you’re quite finished, release the elevator. We have guests waiting.”
Hook meets my gaze and we both burst into laughter. It feels just as good as the orgasms, a lightness settling in my chest that never seems to go away these days. He lets me off the wall and we take a few seconds to adjust our clothing. Every time our eyes catch, we dissolve into giggles again. Hook hits the button to get the elevator moving and I’m blushing like a teenager when we reach the garage and the doors open to reveal Malone and Ursa. Seeing these two together isn’t that odd—they’re friends, best I can tell—but they both give us long looks.
Malone shakes her head. “Newlyweds.”
“Cute and sickening, all at the same time.” Ursa steps back so we can move out of the way. “Belated congrats on your nuptials.”
“Thanks.” Hook manages to hold it together until we’re safely back in his SUV and pulling out of the garage. He tugs me as close as seatbelts will allow and presses a kiss to my temple.
I take his hand and lift it to run his knuckles along my cheek. “Is it weird that acting like a pair of horny teenagers makes me deliriously happy?”
“No. Not weird at all.” He looks more content than I’ve ever seen him, totally relaxed and at ease. “Neither of us had what you’d call normal teenage years. Might be fun to reclaim some of those experiences.” Hook shoots me a look. “Want to dress up like a cheerleader and let me seduce you under the bleachers?”
“Hell yes.” I’m already nodding. “But only if you wear a leather jacket and play the ultimate bad boy.”
Hook chuckles. “Someone’s harboring more fantasies.” He coasts his hand up my bare thigh. Not exactly to seduce; more like he just enjoys touching me as much as I enjoy being touched by him. “Whatever you want, beautiful girl. We have our whole lives to play out each and every fantasy in that sexy brain of yours.”
I lean up and brush my lips across his. “Let’s start tonight. I want you to tie me up again.”
He goes still. “You sure?”
I’ve never been more sure of anything. I don’t have to hide anymore. I love this man, and I want everything he has to give and more. “One hundred percent.” I smile. “I love you, husband.”
An expression of wonderment flickers over his face, as if he can’t quite believe we’re in this happy place any more than I can. “I love you too, wife.”
7
Rough Day
Tink
I barely look up at the bedroom door opens. It’s been a long day, but it’s not over yet, and I can’t afford to get distracted before I reach a good stopping point on this dress. “Give me thirty minutes. I’m almost done with this bit.”
“Don’t rush.”
The strange sound in Hook’s voice brings my head up. I freeze, barely managing to get my foot off the sewing machine pedal in time. He’s covered in blood. “Jameson?”
“Ah.” He looks down at his hands, his expression closed down tighter than I’ve ever seen it. “It’s not mine."
I carefully set the fabric down and rise, racking my brain for an explanation. Since Peter died, things have been smooth-enough sailing. I’m not naive enough to believe it will continue like that indefinitely, not when we live in the world we do, but I’d hoped for more than a few months. Apparently I am a bit naive despite my best efforts.
Hook looks at me and I don’t like how empty his dark eyes are. I don’t like that he’s closing himself off from me. I won’t allow it.
I cross to him and stop just short of touching him. The temptation rises to demand an explanation, to push him to let me in, but I change course at last moment. Hook will tell me when he’s ready. I have to believe that.
So I jerk my chin toward the bathroom. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”
“You don’t have to.” He still doesn’t sound like himself.
“I know.” I walk into the bathroom, holding my breath until I hear him following. It takes a few seconds to get the shower going and then I return to find him reaching for the buttons of his shirt with hands that shake. “Let me.”
“Tink.”
“Let me,” I repeat.
He finally drops his hands and I waste no time working the buttons free. His shirt is tacky with blood and it clings to his skin as I peel it off his body. He shudders out