I bring my nose to her temple, inhaling the nostalgic scent of her favorite lavender shampoo. It’s a subtle reminder that despite all that might’ve changed over the years about the woman I love, much remains the same. So, I’ll draw comfort in the familiar while opening myself up to learning what makes her tick these days. Her likes and dislikes. Her hopes and dreams.

She stirs when my warm exhale meets her skin.

“Lyle,” she murmurs, reaching a hand over her shoulder to my cheek.

I press my lips to her temple and snuggle in closer. “Sweet dreams, Jailbait.”

“You’re very good at giving orgasms,” she muses, scratching the scruff on my chin before threading her fingers through mine and bringing our hands to rest on her stomach.

“Glad you enjoyed it.”

“Sorry I fell asleep.” Her grip tightens, and she buries a yawn into the pillow.

“Don’t be.” I slip my hand out of her hold and flatten it over her tiny baby bump. “It was a long day, and you’re growing a human.”

“Rain check?”

“I’ll accept that, but there’s no rush. We have the rest of our lives to indulge ourselves. Tonight, I’m more than happy to just cuddle my wife.”

Chapter Six

The sun is barely starting to peek over the horizon when my full bladder screams out for relief.

You’ll just have to wait, I think to myself, mentally addressing the irksome organ. Determined to see this through, I adjust my position, where Lyle’s got the grip of a boa constrictor around my abdomen, hoping to ease the discomfort even just the teensiest bit.

Nothing short of a five-alarm fire’s gonna make me miss this sunrise.

Just as I’m settling back in for the show, a loud bang coming from what sounds like directly below us proves me a liar.

“Lyle!” I say, holding the blanket to my chest to conceal my still-nude body from whoever’s clomping up the stairs. My pulse begins to race, and fear has me feeling like I might actually pass out. “Wake up!”

I give his shoulders a firm shake, seriously contemplating shoving him to the floor if he doesn’t come out of this sleep coma of his with a quickness. I’d likely smile over the realization that he still sleeps like the freaking dead if I wasn’t on the verge of a panic attack.

“I think—” I grip the blanket tighter. “I think someone broke in,” I say when he peeps a lazy eye at me.

“Huh?” Half-conscious at best, he smooths one hand over my back and brings the other to his face to scrub the sleep from his eyes. “Do what now?”

“I heard a loud noi—”

The door flies open and bounces off the wall. “Oh good,” a tiny hellcat in heels and a pantsuit says as she bursts into the room. “You’re up.”