While Maddox and I had been setting up house together, my grandfather had been redesigning the mansion overlooking the town of Pelican Bay. When he wasn’t dealing with the renovations, he was working on various volunteer projects around town. And he spent several nights a week having dinner with us, either at our house or Dallas and Nolan’s house.
I gave Dallas and Nolan a hug and reminded them not to get married without us, then hurried back to the car. I saw Maddox was holding Newt in his arms and saying his final goodbyes on the other side of the SUV. When he put Newt down, my brother came running toward me, Loki on his heels. He gave me a final squeeze around my lower body.
“Love you, Isaac.”
“I love you, too, Newt,” I said as I lifted his chin so he’d be forced to look at me. I knew for all his show, it was hard for him to watch me go. We hadn’t ever been apart more than the few days after Gary had shown up and I’d been arrested. All those charges had been dropped and my record had been cleared. Right after that, I’d gotten legal custody of Newt. Maddox and I were looking into adopting him once we were married.
I couldn’t help but glance down at the dog tags around my neck. Maddox had asked me to marry him the night of my birthday a couple of weeks earlier, and while he’d gotten me a ring that I loved and was currently wearing on my left hand, it was the dog tags that I saw as the proof of our commitment to one another and our desire to spend the rest of our lives together.
“I’ll be back soon, okay?”
Newt nodded. I leaned down and gave him one last kiss on his cheek, then sent him up the walkway. Nolan and Dallas embraced him and then he was turning and leaning back against them as Maddox and I got in the car. Maddox had only recently started driving again and it had taken a lot of work on his part to get that far. He was still meeting with his therapist every week, and while he had the occasional episode that was linked to either loud sounds or when he had a nightmare, they were happening further and further apart.
Maddox got the car started and in gear, then his hand was searching out mine. I waved to Newt until we were out of sight. Maddox looked a little tense behind the wheel, but I knew he’d relax eventually. But I also didn’t mind helping him along.
“I spy with my little eye…”
Maddox smiled and looked at me.
“…something black.”
Maddox glanced around the interior of the car and began guessing things.
“I spy with my little eye something that’s sheer.”
A grin tugged at his mouth as heat filled his eyes. “Babe, I think you’re kind of breaking the rules.”
“No, I’m not,” I said.
He looked pointedly at my pants, since he was assuming I was talking about my underwear, which wasn’t visible. Of course, my body reacted.
“Fine,” he said and began guessing again. Ridiculous guesses that had me smiling. He finally gave up and asked for another hint.
“I spy with my little eye something you might have seen on the internet one day, but they didn’t have it in my size.”
Maddox jerked the wheel just a bit before he caught himself. “No,” he said in disbelief.
I glanced down at my arm where my sleeve was pulled up just a bit. There was a tiny bit of sheer black material peeking out.
“Got an email a few days ago that they had it in my size,” I said with a wink.
“Show me.”
I shook my head. “Nope, sorry, can’t. Wouldn’t want you to be a distracted driver.”
He eyed me, then suddenly he was veering off onto a side road. “What are you doing?” I asked with a laugh.
He didn’t answer as he pulled the SUV beneath a line of trees bordering a field and jammed it into park. “Show me,” he demanded.
“Someone might see,” I said coyly.
“The windows are tinted and you know we own this land,” he said impatiently. “Now off.”
I eyed him and then reached for the door handle and stepped outside. The weather was still on the cool side, but it was a sunny day. The line of trees provided enough privacy that we wouldn’t be seen unless someone was practically on top of us.
Maddox had picked well.
I went to the front of the SUV and he met me there. I turned around so he could see the best part of my surprise when I took my shirt off. I heard him groan as I revealed the nearly see-through, snug tunic that was scooped low in the back. So low it revealed most of my shoulders. I took my time getting my pants undone and as soon as they cleared my hips and fell into a pool at my feet, Maddox whispered, “Oh, fuck.”