Me: Angel, we’re running a little late. I’m sending a car to pick you up so you can meet me at the airport. It’s about an hour from home, but it’ll put us on the right side of town to head to my mom’s house.
My fingers drum on the armrest.
I don’t want to go to my mom’s for our family Christmas. I want to go straight home and bury myself inside my wife.
But this holiday has only ever been bad for her, and I need to change that.
She never mentioned her early childhood, before her father died. But based on everything she’s told me about her mom, I can’t imagine she did a real great job of playing Santa to little Valentine.
My Valentine.
I’m going to throw the biggest fucking Valentine’s Day party she’s ever seen.
And if she’s not pregnant by then, I’m going to stuff her so full she’ll have fucking twins.
Angel: Who will all be there?
Angel: I only have one present for your mom.
Angel: And it’s not wrapped because your stupid bachelor ass doesn’t have wrapping paper.
Angel: And I don’t even know if she’ll like it.
I grin at her name-calling.
Me: Valentine.
Me: She just wants us. Leave the gift at home.
Angel: I can’t show up empty-handed.
Me: We’ll have her over. Now go get dressed. I want you ready with a kiss for me when I land.
CHAPTER 75
Val
I drum my fingers on the center console.
Dominic was supposed to land ten minutes ago, but this snow is slowing him down. And from this spot, parked with the back of the SUV to the back of the airplane hangar, I can’t see anything.
Well, other than the two men standing outside the vehicle with visible holsters at their sides.
They both drove me here, but when they parked, they got out and told me to get in the passenger seat. Apparently Dom will be driving us to his mom’s house. Guess it figures that all these guys have families they’d like to be with, too.
I fiddle with the edges of my oversized red flannel button-down.
This is my Christmas outfit.
It’s not fancy, but I wore it last year when I left the house to go get takeout, and I want to wear it this year and fill it with good memories.
It’s stupid.
They’re just clothes.
But looking at my light-wash jeans, I second-guess every item I’m wearing.
Dom is going to step off that plane in an all-black suit. And next to him, I’ll look like a country bumpkin in my jeans, leather ankle boots, black turtleneck sweater, and my oversized, unbuttoned flannel shirt. My ring and bracelet are the only expensive things on my body.
I close my eyes and inhale slowly.
Last night, I was digging through the boxes I have yet to unpack in our closet, and I came across the suit jacket I kept after my first meeting with Dom. It was no longer bundled up like a baby, and it’s been too long, so it didn’t smell like him anymore, but I still brought it to bed and slept with it like a security blanket.
I miss him.
I picture Dominic.
Not his fancy clothes. Not his aura of intimidation.
I just picture him. The man. My husband.
His short hair that feels so soft under my palm.
His bright blue eyes that see more than I want them to but exactly what I need them to.
His strong body, capable of so much damage but so unwilling to inflict it on me.
I picture him.
And our future together.
The family we could have one day.
I picture him with me. Years from now.
I picture us. And I smile.
Because he’s the future I want. And the future I need.
Grasping the calmness I’ve been searching for since Dominic left, I open my eyes.
And I see him.
He’s striding toward me, the fat snowflakes softening the intensity of his gaze.
And just like that, my body is on fire.
Dom says something to dismiss the men, and they walk away, but my eyes stay on him as he comes around to my door.
He pulls it open. But he doesn’t pull me out. He doesn’t even undo my seat belt. He just climbs into the vehicle. There is nowhere near enough space for his bulk, but he crams in anyway. Covering my body with his. Gripping my neck in one hand. Grabbing my hip with the other. Slamming his lips against mine.
One of his legs is still outside the car, but it feels like he’s touching me everywhere. It feels like he’s inside me.
And then his tongue is there, demanding entrance, and I let him in.
I suck him in and moan for more.
He rocks against my leg, and I can feel his hard length straining for more.
“Dominic,” I gasp.