Page 5 of Endless
“Shadow.” I returned my head to his chest, wrapping both arms around him. “Love, we ran those genetic tests, remember? Everything came back normal.”
“I know, but I don’t mean something physically wrong. Like, I was born physically normal. So was my mother, I’m sure. But neither of us ended up that way.”
“Hey, listen.” I lifted my cheek to look at him again. “You’re not defective in any way. You never were.” I found one of his hands and laced my fingers through his. “Everything you’ve struggled with was because of the environment you were in, not because there was anything inherently wrong with you.”
“But we don’t know that for sure.” Shadow placed an arm behind his head, his expression thoughtful. “I never had a normal environment to compare it to. For all we know, I could have turned out the same.”
“What about now?” I challenged. “And the last several years? You’ve been an amazing husband and father. You’re the most sought-after tattoo artist in the Southwest, with a year-long wait list. Our children love you.” I leaned in to hover my lips over his. “Ilove you.”
His smile finally returned before the distance between our lips closed. “I love you so much. And you’re right. These past few years have been just…perfect. Having you as my wife every day.” He stroked tenderly over my cheek. “Watching the kids grow. Seeing the tattoo shop become what it is. I never could have imagined this before.”
I let my forehead touch his, soaking up this moment of reflection with him. Every once in a while, the guys and I would have moments like these. Usually after the kids went to bed and when other things didn’t need our immediate attention.
This beautiful little family, this amazing life we had—we could never forget how hard we fought for this. We nearly destroyed ourselves and each other before we made it here, and we’d never take it for granted.
“The kids will only inherit the best things from you,” I said after a few moments of quiet. “They’ve already gotten started. Daren is drawing nonstop and Rori,” I grinned at him, “she’s your little shadow.”
“She is.” Shadow’s smile grew even broader at the mention of our daughter. “I don’t know how that happened. She’s so much like Gunner, and with Reaper’s bossiness.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at how true that was, sliding off of Shadow to land next to him on the mattress. “Speaking of, ready to get up and see what she wanted to show us?”
“Yes.” Shadow pushed the sheet away and swung his feet to the floor. “I’m ready for breakfast even more.”
I remained in bed, just watching as he went to the dresser to pull on sweatpants and a shirt. His broad back and perky ass were every bit as delicious now as they were eight years ago. Only his scars looked softer this morning, probably because of the morning light in the bedroom.
Shadow turned around once he got dressed and smirked when he caught me staring. Finally, the man had started to understand how attractive he was.
“Are you having some trouble getting up?” He approached the edge of the bed, his body tense and a wicked gleam in his eye.
My heart sped up with the thrill of his body language. “Um, no.”
A beat of frozen silence passed before I scrambled for the opposite edge of the bed. Shadow reached over and grabbed my ankle easily, dragging me back toward him with an amused chuckle. He ignored my shrieks and playful protests, knowing full-well now that I wasn’t actually trying to escape him.
Shadow trapped me easily underneath him, pinning me down with kisses and tickles until I was breathless. Then he swatted my ass and lifted away, leaving me wanting and weak-kneed, to get dressed.
Three
JANDRO
Iwoke up to a package on the porch from my sister, Angie, and her husband, Drew. They mailed a bunch of Christmas gifts for the kids months ago, which we figured had gotten lost. Postal systems were still inconsistent between the different territories and unreliable at best. So it was a nice surprise to find, even if it was three months late.
The kids digging through the box and playing with their new toys allowed us three dads to wake up slowly with some coffee while Mari and Shadow slept in. They had just gotten up as I was starting breakfast for everyone.
“Smells great, Jandro.” Shadow came down the stairs first, a smile still pulling on his lips from his lay-in with Mari. They hadn’t gotten a lot of private time lately, with her preparing for graduation and him booked with back-to-back tattoo appointments. I was glad Reaper and Gunner followed my lead in getting up early.
Shadow was headed off at the bottom of the stairs by Rori, holding up some tiny dollhouse thing. “Dad, look what I got!”
“What did you get? Can I see?” The shift in his tone was never something I thought I’d hear. Not until he started talking to Mari over eight years ago. And now our daughter threatened to unseat her as the woman who had the most power over him.
Mari came downstairs moments later, heading straight for me. “Do you need help?”
“Not from you, Doctor.” I pushed a mug of coffee into her hands with a grin and a fast kiss. “Although I might need your expertiselater.”
“Mmhm, body exam sex jokes, very funny.” She smirked over the rim of her coffee cup. “You said something similar when we first met. Do you remember that?”
“Me?” I slapped a hand to my chest dramatically. “Saying innuendos to a beautiful girl I was hoping to sleep with? That doesn’t sound like me at all.”
“You said it to all the girls then,” Mari teased with a playful glare.
