This bonus story, set ten years after the end of Love in a Small Town, is also available to download in ebook form via BookFunnel: dl.bookfunnel.com/a9rydv2hsw

Olivia and Rafe: Ten Years Later

“We’re not in Pine Harbour anymore,” Olivia murmured, breathing in the warm Caribbean air.

Rafe wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face into her neck. “We sure aren’t.”

She giggled and rolled her head to the side, giving him more of her skin to kiss. “We should probably wait until we get to the hotel.”

“Screw that. Let’s Gomez and Morticia all the way to baggage claim.”

People around them were flashing amused smiles. Was it that obvious this was their first vacation without the kids?

“I have five days in paradise with my wife,” Rafe growled. “I’m not going to waste a second of it.”

They were in paradise. And two weeks ago, she’d been disappointed they might not be able to go to the school fall festival together…

* * *

Two weeks earlier

“There’s a fall festival next week,” Sophia announced as she breezed through the front door, leaving it hanging wide open for her little brother, Connor, who was racing up the walk as fast as his legs could carry him.

The teenager who walked them home waved at Olivia from the sidewalk, and she waved back in thanks before counting to three in her head. “Soph, if you want to walk home from school on your own, you need to walk with your brother.”

“It’s not on my own, because Summer walks with us. And he’s right there.” She tossed her backpack onto the bench. Then she caught sight of her mother’s serious expression. “Sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. Try, ‘I’ll walk with him tomorrow.’ Because Summer won’t be walking with you for the entire year, and this is a test of your maturity.”

Her nine-year-old daughter wanted to be grown up so much it hurt. Sophia nodded. “I’ll walk with him tomorrow.”

Olivia caught her daughter’s wrist and tugged her in for a hug. “That’s better. Now, what’s this about a festival?”

“The high schoolers are selling pumpkins and there’s apple stuff. I dunno. I have a flyer.”

Apparently Connor had one, too. It was clutched in his fist as he shoved the door shut a little enthusiastically. “Mommy, there’s a—”

“I heard.”

“It’s a fundraiser.”

A big word for her little guy. She smoothed his hair out of his eyes and took the flyer that he released from his death grip. “Let me see.”

He twirled away, heading for the fridge. The first thing nine-year-old Sophia did when she got home was head to her room to message her friends on her iPad. The first thing five-year-old Connor did was find a snack.

She turned around, trying to read the flyer and supervise his food selection at the same time.

Correction. The first thing he did when he came home was peel off his t-shirt. The second thing was to find a snack.

She glanced over at her computer desk, tucked against the wall between the kitchen and the living room. Her work day was officially over, and Rafe wouldn’t be home for another four hours.

With a sigh, she glanced at the flyer again, giving it her full attention this time. It was after school on Thursday and Friday, and then all day Saturday. Family fun, the paper promised. And there were hayrides, which made her smile.

She loved a good hayride with her husband. Haunted Halloween in October, and the trek to the maple syrup bush in early March. And now, apparently, the fall festival in September.

But when she carried the flyer to the massive calendar that ruled their lives, she frowned. Rafe was working all three days. They were the only three days he was working next week, but it was still a disappointment.

* * *

Rafe finished a quick but thorough inspection of his vehicle, then headed into the detachment office to hand the keys over to the officers coming on shift. They were short two cars this week, thanks to a back-ordered part on one vehicle and an early morning run in with a deer in another.

It did mean, though, that he was out of his car earlier than usual, since he had to hand it over, which meant he might get home a little—

“Minelli, can I see you for a minute?”

And, nix getting home sooner than expected. “Yes, sir.”

The conversation with his boss took longer than a minute. He winced when he finally left the office, locked up his service weapon, and saw the time.

He called Olivia instead of sending a text.

“Are you running late?” She asked. That was how she answered the phone. No hey baby, so he knew she was annoyed.

“I’m getting on the road in one minute. Home in thirty.” He paused a beat. “And I wanted to hear your voice.”

She paused, too.

He could hear the kids talking animatedly in the background. “Did they eat already?”

“Yeah. They’re doing the dishes and I’m supervising.”

Sophie’s voice came closer to the phone. “We don’t need supervision.”

He chuckled as he turned on his truck. “Oh, yes you do.”

Olivia was laughing, too, and then the noise faded. “I’ve gone into the bedroom. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You usually text when you’re coming home.”

His wife was a smart cookie. “Something came up at the end of the day. I’ll tell you about it after the kids are in bed. Nothing bad. Just unexpected.”

“Okay.” She sounded wary. “I hear excessive splashing. I have to go. Love you. Drive safely.”

Twenty-nine minutes later, he pulled into their driveway.

He and Liv bought this house when they were newlyweds. It was the home they’d tried to make it work in—and failed the first time. It was the safe space where they fell in love again, against all odds. It was where they’d conceived both their children. And now, fifteen years after they bought it, Rafe thought he might be seeing it through fresh eyes for the first time in a long time.

It was a small place. Barely three bedrooms—Connor’s room wasn’t even big enough for a desk, not that he would need it for a few years. No office for Liv, who worked from home.

Most of their friends and family had moved on to bigger homes. But he’d focused on paying down their mortgage, aggressively saving for the future.

He rubbed his jaw.

That wasn’t where he’d intended to go with his thoughts tonight, but it was something else to talk about with his wife once the kids were in bed.

Inside, he heard the shower running. And from Connor’s room, Liv’s patient voice explaining that a YouTube video was not the same as a bedtime story. He poked his head in the door.

“Daddy!” Argument forgotten, Connor leapt into Rafe’s arms like a spider monkey.

“You giving Mom a hard time about reading?”

“It’s hard.”

“It’s not hard to listen to a story.”

“Yes it is.”

He caught Liv’s eyes over Connor’s shoulder. She shrugged.

“I need to change out of my uniform. You want to come with me and listen to a story about my day?”

“Did you catch any bad guys?”

“I educated people about the Highway Traffic Act. Does that count?”

“No.”

Liv covered her mouth, stifling a laugh.

Rafe winked at her, then carried his son down the hall to their bedroom.

* * *

Olivia stretched out on Connor’s bed, savouring the quiet. She only pushed up to stand when Sophia finished in the shower. This was her favourite part of bedtime—braiding her daughter’s hair while Soph told her about the book she was reading.

Tonight, though, she was distracted.

“Mom.”

“What?” She blinked down at the braid in her hand. “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Sophia stretched her arms wide and yawned. “You can close the door on your way out.”

Olivia shook her head in disbelief. It had been a hot second ago that her daughter had needed a back rub and three stories before she fell asleep, and now she was eager to do it on her own every night.

Blink and you miss it.

In the small hallway, she found Rafe—now wearing her favourite sweatpants and no shirt, because the apple didn’t fall far from the tree—and a still-shirtless Connor tiptoeing towards the latter’s room.

They snickered quietly under their breath at being caught in the act of a stealth bedtime.

Not one to interfere with a clearly clever plan, she left her husband to it and went to the kitchen. By the time she’d re-heated dinner, Rafe joined her.

She pointed to the frying pan, then turned to grab him a plate.

He caught her with one arm and turned her, holding her close to his body as he caged her against the wall. “Not so fast,” he murmured. “Haven’t given my love a kiss hello yet.”

He was definitely buttering her up for something. Sexy wall press? Her favourite sweatpants? A complete bedtime takeover, so she didn’t have to deal with the tiny tyrant they both loved so much?

But she lifted her face, giving him her mouth eagerly. He sipped at her lips, teasing her until she smiled against him, then teased his tongue against the corner of her reluctant grin.

“You can’t be annoyed that I was late when you’re smiling.” He brushed his thumb against the side of her throat.

She frowned a little, but that grin was still in play. “I’m not annoyed.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Because you seemed…” He trailed off, choosing not to get specific.

Then he ducked his head again and fit their mouths together. He kissed her like it was their wedding day all over again, like he was pledging something important, and she clung to him.

When he eased back, her heart pounded in her chest. “That was quite some kiss.”

“You’re quite some wife.”

She reached up and touched his beautiful mouth. His expression was sharp, the air around them heady, but even though his evident and ardent love for her, she could see that he was tired.

He had left just before six that morning and didn't get home until after eight. Fourteen-hour days were the norm for him, and he never complained. His career was more than just a job. It was a calling that at one point had torn them apart.

But ever since they got back together, Rafe had put Olivia—and then the kids when they arrived—first. His work schedule was his work schedule, but the rest of the time, he was theirs. He was a hands-on dad and a loving husband.

He had even given up his second career in the military, as a military reservist, when Connor was born.

So no, Olivia wasn't annoyed that he had been late. She was worried about him. Something in his voice had told her that today has been an important day, maybe, or simply a hard day, something that he wanted to talk to her about. “Earlier, it was just the usual after-school chaos. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression I was annoyed. I was distracted by the kids.” She brushed her fingers down his neck, to his chest. Two could play sexy distraction. “I know you do your best to come home as quickly as you can. You said something happened?”

“I got called in to speak to the Staff Sergeant.”

“Oh?” She sagged back against the wall, kissing forgotten. “About what?”

“I’ll tell you as we eat.”

She wanted him to spill the beans now, but food was important, too. And what she wanted more than anything was to listen to her husband. She gently shoved him off her, then glanced back as she plated up their meals. “Whatever it is, I’ll understand.”

He combed his fingers through his hair. “I know you will.”

“Is it a new job?”

His expression pinched. “You’re too smart.”

She raised an eyebrow as she handed him his plate. “A job you think I won’t like?”

“A job I think I won’t like. Or…part of me won’t like.”

“But another part of you…?”

“Has wanted this my entire career.”

“Oh. Wow.” She took a deep breath and pointed to the table. “Let’s go. Tell me everything.”

He led the way. When he set down his plate, he picked up the flyer Connor had brought home. “What’s this?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Something at the school.”

He frowned and read it over. “Hayrides? You love—” He stopped as he read the dates. “Ah. I’m working those days next week.”

“Yeah. It’s fine.”

He set it down. “But was this part of why you weren’t annoyed earlier?”

She made a face. “Maybe?”

“Liv. Come on, you know you can share stuff like that.” He gave her a look that said, we’ve been here, done this, and we don’t hide shit.

Which she knew. “I had a moment of regret, and then I moved past it.”

He held her gaze for a moment, then nodded and sat down.

She joined him. He dug into his dinner, making appreciative noises that mollified the part of her that missed him on long days like today. And once he’d eaten about half his plate, he slowed down and lifted his gaze to her face again. “So.”

She nodded and waited.

“There’s a new emergency response team being put together.”

Her heart stopped. That was the type of work he’d been doing when he was shot. In the decade since, he’d never brought up doing anything like it. He’d settled into being a reliable and senior community officer.

But she knew there was a part of him that missed the high adrenaline work.

She didn’t trust her voice to not shake, so she just waited.

Rafe winced. “Yeah, so from your silence, I’m guessing you aren’t a fan of the idea.”

She swallowed hard. “You said it’s a job you won’t like…”

“It would mean some longer shifts. Being on call for twenty-four or forty-eight hours at a time. Maybe gone for a few days here and there, sometimes at the last minute. I’d carry a pager all the time.”

Which meant all the other parts of it—the danger, the challenge—were the parts he would like.

“The kids are so little,” she whispered. Too little to lose you.

“I’d get more time with them most weeks. I’d be able to go to school festivals more often.”

“Can I ask if it’s dangerous?”

He didn’t wince. Didn’t look away. But he didn’t answer, either.

“That’s a yes.”

“I’m very good at my job.”

“I know.”

“I would only do it if I trusted the whole team.”

She nodded.

“But I actually said no.”

She rocked back in her seat. “What?”

“I told the staff sergeant that I wasn’t interested in the position.” Twin spots of colour appeared high on his cheeks. “Surprised both of us.”

“And me,” she breathed. “I thought you were torn.”

“Oh, I am.” He gave her a beseeching look. “Fuck, Liv, I’ll always want to do stuff like that. And at my age, it’s an honour to still be in contention.”

Her heart slammed into her ribcage, restarting with the power of sheer relief. “I understand that.”

“And then he said, if I didn’t want to be sent to the task force, did I want his job instead?” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “And I said yes.”

“You want to be the next detachment commander?”

“If it’s time to admit I’m a grown-up who has outgrown my youthful career goals, then…yeah. It’s that or transfer to a larger detachment to do investigations.”

Her own dinner was forgotten now. She leaned in. “Would you want to move?”

“Would you?”

She had to think about that for a minute. A long minute. “Everything being equal? No, I wouldn’t want to move. But if you wanted to…” Over the last decade, she’d worked on the edges of the entertainment industry. She had a knack for liaising with local communities for film projects, and provided confidential personal assistance to celebrities vacationing in the area. A lot of that work had come from two celebrities who lived in the area now, women Olivia called friends more than bosses.

But if they moved closer to Toronto, she could do more of that, build a niche business.

“There’s a difference between an exciting challenge and a path with long-term viability,” she said softly. “Is that where you landed?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” Rafe took her hand and squeezed her fingers. He didn’t let go.

She glanced down at their entwined hands, resting on the table. “I didn’t think we’d be reassessing our whole life tonight.”

“How do you want to spend the next ten years of our lives?”

She thought about it. Really thought about it. Then she looked up at him.

And at the same time, they both said, “Right here.”

He smiled.

“Any chance the detachment commander can sneak out to fall festivals?”

That clearly amused him. “Pretty good chance.”

She exhaled in relief. “That’s not going to happen by next week, though.”

He laughed. “No. But next year, maybe.”

“Wow. That’s exciting for you.” She squeezed his hand, then covered their tangled fists with her other hand. “Really, Rafe, that’s great. I think you’re the obvious choice, of course, but it’s nice to know the powers-that-be agree.”

He winked at her. “I honestly wasn’t sure. I thought they just wanted me for my brawn.”

“I mean, that’s why I want you most of the time,” she teased.

He dug into his dinner. “I’ll give you all the brawn you want tonight, baby.”

She blushed.

“Speaking of brawn…” He speared his last piece of asparagus. “Do you think we should put an addition on this place? If we’re not going anywhere, maybe you need an office of your own. And a shower we didn’t have to share with the kids might be nice.”

“Where would we build? Into the backyard?”

He shrugged. “Or up? Put on a second story? Connor’s room could be your office, and the kids’ bedrooms could go upstairs.”

“Where is this coming from?”

He gave her a long, slow look. “Ten years went by in the blink of an eye, Liv. I want to spend the next ten doing everything we want.”

She held his gaze. “I was just thinking that it goes by so fast. Blink and you miss it.”

He nodded. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”

“I’m glad we can talk about it. And everything.” She glanced at the ceiling, imagining a second floor above them. “But…”

“What?”

Since they were being honest about what they wanted… “Could we maybe go on a nice vacation first? Before we tear the roof off the house.”

“Yeah?” He nodded. “All right.”

* * *

One week later

“Daddy’s here!” Connor yanked on her arm. They were in line for the hayride, just about to board the wagon. “Mommy, look!”

She was already turning. Rafe strode across the school lawn in his uniform.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as he stopped beside them and gave Connor a quick hug. But she knew the answer already, and she loved him for it.

“I got a call about a suspiciously hot mom at the school. Had to check it out.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Wouldn’t miss a hayride with my wife,” he said softly, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

And that made her swoon.

He glanced at the people behind them in line. “You don’t mind if I cut in, do you? We won’t take up another seat. I’ll hold her on my lap.”

She slapped his bulletproof vest. “Rafe!”

“What?”

“We’ll snuggle close, but I’m not sitting in your lap.”

“It’s not safe,” Connor pointed out.

“True story.” Rafe ruffled his hair. “All right, this is us.”

They climbed onto the wagon and settled onto bales of hay at the back. Connor sat on the other side of Rafe, and Sophia slid over to the next bale to sit next to a friend.

Olivia leaned against her husband. “This is a nice surprise.”

“I actually did want to talk to you about something.” He shifted sideways so he was looking at her more fully. “I responded to a call this morning at a travel agency, and—it’s a long story—but how serious were you about going on a vacation?”

She blinked at him.

He kept going. “There was a smokin’ good deal on a five-day trip to the Dominican Republic. Did you know it’s hurricane season? Lots of last-minute deals available. But there’s no hurricane projected in the next week, so… I put down our credit card as a hold—no strings, if you don’t want to go— But I made some calls and I was able to clear my schedule. Dani and Jake have volunteered to take the kids.”

A vacation.

No kids?

She threw her arms around him and kissed him in front of their kids, and a bunch of teachers, and probably ten per cent of the Pine Harbour population. “Next week?”

“Pack your sexiest swimsuit, baby. We’re going to the Caribbean.”

* * *

A week later

Rafe was so horny for his wife he could barely see straight. They’d had nights without the kids here and there, even a weekend getaway to Toronto, but this? An island breeze and his wife’s carefree laugh every time he kissed her neck?

He couldn’t stand it, it was so good.

But after they got off the coach to their resort, they were met by their assigned butler, who insisted on giving them a tour of the adult-only side of the resort.

Olivia humoured him.

Rafe was pretty sure she was also amusing herself by prolonging the Gomez and Morticia act he fell into every time they stopped to see something new. Bali beds, yes, very nice. Lounge with a twenty-four-hour bartender, excellent.

When would they get to their room? With the promised king-sized bed?

Just before he reached the end of his rope, the butler stopped in front of a suite at the ocean end of the low-slung building and opened the door. “Your room, sir,” he said with a knowing wink. “And your bags have just been delivered.”

“That’s quite clever,” Olivia murmured as they stepped inside. “The tour took just as long as it took for our bags—”

“Thanks for everything,” Rafe said, maybe a little too sharply. Then he closed the door in the butler’s face—“Rafe!”—and picked up his wife around the hips.

She laughed as he tossed her on the bed, then climbed on top. “If we break this bed…”

“It’ll be a great story.” He rocked against her core. “But it feels very sturdy.”

That sexy-as-fuck smile spread across her face again. “Sturdy is good. Because we’re all alone for five days.”

“Four-and-a-half now. We’re going to make every second count.” He captured her hands and stretched them over her head as he lowered his mouth.

Her eager lips met his, a push-pull of hunger that still felt like a gift after a decade of his second chance with the love of his life.

He loved the way her body melted as their kiss deepened. She turned liquid beneath him, nothing but sensuous curves that rolled like the ocean waves he’d drag her into soon enough. His hands released hers and dragged down her arms, sinking into her hair.

This was a make-his-wife-moan type of kiss. A prelude-to-a-fuck kind of kiss.

And it didn’t stop until she was panting into his mouth, her lower body riding up against the stiff ridge in his shorts.

Time for those to go.

He peeled off his t-shirt, then tumbled them over so she was straddling him.

After sixteen years together, they were synchronized in their efficiency. She tugged her tank top off, revealing a pretty bra that needed to go—now. He stretched his arms up and around her, getting the bra undone on the first try, then he groaned as her tits swung free.

“Come here,” he said huskily, guiding her nipples to his mouth.

She rolled her hips, rocking against his erection as he licked and sucked on her tight peaks until they were sharp little points that made her gasp every time he tugged on them. “Rafe…”

He flipped them again, stripping off his shorts and boxers before peeling off her bottoms. “That’s better,” he growled. “I’ve wanted you naked since the plane left Toronto.”

She stretched her arms above her head again, making her breasts jiggle and her belly curve down to her sex.

He was going to kiss every inch of her body, over and over again this holiday. He couldn’t wait for it to be sun kissed and warm. He’d carefully cover her with sunscreen, too. On one of those Bali beds. Maybe his fingers might dip under her swimsuit and tease her a little…

Was there anything better than the sound his wife made when his fingers made contact with her slick centre?

He pressed one of her thighs to the side, encouraging her to open for him. She got so wet, it filled him with pride that his kisses still had this effect on her. If anything, she was more responsive now than she had ever been.

He stroked her lower lips, teasing his way to the core of her, swirling his touch around her entrance before dragging some of that arousal up to her clit. Then he licked his way down her torso to chase that same path with his tongue.

And after circling the throbbing nub, he took her clit in his mouth and pulled.

A hungry, sinfully luscious kiss for his beautiful wife.

The taste and scent of her flooded his senses. He was ravenous for more. He sucked and licked, swirled and then sucked again until her hips rose off the bed, until her fingers tangled in his hair and pulled him tight against her core.

As her whole body fluttered, he deepened his kiss against her pussy, taking her over the edge. And when her climax finished, he rose above her, notched his heavy cock against that swollen entrance to thrust deep.

“Mine,” he growled as he pinned her to the bed once more. He snapped his hips. “”Mine forever.”

She arched beneath him, her breasts rubbing against his chest, her body rolling again like the ocean. He wanted to drown in her.

He poured everything he had into bringing them together as one.

* * *

Olivia clung to Rafe as he used his powerful body to drive their pleasure. This was the culmination of hours of anticipation, and it was better than she’d thought it would be. Her husband, especially when unleashed like this, was a deeply sexy man. Around her, his muscles all flexed and bulged, reminders of his power. Between her legs, his thick cock dragged perfectly against every nerve ending as he rolled his hips back, then took her breath away as he pumped them forward, thrusting into her again.

“So good,” she panted. “Love how you feel.”

“Your pussy was made for me,” he growled. “You take me so well.”

“All yours,” she whispered.

He snapped his hips as if to say for a third time, yes, mine.

“Liv.” Her named dragged out of him. His eyes darkened, his lips parting. “I want to feel you come with me inside you.”

“I’m close.” Her words were breathless now.

“Love you,” he ground out. “Love you so—“ His cock throbbed inside her. “So much.”

She circled her hips, searching for something, and then he shifted his angle. That. “Yes,” she gasped.

“Yeah?” He did that again, exactly the same, and she cried out.

“Come on, baby. Fuck my cock. Take it. Ride me until you come.”

She twisted her head and buried her face against his solid arm. He crushed her up against him, pinning her in place as he rung another orgasm out of her, then filled her with his own climax. His body heaved as he roared to the finish line, then he dropped her back to the bed and fell on top of her.

She closed her eyes and sucked in a very satisfied breath.

When he slid off her, she knew he was going to slide down her body, and he did. Her face blazed as he dragged his fingers through the mess he’d just left inside her, a wolfish look of pride on his face. “Want to come a third time?”

“Later,” she murmured.

He ducked his head anyway and gave her clit a soft, slow kiss. She shivered at the hedonistic pleasure he was offering. “Rafe…”

“Okay,” he chuckled.

She caught his head as he tried to pull away. “That wasn’t a complaint.”

He growled and redoubled his licks.

A shower was next, then they dressed for the beach and headed out hand in hand. She had on a low-cut black one-piece suit. He wore a red pair of swim shorts she loved, shorter than the usual board shorts he wore to the beach back home. So much of his big, thick body was on display for her—and others, too, but Rafe only had eyes for Olivia, and she knew it.

They snagged some beach chairs people had just vacated, dropped their towels and hats, then he caught her hand and they ran together into the surf.

Salty drops of spray landed on her face as a wave crashed into her. She swiped the moisture away, reflexively tasting the drops on her lips. “It’s so salty!”

He laughed and agreed.

The waves were stronger, and more wild than anything she’d experienced on Lake Huron. They sank into the water and bobbed. Once they got past the point where the waves crashed against the shore, she could marvel at how clear the water was—and even this close to the shore, how full of beautiful life it was, too. Schools of silvery fish swam all around them.

Rafe caught her around the waist, tugging her back against his body, and they floated together until the sun warmed their skin.

They climbed out of the ocean much more slowly than they entered it. Strolled back to their beach chairs and stretched out.

The whole time, Rafe was looking at her with that deliciously predatory gaze.

“What?” she mumbled, dozy now from the swim and the sun and the earlier orgasms.

“I have a fantasy about getting carried away with sunscreen…”

She raised an eyebrow. “Do tell.”

“I’d rather show you.”

Her face heated up. There were people all around them.

“Not here,” he murmured. “But those Bali beds have curtains…”

Time to go poolside.

* * *

Four days later, they tumbled onto the Bali bed one last time. The sun was setting. They’d have to dress for dinner soon, but they’d just raced through the waves, and now they stretched out.

Rafe followed a droplet of water down his wife’s back. She was wearing another one-piece, this one dipping low in the back. The straps were easy enough to slip off her shoulders, so he could see a tantalizing curve of side-boob as she lay on her stomach.

He traced all the water droplets he could find, sliding his fingers this way and that all over the now-tan expanse of skin. Then he stroked his fingers toward her front. Her breath hitched as he teased the exposed flesh of her breast.

“Shh,” he whispered. “Can you be quiet?”

She bit her lip and nodded.

“Good girl.” Her lips quirked. He didn’t mean it to sound filthy, but it was. “Letting me touch you a little…” In his trunks, his cock thickened and lengthened. A lie. He was touching a lot, and once she was heated with need, he’d make her walk back to their room, holding his hand, blushing and excited for what he would do to her once they were behind that door again.

One more night in paradise.

In two days, he’d be back at work. Early mornings and late evenings. But in between those shifts he would be with his family, more often than not, and next year he would bring Liv back here for another five days.

And tonight…

Well, tonight was just beginning. It would stretch late into the night. He’d make love to her in their room, then take her to dinner and watch her laugh and smile. Maybe go back to the central bar, their favourite spot in the resort as the night went on.

And then, when she was ready for bed, make love to her again.

Sleep naked.

And wake up satisfied his wife knew without a doubt that she was the centre of his whole world.

* * *

If you’re new to the Pine Harbour universe, Jake and Dani’s book (Love in a Snowstorm): https://www.zoeyork.com/books/pine-harbour/love-in-a-snowstorm

Also, if you’d like to meet other Pine Harbour fans, come join us in my Facebook reader group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/WardhamAmbassadors