Chapter 16
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Sammy bolted into her designated bedroom, actually the master bedroom, still giggling but quietly, as she realized they might wake up the babies.
She was already half undressed by the time she reached the en suite bathroom, where she shut the door in his face and called out, “I’ll be out in a minute. ”
She used the facilities and scrubbed her face, her heart was slamming against her chest. She wondered how she’d gone from zero to one hundred so quickly, but maybe it had something to do with being tired of worrying, tired of everything being put on hold until later, tired of life not giving her that little bit of relaxation she so desperately needed right now.
Above all, tired of overthinking everything.
Was this just stress relief? She frowned.
Maybe, but she truly liked this guy. Maybe more than just liked him.
Yet it was so fast, wasn’t it? She had never done something like this before, at least not for that reason, but she was still all in.
As she opened the door, she entered her bedroom.
She stood in the doorway, just in her underwear and skimpy bra.
Burton sat on the side of the bed, putting down his phone. “Phone’s on Silent.”
“We probably should not put it on Silent,” she muttered quietly.
He turned to her, his eyes widening as he saw her, and he nodded. “It’s a habit,” he replied, as he immediately picked it back up and put the sound back on.
“I didn’t even realize you guys had the babies on monitors.”
“Of course,” he whispered, a playful smile on his lips. “That’s just the kind of equipment we automatically need on any op. We do that without even thinking about it.”
“Well, I’m glad because it didn’t even occur to me,” she admitted. “But, of course, you guys got that handled.”
He heard something odd in her tone. He got up, walked over, pulled her into his arms, and whispered, “We don’t have to do anything. If you want, we can just hold each other in bed.”
She smiled. “That’s tempting too, but how about we do that afterward? I’m not sure why, but I need this.”
“Good enough,” he murmured, “as long as there’s no analysis afterward that makes you upset or uncomfortable.”
“Nope,” she stated, “that’s not me. Maybe it’s the stress of everything. I don’t really know, and I’m not too worried about analyzing it.” She slipped her arms up around his neck and smiled at him. “Unless, of course, you don’t want to.”
He bumped her gently with his hips, and she felt absolutely everything through his thin boxers. She smiled. “I guess that answers that question, doesn’t it?”
“Of course it does, and you know damn well I’m more than interested,” he murmured gently, as he nuzzled her cheek and then slid down to nip at her ear and along her jawline.
She chuckled. “I guess that’s just my insecurity talking.”
He leaned back to see her face. “You have absolutely no reason to feel insecure about anything right now.”
“It’s not insecurity about that. I think it’s just this whole situation,” she murmured. “I mean, if we were living in our own place, or if you had a place, and I was there with you, it would be a completely different story. Yet I’m here in somebody else’s house, and that just feels off.”
“Ah.” He nodded in understanding. “I get that and understand it completely. I can appreciate what you’re saying.
I also appreciate that, for the moment at least, we are exactly where we need to be, and that’s for those babies in the nursery beside us.
Speaking of which, I don’t really want to be making any babies at this point. ”
She looked at him in surprise, and then her grin flashed. “Well, at least you had the decency to ask.”
“Of course,” he replied, “but you haven’t answered.”
“I’m on the pill,” she shared, tapping him on the lips. “So, we’re safe.”
He grinned. “In that case—” He waggled his eyebrows, and, in a sudden move, scooped her up. She squealed with laughter, yet as soon as he frowned at her, she muted it down, her eyes widening in horror.
He chuckled gently. “We are definitely going to have to contain those squeals.”
“I wouldn’t have thought I was that noisy,” she muttered, “but I can’t say I’ve ever been picked up and carried to bed.”
“How about tossed on your bed?” he asked, as he gently dropped her.
She realized he’d already pulled back the blankets and top sheet. “It is a new experience all around,” she whispered. She opened her arms wide, and, as he lay down, half on top, half beside her, she smiled. “And, of course, you’re trying to be a gentleman and not put all your weight on me.”
“Well, I’m not exactly a small man,” he explained quietly. “I’m a good couple hundred pounds.”
She laughed. “I know. I can see that. My work involves assessing human bodies, and yours is definitely a lovely specimen.” She slipped her hands across his huge back and chest and added, “I can’t imagine the type of work you’ve done to get these muscles.”
“Just life,” he replied. “Life that you don’t even think about. It comes because of the physical work.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She chuckled and then slipped her hands gently under the band of his boxers to slide ever-so-slightly lower. She immediately gripped his muscled cheeks and dug her nails in gently, then slid her hands down as far as she could before coming back up again.
“You want to play, do you? I can play too.” And, with that, his hands started to explore.
Her eyes widened as she felt the calluses on his fingers as they slid across her smooth skin. Yet, instead of being rough, it was almost … She couldn’t even figure out how to describe it, but it caused her to twist with every stroke. “Oh my,” she gasped.
He murmured, “Oh my is right. Very sensitive, aren’t we?”
“I think it’s your hands.”
“Are they rough?” he asked, stopping.
“No, not rough,” she murmured, twisting beneath him, “but don’t stop.”
He chuckled. “Oh, I don’t plan on it.” He gently slid down to suckle one nipple, her body arching gently beneath him with his ministrations. He moved from one to the other, his hands stroking her carefully from head to toe and back again as if loving her reactions underneath him.
“My God,” she muttered.
“You said it had been a few years.”
“Yes, it has been, but I would have felt this way regardless,” she shared, writhing under his hands. “This is unbelievable.”
“Good,” he murmured, as he gently came back up to suckle her breast again.
She gasped as the movements tugged deep inside her, and her whole body clenched in anticipation.
She moaned as her body responded in many ways, and she arched beneath him.
He let her orgasm pass gently as he immediately worked to bring her back up again.
She was almost blind as the movements of his hands and lips drove her once again up that mountain.
When she was right at the edge, she whispered, “Please, just come with me.”
He immediately slid over the top of her and into position. Then, on her next shudder, he slid deep inside. She gasped, her thighs opening wide to wrap up and around him as she stilled from the onslaught.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice deep, guttural.
She nodded. “I’m okay,” she whispered, “but you still need to move.” With that she dug her nails in to urge him along.
He gave a soft shout and immediately plunged deep, then deeper, until she was crying out once again as she went over the edge. She heard him follow her, his own climax deep and guttural upon her, but then she didn’t think of anything else as she just relaxed in a floating haze of joy.
When she could, she pulled up against his chest and murmured, “Are the babies okay?”
He reached over, grabbed his phone, checked on them, and whispered, “Yes, they’re fine. They’re all fine.”
“Oh good. Does that mean I can go to sleep?”
His light laughter came against her ear, and he whispered, “Sleep well.”
She added, “Feel free to wake me up if you want to repeat that.” With that, she closed her eyes and drifted off.
Burton napped gently beside her, holding the woman who had suddenly become so precious in his life. He had only known her for several days, but here she was, exactly where he wanted her.
The trouble was, he wanted her to stay here forever, at least until they had time enough to realize that this was what they really wanted.
He knew in his heart of hearts that this was well worth pursuing, but he needed her to be on the same page, and he couldn’t guarantee that.
She had to do that. Still, as she cuddled up next to him, he just held her as close as he could, whispering gently against her ear that this was special and that they had something real and wonderful to work with.
She just had to give him a chance. When she fell silent again, he just cuddled her and then reached for his phone and checked on the babies. They had been quiet, so he was okay with that, as long as nothing was going on.
In the monitor, everything appeared fine. A text message came from Anderson saying that he was staying a little longer, and he and Leland would be home soon. It’s almost like the men knew, but then, of course, they did know.
They’d been friends for a long time, each one intuitively understanding when relationships were important.
And the fact that Anderson had found Pamela, and now Burton had found Sammy, was also pretty unbelievable.
Yet, in many ways, typical of the two of them.
He just wanted it to be real for him and Sammy.
And then he had to wonder how it would work out for Leland. That guy was a whole different case. Hearing an odd sound, he turned his head ever-so-slightly to the side, trying to discern what was disturbing him.
Then he shifted, got up, and quickly dressed, prepared to go downstairs and take a look. When she moved, murmuring at him, he whispered, “It’s okay. I’m just going to check downstairs.”
She shifted, rolled over, and he pulled the covers up over her, hoping she could sleep through whatever this was.
He suspected it was something outside, but he couldn’t take the chance. Dressed, he walked downstairs and realized that the front door was ever-so-slightly open. Now that was a whole different story.
He’d come down the stairs, not very silently, then stepped around, checked out the living room, moved on to the kitchen, and then to the playroom, formerly Talia’s home office.
Shaking his head, he headed upstairs to the nursery.
As he stepped inside the babies’ room to check on them, he felt the muzzle of the gun come up behind him, directly at the base of his spine. He froze.
The voice behind him was dark, deep, and sarcastic, whispering, “Good choice. Now, the next decision you make will be the difference for you and all these babies. Make the right one, and you guys get to live. Make the wrong one, and I’ll make sure that not a one of you is alive to regret it.”