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  “Would you want to go with me?” After the fashion show a few months ago I assumed Slade was no longer interested in participating in work functions.

  “Hell yeah. You think I’m gonna let my wife and baby go to another country alone?”

  “I would probably leave the baby here.” Hauling around a newborn baby wouldn’t exactly be easy.

  “Why?” he asked. “I can look after them.”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” He didn’t understand just how much work babies were. Being on an airplane with one alone was a daunting task. But if I told him all of that he might freak out.

  “So, how was my baby today?” He immediately pulled up my dress and exposed my tummy. His hand ran across the skin, feeling the smooth skin. Despite his large size he knew how to be gentle.

  “Baby Sisco was good. Hardly notice they are there.”

  “I definitely notice it.” His eyes took in my stomach with obvious love. “Let’s head to the bedroom. I’m sure you want to change…”

  The timer on the stove went off.

  Slade acted as if he hadn’t heard it. He guided me backwards toward the hallway.

  “Slade?”

  “Hmm?”

  “The timer is going off.”

  “Whatever.” His lips moved to my neck and he gripped my back possessively.

  “The food is going to burn, and then I’m going to be hungry.”

  He sighed and pulled back.

  “Take care of the food, and when you come into the bedroom there’ll be a surprise for you.”

  That caught his interest. His eyes lit up immediately. “What kind of surprise?”

  “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you, right?”

  He didn’t move for the stove and let the alarm go off continuously.

  “I’ll give you a hint. It involves lingerie.”

  He turned on his heel quicker than I could see. “I’ll take care of dinner. You get on that. Pronto.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Cayson

  It was my favorite time of the day.

  I walked through the front door knowing my family would be waiting for me. I had a wife that I loved more than anything, and I had a son that was the greatest thing that ever happened to me.

  When I walked inside, Skye was in the living room with Cedric. She was breast-feeding him on the couch, her dress pulled down so both of her tits were exposed.

  Skye looked up and smiled. Even though she wasn’t pregnant anymore she glowed. “Daddy’s home.” She stood up with Cedric still in her arms. His mouth was clamped around her nipple.

  I kissed Skye then looked down into Cedric’s face. His eyes were open and he was staring at me as he had his feeding. “Hey, War Chief.” I rubbed his head before I kissed his forehead. “I thought about you all day at work.”

  “What about me?” Skye asked.

  I rubbed my nose against hers. “I thought about you too.”

  Cedric pulled his mouth away because he finished eating. He made a quiet yawn then closed his eyes like he was ready for a nap.

  “Had a crazy day?”

  “Grandma came over and played with him. He loves Grandma.” She carried him to the playpen and set him down.

  “She’s a pretty cool grandma,” I said in agreement. The smell of dinner floated out of the kitchen. I’d come to recognize her cooking the second I walked through the door. “Lasagna?”

  “Yep.”

  “Excellent.”

  “After you shower and have dinner, I need to talk to you about something.” She said it so smoothly that it didn’t sound bad, but anytime a woman said we needed to talk it was never good news.

  “Everything alright?”

  “Yeah, it’s fine. But I need some advice. It can wait until you wind down.”

  “Advice about what?” I blurted. When it came to my family I’d become a bit of a control freak. As much as I hated to admit it, I reminded myself of Sean.

  “It’s nothing bad,” she said with a sigh. “Just shower and come down for dinner. You must get tired of wearing a suit all day.”

  I was impatient to know what she was going to say, but it was clear she’d rather wait. Instead of prolonging the conversation I headed up the stairs.

  ***

  When I came downstairs Skye was sitting at the kitchen table. Cedric was in a smaller version of his playpen right next to the dining room so Skye could peek down and see him whenever he made a sound.

  It was nice to be in jeans and a t-shirt. Having a tie around my neck all day was irritating. Sometimes I got a crook in my neck, but that was probably because I leaned forward when I spoke on the phone. “Everything looks great.” I piled my plate with lasagna and garlic bread.

  Skye had a tiny piece of lasagna, a fraction of what she would normally eat. And the bread was untouched.

  I ate quietly and sent glances her way, waiting for her to talk to me.

  “How was your day?” she asked.

  “The same as usual.” I eyed the clock until it was time for me to leave. I loved my job but I loved being home a lot more.

  “Anything big happen?”

  “There’s a shortage of Amoxicillin. But we’re working on that.”

  “Is that a common antibiotic?”

  “Extremely. In fact, it’s used too often if you ask me.”

  “Why is that?”

  “It’s broad spectrum, meaning it kills several different strains of microorganisms. But it also wipes out the good bacteria in your system that are important for digestion and disease prevention.”

  Skye usually zoned out when I talked about science. It’s not that she didn’t care. She simply didn’t have enough information to carry on a conversation. “At least it’s been resolved.”

  “Thankfully. What did you guys do today?”

  “Nothing too adventurous. Grandma took care of him for a few hours while I did laundry and cleaned the house.”

  “Why don’t we just hire a nanny?” I asked. “That’s one less thing for you to do.”

  “I don’t know…I feel weird allowing someone to pick up after me.”

  “You pick up after me.” My laundry was always done, my suits were hung up in the closet, and dinner was always on the table. Skye was pretty much my nanny.

  “Not the same thing.”

  “You should have some help around here.”

  “I feel too guilty.”

  “Guilty?” I asked. “Why?”

  “It would make me feel lazy.”

  “You’re a full-time mom,” I argued. “How does that make you lazy?”

  She shrugged.

  “Then you would be able to take a nap during the day and relax.”

  “I’m not a big napper.”

  “Well, new mothers are usually exhausted.”

  She turned her gaze to her food and ate a few bites.

  “So, what did you need advice on?”

  “Oh, that.” She set her fork down. “I want you to recommend me a personal trainer.”

  Personal trainer? What? “Why?”

  “I’ve put on at least fifty pounds after Cedric. I really need to get back in shape.”

  “You just had him.” Why were women so obsessed with having the perfect body all the time? She just gave birth to another human being. Of course things would be different. These unrealistic expectations were insane. “Skye, I love your body exactly how it is. You don’t need to go on a diet or exercise. Just chill out and enjoy motherhood.”

  Judging the look on her face, that meant nothing to her. “I don’t like the way I look. I’m pretty self-conscious about it.”

  “Don’t be.” Simple as that.

  “I’m fifty pounds overweight.”

  “And it looks good on you.” She was bigger in the stomach, the thighs, and definitely the breasts, but it honestly didn’t bother me. I was in love with the person I’d known since I was a child. She could balloon up to three hundred pounds or become a stick a
nd it wouldn’t change the way I felt. Trinity was pretty, but frankly, she was way too skinny for me. I wasn’t sure why Slade preferred that body type over a curvy woman like Skye.

  “Cayson, can you honestly tell me being fifty pounds overweight is healthy?”

  “Well…no.” Extra weight could cause muscle aches, hypertension, among a lot of different things. “But you just had a baby, Skye. It’s okay to relax and not worry about stuff like that. If you think I have a problem with it, I really don’t. When we go to bed every night do I just roll over and sleep?” No, I was all over her.

  “But I’m your wife…you have to have sex with me.”

  “No, I don’t.” I wasn’t obligated to do anything. “Baby, I love you and I’m damn hot for you.” Did she think I had a hard dick for absolutely no reason? “Big or small, I’ll always be hot for you.”

  Skye relaxed a little bit but it was clear she was still determined to shed the extra weight. Perhaps having Trinity as a best friend made her self-conscious. “I’d still like a personal trainer. I’d like to get my butt into gear and start losing the weight. I know it’ll take a long time so I’d rather start now.”

  It took all my strength not to roll my eyes. “Maybe you should focus on our son right now.”

  “I’m focused on him every hour of the day,” she snapped. “Mom can watch him for an hour and a half while I work out. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  Since she wasn’t going to change her mind about this, I knew I had to let it go. “Fine.”

  She picked at her lasagna and didn’t eat another piece.

  Why couldn’t she just love the way she looked? I did.

  “So?”

  “So what?” Did I miss something? Was the conversation over?

  “Do you have a personal trainer in mind?”

  “Oh…” There were a ton of good ones in the city. In fact, there were more gyms than grocery stores. “There’s a ton you can choose from. But honestly, I’d rather train you myself.”

  “You?” she asked in surprise.

  “Why is that surprising?” I was in tip-top shape. I worked out every day and I usually had a protein shake for lunch.

  “I didn’t think you’d have the patience for me.”

  “I’ve trained you before.”

  “And you almost murdered me over it.”

  I tried not to smile at the memory. “I’d rather be the one bossing you around than some other meat head. And he’d be checking out your ass the entire time.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Cayson, no one is checking out my ass anymore.”

  “You’re a MILF, baby.”

  “Hell no, I’m not.”

  “Oh yeah, you are.” I’m sure guys took one look at her curves and wanted to tit-fuck her just the way I did. Conquering my jealousy had always been a struggle, and I suspected it would always be.

  “Anyway,” she said as she poked her pasta. “You really want to?”

  “Of course.” It’s more time we got to spend together. “I usually work out after work, so you can just meet me in the city and we’ll come home together.”

  “That works for me.”

  “But it doesn’t matter how hard you work out, it’s only a small percent of the battle. You have to eat right. That’s ninety-nine percent of the process.”

  Her face fell. “Ugh…”

  “I’m sorry, baby. It’s low-carb, high protein from here on out.”

  “Ugh…”

  “You could just forget the whole thing and do whatever you want.”

  She sighed like it was tempting. “No. I’m committing to this.”

  “Then be prepared for tons of lean meat, veggies, and protein shakes.”

  She made a disgusted face again. “How do fit people do that all the time? It sounds terrible.”

  “It’s not so bad when you’re in the maintaining stage. You can have whatever you want in moderation as long as you’re conscious about it.”

  “Well, I want to be in that stage now.”

  “Don’t we all.”

  “So, how long will it take me to lose the weight?” she asked with hope in her eyes. “Two months?”

  I had to stop myself from laughing. “You can only safely lose one pound a week…so at least a year.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Well, can I lose more weight a week?”

  “Not really.” Some people accomplished it, but they didn’t go about it in a healthy way.

  “Ugh. This totally sucks.”

  “I know.”

  She pushed her plate away entirely. “No more carbs.”

  “Start tomorrow,” I said. “Give yourself one more day of freedom.”

  “I think I’d rather save that for Ward and Clementine’s wedding.”

  “Is that still happening on Friday?”

  “As far as I know,” she said. “I have to lure him there somehow.”

  “With a treat?” I teased.

  “I’ll say it has something to do with my dad…or PIXEL. I don’t know. I’ll figure it out.”

  “I can’t believe my little sister is getting married…”

  “Well, she does have a baby.”

  “It’s still crazy. She’s not really my little sister anymore.”

  She smiled before she patted my hand. “Awe, Cayson. She’ll always be your little sister.”

  “Ward is a pretty good guy.” Even though he saw my wife’s rack.

  “He’s a very good guy,” she said. “And he’s a great father.”

  “I doubt she could have done better.”

  “They are a good match.” She looked down into the playpen. “And they have a beautiful baby just like us.”

  Cedric’s eyes were closed and he was in dreamland.

  I eyed her then nodded to the stairs. “Since he’s asleep…” Anytime Cedric was unconscious I took it as an opportunity to make love to my wife.

  “Not right now.”

  “Sexual activity can burn up to two hundred calories…”

  That caught her interest. “Yeah?”

  I nodded.

  “Alright. Let’s do it.”

  Yes.

  ***

  The workday passed quickly because I had so much stuff to do. Keeping busy was an excellent way to pass the time. The sooner my workday was over, the sooner I got to be with my family so it made me a particularly good worker.

  My office door opened around five and Laura walked inside.

  “What are you doing here?” She was the one employee I didn’t show any respect for.

  She held up a folder. “I just wanted to go over a few things.” She took my attitude in stride and didn’t let it bother her.

  I glanced at the clock. “How about tomorrow?” Skye would be there soon and I thought it was best if she didn’t see Laura.

  “I’ll just leave them on your desk. Tell me what you think tomorrow.” She came closer then set them down.

  “I’ll give you a call in the morning.”

  She crossed her arms over her tiny waist and nodded. “Sure. Thank you.”

  “Bye.” I refused to be nice to her, even a smidge, because I was afraid she would get the wrong impression if I did anything else.

  Just when she was about to walk out, my door opened and Skye came inside in her workout gear. She wore black spandex and a loose top, trying to hide her baby weight. She took one look at Laura and the daggers were out.

  Did Laura have bad timing on purpose?

  I tried to diffuse the situation. “Hey, baby. Ready to work out?”

  Skye didn’t even look at me. Her eyes were on Laura, and there was nothing but hate there.

  Laura stepped around her and avoided her as much as possible.

  “Struck out, huh?” Skye hissed.

  Laura flinched like Skye just threw a punch.

  “No husband stealing today?”

  I wanted to tell Skye to knock it off, but
at the same time I didn’t. Laura deserved it.

  Laura got around her and opened the door.

  “You’re lucky I’m not a fighter,” Skye yelled after her. “Because your ass would be on the floor and your scalp would be bald.”

  Laura finally disappeared, practically running.

  As amusing as it was, I stopped myself from laughing.

  Skye turned back to me and approached my desk like nothing happened. “Skinny bitch…”

  “Ignore her, Skye. That’s what I do.”

  “I can’t believe that tramp still works here.”

  “She’s very ambitious so I’m sure she’ll move onto better things eventually.” I came around the desk and wrapped my arms around her. My lips immediately moved to hers, reminding her that I was married to her—forever.

  Skye immediately relaxed the second my lips were on hers. In seconds, she forgot the entire thing.

  “Ready to go?”

  A dreamy look was in her eyes. “Since sex burns calories...why don’t we do that?”

  I kissed her forehead. “We’ll do cardio after weight training.”

  “Damn,” she said. “I thought that would work.”

  ***

  Skye had forgotten everything I taught her years ago. She didn’t know what a deadlift was, a military press, or a chin up. The only thing she did recall was a squat. I had to reteach her everything.

  Skye’s eyes kept drifting around the weight room, looking at the enormous bodybuilders and the fit chicks who could bench press their own body weight. She was hardly focused on me, her trainer.

  “Skye?”

  “Hmm?” She turned back to me and tried to pretend she’d been paying attention the entire time.

  “Did you listen to anything I said?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Then do three sets of six.”

  She eyed the bar with hesitance, unsure what she was supposed to do with it. “Okay…I wasn’t listening.”

  “Yeah, I know. Stop looking at everyone else and pay attention.”

  “It’s just…really intimidating in here.”

  “Ignore them.”

  “How do people look like this?” she asked. “Are they in here all day?”

  “No, they just have a really strict diet and they work out.”

  Skye nodded to a blonde girl only wearing a sports bra and spandex shorts. “I want to look like that.” The woman was lean and limber, and the muscles she strengthened looked sleek and firm.