Page 3 of Endless
“Thank you, Mr. President.” I reached on tiptoes to kiss him before taking my stuff. He caught my lips with his teeth, prolonging the kiss and holding me in place with a sting of sensitivity that made a trail through my clit and down to my toes.
“Thank me again later, Mrs. President,” he rumbled when he released me, eyes lighting up with a dark promise.
“Hm.” I took a sip of mimosa. “I will if you don’t pass out on me first, Daddy.”
He laughed, following me into the kitchen with a hand on my waist. “Yeah, we’ll see about that.”
Even with parenting duties split up five ways, uninterrupted sleep had become a thing of the past. The kids were better at sleeping through the night now, but during parties, it was inevitable that at least one of us passed out before all the guests left. Usually it was Gunner or Reaper. About a third of the time, it was me.
Maybe it was less to do with parenting and more with getting older.
Sure enough, after hours of eating, drinking, laughing, and playing with the kids, my eyelids were drooping, and it wasn’t even completely dark outside. Reaper ended up passing out on the couch as people started to leave. Someone drunkenly suggested drawing dicks on his face, and Jandro couldnotpass up that opportunity. Thankfully, he used one of the kids’ washable markers instead of anything more permanent.
Jandro’s face was a grimace of concentration, trying not to laugh or breathe too loudly, lest Reaper wake up. He dragged the blue marker tip over Reaper’s cheek in slow, careful precision, even holding an arm out to keep Daren from getting too close when our son became curious.
“Papi, what are you drawing on Daddy’s face?”
“It’s a mushroom,mijo.”
“Why are you drawing a mushroom on his face?”
“You’ll understand when you’re older.”
When the last guest left, Rori was curled up in the large armchair and nodding off. “Come on, Ror-meister.” Shadow swept her up, carrying her off to get ready for bed. “Let’s get your teeth brushed and pajamas on. What book do you want to read before bed?”
I suppressed several yawns as I tidied up the house while the guys got the kids ready for bed. When Reaper rolled groggily off the couch, I tried to hide my laughter but knew it wouldn’t last long. He came up behind me while I washed dishes and I held my breath.
“Stop. Leave that for the morning and we’ll get it.” Reaper wrapped me up in a sensual hug, oblivious to the mark on his face. He had cut way back on smoking and didn’t smell of cloves so strongly anymore. But his hug enveloped me in that familiar leather and whiskey scent that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
“…Kay.” My shoulders shook from how hard I was trying to keep it in.
“Sugar? What is it?” His eyes narrowed.
“You should,” I suppressed a snort, covering my mouth, “look in the mirror.”
He released me to stomp down the hallway, and I couldn’t hold back any longer. Peals of laughter broke from my mouth, and then tears sprung to my eyes when I heard, “JANDRO, WHAT THE FUCK!” reverberate through the house.
“Relax, it’s washable,” Jandro called from Daren’s room.
“It fuckin’ better be!”
I went to bed exhausted but still giggling. Just another day of being married to four Steel Demons.
Two
MARIPOSA
The bedroom was bright when I woke up. My eyes cracked open to find a glass of water and ibuprofen tablets on the nightstand. I scooted toward the edge to take them, mindful of the heavy, scarred arm draped over my waist.
Once I swallowed the tablets and drained the water, I retreated to the cocoon of warmth at my back, and the surrounding arm tightened protectively.
“Good morning,” Shadow mumbled, his breath soft on the back of my neck.
“Morning, love.” I peeked over and behind him to see that we were alone in bed. A rare moment.
“How are you feeling, Doctor?” I heard the smile in his sleepy voice and felt it in the kiss he brushed over my shoulder.
“Pretty good, just a little headache.” I rubbed my temple where the ache was already starting to fade. “Not bad for losing track of my mimosas yesterday.” I looked back to kiss the scar on his brow. “How do you feel?”
