Sanctuary (Family Justice Book 3) (43 page)

“No. Although, admittedly, it may fuck with the timing. I can’t leave without her, and she isn’t on board yet.”

A mosquito buzzing by could knock Alex off his seat—that’s how shocked he was by Brody’s situation.

“Hmmm. Got it. So I’ll dazzle the Bureau guy with an avalanche of bullshit, throw up a bunch of roadblocks, blame it on the wedding, and push off making a decision until after Boston. How’s that?”

“Shit, thanks, Cam.”

“Okay. Well, look, men. I have a conference call in twenty, so I’m out,” Alex told them. “I’ll leave you to it then.” Looking straight at Brody, he gave him a twisted smile. “These things have a way of working out.” Nodding at all the other guys, he added, “We can all attest to that. Hang in there, man.”

Motioning Calder to the side, he walked toward the door so their conversation could be private. Cam and Drae continued the video call.

“Keep an eye on that,” he stated flatly. “Do whatever needs to be done to seal the deal.”

Without further discussion, he turned and left.

“R
AVEN!” TORI’S TWO-FINGER
whistle rang out as she trudged along the trail she’d created just by taking the same route on her daily hike. It felt great to push her legs to the burning point as she climbed over rocky berms and jumped across uneven ditches. Even the trickle of perspiration down her back was good.

Bounding out of some scrubby bushes, her goofy blond Labrador came to heel. “You are a piece of work,” she mumbled to the overgrown pup as Raven’s tail thumped happily on the ground. Smiling at her constant companion she scratched the mutt under her doggie chin. “But Mommy wuvs you,” Tori chirped with a laugh a second before the dog licked the side of her face.

With a commanding pat on her thigh, she kept on walking with Raven sticking obediently to her side. The dog was well trained. Brody and his crew saw to that. But the calm, mannered sidekick Tori envisioned? One like Zeus, Alex’s gentle but protective Lab? Great idea, but a far cry from the energetic goofball they ended up with. But she loved the big, dumb dog. Draegyn did too, although her husband was more likely to offer snark before praise for the canine. Raven’s protective instinct around Daniel won points, but sheesh, she was a handful.

“Come on, girl. Let’s start back and go see what Daddy’s up to.”

They’d trekked quite a ways down the trail as Tori daydreamed. She couldn’t help it. Thinking about Draegyn and the state of their marriage was becoming an obsession. At first, refusing to even consider they might have hit a bump, she threw herself into the motherhood thing. Daniel was a blessing and Draegyn more than stepped up—morphing into world’s best dad practically overnight. On that score, they were in deep bliss and worked fantastically as a mommy and daddy team.

Oops.
After stumbling over some rocks because she wasn’t paying attention, Tori scanned the way ahead looking for potential hazards and then kept moving.

Admitting it was the intimate part of their relationship where things were wonky was a bitter pill to swallow. One she didn’t like. At all. Oh, sure. They still had sex, if you want to call it that. But something was off. Calling what they did having sex also kind of skeeved her out. She shuddered at the thought. When did they become
THAT
couple?

Hmph
. She knew the answer. When she struggled through a particularly difficult pregnancy, that was when. After D made his dramatic entrance into the family, she struggled to get back on her feet. She’d been through hell, no doubt about it. Pair her little body with a big, strapping kid, throw in some pregnancy complications, and you ended up with a recipe for postpartum distress.

By the time her doctors gave them the green light to resume being fully intimate, she figured it was as simple as getting back in the saddle. Boy, was she ever wrong. Everything hurt. Everything. And she was dry as a bone no matter how aroused. Her gynecologist practically laughed when she gave Tori a lube sample, and now, she knew why.

Draegyn was great. At first. But after a while, when every attempt to make love became an entry in the ‘Go easy on the wife’ sweepstakes, he started to pull back. He rationalized that his sex drive was too much for her, which only made her even more nuts. It was a vicious cycle.

Having her mom close by should have helped. Something about just knowing her only parent was there in her corner usually made all the bogeymen and bad stuff go away. But not this time. Despite mom and Calder all but taking over with Daniel, so Tori could focus on getting her shit together, she and her husband were continuing to drift in the bedroom.

She didn’t know how they got past all this crap, but she knew one thing for damn sure. Next time, instead of an unplanned pregnancy, she was going to go balls-out and get super healthy and prepared before they even tried for another baby.

Catching sight of the backside of Draegyn’s barn-styled wood shop, she hurried as Raven picked up speed. Maybe she’d surprise him and see what happened.

Forcefully tapping and scrolling through the music library on his phone, Drae connected a Bluetooth speaker and adjusted the volume before queuing up a playlist of thundering rock. Just what he needed to take the edge off. He was less than happy to be puttering around his shop when there really weren’t any projects to work on instead of seeking his wife’s pleasures. Such was his life these days.

Drae’s chest filled with warmth at the mere thought of Victoria. She was his everything. Her and Daniel. But she was first, before the baby, and nothing would ever be more important than that.

He heard Alex say one time that a man chose his wife but everything else followed. Kids were a bonus. They were the great crapshoot in a relationship. Maybe your kids were great and you loved ‘em like crazy or maybe your kids were things. Things on a list meant to give off the impression of family. Something he and his sister, Desiré, knew well. In the end, though, the relationship was what mattered most.

He adored his wife. Victoria Bennett was the unplanned choice that rocked his world and gave him his first taste of love and what being a family really meant. He’d walk through a hail of gunfire for her. The only thing that ever rattled his cage was the fear that one day she’d figure out he was a giant pain in the ass and decide he wasn’t worth it. Oh, and getting her pregnant fifteen minutes after they started a relationship probably stacked the deck against him, too.

The reason he was drowning his worries with ear-splitting rock ‘n’ roll and a table saw instead of actively trying to sweet talk his feisty wife out of her panties was complicated. Blessed with a partner who was his twin when it came to sexuality, he and Victoria perfected the pregnancy playbook for couples. She was his match, that was for sure. Didn’t matter how big her belly became or any of that stuff. They were so deeply connected that the intimate stuff just took on other forms and became less focused on …
insert here
.

After Daniel was born, Drae figured when they were given the all-clear, things would simply pick up where they’d left off. Shit and fuck—he’d never been more wrong.

The desire and passion still burned hot, but his wife wasn’t bouncing back physically. Where before the fact that he was kind of super-sized in the equipment department and she was a petite little thing didn’t matter much, all of a sudden she was complaining about discomfort and on one horrifying occasion started to cry while he was inside her.

Absently picking wood scraps out of the toss heap, Drae squashed his response to the awful memory. A guy’s dick had a hard time coming back from something like that. Ever since, their sexy times devolved into quick, desperate releases.

What the hell was the problem? He didn’t have a clue, and Victoria was pretending it wasn’t happening. All in all, one super fucked-up situation.

Reaching for a sketchpad, Drae turned the music’s volume down so he could think, dropped on a swivel stool and piled the random scraps into a heap on the workbench. Pencil in hand, he started to quickly plan out a small box with a hinged lid. Something big enough to hold just four things. The engagement ring Victoria’s father gave Stephanie. Another ring—this one a clunky school ring engraved with her dad’s initial. A small framed picture of Daniel Bennett as a college graduate and one of his wife’s most prized possessions … a small porcelain mouse holding an open book. She wanted these specific things to pass on to their son. A son who was named after his wife’s long-dead father and the very present and live Alex Marquez.

With a sigh that sounded more like a groan, Drae considered for the hundredth time seeking out the Major and asking for some man-to-man time. He needed advice and a sounding board. His own father being a complete douche and having no relationship with the coldhearted man whatsoever, he turned to Alex when seeking fatherly input. The only reason he hadn’t said anything was simple. He didn’t want to rain on the guy’s parade. Alex and Meghan deserved their special time to be that … special. Not cluttered with everyone else’s bullshit.

But one thought, in particular, kept rattling around in Drae’s mind, making it harder and harder not to seek the Major’s counsel. After a lot of consideration, he’d come to the conclusion that putting Victoria through another pregnancy was a shitty deal for her. Did he want more kids? Sure. But he didn’t want those kids to come at the expense of his wife’s well-being. They could adopt. Or use a surrogate. Whatever it took, but he definitely wasn’t on board with a repeat of everything that’d happened to bring Big D into the world.

The soft woof of a dog cut through a silent pause between songs.
Raven
. He grinned. She was the ultimate in big dumb goofy dogs, and he wondered if Brody knew the golden Lab would turn out to be the Scooby-Doo of family pets. When shit got real, she usually hid behind Zeus or ran for cover. But holy crap, look sideways at Daniel, and her protective instincts took over.

Drae smiled remembering how the animal insinuated herself between the baby and a random delivery person as a low, menacing growl rumbled from her. He and Victoria were so pleased they talked about making the silly pooch a steak on the grill as a reward. No, really. That type of shit went on at home. And he couldn’t be happier.

Half the big barn door creaked open. Not very wide. Just enough for the energetic dog to squeeze through ahead of his little wife who looked particularly fetching in some stretchy leggings that fit her like a second skin and a sporty bra top. Shades of their first time when she’d been fresh from a workout and similarly dressed. That time, Drae took one look at the outfit and lost his shit in spectacular fashion. The salacious memory tightened his jaw and fired up a parade of crude scenarios inside him, which challenged his self-control.

“Out for a hike?” he asked as the dog ran to him and started circling, begging for attention. Raven would have to wait because he couldn’t pry his eyes off Victoria’s sexy curves. The post-pregnancy figure she flaunted at every opportunity was one beneficial side effect of making babies. At least, there was that.

Offering one of her sweetest smiles, she came straight to him and curled into his chest for a fierce hug. He wasn’t sure if he was seeing vulnerability at that moment or determination.