Chapter 36

26 weeks pregnant

H e kneels on the floor in front of me, cupping my foot in his hand as I squirm a little on the edge of the bed.

"Hold still," he says, grinning wider. He keeps his eyes trained on my toes as he paints my toenails with a surprising level of precision. The little brush looks absurd in his massive palms. It's not like my belly is so big that I can't paint my own toes, but he wanted to do it, and I thought it would be entertaining to witness. However, now that I've discovered he has a steadier hand than I do, I'm not going to stop him.

My wiggling is unintentional. "I can't help it, I'm ticklish."

"Maybe I should bust out the restraints again," he mutters. He glances up at me a second with one raised brow. Oh .

The seductive threat distracts me from the touchy sensations on my feet. Visions of the night he tied me up put a soft smile on my face. My body heat rises as the memories flood my mind. Ugh, that was so hot. The control he exerted was like nothing I've ever experienced. He's the only man who can quiet my busy thoughts so I can escape reality.

"Weather looks like it's going to be great while we're there."

"Huh?"

He cocks his head and narrows his eyes. "Something on your mind, baby girl?"

I glare at him with a smile as I'm brought back to the present and discussing our holiday trip to Florida with the Conways. The reason he's painting my toes a Shoulda Blue Him blue. A delicate cerulean that perfectly matches the new sundress I packed. We'll only be there a few days, but after weeks of sneaking around, I'm looking forward to us existing without cameras. A chance to unplug from the show and all the stress that comes with it, mostly for Sully. Being discreet has been hard on him. Pun very much intended.

"You're mean."

He chuckles. "As soon as these nails dry, I'll make it up to you." He winks at me. He's so sexy. I'm such a sucker for his winks, and he only gives them to me, which makes them more special.

"You're going to have to wait until Florida. We've only got three hours till we need to leave." Raleigh and Barrett are the only two people who know we're spending the holidays together. Sully blows on my toes, and I jerk away from his touch. It tickles so much. Then he unscrews the clear polish next to him and adds a topcoat.

"I'll be fast."

I bark out a laugh and shake my head. That's funny. "No, sweetheart. You won't."

I'm positive Sully couldn't perform a quickie if his life depended on it—that's not a complaint. He's thorough . He takes his time, and every minute is pure bliss. The stamina of this man is like nothing I've ever seen. He's a machine.

After speaking with Raleigh, it seems that's not unusual for hockey players. A few days ago, I made it my mission to wear him out. I had to tap out at the two-hour mark. I'm curious what a record length of time would be for him, but I'll never know. I wouldn't survive the results.

He finishes the topcoat on my pinkie toe, closes the bottle of polish, then sets it aside. "There," he says, satisfied as he admires his masterpiece. "Not bad, right?"

He's a natural. "If the coaching thing doesn't work out, I'd say you have a real future as a nail tech."

Picking up my calf, he presses a kiss to my ankle. "I'll be sure to update my resume."

I wiggle my toes. "Thank you for taking care of me… Daddy ," I add, smiling sweetly.

Slowly, he rises from the floor and kneels on the bed. Oops. Sometimes I forget uttering the d-word is the equivalent of a spy's handler activating its sleeper agent with a trigger word.

I shake my head vehemently. "No, my toes aren't dry!" I say between laughter.

He advances, throwing my ankles to the side, causing me to fall flat on my back. I settle into the mattress like a cloud.

Tucking his head into my neck, he nips at my earlobe. "You should have thought of that before calling me daddy." His teeth sink into my shoulder, and I shriek. His playfulness is such a turn-on.

"How do you want it, Kendra?" he growls. Fuck. "Keep your legs open like a good girl…" My eyes practically roll back in my head just from his words. His hands grip behind my knees, and he wrenches my thighs apart. "I bet if I fuck you just like this I won't mess up those pretty toes of yours."

I know how this ends. I'll end up passed out, exhausted, and absentminded, and I haven't even finished packing. After mustering all the self-control in my possession, I push him off me and shake my head. "I promise, as soon as we check into our rental, I'll let you do whatever you want to me, but every time you fuck me, my brain turns to mush, and I still have to finish packing my bag."

Groaning, he plants one more kiss to my neck before rolling off and dramatically flopping on the bed. He knows it's true. Before he changes his mind, I hop up and walk into the bathroom, piling my makeup into a travel bag and packing the rest of my toiletries. Have I ever traveled for something that wasn't work related? If I have, I don't remember it. Hell, I hardly remember the last time I took Christmas off! To be fair, it's the only day I can work through without being interrupted by phone calls.

Sully has crashed into my life… and my landscape is forever changed.

SULLY

She looks out the small oval window as the plane cuts through the clouds. She's so beautiful. Everything I want in my life is so close. Her hand rests on her lap, nails painted to match her toes, and I cover mine on top, threading our fingers together. It's the first time we've ever held hands in public. It's a small gesture, but for us, it's a monumental milestone. It's a promise that someday we'll have this all the time.

We kept our distance in the airport and when the plane was boarding, but the first-class seats provide us with extra privacy, and with our friends across the aisle, we can be ourselves. On set, I find little ways to conceal my caresses. When she hooks up my microphone on my collar, I discreetly graze her stomach with the back of my hand. If she's issuing me a new battery pack, our fingers brush. When no one is looking, I squeeze her side. Small gestures to remind her that no matter who they shoot me having dinner with, she's the only one I want. Without fail, she gives me those bedroom eyes with every clandestine touch. She deserves more than secrets, but if that's what she needs right now, I'll follow her lead.

She glances down at our linked fingers, then back up to me and beams as we stare at each other. Her understanding of the importance of our public display of affection hits me in the chest. I swallow. This is big. It's the first time I've felt this strongly about someone. Without letting go, I twist my body in order to cup her neck and lean over, placing my lips on hers. She sucks in a small gasp and grips my palm as she kisses me back, reciprocating every intense feeling I have for her.

We just arrived, but I'm already wishing our vacation was longer. Being ourselves and not having to hide our affection in front of our friends is everything. Barrett and I rented two small bungalows next to each other right on the beach. It's perfect.

A shared firepit sits between the two, and we sit comfortably in adirondack chairs around the flames as the sun dips below the horizon. The wind from the ocean keeps our fire small, but it's enough to keep us warm. Barrett's mom, Sue, is playing in the sand with her two grandkids. She brackets Darby, who will be one year old before we know it, between her legs while she digs in the sand with Arthur, who will be seven next May.

Barrett smiles at me as we watch our women get on like a house on fire. When it comes to friends, I'm a believer of quality over quantity. I'm a quiet guy, Barrett is my closest friend, and it means a lot that he understood how important a vacation like this would be for me. He and Raleigh reconnected in Hawaii, and I suspect he was hoping this would do the same for Kendra and me.

She seamlessly fits in with the people closest to me. I've already pulled Raleigh aside and thanked her for supporting Kendra before she was ready to tell me she was pregnant. I wish it could have been me, but I'm just happy she had somebody to lean on, and I'm grateful that person was Raleigh. I like Raleigh, she has a good heart and went through a similar situation with Barrett when she became pregnant with Arthur. It warms my heart to see the friendship between them grow.

The sky turns to dusk, and Grandma Sue picks up little Darby, heading in our direction with Arthur excitedly running ahead and waving something in his hand. As he gets closer, I see it's a big seashell.

"I found a big shell!" he shouts animatedly.

Grandma Sue passes off Darby to Raleigh, who's holding her arms out for her daughter, then takes one of the open seats and chuckles as Arthur proudly presents his shell, displaying his find for all to admire.

"Wow! Can I see it?" Kendra asks.

Arthur hurries to show her up close. She leans forward in her adirondack chair, and he offers it to her.

"This is a special shell," she tells him. "It's a lightning whelk."

"You guys! It's a lightning whelk!" he announces over his shoulder as if we didn't just hear it for ourselves.

"What makes it special?" he asks.

She turns the shell, showing him the top. "It's a left-handed shell. See this?" She traces her finger over the whorl. "Its spiral goes in a counterclockwise direction, most shells coil in a clockwise direction."

"Cool!" Arthur stares wide-eyed, hanging on her every word.

"Long, long ago, they were used in special ceremonies."

She hands it back to him, and he stares at the shell like it's the rarest treasure on earth. It's amusing as hell. Arthur's a sponge when learning about something. Koalas are his specialty, and how the kid rattles off facts is wild. I have a feeling Kendra earned major points with him after sharing her lightning whelk knowledge.

Not sure why it's such a turn-on when she busts out knowledge about niche subjects, but it is. I like seeing her geek out about something she finds interesting. Brings me back to the night we watched that squid documentary. That night was bittersweet. The more we got to know each other, the more I fell for her.There was no awkwardness, and our conversation would have lasted till morning if she hadn't checked her phone to see what time it was.

I've been with other women, most of those connections were purely physical, but when we talk, the hours melt away like seconds.

The inconvenience of losing my hotel reservation turned into the best night of my life, but by the end of that night, I couldn't have her the way I wanted. The way I craved her kiss was painful, but instead, I pulled her into my side and held her as tightly as I could. As if I was holding onto the memory of us, not wanting to let go. It was difficult knowing I would have to set her free in the morning. I barely slept that night, breathing in her scent, feeling her skin against mine, and memorizing the curves of her body. If it was the last night I had with her, then I was going to take everything she was willing to give.

I swallow down the bitter reminder that I'll have to give her up again when we return. For the next week, she's all mine, so I don't need to dwell on it now.

Reaching over, I cover her hand with mine and squeeze. She nods.

"Well, I think we're going to call it a night," I say. Kendra sets the blanket on the side of the chair and stands, adding a yawn for extra measure. We've had a big day of travel. She's probably exhausted. If not, she will be by the time I'm done with her.