Crossing the line

Chapter Thirty-Six

One Year Later

Christmas Eve 2013

Tabitha pulled the string-bean casserole out of the oven and set it there.

Then she knelt down to check on the ham.

“Don’t burn it,” Wyatt said as he came in from the outside with snow in his hair and dusting the shoulders of his sheriff’s jacket. “Last year all they had over there was fish and scallops and a whole host of other weird things I ain’t never heard of before. Just no, that ain’t right. Folks are supposed to eat ham on Christmas.”

“Feast of the Seven Fishes is an Italian tradition on Christmas Eve,” Tabitha argued. “It’s important to them. It reminds them of their mother.”

“I appreciate that, but I’m not eating octopus salad for Christmas Eve this year. I want ham.”

“You shouldn’t be eating ham at all.”

“I ain’t even on the blood pressure medication anymore.” Wyatt held up his hands. “Doc Philips says he’s gonna have you write up a diet for his other patients. That’s what a vast improvement you policing my diet has made. Once a year won’t kill me.”

Tabitha closed the oven and smiled at him. “Fifteen more minutes. Melody’s making turkey and stuffing. It won’t be just seafood this year.”

“Merry Christmas to me.” Wyatt seemed very pleased over the development as he walked over and kissed her. He put a hand on her rounded stomach and waggled his eyebrows. “Fifteen minutes, huh?”

She giggled. “I need a shower. I’ve been cooking all day.”

“You didn’t overdo it?” Wyatt frowned in concern as he wrapped an arm around her and rubbed at the small of her back. “I wish I could cook so you didn’t have to do all this.”

“That would be a dispatch call just waiting to happen.” Tabitha laughed. “You’d burn this place down for sure, and considering the amount of money we spent on restoring this year, I’d rather you didn’t.”

“How ’bout I wash your back?” Wyatt placed a kiss against her forehead. “Make it up to you.”

“That sounds like more than fifteen minutes.”

“Nah, a lot can happen in fifteen minutes.” Wyatt pulled back and tugged off his jacket as he headed toward the living room. “Come on, Tabby Cat. I got something to make up to my girl.”

Tabitha giggled again and reached over to turn down the temperature on the oven, because showers with Wyatt always lasted more than fifteen minutes. She took the time to cover the green beans with foil so they wouldn’t get cold.

Then she started working the buttons to her blouse as she followed Wyatt up the stairs. She walked past Wyatt’s old room as she headed down the hallway and pushed open the door to the master bedroom instead. Steam was already coming out from beneath the door to the bathroom. She pulled her maternity top off and walked over to lay it over the chair at her desk that faced the balcony doors.

The room was beautiful. They had spared no expense to make it exactly what they wanted. They didn’t live an overly extravagant lifestyle despite being able to afford it, but they were indulgent with the bedroom when they’d remodeled.

When Tabitha had gotten pregnant, Wyatt and Jules made the decision together that it was time to clear out the ghosts and make room for a new generation of Conners. They had worked together at packing their father’s old things, which was an emotional day for both of them. Jules took half of the pictures and furnishings to her house. The rest remained.

Big Fred’s old dresser held Wyatt’s clothes now. The picture of his wife that Fred used to talk to every night was resting on top of it. Right next to the spot where Wyatt tossed his badge, wallet, and car keys every time he got home and stripped out of his uniform.

Other things were different, like the massive flat-screen television that hung on the wall facing the bed. It made Wyatt happy for all sorts of man reasons Tabitha didn’t understand. He’d alternate between watching Bruce Lee movies on quiet nights, to throwing his rice cakes and shouting at it when a fight was on.

Usually Tabitha just sat next to him writing on her laptop. They had a big canopy bed that was comfortable and romantic with the curtains hanging down the sides and could be drawn to hide them from the world. Which wasn’t really necessary with just the two of them in the house, but it fed Tabitha’s creative soul.

She loved that bed.

The walls were decorated with old pictures and framed sheriff stars from all the other Conners. It gave the room an old-world charm that Tabitha liked very much. It matched with the movie poster on the wall next to the bathroom that also had a sheriff star on it, along with the attractive, fresh faces of the young actors and actresses who had been cast to play the characters from the first Heroes of Sapphire County movie.

The second one was already in post-production.

That movie had made so much money. Too much money. With the merchandising rights and Nova negotiating all of Tabitha’s contracts, she had started giving it away by the millions. It was just too much. It started to feel like a waste just sitting in bank accounts gathering zeroes. Even with the massive generosity that had started earning Tabitha humanitarian awards she didn’t want, she couldn’t seem to give it away as quickly as it kept gathering. Nova managed her finances too, and she was starting to suspect it was a game to him to see if he could earn her more than she handed out.

Money came so easily to him. She didn’t understand why he couldn’t just walk away from the rest of it. She and Wyatt talked about it a lot. They were hoping for a day when they got to pay him back for everything.

But it hadn’t come yet.

“Are you coming or not?” Wyatt called from the bathroom. “I thought the clock was ticking.”

Tabitha stripped off the rest of the clothes, taking care with them before she walked naked into the bathroom. They had a massive Jacuzzi tub off to one side. One they could both fit in, but Wyatt was in the shower in the corner. The outline of his tall, muscular body was visible through the frosted glass. She studied him and reeled over how lucky she had gotten.

Happy endings like this were worth walking through the miles of hell it took to get here.

Wyatt opened the shower door, his eyebrows raised when he eyed her standing there naked. His gaze ran over her for one hot moment before he whispered, “Come here, pretty girl.”

“Huge girl,” she said as she stepped into the shower.

“I think you look sexy.” Wyatt wrapped his arms around her from behind and caressed her naked stomach affectionately. His hands moved up to her breasts. “We should do this again and again. It makes ’em bigger.”

Tabitha’s entire body shook with mirth. “You’re so silly.”

“What?” Wyatt laughed with her as he leaned down and placed a kiss against the curve of her neck. “I’m not allowed to think my pregnant wife is sexy?”

“No, you’re not.” She was still laughing. “It makes you a weirdo.”

“Well, then I’m a weirdo.” He kept kissing her neck, his wet hair dripping onto her shoulder. “I wanna put my mouth on you. I wanna taste you. Then I wanna fuck you.”

“All in fifteen minutes?”

“I can be very efficient when I want to be.” Wyatt slipped one hand between her legs and touched her. “Let’s wash up, and then I’m gonna toss you on that bed and make love to you until we’re both walking funny.”

“I’m already walking funny.”

Wyatt continued to touch her, making it obvious he was forgetting the washing-up part of his plan. Tabitha tossed her head back against his shoulder, relishing the feel of his fingers circling her clit and his lips against the curve of her neck. The pleasure crashed over her easily, and she savored it, letting it come hard and fast.

Small, gasping sounds of bliss burst out of her when she stiffened in his arms. Wyatt tightened his other arm around her protectively as she quivered from the rush of ecstasy.

Tabitha was still panting when she leaned forward and rested her arms on the shower wall. She didn’t feel any of the old fear when Wyatt pressed against her, his hard cock sliding against her back insistently. That anxiety had died with Vaughn. She knew it was Wyatt pushing her hair aside to kiss and nip at her shoulder. It was his strong arms around her. It was his slick, muscled chest against the line of her bare shoulders.

“Why don’t we skip the bed?” she suggested. “And take our time after we get back from Jules’s place?”

“I dunno.” Wyatt rubbed her stomach softly. “I think we’re getting a little too far along to do it standing up in the shower.”

“You won’t let me fall.” She believed it with every fiber of her being. “I’m safe.”

“Yeah?” He nipped at her ear. “You wanna be naughty with me, Tabby Cat?”

“Yeah, let’s be naughty,” she agreed, feeling the smile tug at her lips too. “Do it before your ham burns.”

“Can’t have that.” Wyatt chuckled.

Tabitha put her foot up on the tiled bench in the shower and leaned over more. Wyatt ran his lips over her nape, still holding her tight and keeping her steady on her feet.

She moaned when he pushed in. Her body was already so sensitive from the first orgasm that the feel of his hard cock sliding in her, stretching her, set off every sensual sensor she had. She dropped her head, just letting herself feel Wyatt in her. She loved connecting with him. It never got old. The passion just wouldn’t die, and she knew it was the same for Wyatt as he let out a low, purely masculine grunt of pleasure.

“God, I love you.” His voice was breathless against her ear. “You feel so fucking good.”

“You too,” she gasped and then reached down and touched herself, hoping to speed things along.

“Oh fuck,” he groaned and nipped at her shoulder, harder this time as he started to lose the tight hold on his restraint. “It turns me on when you do that. You’re hot as hell, Tabby Cat. I’m gonna quit my job and just love you all day. Every day.”

She giggled despite the pleasure. “Liar.”

“No, really.” He pulled out and pushed into her again. “I could do it.”

No, he couldn’t. He loved his job, but she went ahead and played along with it. Touching herself, letting him fuck her, agreeing with his claims that he was going to turn in his badge and exist solely for her pleasure. It was a fun fantasy. She couldn’t get better love-slave material than Wyatt Conner.

Anyone with eyes could see he was one fine-looking piece of sheriff.

They stiffened together the second time. Wyatt moved in her harder, faster, dragging out Tabitha’s pleasure until she was sagging against the tiles and weak when the bliss started to fan out to tiny shivers that danced over her skin.

Wyatt stayed in her once it started to pass. His thick, steely arms tight around her, his cock still inside her as they enjoyed just being joined for a moment longer.

“I love you, Wy,” she whispered. “I’m so glad you got Christmas Eve off.”

“Me too.” He kissed the curve of her neck once more. “And we got time tonight. I ain’t got to be into work until two o’clock tomorrow. We’ll sleep in.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“I reckoned we ought to enjoy it.” He ran a hand over her stomach once more. “Might be the last Christmas morning we get to sleep in.”

Tabitha’s smile was wide and excited. The idea of children waking them up on Christmas morning was enough to make her feel like the world had never done anything cruel to her to begin with. Both she and Wyatt loved children. They wanted more than one, and Tabitha had been blessed with such a perfect pregnancy. It was just one of the many things that happened this past year that left her firmly believing the dark cloud she had lived under for so long was gone forever.

“We should definitely do this again,” she whispered more to herself than Wyatt.

“What?” Wyatt laughed behind her. “The sex or the baby making?”

Tabitha laughed with him. “Both.”

Tino jerked open the door and threw up his hands. “Buon Natale!”

Wyatt grinned. “Merry Christmas.”

“Big Mama.” Tino grabbed Tabitha and kissed both her cheeks and then rubbed her stomach. “Look at this New Year’s baby!”

“Boy, you’ve been drinking too much eggnog.” Wyatt kicked Tino’s shin. “Get your hands off my wife.”

“Jealous?” Tino waggled his eyebrows.

“Are you gonna move before I drop this ham?”

Tino frowned. “You can’t eat ham on Christmas Eve.”

Wyatt rolled his eyes as he pushed past him and walked into the living room of Jules’s house that was lavishly decorated for the holidays. Unlike his house, that was very old-fashioned with wood flooring and patterned wallpapers, Jules’s was modern, with leather furniture, expensive carpet, and track lighting.

It fit Jules and Romeo perfectly.

The Christmas tree was up on a large wooden stand and surrounded by a baby gate. Romeo had to put the gate up when he caught Charlie standing on Freddy’s back, trying to pull the whole damn thing down. Jules more than anyone should have known to never underestimate the determination of twins working together to get a job done.

Wyatt started sweating over it the moment Tabitha got pregnant, because it’d just be his luck to get a set too, but it was just one—for now.

“Ham.” Jules sounded pleased when Wyatt walked into the kitchen that was really too big to be normal. Romeo liked to cook, and he’d dumped an insane amount of money into it. She shifted Charlie to her other hip and leaned over to kiss Wyatt’s cheek. “Tell Tabitha I love her.”

“I heard that,” Romeo called from the stove.

“Not that we don’t love the sea creatures.” Jules held up a hand to Romeo as she gave Wyatt a wide-eyed look that said she felt the same about the Feast of Seven Fishes as he did. “He made lobster this year instead of the octopus salad.”

Wyatt nodded. “Lobster ain’t bad. Melody’s bringing turkey.”

“I heard.” Jules peeled back the foil on the ham before she turned and handed Charlie over. “Go see Uncle Wy Wy.”

He took his nephew, who grinned, showing off two white teeth on the bottom. The twins were fraternal, but they looked almost identical. The only difference was Charlie’s eyes were more blue than Freddy’s that had a tint of Romeo’s green gaze, and it made telling them apart easy for family.

“Lemme see those teeth.” Wyatt showed his own in a mock fighter grimace that made Charlie laugh.

“Don’t stick your fingers in his mouth.” Jules helped herself to a small piece of the ham. “He bites now.”

Wyatt laughed. “Just like his mama.”

“Hush.” Jules scowled at him before she raised her eyebrows. “This is very good.”

“Tab can make anything taste good.”

“Where is she?”

“Last I saw she was in the doorway being molested by your brother-in-law.”

“Oh hell.” Jules grabbed another piece of ham and walked out of the kitchen, obviously intent on saving Tabitha. “Tino!”

Wyatt walked over to the stove, seeing that Romeo was frying something.

“What is it?” he asked as he eyed the pan that was bubbling and crackling.

Romeo turned to give him a look of horror. “Man, you dunno what calamari is?”

“Nah, I don’t.” Wyatt scowled at the plate of little fried rings. “I’m scared to ask.”

“Why don’t you just try it?” Romeo turned around and grabbed a bowl. He dished some red sauce into it and set it on the counter. “There. Dip them in that.”

Wyatt picked one up cautiously, seeing that they were still very hot. If he hadn’t been on a low-cholesterol diet for so damn long, he wouldn’t have risked it. “Is it like fried cheese?”

Romeo gave him another annoyed look before he said, “Don’t give it to the baby. He could choke on it.”

“What?” Wyatt dipped it and popped it into his mouth. It actually tasted really good, amazingly so, but still he had to ask, “Why’s it so chewy?”

“Look at you, eating squid after all that fucking bitching last year about the octopus.”

Wyatt turned around to greet Nova, who was holding Freddy. “Squid?”

“Nova, you can’t swear in front of the twins.” Romeo glared at his brother. “Last thing I need is for them to go around talking like you.”

“Tino lives in this house.” Nova laughed. “They know plenty of creative words already, I promise you.”

Romeo didn’t argue that as he turned back to Wyatt. “Good, right?”

“Less good now that I know it’s squid.” Wyatt picked up another piece anyway. He dipped it and put it in his mouth, trying to let himself appreciate the flavor rather than think about what it was. “Yeah, it ain’t bad.”

Wyatt took another one.

Tabitha came in and set the green beans on the counter. “What’re you eating?”

“Squid.” Wyatt dipped his fourth piece into the sauce. “I like it.”

“It’s fried. You can’t have it.”

“I’m supposed to eat it.” Wyatt raised his eyebrows at Tabitha. “It’s good luck or something.”

“Well, you ate it.” Tabitha reached around him, her large stomach bumping into his back as she pushed the plate back. “Come help me get the presents out of the car.”

Romeo laughed next to him, whispering, “Whipped,” under his breath.

“Boy, I wouldn’t even talk.” Wyatt gave him a look. “You married my sister. I know who wears the pants.”

“Lemme see this handsome boy.” Tabitha took Charlie from Wyatt.

“Tabby, he’s really heavy.” Wyatt frowned.

“Yes, he is.” Tabitha’s smile lit up her whole face as she studied Charlie, whose hair was still black as midnight. “Look at those pretty blue eyes. They get brighter every day. They’re just like your Uncle Wy Wy’s.”

“Wy!” Charlie grinned broadly.

“He’s talking more.” Tabitha held him close and smiled at Romeo. “Merry Christmas.”

“Buon Natale.” Romeo turned away from the stove and kissed Tabitha’s cheek. “How’re you feeling?”

“Huge.”

“What’re you talking about?” Romeo snorted. “Juliet was twice as big as you, easy.”

Tabitha hit his shoulder. “Don’t let her hear you say that.”

“What? She knows it.” Romeo held up his hand to the living room. “And she’s back to her old size now. She teaches more classes at the Cellar than I do.”

Wyatt snorted. “It was probably all the fucking ice cream Tino was getting for her. In my house all we eat is salad.”

“Hey, same rules apply.” Romeo scowled at Wyatt. “You can’t say that crap in front of Freddy and Charlie. They’re trying to talk. Last thing I need is to be at the store and have them blurt it out. It’s so friggin’ backward in this town.”

“So, you’re a house husband who gives me shit ’bout being whipped?” Wyatt laughed again.

Romeo reached over and punched Wyatt hard enough in the arm that it would likely leave a bruise. “Say another swear word, and we’re having it out the next time we’re both at the Cellar.”

“You think I can’t take you?”

“I know you can’t take me.” Romeo growled. “I got twenty pounds on you.”

“We’ll just teach them to swear in Italian,” Nova said in a very practical voice as he reached past Wyatt and helped himself to some calamari. “Then the hicks won’t have anything to bitch about.”

“Casanova, I swear to God, if they start swearing in Italian after you leave, I’m coming to New York to bury you.”

Nova laughed as he stood there chewing. His dark eyebrows were raised as if Romeo had just challenged him.

“You need any help with the cooking?” Tabitha asked, obviously trying to come to Nova’s rescue.

“From an eight-months-pregnant woman?” Romeo snorted. “No, I make it a point not to ask pregnant women to do anything. You should get off your feet.”

“But I’m fine.”

Romeo looked at her stomach and then said, “You’re our guest. Go sit down.”

“There is not enough therapy for you.” Nova laughed. “Jules’s pregnancy fucked you up for life.”

Romeo put a hand to his face and took a deep breath. “Madonn’, Nova, you say ‘fuck’ one more time—”

“You just said it.”

“Okay, everyone get outta my kitchen.” Romeo gestured to the living room. “Nova, help Wyatt get the presents out of his car. Tabitha, go relax. I got this.”

Wyatt ate too much.

It made him tired and lazy.

He was sprawled out over Jules’s leather sofa with his head on Tabitha’s thigh and Freddy sitting on his chest while he watched Tino help Charlie tear into the presents Wyatt and Tabitha had gotten him. Freddy was chewing on the tag hanging off the ear of a teddy bear. Jules jumped up from her seat on Romeo’s lap and yanked the bear out of his hand. She tore the tag off with the quick reflexes of a natural athlete, but she wasn’t fast enough.

Freddy was frozen with a silent scream now that his hands were empty. Even when Jules handed it back to him, he wasn’t interested anymore. The wail that burst out of him made Wyatt’s ears ring.

“Oh hell.” Wyatt laughed as he looked at his nephew. “Your mama’s mean.” He lifted him up, holding him over his head. “Come on, Freddy boy.” He was still howling, and Wyatt gave up. He handed him back to Jules. “You did it, Ju Ju. Now you got to fix it.”

“Man, they got lungs. You can hear them down the block.” Clay shook his head as he pulled Melody tighter against him. “That’s one thing I ain’t looking forward to.”

“Nah, that boy’s gonna be quiet as can be. He’ll just scowl at everyone.” Wyatt waved off the concern. “Ours too. She’s got half Tabby Cat in her. She’ll be nothing but sweet. These two wail ’cause they’re like their mama.”

“You can dry that one out and fertilize the lawn. Both of you are gonna be eating your words,” Jules said as she sat down next to Tino and found another present. She handed it to Freddy, who was still mad. “I cannot wait for these babies to be born.”

Tabitha rubbed at her back. “You and me both.”

“That ain’t even a lie,” Melody agreed as she shifted next to Clay, trying to curl into him despite her large stomach. “I’m ’bout tired of being pregnant.”

“I think we ought to place betting odds on which of you goes into labor first,” Nova suggested as he opened a gift Tabitha handed him. “Tabitha’s due sooner, but she’s having a girl. That boy of Clay’s has gotta be nine pounds at least. I think Melody’s gonna go first.”

Wyatt pushed his boot against the back of Nova’s head and grinned. “No gambling in my town, boy.”

Nova swiped at his hair. “Wyatt, you touch my hair again—”

Wyatt tapped his foot against Nova’s head again—just because.

Nova shoved at Wyatt’s foot in annoyance and then pulled the lid off the box and looked down at in surprise. He turned to Tabitha, shock showing on his tan face, when so little in life surprised him.

Tabitha smiled. “I’m sorry it’s not a better copy of it, but the fella who negotiates my contracts hasn’t read it yet.”

“What is it?” Tino looked over Nova’s shoulder to see. “A stack of paper. Yeah, that’s something he’d probably like.”

“Shut up, Tino.” Nova picked up the large stack of bound white pages. “You started a new series?”

“I did.” Tabitha nodded. “Good thing too. Everyone loved Nico so much in the final Sapphire County book, it was lucky I’d already started writing his series.”

“Tabitha,” Nova whispered as he looked at the title page.

Wyatt had seen it. He knew what Nova was reading.

Untamed Hearts, A Heroes of New York City Novel by T.C. Rennoc

Nova turned around and looked at her with uncertainty that was unusual for him. “But my story isn’t for children, even in fiction.”

“No, it isn’t,” Tabitha agreed. “This one is strictly for teenagers. It’s darker and more violent than the others, but I think you’ll like it. Dark heroes are amazing too. I’ve seen them do great things. I believe in them every bit as much as I believed in the first set of heroes.”

“Am I in there?” Tino asked as he looked over Nova’s shoulder again, now obviously interested. “Does that mean someone sexy and badass has to play me in a movie?”

Tabitha gave Tino an indulgent smile. “You’re in there. Very much so.”

“Thank you.” Nova held the book for a moment, and no one said anything, because the emotion was suddenly palpable. Even the babies stopped ripping at wrapping paper as if sensing the change in their uncle. “This means something.”

“Is it a good memory?” Tabitha asked.

Nova turned around and smiled at her, his dark eyes glassy. “Yes, it is.”

“I’m so glad.” Tabitha nodded as she wiped at her cheeks. “Dark heroes deserve happy endings too.”