“Hey, you’re home early.”
Sidney sounded surprised and Isaac pulled her into his arms and into a passionate kiss. He even turned and dipped her, like he’d done on their wedding day. Sidney laughed, and he smiled down at her.
“My goodness! What’s gotten into you?”
He righted her and waved down to Greer, who was sitting on the floor surrounded by his soft blocks, the stuffed dinosaurs and the blue teddy bear. But he was staring up at them with great interest.
“You’re in a good mood.”
“Yes, I am. And Lt. Hayes sent me home early because I successfully brought in the fugitives in the hate crime case, and I successfully supervised Palmer and Driscoll through the investigation of their case. Closed both of them today.”
“Wow, really?”
Now she sounded impressed, and Isaac’s chest swelled.
“Yep. All three of the hate crime perps are now back in Cleveland and sitting in the jail awaiting arraignment.”
As he talked, he removed his gun and holster.
“That’s great, baby. And you got whoever killed Greer’s parents?”
“Yes, we did.” His good mood suddenly soured when he thought about the Buckleys’ murderer. “Senseless. It was…”
Isaac stopped and fought hard not to let the anger consume him.
“It was just so senseless, Sid. A neighbor who lived on the same street. He’s got a record for rape and assault; did time for both. Seems he took a liking to Cara Buckley. But when she repeatedly rebuffed his advances he decided to just take what he wanted. He broke in with the intention of slitting Shane’s throat while he slept and then raping and killing her.”
“Oh, my God.” It was an anguished whisper. “He raped her before he killed her?”
“No.” Isaac shook his head. “His plan apparently didn’t play out the way he wanted it to. He wasn’t able to sneak in. They heard him breaking in, so Shane fired two shots at him when he came through the door. Winged him, and a struggle ensued. But without the element of surprise he wasn’t able to carry out his plan as intended. Unfortunately, the Buckleys both still ended up dead.”
“Oh, my God,” Sidney repeated, looking down at Greer.
Isaac could practically hear her thoughts. She was thinking about this poor little boy at their feet and wondering what would become of him now.
“Hey, did you remember to call Ms. Hunter today?”
“Yes, I did. I got her voicemail though, so I just left a detailed message. I’m sure she’ll get back to us just as soon as she hears it.”
He got down on the floor with Greer and picked up one of the soft blocks. “So what are we building here, little man?”
Sidney got down onto the floor with them.
They played with Greer together for a while, and the whole time Isaac had this weird sensation he couldn’t put a name to swirling around in his chest. His head was full of questions and his heart was full of emotions. And he had no idea how to deal with any of it.
Was he ready for fatherhood?
Could he raise someone else’s kid as his own?
Were they making a colossally huge mistake taking Greer in?
Meow.
Alfred Hitchcock crawled over to investigate what was happening on the living room floor, and the thought occurred to Isaac that they must look like a complete little family at that exact moment in time.
The thought was freaky.
After fifteen minutes or so of helping Greer build up the blocks and watching him knock them down only to start over again, Sidney reached over and touched Isaac’s cheek.
“I prepped a roast for dinner earlier while he was napping. Now I’m going to go get it into the oven and start on the mac & cheese. Think you can handle this construction site without me?”
“Yeah, we’re good. Aren’t we Greer?”
“Yeah,” Greer replied, putting another block on his masterpiece.
Isaac looked at Sidney. “Yeah,” he repeated, imitating Greer’s tiny muppet voice.
Sidney giggled at them and then got up and went to the kitchen, leaving Isaac alone with the littlest construction worker.
That thought gave him pause.
Knowing who Greer’s blood relatives were, Isaac couldn’t help but wonder if Greer loved his blocks so much because building was in his blood? Was he destined to follow in Clint Buckley’s footsteps and become a construction magnate?
But all kids liked blocks, didn’t they? From the little wooden ones to the colorful interconnecting kind. And that had nothing to do with a family member being in the construction field.
He frowned wondering why the thought of Greer becoming anything like Clint Buckley made him angry.
He didn’t have to think too hard about it.
The reason was perfectly clear. It was because that man was simply racist and cruel, and the thought that Greer could be that way when he grew up filled Isaac with dread.
But that would never happen.
Isaac wouldn’t allow it.
Any kid of his was going to grow up knowing that bigotry, in all its forms, was not only wrong, but disgraceful.
Any kid of his would grow up knowing that the various skin colors made the world beautiful, not divided.
Any kid of his would grow up knowing…
He was yanked out of his thoughts by that wording.
Any kid of his.
Where the hell did that come from?
Was he really already thinking of Greer as his kid?
Was that… okay?
Was that normal?
He pushed all those thoughts away when Greer suddenly stood and walked over to the couch.
“Hey, where you going, little man?”
Greer returned holding his dinosaur picture book and plopped down into Isaac’s lap.
“Oh! Okay. I guess we’re done with blocks and it’s story time, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? Well, let’s see what you got here.”
Isaac opened up the book and proceeded to read to Greer about all the dinosaurs. The boy seemed riveted, and he pointed to the pictures as Isaac read their descriptions.
“That.” Greer pointed to the Mamenchisaurus.
“Yeah, look at that one. It says this dinosaur had the longest neck of any animal ever. That’s pretty long, huh?”
“Wong neck.”
“Yeah, long neck.”
Isaac leaned back against the couch and settled in with Greer on his lap. That’s where Sidney found them nearly an hour later, still flipping through the book.
“Well, I don’t mean to interrupt the dinosaur lesson, but dinner’s ready.”
“And it smells delicious, darlin’. What do you say, Greer? You want to go eat some dinner?”
“Yeah.”
Isaac put his gun away and they sat down for a meal of beef roast with macaroni & cheese, and green beans.
“This is delicious, darlin’. Thank you.”
Sidney smiled at him. “There you go again. You don’t have to thank me for dinner, Ike.”
“Lately, I feel like I should be thanking you for everything, Sid. You are amazing, and I want you to know that.”
“Isaac.” It was a surprised whisper, tinged with emotion.
“I mean it. I think most women would’ve put up a fight if I’d sprung a surprise like Greer on them in the middle of the night. No warning, no preparation. But you jumped right in ready to help me take on the world for him, and I’m just in awe of you.”
Sidney set her fork down and looked him in the eyes. Her steady gaze made his heart race and stirred his libido.
“Isaac, you are without a doubt the greatest man I have ever known. Do you have any idea how much I adore you for wanting…” She paused and shook hear head. “No. For needing to help this little boy? Do you?”
Isaac shook his head, a strong wave of bewilderment bubbling in his belly.
“Your compassion toward him, the way you connected with him a whole year before he ever came into our lives. The fierceness in your determination to help solve his parents’ murder. All of it, baby.” Sidney reached out and took his hand.
“You say you’re in awe of me, but I’m amazed by you, Ike. You have this amazing moral compass, and such a strong sense of self. And coupled with the things you can do with the power of your mind, you are the real deal, Isaac. I know you hate the superhero comparisons, and I get why. But that’s who you are to me, baby. And to him.” She gestured to Greer with a nod of her head.
Isaac squeezed her hand and then brought it to his lips to kiss.
“I don’t deserve all that praise, darlin’. I’m just a man trying to do some good in my own small world.”
“Yes. But the good you do is superior to the good most men do. Your good goes beyond. Your good is great. That’s your baseline, Isaac, your starting point. That’s what makes you a superhero.”
Isaac grinned and glanced down at the table before meeting her gaze again. “You’re biased, Sid.”
“Very much so. But that doesn’t mean I’m not right.”
They turned back to their dinner then, but Isaac couldn’t completely let go of the heady feeling she gave him with her words. Did she truly believe the things she said to him? Did she think of him as her superhero? And if she truly did, why?
Why did she feel that way?
So many questions that he had no clue how to answer. What he did know for certain though was that she made him feel like a king. Like her king.
Or like Superman.
Or the luckiest bastard in the world.
His Sidney gave him the greatest gift he could ever imagine. The gift of self-confidence. Earlier, she’d said he had a strong sense of self. If that were true, it was something she’d given to him, because he certainly never had it before meeting her.
Before Sidney, he’d spent his life hiding from who he really was. Hiding from the monsters inside him — the psychic powers that plagued his life. It was only upon getting to know her that he’d been brave enough to even think about trying to embrace them. Whatever self-confidence he had today wouldn’t exist if he’d never met her.
* * *
Sidney continued eating her dinner, but she couldn’t help giving Ike covert looks between bites. He was always so self-deprecating and she didn’t understand why. She wished that he could see in himself all the wonderful things she saw when she looked at him.
He was going to make an absolutely amazing father someday.
That thought had her glancing over at the clock on the wall.
It was after six.
“You know, it’s getting late and we still haven’t heard anything from Ms. Hunter.”
Isaac looked over at her in a way that had her wondering what he’d just been thinking. He let out a heavy sigh.
“Well, if we haven’t heard from her by about ten tomorrow morning, I’ll give her another nudge,” he said. “I’m sure she’s very busy.”
“Okay.” Sidney looked at Greer, who had remnants of mac & cheese and green beans stuck to his adorable face. She handed him his sippy cup of milk and he tipped it back like he was taking a swig of beer. “I think somebody is just about ready for a bath.”
“How did he manage to get the sauce from the roast all in his hair?” Isaac sounded astounded, and all Sidney could do was smile and shake her head.
“I don’t know,” she tried hard not to laugh, but Ike was right. The golden brown curls at Greer’s forehead were practically coated in the sauce from the roast. “I’ll bathe him and put him down if you clean up out here?”
Isaac looked at her. “You got yourself a deal on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“When he’s asleep, you come find me in the computer room and we’ll sit and watch whatever’s on the classic movie channel and make out.”
Sidney narrowed her gaze at him. She recognized that randy glint in his pretty grey eyes. “Mmm, I don’t know. It sounds like you have an ulterior motive, Detective.”
“That’s because I do. It’s called being horny.”
“Horny,” Greer repeated with perfect clarity.
Isaac’s gaze flew to Greer and then to Sidney. She tried so hard to hold in the laughter that was threatening to burst out.
She failed miserably and doubled over in a fit of giggles.
“Horny,” Greer repeated louder, loving the reaction he was getting.
“No! Don’t say that, BG. That is not a good word for you to repeat, okay?”
Isaac sounded like he was near panic. His eyes implored her to help, but all she could do was laugh.
“Sid! Has he ever done this before? Repeated your words?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, of course not. He has to grab hold of the one bad word I say. That’s just great.”
“Calm down, baby.” Sidney took a deep breath and got her laughter under control. “It’ll blow over, I’m sure.”
“Horny!” Greer shouted, smiling from ear to ear.
“All right, that’s enough from you, young man,” Isaac said, pointing at him.
Sidney stood and got Greer out of his high chair. It was best to simply remove him from the situation, right?
As she carried him off down the hall for his bath, he shouted again, “Horny!”
Sidney stifled another burst of laughter and carried him into the bathroom.
She closed the door and quickly ran him a bath using the special bedtime soap Bree had brought over. And she did her best to ignore the bursts of Greer’s new word, hoping that if he got no more reaction he’d stop saying it.
Once she had him all clean and dried, she took him into the guest bedroom and put him in fresh pajamas. Then she read to him from his dinosaur book. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep, and when he did, she secured the bed rails and tiptoed out of the room.
By the time she walked across the hallway and found Ike at the computer in the office more than an hour had passed.
“Hey, handsome.”
“Hey, yourself.”
“Whatcha doing?”
“Just finished up today’s homework assignment.”
“Ooh. Good looking and smart. Be still my heart.”
“Are you flirting with me, Mrs. Taylor?”
“Definitely. Only I’m not sure that I have enough energy to follow through. Everything hurts. My arms, my back, my feet. Who knew this parenting thing was so strenuous?”
She leaned against the doorjamb and prayed that Isaac wouldn’t be upset with her. She knew what was on his agenda for tonight, but she was tired.
He shut off the computer and stood, walking toward her.
“I know you’re probably exhausted, Sid, and I get it.”
He stood close and ran his fingertips down her neck.
The simple motion made her shiver.
His voice was low and sexy, and his gaze on hers was intense.
“It’s been an incredibly stressful week for both of us and I just feel like we’ve been so caught up in taking care of Greer and trying to secure a future for him, that we haven’t really connected a whole lot in the last few days. And I’m not talking about sex, darlin’. I mean being with you. Just spending time together.”
Sidney couldn’t argue with that assessment. He was right. But that was the nature of parenthood, wasn’t it?
“Well, you do know that when we become parents for real this is an adjustment we’re going to have to make, Ike. Time together is going to look different than it does now.”
“I do know that. But I also know that there are couples who make time alone together a non-negotiable priority. In fact, Adam told me that he and Bree try to do that. I mean, that’s why they enlist my parents and Bree’s parents to babysit every other week so they can have regular date nights. If we are granted permanent foster care of Greer, I want us to do that too. To make time for the two of us to be alone, whether we go out on the town or we stay right here and watch TV on the couch.”
They were sweet words, and she loved the sentiment behind them.
“I want that too, baby.”
Sidney took his hand and led him out to the living room where she turned on the classic movie channel. She wasn’t sure how far they would get tonight. She wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to get through a whole movie without falling asleep. But she was sure that she wanted to cuddle with him.
Isaac took a seat beside her.
“Ooh, look. Bringing Up Baby. I love this movie.” Sidney turned up the volume.
“That title is kind of right on time, huh?” Isaac mumbled, and she gave him a puzzled look. “Because we were just discussing how things would change once we’re parents.”
Sidney smiled at him, but she didn’t respond. Instead she simply reached over and turned off the lights so that the only illumination in the room was from the glow of the old black and white film. Then she snuggled in closer to him.
Sidney smiled at the screen when David Huxley met Susan Vance on the golf course. It was the last moment of the film she saw clearly before drifting off to sleep.
The next thing she knew, she was being carried down the dark hallway of their home.
“Isaac?”
“Shh.”
He carried her into their room and gently laid her down on the bed.
“I’m so sorry I fell asleep.”
“You don’t have to apologize for being tired, Sid.”
Isaac leaned in and planted a sweet, chaste kiss on her lips. Then, to her surprise, he began to undress her.
Sidney was grateful. Lord knew she didn’t have the energy to do it herself.
Her removed her clothing slowly, as though he didn’t want to disturb her. And when he had her completely naked, he sat down at the end of the bed, and picked up her right foot and began to massage it.
“Oh.” Sidney’s eyes popped open and his strong hands sent a surge of unexpected arousal straight to her middle.
“Shh. Lie back and enjoy it.”
His deep dimples lulled her into it and she settled back, allowing his machinations to carry her away.
Bliss.
“Oh, that feels so good, baby. But you don’t have to do that.”
“I know I don’t have to do it, Sidney. I want to. Now would you just lie back and enjoy it, please?”
Sidney smiled and laid back, letting the pleasure release the tensions of the past three days.
When Isaac finished massaging both her feet, he moved on to her calves, his hands stroking and caressing her sore muscles. When he moved up to her thighs Sidney’s eyes fluttered open and stared at him. His expression was so intense, so focused. As though it were his mission to manually ease every tense muscle in her body.
The thought was erotic.
His fingers climbed higher and higher, dangerously close to the apex of her thighs, and Sidney’s breath hitched and held in anticipation.
And then his hands were gone.
The sudden loss of them on her skin forced a soft, and disappointed exhale.
Her gaze met his.
“Turn over.”
It wasn’t a request. Slightly panting, Sidney did as she was told and rolled over onto her belly.
Isaac’s large hands circled her waist.
His lips hit the small of her back, dead center. Then once more an inch higher.
The sensation made her shiver.
Then his thumbs dug in on either side of her spine, circling rhythmically, working out the kinks.
Sidney moaned loudly, and his thumbs began working upward and outward.
“Oh, God, Isaac. That feels so good.”
He didn’t respond. He simply let his hands do the talking, rubbing up and down every inch of her body. When he got to her shoulder blades he slowed down and took his time. No doubt because he could feel all the tension stored there and knew that area needed extra attention.
By the time he finished with her shoulders and the back of her neck Sidney’s whole body felt like elastic that had lost its shape — loose and dangly.
Isaac kissed the back of her neck and she shivered again.
Then she felt him get up from the bed. She turned her head and watched him get undressed, his Adonis-like body perfectly silhouetted by the dim light of their room. When he lowered his pants his giant erection bounced free, standing straight up at attention.
And then he turned out the lights and slipped between the covers.
“Goodnight, darlin’,” he said, lying down beside her.
Sidney propped up on her elbow and looked at him in the darkness. “That’s it?”
“What do you mean?”
“I think you missed a very important spot.”
“Did I?”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry. Which spot did I miss?”
“Seriously?” Sidney could hear the frustration in her own voice. Surely he had to hear it too. “You turn us both on with that sexy full-body massage and then you just go to sleep?”
“Sidney, you said you were tired and that your muscles ached. You fell asleep during the movie. I only wanted to make you feel good, darlin’. I wasn’t trying to turn you on.”
“But you did.”
“Oh.”
“You’re really not going to make love to me after all that?”
“Oh, I definitely will if you want me to. But I didn’t think that you wanted me to.”
Sidney rolled her eyes at his goofy word play. “Will you just shut up and fuck me, please?”
“With pleasure. How would you like it?”
“After that build up? Slow and nasty.”
A sexy smile kissed his lips. “Turn over. On your knees.”
His commanding tone sent a shard of excitement straight through her middle. Once again, she did as she was told, turning over on all fours and then lowering herself to her elbows so that her ass was in the air.
Isaac positioned himself behind her.
She expected him to plunge hard, fast, and deep. What she got instead was his mouth.
His face buried between her cheeks.
His tongue probing her most private places.
Oral sex had become a favorite of his, like a hobby, and Sidney reaped the benefits of every new position he wanted to try. His skill level only kept growing, and he could do things to her with his tongue that would have her weeping or babbling incoherently or screaming obscenities. Occasionally all three at once.
With zero shame, she bucked her hips, rocking her pussy against his face.
If her body were a musical instrument, then he was the musician. And he was becoming a master at playing her body like a virtuoso.
Her orgasm had her thighs shaking, and she bit into the pillow in front of her to keep from screaming outright and waking BG.
Before she could surface from the depths of ecstasy that he’d dragged her to, Isaac’s arm went around her waist like a python and he plunged deep inside her from behind.
Sidney gasped, caught off guard and unprepared for the sheer size of him. She knew her husband was big, but there were times she still felt stretched to the limit by him.
Her ass still up in the air, he pushed her torso down into the mattress and took hold of her thighs, spreading her legs wider so that he could surge even deeper. Then he rotated his hips, holding her tightly at the waist to keep her in place while he screwed into her deeper still.
Sidney called out before stuffing her mouth with the pillow again.
His pace was steady, never missing a beat, and Sidney began moving to his rhythm, pushing back against him with her ass and taking him deeper than she ever thought was possible.
“Oh, yeah, Sidney.” It was a quiet, gravelly whisper. “Fuck me with that ass, baby. Take every inch of that great big dick.”
“Isaac!”
“Aghh!”
His sexy grunt sent her over the edge. Her body took off like a rocket, shooting straight for the moon and vibrating wildly as it went.
It seemed to roll on forever, building in intensity with each new wave as Isaac continued to screw into her.
With a final grunt of satisfaction Isaac finally surged into her and his body went rigid. He collapsed on top of her, his full weight pushing her into the mattress.
Sidney’s body trembled with aftershocks for long minutes afterward.
Ike’s breath hit her neck in soft, rhythmic pants. Finally, he kissed the back of her shoulder, pulled out of her, and rolled over onto his back.
Sidney felt his finger run over her butt cheek.
“You okay over there?”
“Mmm hmm.”
It was the last thing she remembered before drifting off into a peaceful sleep.