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  “You want backup?” he asked.

  “No. I got it covered.” I could handle one ex husband with one eye closed. Especially in my own damn house. I hung up the phone.

  “Everything alright?” Emily asked. I felt the weight of her stare as I navigated the turns in the road.

  I took her hand in mine and rested it on my thigh. “Everything is fine. No news on Randy’s location, but Jack’s monitoring the situation.”

  Another few turns and we pulled into the driveway. I scanned for any sign of an intruder. Nothing.

  I threw the truck in park but kept the engine running. “Come on around and sit in the driver seat while I make a quick check of the perimeter and the house, okay?”

  Emily’s eyes grew round. “I thought you said everything was fine.”

  “I did. And it is. This is just a standard operating procedure. If I’m not back in ten minutes, you head back into town and wait at the police department.” I’d showed her the location when we walked by it earlier in the day.

  “Are you sure this is standard procedure?” I nodded. I didn’t feel the need to tell her it was only standard when my spidey senses started screaming at me.

  Emily nodded. I slid out of the driver seat and held the door for her as she hopped into my side of the truck. I heard the snick of the locks being engaged from inside the vehicle.

  I walked the perimeter of the property looking for anything that indicated we might have a situation on our hands.

  Nothing.

  The alarm was still engaged and hadn’t been tripped, so the probability of finding Randy had breached the interior security was nil. Any house of mine had top notch security. Regardless, I cleared each room and found absolutely nothing that accounted for my heightened sense of unease.

  I doubled back around the perimeter one more time. I finally had to admit to myself that my gut instincts were off this time. I shook it off and walked back to the truck to retrieve my girls.

  Emily visibly relaxed when she saw me. I hated seeing her tense with worry. That was going to end. And soon.

  She cut the engine and a small smile flashed across her face. Emily did something to my insides. Something I couldn’t quite describe. Either that or I was coming down with something. Something that made me a little weak in the knees. Made my heart kick in my chest at random intervals.

  We gathered the groceries and one very tired Katie and made our way into the house.

  “Can I have ice cream for dinner, Archer?” Katie asked. She batted her eyelashes at me. A little minx already. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew the answer to that question without having to glance in Emily’s direction.

  “No, peanut. But if you eat all your dinner, you can have a scoop before bed.” Katie wrinkled her nose and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout. She was pretty damn adorable, even in a snit.

  Another ten years and Emily would have her hands full. Katie was going to have boys lined up down the street and around the block, all vying for her attention.

  Of course, she might not be a single mom by that time. Just the thought of Emily with another man in her life pissed me off. I didn’t want another guy looking after my girls. The shock of that realization stopped me in my tracks and I felt like I’d been kicked in the nads. The question was, what was I going to do about that?

  Occam’s razor. The simplest solution is often the correct one. I wouldn’t let her go. That was the answer to the question. Now I just had to convince Emily I was the man for her.

  For them.

  Chapter Nine

  Emily

  Just the three of us for a family dinner perpetuated the little fantasy I’d been living all day. Archer grilled, I threw together a salad, and heated up Bob Evans mashed potatoes. Admittedly I wasn’t a great cook, but I could microwave a mean batch of taters. A round of Rocky Road ice cream all around, a bath and bed for Katie and suddenly it was just the two of us.

  I joined Archer on the porch. He’d lit one of those self contained gas fire pits and opened us a bottle of wine. I’d brought a sleeve of thin mints with me. You know, to calm my nerves.

  Because being alone with a funny, charming, gorgeous man whose job it was to protect me and Katie somehow made me feel like I was living a fairytale. And my life was not that.

  But, that’s what I wanted. The fairytale. The happily ever after. And if I could have it for only one night, I’d take it. And suddenly, I wanted that one night to be tonight.

  I took a deep breath, exhaled my very real fear of rejection, and put a little sway in my hips as I moved closer to Archer and accepted a glass of Merlot.

  The wine tasted rich and velvety and smelled like cherries with a hint of chocolate. Heaven. I put my glass down on the small table between the two chaise loungers Archer had arranged to catch the sunset. He leaned back comfortably in his, wine in hand.

  Instead of sitting on the remaining chair, I sat on the end of his. I think I surprised him and he sat up quickly, legs astride the chair and arched a brow at me in question.

  So far so good. I hadn’t actually ever tried to seduce a man before, but he hadn’t run screaming into the woods yet so I figured I might be holding my own in the seduction department.

  “Thank you for today, Archer. I can’t remember the last time I felt so safe, and comfortable, and enjoyed myself as much as I did today.” I placed a shaking hand on his thigh. If ever I needed the comfort of a thin mint, it was now. But that would probably ruin the moment so I took another deep breath and leaned closer, crossing my fingers and praying he would meet me halfway, I looked into those obsidian eyes and touched my mouth to his.

  In a heartbeat he pulled me closer, cupped my face with his hands and ravished my mouth with such exquisite skill I nearly melted into a puddle of desire. My heart beat so fast and so hard in my chest I thought I might do something silly, like faint.

  Archer deepened the kiss. His tongue parted my lips and danced with mine. I could barely breathe. He tasted like Rocky Road ice cream.

  He pulled away. Stopped my heart with a stare. “If you want me to stop, speak now Emily.” He rested his forehead against mine, his hands still holding my face. His breath against my skin was warm and the tiny hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention.

  “Just one night, Archer. That’s all I’ll ask of you. No ties, no strings, just let me have one perfect night.” My voice sounded husky and deep even to my own ears.

  “We can start with that, Emily. But, one night isn’t going to be enough for me.” He kissed the tip of my nose, my cheek, the soft spot below my ear.

  A warm hand slid under my shirt and with a flick of his wrist, he unsnapped my bra. One swift, smooth move, and my shirt and bra lay on the patio. My nipples pebbled in the cool evening air.

  “My God, Emily. You’re gorgeous.” He lavished attention to each breast. First with his hands, then with his mouth. I nearly orgasmed from that alone.

  The only sex I’d had in the past four years had been with the battery operated boyfriend I kept in my nightstand. I’d completely forgotten what an actual real-man-made orgasm felt like.

  “Stand up for me, Emily,” Archer said. I complied. Barely. My knees were already weak. He kissed the soft round mound of my belly. I never had lost the baby weight from carrying Katie. Archer didn’t seem to mind.

  His hands went for the button of my jeans, then the zipper. He pulled my pants and panties down in one swift move and held my hands as I stepped out of them and kicked them away to join the rest of my clothes already littering the porch.

  The next thing I knew he was on his knees in front of me, slipping his hands between my legs, parting them. He put his face to my neatly trimmed mound and inhaled my scent.

  I thought I would die of embarrassment right there on the spot. But, Archer moaned. Or maybe it was a growl. Whichever it was, it was the sound of pure male pleasure.

  Archer parted my folds with his thumbs, then leaned in and licked me. My legs began to tremble. He continued to torture
me slowly with his mouth.

  When I thought I would collapse from the pleasure, he stood and gently maneuvered me onto the chaise lounge, parted my legs and settled himself between them.

  His mouth was back on my clit. He latched onto the tiny hard bundle of nerves and sucked. Teased. Licked. He placed a hand on my belly to keep me from squirming in delight.

  My core clenched, my breath caught, and the orgasm ripped through my body like 220 volts of ecstacy. I tried to swallow the shout of joy that passed by my lips, but failed miserably.

  I was pretty sure I heard the stampede of little hooves and figured we wouldn’t see the deer that Archer said passed through his property at dusk. With the sounds that escaped my mouth, we might never see them again.

  Archer slid up my body and warmed me with the heat rolling off his body. Those beautiful black eyes of his were hooded and the look of desire on his face made me feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet.

  “Take your clothes off, Archer. I want to see all of you.” He slowly pulled away and stood. My eyes dropped to his crotch. He knew what I wanted to see and he smiled at me.

  He reached behind his head and grabbed the neck of his shirt, tugging it over his head. Wide, strong, defined pectoral muscles danced with every movement.

  He toed off his shoes, dropped his drawers in a heartbeat, and I nearly died on the spot. To say the man was well endowed was laughable. I wondered if there was a Guinness world record for what he carried between his thighs.

  Cause seriously, it had its own shadow.

  The crooked smirk on Archer’s face told me he was amused by my reaction. I picked my jaw up off the porch and closed my mouth. Damn. I shivered.

  Archer reached out a hand. I took it. “Let’s go inside where it’s warmer. And there’s a bed.”

  “But, Katie---”

  “Two bedrooms downstairs,” he said and led the way. And, oh-em-gee, the view of his ass nearly unhinged me.

  Chapter Ten

  Archer

  For the first time in my life, I wanted something beyond surviving tomorrow.

  I wanted the silver lining.

  Twenty years with Uncle Sam.

  Eight tours of duty.

  Now I wanted a life with a woman who could see past the blood on my hands. Who would look beyond the atrocities of battles hard fought.

  That woman was Emily. And I was never letting her go.

  I chose the bedroom with the queen sized guest bed. I nearly took the door right off its hinges in my haste to open it.

  I wrapped Emily up in my arms and slanted my mouth over hers. A soft moan met my ears. I urged her onto the bed. She scooted into the middle and I had her underneath me in a flash.

  There was no bullshit discussion about condoms and birth control. If I got Emily pregnant, I’d be on cloud nine. I knew I was clean and if Emily wasn’t she’d stop me.

  She didn’t.

  I did my best to go slow. I slipped a finger inside her, then added a second. She was almost ready for me.

  I captured her mouth with mine and poured my soul into that kiss. I moved lower to her breast and my teeth grazed her nipple. It pebbled in my mouth and she gasped, her hips bucked against mine.

  I nudged her entrance with the head of my cock. Her juices were flowing and I coated myself with them, then parted her soft folds as I pushed inside her.

  “I’m never going to last Emily. You feel too damn good.”

  “Good. Fast and hard, Archer. Please.”

  I pulled out, pushed in again, to the hilt this time. I gave her a moment to adjust. Then I pumped my hips in earnest. Emily wrapped her legs around me and met me stroke for stroke.

  The life I wanted flashed before my eyes. Emily. Kate. The white picket fence. I wanted it all with this woman.

  A bead of sweat trickled from my temple as I tried to slow my tempo. But Emily’s hitched breathing told me she was close.

  I watched the flush of blood creep up her chest to her neck. I reached between us and flicked the bundle of nerves at her center. Her back arched, she fisted the sheets at her side, and screamed my name. My balls tightened and the orgasm started in my lower back and spread like wildfire through my body.

  She came.

  I came.

  The world fucking shifted off it’s axis and time stopped.

  And I would never be the same.

  ∞∞∞

  After the third time we made love, Emily slept in my arms. I slipped from her embrace and went outside to collect our clothing, kill the fire, and grab the wine.

  The minute I stepped outside, butt naked, I knew.

  He was here.

  My gut screamed at me, the hairs rose on the back of my neck, the back of my hands.

  I scanned the yard, the woods beyond, as I yanked on my pants. I moved to turn off the gas fire and my suspicions were confirmed.

  The fuck had thrown Katie’s stuffed monkey George on the fire.

  Rage boiled in my blood. My vision tunneled and I saw red. The asshole had been in my house. My. Fucking. House.

  I bellowed in a voice loud enough to wake the dead, “I’ll kill you with my bare hands you sick fuck. Bring it on motherfucker!” I killed the gas and walked inside, setting the alarm.

  Emily came toward me wrapped in a blanket. She took one look at my face and ran for the stairs. I was faster and took them three at a time.

  I heard a third set of footfalls as I made it to the pinball room and ran for the bedroom like I was on fire. Katie’s small form was curled into a fetal position on the bed. The French doors were open and I heard Randy grunt as he dropped from the second floor balcony.

  “Call 911, “ I shouted to Emily as I grabbed onto the railing, dangled, then dropped the ten feet to the ground.

  I was six-foot-four, weighed 245 pounds, and managed to run like the fucking wind. Randy might have a fifty foot head start, but everything I had ever wanted was at stake.

  My stride lengthened and within seconds, I was within a few feet of catching him. He turned, aimed, and fired a pistol.

  My right shoulder blew back and pain exploded like a grenade through my body. I didn’t stop. I reached for the muzzle of the gun with my left hand and threw all of my weight into tackling him to the ground.

  I wasn’t a southpaw, but his face would never be the same. One punch and his nose crunched under the force of my fist. An elbow to his temple and he was out cold. Which I found highly disappointing. I shook him by the shoulders, trying to snap him out of it so I could punch him a few more times.

  No such luck. I roared with frustration and unspent fury.

  I collected his gun, removed the clip, and ejected the bullet in the chamber. Adrenaline kicked through my veins and my breath came fast and hard.

  And then Emily was in front of me. She’d dressed herself in my t-shirt from the porch.

  She was so fucking beautiful.

  My vision blurred, and the night got impossibly darker, and then I felt the ground reach up and catch me as I fell.

  Chapter Eleven

  Emily

  I panicked.

  I screamed.

  I dropped to my knees at Archer’s side. His shoulder was a huge, bloody mess and he was unconscious.

  Or dead.

  Oh God, please don’t let him be dead.

  I couldn’t feel a pulse. But the blood pounding through my own veins sounded in my ears and my hands shook like crazy so it didn’t surprise me.

  I watched his chest.

  It rose and fell.

  He was breathing.

  The wail of sirens grew louder as police cars approached.

  I grabbed Archer’s hand and yelled, “Don’t you die on me Archer Beck! I will never forgive you if you do. This is not the fairytale ending I wanted, do you hear me? I want the damn happily-ever-after! I want forever, Archer.” His eyes fluttered open and he smiled at me. Then he slipped back into unconsciousness. He’d heard me.

  “Mommy, I’m scared.” Katie
’s tiny voice penetrated and I whisked her up in my arms before she got too close to the bloody mess that was Archer.

  “It’s okay, baby. Everything is going to be okay.” I hoped that was the truth.

  The first officer had arrived on scene and controlled chaos ensued. I pointed out the bad guy, mentioned bench warrants, and pointed to the discarded gun.

  The officer called for an ambulance. The second officer arrived as Randy began to stir. His face was bloodied and his nose was clearly broken. Good. Katie hadn’t recognized her dad. Even better.

  I was questioned. I answered. What seemed like days later, Randy was stuffed in the back of a police car. The ambulance arrived and Archer was loaded onto a stretcher.

  So much damn blood. But, he was awake now. He called for me.

  “I’m here Archer,” I said as I walked alongside the stretcher as paramedics ushered him toward the ambulance.

  “I want forever, too. You and Katie. Forever.”

  Epilogue

  Six Weeks Later

  It was a Thursday night, so we were at Jack’s house for poker. I’d spent a week in the hospital after getting shot. Two surgeries later and I was on the mend. It was going to take a crap ton of physical therapy before I was back to normal, but the doc thought I’d make a full recovery.

  Emily’s ex was locked up for now, awaiting trial. It still pissed me off how easily he’d found us. He’d put a tracking device in Katie’s stuffed monkey, George.

  Luckily, it looked like he’d be spending a number of years behind bars for attempted kidnapping, attempted murder, and a host of other charges.

  The change in Emily was remarkable. My girl smiled all the time now. The fear, the tension, all of it vanished. Of course, some of those smiles might have something to do with the fact she was six weeks along with our baby.

  Katie knew I couldn’t pick her up easily with my busted shoulder, but she had no qualms about climbing up into my lap. We sat at the kitchen island eating the damn pineapple pizza she loved so much. She couldn’t be happier that I picked all the offending bits off my slice and piled them on her plate.