The Trouble With Bodyguards: Part 3 (7 page)

He should have died.

There was no way that Jake could get to him, not now, not from here. It would take forever for his plan to convince the doctors to let him get the fuck out of here to work. It felt hopeless, his dreams of ever rescuing his angel from his brothe
r’
s clutches. He sat down hard on the mattress, the magazine open on his lap, the pen clattering to the tile floor of his room.

A tear of despair ran down his cheek, dripping off his lip,and landed with a splash on the picture of the happy couple. Well, not exactly on them, but in the hands of the tiny baby in her arms. Jake cocked his head, an idea beginning to form in his mind. He sniffled, wiping away the tears from his face, and stood up from the edge of his bed, staring down at the sleeping child in the photograph. He could
n’
t kill his brother, not while he was stuck in this fucking place, but he could make him suffer.

Alex raised her hand, shading her eyes from the bright, afternoon sun. The park was mostly empty this time of day, and she liked the quiet this time gave her to think. Life had been chaotic since Mia was born, she seemed to take up all of their time and energy. She was a happy baby, full of smiles and giggles for both her parents, but the demands of keeping her fed and cleaned seemed to fill Ale
x’
s days and nights.

Rick had been talking about going back to work. He had taken a few months off to spend time with them, not wanting to miss even a single hour of Mi
a’
s first few weeks of life, but he was growing restless. Ale
x’
s father had hired him to run a protection service that he had purchased in the last year, and with Ric
k’
s help, the company had taken off right away. The media coverage of his brothe
r’
s arrest and the story of his and Ale
x’
s misadventures had been a boon of free advertisement for the service. People saw Rick as the hero that he was and knew that he would only hire men who were just as competent a body guard as he was.

Alex was apprehensive about trying to do all of the things that were required of a mother by herself while he was gone at work each day. Even though she was a hard worker, the lack of sleep from the bab
y’
s penchant for wanting to play for an hour after each late night feeding was starting to get to her. She often relied on Rick to do all of the housework, the shopping,and the cooking of their meals. She did
n’
t know if she could do both.

Maybe she would talk to Rick about hiring a housekeeper. Somebody to come in for a few hours a day, just to help with the cooking and cleaning. He would say that they could
n’
t afford it, that it was her upbringing talking, but she knew that it would help her out immensely. She would be able to focus all of her energy on Mia, instead of rushing about, trying to do everything, spending her days in a haze of chaos. She would talk to him tonight.

The sound of a chil
d’
s laughter ringing out caught her attention, and she turned to see her daughter digging heartily into a mud puddle with both hands.

“
Oh
,
” cried Alex, jumping up from the bench that she had been resting on near the sandbox where Mia had been playing, dashing over and scooping her daughter out of the mud. The child had an amazing ability to get herself into a troublesome situation in a matter of moments. She must have inherited it from her mother.

“
Oh baby girl
,
” Alex cooed at her daughter, a broad smile on her face,as she wiped the mud off of Mi
a’
s cheek. Her tiny pink dress was now soaked with muddy water, her white lace socks laden with caked on filth. Alex settled her on her hip, mindless to the dirty water soaking into her own pale yellow dress. Motherhood had taken away any ideas of vanity that had lived inside her; her world now revolved around this tiny miracle.

The girl laughed loudly, her shrill giggle filling the air around them both. She was thrilled, smacking her tiny, muddy hands against her mothe
r’
s chest as Alex carried her across the grass, headed for the car.

“
Yes yes
,
” said Alex, laughing as mud splattered the side of her face
.“
I
t’
s very fun to get dirty, is
n’
t it? Le
t’
s get you home, we can take a nice bubble bath and both get clean
.
”

…

“
Hello
?
” Rick called from the hall, walking through the house that he shared with his wife and child
.“
Where are my girls
?
”

Mia squealed, hearing her fathe
r’
s voice. She tossed huge handfuls of bubbles up into the air, celebrating his arrival as he entered the room. He leaned against the doorframe, his hands in his pockets, smiling down at them, pride and love radiating in his smile.

Alex lifted a cloth, dipping it into the warm, sudsy water that both she and her daughter were sitting in. She often bathed with Mia, finding it easier to get the child clean if she was in the water with her, rather than leaning over the edge of the tub, wrestling her wriggling daughter and getting soaked in the process.

“
We decided to play in the mud at the park today
,
” she said, gently wiping the wet cloth along Mi
a’
s skin.

“
Oh we did, did we
?”
he replied, leaning over to the top of Mi
a’
s head, and then turning his attentions to his beautiful, naked wife. Cradling the side of her face in the palm of his hand, he pressed his lips against hers. She parted her lips, deepening the kiss, making sounds of pleasure as his tongue darted into her mouth to taste her.

“
I missed you
,
” he said, lingering to caress the side of her face before sitting down on the floor near the edge of the tub.

“
I know what you mean
,
” she said, her eyes taking in his taught stomach, the muscles of his torso contracting as he lifted his shirt over his head. He tossed it aside, reaching into the water to retrieve his daughter, who squealed with delight as she slapped her wet hands against her fathe
r’
s broad chest.

“
Do
n’
t worry
,
” he said, retrieving a towel and wrapping it around Mia
.“I’
ll take care of you later
.
” He stood, leaning the wet baby against his shoulder and walked out of the bathroom
.“
Enjoy your bath
.
”

She laughed, lying back in the tub, letting herself slide deeper into the sudsy water. She got very few moments to herself when she could truly relax, and she took full advantage of each and every second that she was rewarded as if it were a precious gift. Leaning her head back, she pulled the tie from her long, red hair, letting it spill into the deep water where it swirled around her head. She arched her back, her full breasts emerging from the water, small, translucent bubbles clinging to the skin of her nipples. She closed her eyes, listening to her breathing and the beating of her heart. She was happy, content with where the world had put her.

Trailing her hands along her body, slick with soap and lethargic from the warmth of the water, she explored the once familiar territory of her skin, made soft by motherhood where once it was toned and sleek. Her hips had widened, giving her a sway in her walk that Rick said was wickedly sexy. Her breasts were full, heavy with milk, shining in the light spilling in from the high window. Her belly, which had once been flat and taught, now had a slight paunch, which she loved; it was a reminder to her each day that she had created a life.

Sitting up, she lifted herself from the bath, the water cascading off the curves of her body, splashing around her like warm Spring rain. She reached for her robe, wrapping its plush softness around her naked body, and stepped out into the hall. She could hear Rick, soft laughter coming from the direction of Mi
a’
s room, and she tiptoed down the hall, not wanting to alert him to her presence.

He sat cross-legged on the floor of her room, still shirtless as he pulled a small, pink sock over the gir
l’
s tiny foot. She protested, yanking the foot out of his grasp and sticking in in her mouth, laughing profusely as he fought to pull it back from her and complete the task of dressing her. She hated clothes, often waiting until she was fully dressed and the offending parent left the room before stripping herself back down to the skin that she was most comfortable in.

“
Hey you
,
” he said, nabbing the foot and slipping the sock onto it
.“
W
e’
ve got to get you all pretty for Mommy. Sh
e’
s having a bath to relax, so you and I have to get dinner ready before she gets out
.
”

“
Too late
,
” Alex said, laughing as her loving husband and daughter both turned at the sound of her voice.

“
Well hello
,
” said Rick, smiling wickedly as he trailed his eyes up and down her body, taking her i
n—
wrapped in nothing but her plush terrycloth robe which clung to her wet skin, revealing the outline of her silhouette. Reaching out toward her, he trailed his finger along leg, drawing an imaginary line from her ankle bone up her calf, pausing to circle the sensitive spot at the back of her knee and then slipping his hand underneath her robe to tickle  the inside of her thighs.

“
Come on
,
” she said, the heat of desire spreading over her skin
.“
The baby is still awake
.
”

“
Not for much longer
,
” he said, lifting Mia from where she sprawled on the bedroom floor, the freshly socked foot stuck in her mouth, damp with drool.

“
I should get dressed
,
” Alex said, turning to head to the bedroom for clothes.

“
Do
n’
t bother
,
” he said, taking her hand
.“I’
m just going to undress you as soon as this baby is fed and in bed. Plus, you look beautiful just the way you are
.
” He leaned over, kissing her sweetly and then nuzzling his face in the curve of her neck.

“
Le
t’
s go get some dinner together
,
” she said, walking down the hall with him, hand in hand.

…

“
So, what do you think
?”
she asked, setting her dinner dishes next to the sink before turning filling it with water and dish soap.

“
A maid
?
” Rick said, reaching into a drawer and pulling out one of the many mismatched dishtowels that inhabited the space
.“
You really think we need a maid
?
”

“
No
,
” she said, wiping the remains of Mi
a’
s dinner off of her plate andscrubbing it clean before setting it into the other sink
.“
Need is
n’
t the word
,
” she continued, as he rinsed the plate, drying it thoroughly before slipping it back into the stack with the rest of the plates.

This had become their routine. Each night after dinner, they would put Mia to bed together, singing her songs and reading her stories until the little ones eyes would droop. When she was asleep, they would head to the kitchen to wash the dinner dishes together. It was
n’
t exciting, and it was
n’
t overly romantic, but it was time that they had to spend together, just the two of them, without anything else drawing their attention away from the other.

“
You want to go back to work
,
” she said.

“
But I do
n’
t have to
,
” he said, interrupting her
.“
I could stay home awhile longer
.
”

“
Babe
,
” she said
,“
I know that you want to get back to it. You love that job almost as much as you love Mia and I. I know that yo
u’
ve enjoyed staying home with us, and we both appreciate having you with us just as much, but I think that we both know that it is time
.
”

“
And you want a maid
,
” he said.

“
I want a maid
,
” she said, confirming
.“
I just think that if I try and do everything, that
I’
m not going to have the energy to enjoy any of it. I think that if I had someone to come in, if only for a few hours a day, to do the cooking and the cleaning, that I could devote all of my energies to Mia, and to you
.
” She leaned over, kissing him sweetly.

He reached for her, putting his hands on her waist and turning her to him, the suds from her wet hands dripping down his back as she put her arms around his neck. He deepened the kiss, pulling her body tight against him, and she sucked in a ragged breath. Her body was screaming for attention, their opportunities to make love were few and far between now that they had a child to look after.