I could feel him inside me, his piercing touching me at the exact place I needed him to. I wasn’t going to last long, just as he said he wouldn’t. But right then, it wasn’t about the heat or the caresses or the spontaneity. It was about him and me.
And this moment.
When we moved, and both of us came, my eyes were on his, my mouth parted. All I could think about was him.
I hadn’t expected Macon.
I had actively pushed him away.
And I had been wrong.
Oh, so wrong.
Chapter 14
Macon
Somehow, we found a routine. One where I’d become part of the household, even though I knew I shouldn’t be. I wasn’t pushing myself away precisely. Far from it. But I knew that I was a guest in Dakota and Joshua’s home. And yet, we were finding our normal.
It had been a week, and there had been two more notes. Two messages that nobody could trace to Adam, though we were all sure they were from him. It was only the fact that we didn’t know where he lived that my brothers and I hadn’t found him and taken care of things ourselves. Because we were following the law, even though it wasn’t helping us. I hated that the thought even ran through my mind, but the system didn’t always work the way it should.
And Dakota knew that more than most. I hated the idea that she was scared and could be hurt by this man. And that there was nothing I could do for her.
“Mama Cat is washing the babies.”
I looked down at Joshua, who was bouncing in front of me. I smiled. I pulled myself out of my thoughts, knowing that I didn’t need to think about the future beyond taking care of those in front of me just yet.
I was moving on, finding my place. I wasn’t fighting anymore. I wasn’t hiding. I was living. I would do anything to make sure that Joshua and Dakota were safe.
“Really?” I asked, kneeling in front of him.
I hated how big I was compared to Joshua, that I hovered. I towered over the kid, so I was constantly kneeling down by him.
“Well, she’s bathing Wendy and Darling. Hook and Tink are fighting over in the corner.”
That made me smile. We had finally decided that calling them babies one, two, three, and four wasn’t working out. So, after watching Peter Pan, we had decided to name the babies after the characters.
However, Dakota had said no to naming them Peter or Pan because she’d always had a problem with that kidnapping boy who wouldn’t grow up. I figured it had to do more with Adam than anything, but I had agreed. The new Hooks these days were usually all dashing in leather with eyeliner and a suave, debonair attitude, so I figured that’s why she went with Hook. Plus, Tink was a pretty good name for the little runt of the crew.
I had a feeling that once we found Adam and figured out the next phase of our plan, I was going to end up with five cats at my home, something I hadn’t been planning on. But I didn’t mind.
I was an animal person, after all, and who better to have a clowder than a vet?
“I need to go check on them and make sure they’re doing okay. Want to join me?”
“Uh-huh,” Joshua answered.
“And then I bet you we need to look at your homework before bed.”
“We still have dinner,” Joshua complained.
“Sure, but you’re going to want to play with the kittens all night before your bath time, and I assume that means your homework needs to be done.”
“I thought you were supposed to be the fun one,” Joshua said, rolling his eyes.
“I am the fun one,” I argued, taken aback.
“No, I think Nate’s the fun one.”
I held back a groan. “Do I want to know what he’s doing with you when I’m not here?” I asked, a little leery.
“He’s teaching me how to make fart noises with my arm.”
“Who do you think taught him that?” I asked, shaking my head as I stood up.
“I don’t know if I want to know the answers to these questions,” Dakota said, her hands on her hips. “We’ve been home for like five minutes, and already, we’re discussing farts?” She laughed.
I looked at her then and felt like I was home. I was sleeping in the guestroom. Although both of us had wanted to sneak into each other’s rooms, we had been careful not to. Because if we did, that meant we would be touching each other, making far too many noises when Joshua was only a couple of rooms down.
Though after a week, we might be ready for that. I had plans, and if that meant keeping us very, very quiet tonight, we might just do it.
Her eyes darkened as she looked at me. I had a feeling she knew where my mind had gone.
“Go check out the babies, and then come do your homework. I know you still have one more worksheet to go over that Miss Myra didn’t get a chance to help you with.”
“It was a lot of homework today. Four whole worksheets,” he said, holding up four little fingers.
“Four?” I mock gasped.
“Four.”
“Just like the number of kittens in there.”
“I know how to count. I’m not a baby.” He rolled his eyes, looking so much like his mother before he skipped over to where the kittens were.
They were getting a little rambunctious, crawling over everything, and while my house was a bit more animal-proof, Dakota’s wasn’t. I’d soon have to take them back to my place, and I didn’t know exactly how that would work.
“Thanks for working with him. Tonight is homemade lasagna but defrosted from my freezer, as well as salad. And he needs to make sure that he eats his greens, or
