“I started dating when I was like fifteen,” I point out to him. “Not that my dad knew—it was all done sneakily. Which is what she will probably do if you don’t let her do anything fun.”

   “She can have fun. Just more like ‘board games at home’ fun, not ‘out drinking with boys’ fun,” he replies, flashing me his teeth in a grin.

   Laughing, I cup his face and look into his eyes. “We’ll see how that goes for you, but we have plenty of other stages to get through with her first.”

   “Luckily.” He kisses my lips and then my nose. “I’m so happy right now.”

   The food arrives and the prawns are placed in front of me. “Me too.”

   “Because we’re on our first date in what feels like forever, or the food?” he asks, and thanks the waitress.

   “Both,” I reply, grinning.

   “Did you get an update from Nadia on Jean?”

   “Yeah, no one has heard from her since. She hasn’t updated her social media or anything,” I say, frowning. “But she’s old, so maybe that’s why.”

   Crow smirks. “Maybe she just doesn’t use social media. Or maybe she’s hiding from someone and doesn’t want to be found.”

   “Who?”

   “I don’t know, some of Jasper’s friends or something. Who knows?” he replies, wrapping his arm around me. “These drug lords have a line of people under them just waiting to do some dirty work.”

   “If that were true, why would she come back here to the city?” I ask, frowning. “Wouldn’t she go as far away from this place as she could instead of running back to it?”

   “Yeah, I guess so. There’s probably more to the story.”

   “There always is.” I sigh, turning my face to him. “I have kind of missed working for Nadia, though, so it’s nice to brainstorm a case with her again.”

   “Your eyes lit up when you told me about it,” he agrees, lip twitching. “Missing the adventure, are you?”

   “I love my life and I’m so grateful and blessed to have both you and Quinn, but yeah, I guess I wouldn’t mind a dash of adventure.” I pause, and then add, “Just a dash, and someone else’s drama, not my own.”

   He laughs. “That seems fair.”

   I reach my foot out so it touches his. It’s really nice just being here with him, just enjoying each other’s company with no other distractions, but at the same time, I really miss my daughter.

   Being a parent is weird.

   “You playing footsies with me, babe?” he asks, smirking.

   “And what if I am?” I ask, arching a brow. “What are you going to do about it?”

   “Nothing right now, because that would be frowned upon,” he replies, blue eyes filled with amusement. He leans over to whisper in my ear, “But later...”

   I clear my throat. “Well, I guess we will see then.”

   And I can’t fucking wait.

   We finish up our peaceful, quiet meal, just chatting about everything and anything. It feels nice to have this little break, and to put some extra time into us. We are a happy married couple, but when you bring a child into the world, they become the main focus. It’s so easy to forget to look after your partner, and I want to make sure I never do that with Crow. I want him to always feel well loved.

   When we head back to the clubhouse, Quinn is fast asleep, so we hang out there for a while, chilling with Temper, Abbie, Renny and Izzy. It’s nice to just hang out with them—it feels like so long since we’ve just sat around and had a drink.

   When Quinn wakes up crying, though, I’m happy to hold her, and be with her again, too.

   That’s what life is about, right? Balance.

   My goal is to try to have some of that.

   And later that night, after Quinn is fast asleep in her crib, I put in a little effort, dressing in a sexy lace nightie, and sit on the bed, waiting for Crow.

   When he steps into the room and sees me, his eyes turn dark with want, and he quickly closes the door behind him.

   I can see the outline of his cock through his gray sweatpants, and tell how much he wants me. It’s an empowering feeling, knowing that the attraction between us is so strong, and not just physical. It’s mental and emotional, too.

   “I’m not going to last long with you looking like that,” he teases as he pulls off his shirt and throws it on the ground. Everything else follows until he’s standing naked in front of me.

   “I don’t even care,” I reply as he comes to the bed, reaching out to touch his cock, stroking it with my hands. I move to the edge of the bed, wanting to drive him crazy, and put my mouth on him. I suck on the head and tease him for a little while, and then I go deeper, taking as much of him as I can into my mouth. I love taking my time with him, and I truly enjoy pleasuring this man. His fingers get lost in my hair, his head leaning back as his mouth drops open in pleasure. I love the growling sounds he makes; they turn me on even more.

   “Fuck, Bronte,” he breathes, his husky tone making me moan a little around his length. He tries to step back but I hold on to his thighs, pulling him into me. I know he doesn’t want this to be over yet, but I want him to come in my mouth, and then we can continue and start again. It’s not like he needs much recovery time.

   He moans loudly as he comes, and I swallow every drop, and continue to gently suck even when it’s over, making his thighs tremble at the sensitivity.

   I wipe my mouth and bring my eyes to his.

   “That was... Fuck” is all he can seem to say with a satisfied smile, followed by, “Your turn.”

   He pushes me back and lifts up my nightie. Seeing that I’m wearing nothing underneath, he spreads my thighs and slowly starts to feast, returning the favor, teasing me and dragging it out until I’m ready to explode. My back arches as I can feel myself on the verge of coming, and my eyes close of their own accord, lost in the moment and the pleasure.

   “Fucking hell, Crow,” I moan, spreading my thighs farther apart and lifting my hips. His tongue dashes on my clit at the same time he slides a finger inside of me, and then it’s all over for me.

   After I’ve come, we slowly make love with him on top, and then behind me, and then me on top, taking our time and just enjoying being with each other.

   Aaaannnd I’m back.

* * *

   I take Quinn to Dad’s headstone. We place flowers down, sit in front of it and just talk to him. I came here today for a reason, and it was to tell him what Nadia and I found out about Jean.