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  That was followed by pushing her inside his office, giving her a look that told her exactly what would happen if she left the office again before he left, closing the door behind him and leaving her sitting there, deciding that she’d ask him about the pictures later.

  Chapter 15

  “Are we going to talk about it?” T.J. asked as Devin stood there, watching as Charlie smiled at something that Dustin was showing her while Abbi carried over another small box for Charlie so that she could unpack.

  “There’s nothing to talk about,” Devin said as he forced himself to look away and focus on the bureau that he was supposed to be building.

  “You don’t think letting the woman that you’re in love with move in with you is something that we should discuss?” T.J. asked conversationally as Devin grabbed a piece of sandpaper and carefully ran it over the edge of the secret drawer that he was working on.

  “Drop it,” Devin said as he found himself glancing towards his office again.

  “Okay. Then maybe we should discuss moving her into your office?” T.J. asked as Devin double-checked the slot to make sure that the drawer was going to slide in correctly.

  “She can’t get up the stairs by herself,” Devin pointed out, picking up the drawer and slid it inside the secret slot that he’d created between the top two drawers.

  “True,” T.J. murmured, sounding thoughtful before he asked, “Do we need to finally have that talk?”

  “And what talk would that be?” Devin absently asked as he double-checked the thin drawer before he focused on the latches that were going to make this work.

  “The one where I tell you that you should cut yourself some slack and finally ask her out.”

  “That’s not a choice and you know it,” Devin said, shaking his head as he grabbed the wooden latch that he’d carved last night off his workbench. Sighing heavily, he grabbed a screwdriver and knelt down in front of the bureau so that he could slide it inside its slot to make sure that it blended in well with the design before taking it back out.

  “Why not?”

  “You know why,” Devin said as he placed the small latch back on his workbench and reached for the small can of stain.

  “The kids are older now and they seem to really love her,” T.J. pointed out.

  “I made a promise,” Devin said, grabbing the rag and dipping it in the stain so that he could rub it over the latch, making sure that the entire latch was covered before carefully placing it aside to dry.

  “And you’ve kept that promise, but I don’t think you realized what you’d be giving up when you made it.”

  “It doesn’t matter,” Devin said, because he’d made a promise to his children and he planned on keeping it.

  His children came first.

  End of story.

  He didn’t have time for the drama or bullshit that came with dating or having to worry about his children getting close to a woman only to have her suddenly disappear from their lives when things didn’t work out. Besides, he had enough to deal with right now with work, the kids, and-

  “Daddy!” Abbi said, sounding upset as she drew his attention to find her standing at the red line that he’d laid down across the floor when she was a toddler to keep her from entering the shop.

  “What’s wrong, baby girl?” Devin asked, wiping his hands clean on a rag as he headed towards his little girl to find out what had her so upset and-

  “The mean lady hurt Charlie!”

  *-*-*-*

  “I’m so sorry. It was an accident,” Kelly said with a sympathetic wince as Charlie struggled to breathe through the pain as she pulled Dustin closer only to have him push her hands away and stand his ground as he glared up at Kelly.

  “No, it wasn’t,” Dustin bit out as Charlie gave up trying to pull him closer and wrapped her arm around him.

  “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Charlie managed to get out as she pulled Dustin closer, afraid that he was going to kick the woman who had “accidentally” kicked the bottom of her foot when she’d taken it upon herself to deliver the junk mail that had piled up in Charlie’s mailbox over the past few days.

  “I feel terrible about this,” Kelly said, moving to come closer only to step back when Dustin moved to stop her.

  “It’s fine,” Charlie said, biting her lip to stop herself from crying.

  “You kicked her! I saw you!” Dustin snapped, trying to push her arm away and leaving Charlie with no choice but to pull him onto her lap before he did something that got him in trouble.

  “It was an accident. I didn’t see your foot,” Kelly said with a helpless shrug and since Charlie didn’t believe her, she simply said, “Don’t worry about it,” as she was forced to close her eyes and try to breathe through the pain.

  God, this hurt, Charlie thought, slowly exhaling as more pain tore through her foot. A moment later, she felt Dustin pulled off her lap. Afraid that he was going to do something to make this worse, she opened her eyes in time to see Devin hand Dustin over to T.J. before crouching down in front of her and-

  “Shhhh, it’s okay,” Devin said as she found herself reaching for him.

  He had her in his arms and was pressing a kiss against her forehead before she managed to take her next breath. “What happened?” Devin asked as he carefully set her down on top of her desk.

  “It was an accident. I heard Charlie was back and I wanted to see if she needed anything. I didn’t see her foot and I’m afraid that I might have accidently kicked her,” Kelly explained, sounding a little distracted as she watched Devin step back from Charlie so that he could lean down and check her foot.

  “No, it wasn’t!” Dustin snapped as Devin carefully moved the gauze wrapped around her foot aside and clenched his jaw tightly shut as he stared at the bottom of her foot.

  “It’s fine,” Charlie said, slowly exhaling as she grabbed hold of the edge of the desk as she waited for the pain shooting through her foot to stop even as she couldn’t help but wonder if Kelly’s high heels were tipped with steel because, god, this really freaking hurt.

  “I’m really sorry, Charlie,” Kelly said, worrying her bottom lip with a pitiful look aimed directly at Devin.

  “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” Charlie said, really wishing that Kelly would just leave so that she could focus on getting through this without crying.

  “What are you doing down here?” Devin asked Kelly as he carefully pulled the gauze back over Charlie’s stitches.

  “I-I came downstairs to bring Charlie her mail,” Kelly mumbled, watching as Devin stood up and cupped Charlie’s face in his hands and kissed her forehead with a softly whispered, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine,” Charlie promised him, forcing a smile as he pulled back just far enough to look into her eyes.

  “You’re lying,” he said, sighing heavily as he dropped his hands away and-

  “Wait. What are you doing?” she couldn’t help but ask when he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder as he shifted his attention to Kelly.

  “I appreciate the gesture, but you’re not supposed to be down here. From now on, if you need something send an email, but I don’t want to see you down here again,” Devin said as he grabbed Charlie’s bag and handed it to T.J. before heading to the door.

  “Devin?” Charlie said, trying not to panic as he headed towards the exit. “I have work to do.”

  “You can do it from home.”

  “I still need pictures for the website,” she reminded him as she tried to push herself up so that they could discuss this as he carried her through the door only to find Kelly pausing by the backstairs to glare at her.

  Oh, that couldn’t be good, Charlie thought as she looked past the woman that looked like she wanted to kill her with her bare hands and found T.J. carrying a child under each arm as they watched Kelly’s every move.

  “You can do it when you get back,” Devin said, drawing her attention back to the man carting her around like a sack of potatoes.
r />   “And when might that be?” Charlie couldn’t help but wonder only to groan when he muttered to himself, “Pain in the ass,” since that wasn’t exactly hope-inducing.

  Chapter 16

  “I don’t think we should be doing this,” the incredibly beautiful woman that he’d finally managed to get alone, said even as she reached up and cupped the back of his neck so that she could pull him down for a kiss that had Aidan backing her into a corner so that he could reach down and-

  “You’ve held him for ten minutes, woman! It’s my turn to hold him,” came the unwelcomed demand from the other side of the laundry room door that had them both sighing.

  “I’m going to kill my brother,” Aidan said, brushing his lips against his wife’s one last time before pulling away.

  “That would probably be for the best,” Melanie agreed with a solemn nod while he took her hand in his, entwining their fingers as he pulled her towards the door and-

  “Christopher Bradford, you give me back that precious baby right now!”

  -debating faking an emergency so that he could save them from three more hours of this.

  “Get your own baby, woman,” came the response as Aidan opened the laundry room door to find his mother chasing his brother down the hallway.

  He really wasn’t looking forward to trying to get his son back, Aidan thought, only to grunt when his wife pulled him back into the laundry room and pushed him up against the wall. Before he could ask what she was doing, she was pulling him back down for another kiss and-

  Tearing a groan from him when she cupped him through his pants. God, he loved this woman, Aidan thought as she rubbed her palm over him, teasing his cock as he slid his hand over her breast with a groan. When he felt her nimble fingers working his pants open, he released her breast so that he could pick her up and carry her over to the washer. He devoured her mouth as he slid his hands over her smooth legs, hooked his fingers in her panties, and worked them off before shoving them in his back pocket as she finished working his fly open.

  In seconds, Melanie had her hand wrapped around his cock and was stroking him as he pulled her closer to the edge. She continued stroking him, running the tip between her legs and making him groan when he felt just how wet she was until he couldn’t take anymore.

  He pulled her off the washing machine, turned her around, and ripped a moan from his wife when he shoved her skirt over her ass and ran the tip of his cock between her legs, slowly tracing her wet slit as he slid his other hand beneath her shirt, running his hand over her back. For several minutes, Aidan was content to stand there, teasing them both, but his wife had other plans.

  Moaning his name, Melanie slowly pushed back, taking him inside her as he stood there, watching as his cock disappeared inside her. Groaning, Aidan leaned over and pressed a kiss against the back of her neck as he closed his eyes. He’d never get used to this, Aidan thought as he ran his hand down the middle of her back and around to the slight swell of her stomach.

  “Is this okay?” Aidan asked against her neck.

  “Perfect,” she moaned as she placed her hand over his.

  “God, I love you,” Aidan groaned, placing his other hand on the washing machine near hers while he continued to slowly fuck her, knowing that they were going to have to start confining their activities to a bed soon.

  For now, they were going to enjoy doing this every chance they got.

  His grip tightened on the edge of the washer as he quickened his thrusts, pressing his lips against the back of her neck with a groan when he felt her walls tighten around him and squeezed him dry.

  God, she fucking wrecked him, Aidan thought, trying to catch his breath while he helped her stand up. Without a word, she turned her head back for a kiss as he reached down and pushed his softening cock back in his boxers. Once he was done, he reached back and grabbed her panties out of his back pocket and handed them to her.

  With a teasing smile, Melanie pulled her panties back on while he headed to the large sink that he’d installed after they’d bought the house and quickly washed his hands only to get pushed aside so that his wife could do the same. With a mocking glare, Aidan grabbed a hand towel off the shelf and dried his hands as he leaned down and kissed her cheek.

  “You still owe me five things,” he said as he took her hand in his and headed for the door.

  “And you still owe me pie,” his wife reminded him as Aidan opened the door and-

  “What are you doing here?” he found himself asking when he spotted his sister leaning back against the wall, eating a bowl of their mother’s homemade macaroni and cheese.

  “You mean besides pretending that I don’t know what just happened in there?” Kenzie asked, looking thoughtful as she gestured towards the laundry room behind them with her fork.

  “Yes, besides that,” Aidan drawled, curious why she was here since she’d been going out of her way to avoid them since the baby shower. He had a few questions, more than a few questions about what happened, but he knew his sister well enough to know that if he started pushing for answers before she was ready that it wouldn’t end well.

  “Didn’t want to miss this,” Kenzie said, shaking her head as she took another bite.

  “Miss what?” Aidan asked, unable to help but frown.

  “Devin’s here,” Kenzie announced with an unholy gleam in her eye.

  Unable to help but frown, he said, “And?”

  “And our dear, sweet cousin who swore off women until the twins were eighteen has brought one home to meet the family.”

  *-*-*-*

  “I think I’m going to have to rethink my decision to be best friends,” Charlie said with a slow nod as she folded her arms over her chest.

  “And I think I’m going to have to rethink my decision not to spank your ass,” Devin explained as he moved to shift her on his lap only to stop when she released a pained gasp and grabbed hold of the arm stopping her from escaping.

  “Please don’t do that,” Charlie said, releasing a shaky breath as she closed her eyes.

  “Do what?”

  “Move,” she whispered hoarsely only to add, “It hurts when you move,” making him bite back a curse as he glanced back towards the hallway, wondering where the hell his cousin was.

  Maybe he should have brought her to the emergency room…

  “What are you doing?” Devin asked the woman who had finally given up trying to crawl off his lap a moment later as she reached back so that she could grab her iPad out of her bag, careful not to move her foot in any way.

  “You mean besides ignoring you?” Charlie asked, carefully shifting to get more comfortable on his lap before settling back against him with a resigned sigh as she opened the calendar app on her iPad.

  “Yes, besides that,” he said, trying to ignore just how much he liked having her in his arms.

  “I’m looking into conventions on social media and online marketing that I want to attend next year,” Charlie said as she swiped to another page.

  “Why are you doing that?” he asked, unable to help but frown as he watched her work.

  “So that I can do my job better,” Charlie explained as she opened Safari.

  “And you need to attend conventions to do that?” Devin asked, relaxing his arm around her.

  “Yes,” she said, tilting her head back so that she could look at him, blinking innocently as she asked, “Do I still need to go through T.J. to get my time off approved?”

  Eyes narrowing on the little brat that was going to drive him to drink, Devin said, “Just tell me what days you need off.”

  “Are you sure? Because I don’t mind going through T.J. if it makes this easier on you?”

  He knew that he shouldn’t ask, but…

  “Make what easier on me?”

  “Your feelings for me,” Charlie said with a sad shake of her head as she returned her attention to the iPad in her hands while he sat there, closing his eyes as he dropped his head back against the couch, because she was fucking
killing him.

  “Shhh, it’s okay,” she whispered as she shifted only to stop with a pained gasp that had him opening his eyes only to find his cousins sitting across from him, watching him with shit-eating grins on their faces, and-

  “I am so glad that I didn’t miss this,” Kenzie said, dropping down on the couch between her brothers with a satisfied sigh.

  Chapter 17

  “Thank you for drugging me,” Charlie said as the drugs that the incredibly handsome doctor had given her began working, enveloping her in a warm haze and making it so that she no longer had to struggle not to cry.

  “You’re welcome,” Aidan said, chuckling as he passed the platter of meatloaf to his brother Lucifer, who looked torn between fawning over his pregnant wife and tormenting Devin along with the rest of his family.

  Except for Devin’s Aunt Mary that is, since she was currently sitting at the other end of the table smiling down at the baby in her arms. She only acknowledged their existence when someone asked to hold the baby, which was met with a murderous glare until they gave up and left her alone so that she could cuddle her grandson.

  “So, tell us about yourself, Charlie,” Jason, Devin’s cousin who’d walked into the dining room and joined them a few minutes ago with a huge smile on his face, said with a heartfelt sigh as he propped his chin on his fists.

  “I mean, other than the five years I spent in prison, there’s really not that much to tell,” she said with a sad shake of her head.

  “Fascinating,” Jason murmured with a dreamy sigh before following that up with, “and how long have you known our little Devin here?”

  “I’m going to kill you,” Devin said from her right, pausing as he scooped mashed potatoes onto plates for the twins to glare at his cousins.

  “Probably,” Jason murmured absently as the rest of his family sat there, watching Devin with a predatory look of anticipation in their eyes that made Charlie feel right at home.