzzing with excitement.

If you thought the bee puns would ever stop, you’re wrong.

“Do Ifeelold?” His arm curls around me, tucking me more firmly into him.

“Nah. You’re aged like a good whisky,” I tease, and he bites my ear. It’s playful, but it makes me gasp.

Heat floods through me.

Archer has been extremely gentle with me since I got back and settled into recovery mode, but what I really want is for him to rip away my panties with his teeth.

To my disappointment, he presses a kiss against my hair and shifts his body away so his cock doesn’t press against my hip. “We should get up soon.”

“Can’t you go back to sleeping first?” I protest.

“So you can go back to ogling me? No thanks. For all I know, you’ll catch me drooling next.”

“You don’t drool in your sleep. But you do snore sometimes.”

“See? No secret’s safe with Sugarbee around.”

“But you love me anyway.” It’s still weird saying it, like this big secret that shouldn’t be spoken just yet. But he turns me around and kisses me on the mouth, hard and deep, like my words trigger something deep inside him.

That’s my cue.

I wrap my arms around him and kiss him with everything I have, hoping he’ll delay whatever he has planned today. But he disentangles from me with a laugh and swats my ass.

“Get moving or we’ll be late.”

“For what?”

In answer, he rolls out of bed. The bulge in his boxers makes it very clear that him not taking full advantage of me this morning has nothing to do with his attraction.

“We seriously don’t have time for a quickie?”

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