Page 54 of Striker

I rinse us both off, wrap a thick towel around the woman I love and carry her out to my bed. I take a minute to dry her off before tucking her between my sheets. I’m fascinated by how she’s letting me take care of her my way. If I’m being honest, I’d say that I enjoy it. I’ve always known I was a kick-ass protector but never once suspected I had it in me to be a caretaker as well.

I get to my feet, wearing nothing but a towel around my waist. “You rest. I’m going to make you some of that herbal tea you like and something to eat.”

“Just toast, okay?”

“Sure, darlin’, whatever you say.”

I scramble an egg to go with that toast she asked for. When I take it up to her, she eagerly eats every bite. “I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I took the first bite. Thank you for taking such good care of me tonight.”

I reach out and tuck a damp piece of hair behind her ear. “I enjoy knowing you’re clean and fed. You’ve fed me enough times, often when I was genuinely hungry. It’s my turn to look after you for a bit.”

She leans forward and gives me a light kiss on the lips. It feels like a thank you kiss rather than a kiss of passion. Either way, I’ll take it.

She takes my hands in hers and looks intently into my eyes. “There’s one more thing I need before I can rest easy tonight.”

“Whatever you need, I’m there for it, darlin’,” I tell her, genuinely meaning it.

“I need to tell you that Josie is yours. She’s your daughter.”

“I know,” I tell her with an indulgent smile.

She blinks. “What? How did you know?”

“Tessa accidentally called me her daddy while she was talking to her the day you were abducted. She was rattled and didn’t mean to do that in front of me. The minute the words flew out of her mouth, I knew they were true.”

“Really?” she asks, tearing up.

I nod, tightening the knot on my bath towel. “Yeah, I should have realized it much sooner. She gets the same stubborn expression on her face that I do.” I reach up and wipe a tear as it slides down her cheek. “I originally thought she was too young to be mine. I got that firmly into my mind and for some reason didn’t think to rethink it once you told me about her being born early and being small for her age. You never outright lied to me. In fact, you gave me all the pieces of the puzzle a man would need to figure it out. I just had my mind on a thousand other things.”

“You’re not angry that I didn’t tell you?”

“I wish you had but mostly I’m just grateful. You didn’t have to even give birth to my daughter, Beth. You could have made a different choice there, but I’m so fuckin’ grateful that you didn’t. You not only decided to have her, but you also took really good care of her for two long years all on your own. You’re a good woman, Beth. Just so you know, I in no way deserve you.”

She flings herself onto my bare chest and cries it out. I just wrap my arms around her and let her take the time she needs to experience her emotions.

She makes me get her phone, the one my club brothers recovered from the spa. She pulls up Josie’s sonogram photo. It really hits me that this is what my daughter looked like when she was still in her mother’s belly. She’s alone in there, tiny, and I can barely make out her spine and little round head. Then she starts flipping through pictures of her in an incubator and going home from the hospital after weeks of specialized care. She’s tiny and frail but her mom is smiling in every single picture.

I begin sending them to my phone, one by one. “Thank you for sharing these with me, darlin’,” I tell her without looking up.

“We want you, Striker. Josie and I want to live with you and be yours,” she whispers. “If you’ll have us.”

I can’t keep the smile off my face for anything, because Beth choosing me is my fondest wish come true. “I never stopped looking for you during the three years you were gone. I wanted to apologize and make things right between us. All I’ve ever wanted was you back in my life. You coming back to me with a precious little daughter at your side was an amazing bonus, even when I thought she wasn’t mine. Now that I get to hear her call me daddy, my life is complete. There was never any chance of me turning you down. I hope you know that.”

We hug for so long that my beautiful, exhausted old lady falls asleep in my arms. I pull off my damp towel and curl up against her naked body, intent upon keeping her warm with skin-to-skin contact and my favorite quilt.

I lie awake far too long, savoring the moment. Beth saw me for who I really am and chose me. Life doesn’t get any better than this. I don’t know when I drift off to sleep, but I wake up with Beth draped over my chest, her forehead tucked right into the hollow of my throat, and I can feel every soft breath she takes across my skin.

Instead of crawling out of bed and getting on with my day, I stay right where I am and enjoy the moment. I don’t know how many mornings will begin like this, but I’m not takin’ any of them for granted.

My Beth moves in her sleep, tilting her face up so I get a good look at her. When her long lashes finally flutter open, she smiles at me.

“Good morning, handsome,” she murmurs, sounding groggy but happy.

“Morning, darlin’. Did you sleep well?”

She stretches, innocently rubbing her naked body against mine. Then she throws one bare leg over me in what looks for all the world like an open invitation. The feel of her soft skin sliding across mine makes my cock instantly hard for her. I reach down and push it aside.

And Beth notices. She reaches down and boldly moves it back.