Page 47 of Make You Mine

“D’you reckon she’s alright?” I murmur.

She doesn’t answer right away. “She’ll be fine.”

Willow leans against my chest, humming to herself as she plays with the buttons of my shirt.

I kiss the top of her head and pull her a little closer, letting the silence settle again. Still, my mind lingers on Chelsea’s flushed face and the brittle sound of her voice. And that word again.

Family.

Chapter 14

Amerie

“I thought I heard the sound of trouble in here. Turns out it’s just my wife… all wet, naked, and breaking several laws of temptation.”

I peek over my bare shoulder to find Declan grinning at me from the ensuite doorway.

It’s early in the morning, and I got up earlier than usual to shower. It was my attempt to get ahead of what was going to be another long, busy day, but as I look over at Declan and see the glint in his emerald gaze, I know exactly what’s on his mind.

…and I can’t say I’m mad about it.

My lips quirk in the same naughty way.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” I ask, letting the hot spray of water wash away the soap suds.

Declan leans against the doorframe, not at all hiding the fact he’s tracking every droplet of water sliding down my body. “Mind if I join? Strictly in the interest of conserving water, of course.”

A giggle bursts out of me. “Oh, of course! That’s theonlyreason.”

Within seconds, Declan’s slid out of his pajama pants and boxers, and I’m standing aside to make room for him in our shower. We’re both grinning and holding back laughs like we’re teenagers doing something we shouldn’t be.

But, really, we’re trying our best not to wake the kids—and remembering past times when we used to do things like this all the time.

“Let’s hope this round fares better than Madrid,” he says, pulling me toward him. His warm hands slide over my wet, slippery skin, and he drops a kiss to the corner of my jaw, right where it meets my throat. “Although… I wouldn’t mind going down again.”

I smirk at his double entendre. “Mmm… that makes two of us.”

I feel his grin against my skin, the kind that makes my stomach flutter and my knees weak. It’s a reminder that, even after everything, he still knows how to disarm me with a few simple kisses and a dirty joke.

Our life together hasn’t always been easy, but one thing that has never changed is our devotion to each other.

Declan proved that again the other night when he announced he wanted me and the kids to come with him on his business trip to Scotland.

I couldn’t hide the disappointment from my face when he’d first started talking about it. All I could think of were the weeks of long-distance phone calls, evenings of missed family dinners, and nights where I slept alone in our bed.

The disappointment must’ve shown on my face.

But Declan proved yet again why he’s the man I’ve fallen in love with.

It makes this moment between us in the shower even more special, almost like we’re letting off some steam after recent stressors.

Literally.

As clouds of steam roll around us, we’re trading kisses and letting our hands wander our slick, wet bodies. I wrap my fingers around his semi-erect dick and start slow stroking him between our kisses, aware how the lazy pace drives him wild.

“Fuck, love…” he breathes against my mouth, hips stuttering into my hand as his forehead presses to mine. His lashes are wet, cheeks flushed from heat and lust.

“You know how you always say you last longer than me,” I tease as I stroke him with slow, deliberate movements, loving the way he twitches in my palm. “Seems like I beat you to it.”

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