Chapter 01
June
Five months and fourteen days earlier
wonderful family
Cecily
“Alicia, Ethan! Dinner will be ready in less than twenty minutes. You’ve got ten to finish what you’re doing and come help set the table,” I call out from the kitchen doorway.
I turn back to the counter, to the half-finished salad, crisp lettuce, sliced tomatoes, the faint scent of basil lingering on my fingers. I’m wiping my hands on a dish towel when a familiar presence closes in behind me.
Strong hands wrap around my waist, pulling me flush against a body I’d recognize blindfolded.
“So that gives me, what… eight minutes to get my hands on my wife before the kids come down?” he murmurs against my ear, warm breath teasing.
I didn’t even hear him come home. One second I’m alone, the next I’m being turned, spun, breath stolen, until I’m facing him. My gorgeous, exasperating husband.
He kisses me like he’s been waiting all day.
His mouth is urgent, his hands relentless. Sliding over my waist, tracing my spine. He presses me against the island, hard, his arousal unmistakable against my belly. When his fingers find the hem of my blouse and brush over my breast, I break the kiss on a shaky inhale.
“Colin—” My voice comes out thinner than I intend. “We shouldn’t. The kids will be down any second.”
He hums against my neck, his smile clear in the sound. “Wouldn’t be the first time we’ve christened the kitchen. Maybe we should start revisiting old habits.”
I try to glare, but my laugh betrays me. I slap his shoulder gently, and then we both freeze at the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the stairs.
A perfect reminder of why all such activities belong in the bedroom.
In a blur, we’re teenagers again, guilt-stricken and scrambling in opposite directions.
I catch him shrugging off his jacket, and when he holds it in front of his trousers, I realize exactly what he’s trying to hide. I bite my lip to keep from laughing. He shoots me a look, eyes dark with warning, his voice low and edged with promise.
“You’ll pay for that later.”
“I certainly hope so… Mr. Montgomery.”
He pauses at the doorway, throws a look over his shoulder. “You will, Mrs. Montgomery.”
A second later, the kitchen bursts into life. Alicia rushes forward to hug him, her “Hi, Daddy!” bright as sunlight, while Ethan mutters that he’s not a kid anymore. Though he leans into the touch all the same. Colin kisses the tops of their heads before disappearing upstairs.
Without me needing to say another word, they fall into rhythm, setting the table with their usual playful banter, always helping each other. The air fills with the scent of garlic bread and the murmur of their laughter.
I stand there for a moment, spoon still in hand, watching them. Then I finish the salad and add the final touches to dinner, a smile lingering on my face, my heart full of gratitude for this imperfect, wonderful family of mine.
Colin
"Open your eyes, sweetheart," I say as I keep thrusting into her, slowly at first, then harder. "I need to see you."
Ceci's eyelids flutter, her body arching and shifting beneath me, with each thrust.
Earlier, I had woken her with my mouth, teasing her senses and drawing out waves of pleasure before I entered her, her body still trembling from the orgasm.
“Colin… I—I need. I need…” Her voice is breathless, every word breaking as sensation overtakes her.
“Shh… I know what you want, baby,” I murmur, my mouth tracing her cheekbone, noting the way her breath stutters under the lightest touch. I follow the warmth of her skin to her lips. “I’ll give you everything you want. I always do. Only I can.”
Our lips meet in a deep intense kiss, and with every thrust, I go deeper, harder.
"Fuck. You’re so tight, baby. You feel amazing," I breathe, feeling the heat build inside me.
I adjust my angle, hitting the place I know she loves, drawing soft whimpers that linger between us.
I don’t touch her clit, I don’t need to. I know her body, its secrets and desires, better than she does.
I keep her right on the edge, drawing her closer and closer… to everything she wants, and everything I intend to give.
Every movement, every breath feels like a promise. I’m giving her everything I have, everything I am, knowing she’s always had all of me.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I wrap the towel around my waist, step up behind her, and pull her into me. The scent of her shampoo still clings to the air as I press a kiss to the curve of her neck.
Our eyes meet in the mirror. She narrows hers, a faint smile playing at the corner of her mouth.
“You didn’t have to wake me up so early,” she says, fingers working through her hair.
I tug the robe from one shoulder, baring the skin I’ve already found myself missing, my lips skimming over it as I speak. “You were so beautiful when I woke up,” I whisper. “So soft. So warm. So open to me.”
I let my mouth linger a few seconds longer at her collarbone, my breath brushing her skin before my teeth graze gently. “How was I supposed to resist?”
“Twice last night wasn’t enough for you?” she teases, arching a brow at me in the mirror. The smirk in her voice makes me bite just a little harder, enough to leave a fading mark that earns a breathy gasp.
“No matter how many times I have you, it’s never enough,” I tell her quietly, watching her reflection. The way her eyes flutter closed, the faint color blooming on her skin. “Is that a complaint, wife?”
She laughs softly, shaking her head. “Never.”
I give her a light smack on the ass, then lean in and press a kiss to her temple.
“Good,” I murmur against her skin. “You know I always deliver.”
She grabs a towel from the rack and throws it at me. I catch it midair, grinning as I head for the door, drying my hair while her laughter trails after me.