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  Together, they aligned his cock at her entrance, and she lowered herself on top of him. She was plenty wet, and they both hissed in pleasure as his erection penetrated her.

  She rocked over him, trying to angle her hips so his cock would hit her g-spot. She gripped his shoulders, using her thighs to move her body. And she moaned in pleasure, her head falling back, when he thrust his pelvis up to intensify the stimulation.

  “You feel so good,” Seth murmured, squeezing the soft flesh of her ass with his fingers. “Fuck, baby, you feel good.”

  She mewed in pleasure—never tiring of hearing him tell her that—and leaned farther forward so she could twine her arms around his neck. She kissed him, still rocking her pelvis over his.

  Seth opened his mouth to her kiss, stroking her lips and tongue with his own tongue. And he moved one of his arms so it was wrapped tightly around her bare back, holding her snugly against him.

  The kiss went on for a long time, as meaningful to Erin as the orgasm building slowly between her legs. Finally, when her thigh muscles started to get tired, she pulled away from his mouth, straightening her back so she could get the right angle for his cock to connect with her g-spot again.

  Seth was flushed and panting, but he was controlled enough to recognize what she was trying to do. He slouched in his chair a little more, changing the angle of his cock.

  Erin gasped in relief as she found the angle she’d wanted, her rhythm accelerating as tingles of pleasure pulsed out from the motion of his cock inside her.

  “Can you come, baby?” Seth rasped, both hands moving back down to cup and squeeze her bottom.

  “Uh huh,” she huffed, her motion intensifying as her orgasm started to take shape. “Uh huh.”

  He raised one of his hands so he could fondle one of her breasts—bouncing even with the support of her bra. His teasing of her nipple generated additional tugs of sensation, collecting into a deep, intensifying pressure.

  “That’s right, baby. Come. Let me see you come.” Seth’s thick voice was erotic encouragement, pushing her even close to the edge.

  She jerked her body over his in final impatience until the coiled pleasure finally released. Her mouth fell open in an almost silent cry of relief as her inner walls clamped down around the penetration of Seth’s cock. Her climax was deep and powerful and satisfying, and she shook above him for a long time, extending the duration of the spasms.

  Seth had been hissing, “Yes, yes, yes,” as she came above and around him, watching her pleasure with hungry, possessive eyes.

  There had been a time when he’d had to fight not to come every time she did, but that rarely happened anymore.

  When she came down, she fell forward onto his chest, changing the angle of his cock inside her in a way that made Seth suck in an urgent breath. She kissed him—wet and sloppy—and then gasped against him mouth, “That was good.”

  He chuckled, the warm sound producing delicious vibrations all through the length of his body. “Just good?”

  She kissed him again with a teasing smile. “It was mind-blowing, earth-shatteringly good sex. Does that satisfy your massive ego?”

  He squeezed her ass, his fingers hard but not quite bruising. “It’s a start.”

  She gave him a full-body hug. “Now it’s your turn. Let me see you come now.”

  Seth didn’t argue. He was still in control but his need was starting to overtake his patience. So he closed his eyes and began to rock his hips from below her.

  Erin clung to him with her arms and her legs and her inner muscles, loving the feel of his tightening muscles, his building tension, and the urgent, primitive jerks of his body. When his panting shifted into rough grunts of pleasure and effort, she knew it wouldn’t be long.

  She watched him greedily, craving each shift of expression on his twisting face and each involuntary twitch of his arms and legs.

  With an extended guttural sound, Seth froze, his visceral tension coiled at its tightest.

  Then he opened his eyes at the very last moment. So their eyes met as he came.

  She saw everything in that moment of naked, nameless expression. Everything she’d ever needed to know—about his love, his devotion, his passion, his unalterable presence in her life.

  It slammed into her, overwhelmed her, as it had from the beginning. And she choked on silent sobs as he came hard beneath her, his body jerking as he released himself inside her.

  Her emotional release was more powerful than any orgasm she’d ever had, and she clung to Seth as he came down, pressing kisses on him anywhere she could reach.

  “I love you,” he said at last, after his breathing had evened out and his body had started to soften. “I guess you probably already knew that.”

  She pulled her head up and snuffled, fighting her emotional reaction. “I had my suspicions,” she admitted with a shaky smile. Then she reached up to stroke his thick hair. “I love you too, in case you were wondering.”

  They cuddled in silence for a while—no longer needing to speak.

  Until Seth finally cleared his throat. “So what is it you wanted?” He stroked her hair to soften the bite of his blunt question.

  Erin sighed. He was far too smart for his own good. “Nothing.” When she felt him start to object, she hurried on, “Really, I didn’t want anything. Not really. I just…” She swallowed, unsure of how to say it, now that the time was finally here. “It’s just that I had something to tell you.”

  He tensed up immediately. “What is it?”

  He sounded so guarded she immediately tried to reassure him. “It’s not bad news. I promise. It’s…it’s good news, in fact.”

  Seth pressed his lips together and shifted beneath her. “Whatever it is, you felt the need to soften the blow with hot sex.”

  Erin made a gurgling sound of protest. “I wanted to have sex. I really did.”

  His mouth relaxed into a faint smile. “I believe you. And know that no underlying motive could possibly make it less meaningful.” He held her gaze, as if making sure she understood he was speaking the truth.

  Then, “But tell me the news.”

  He was wary still. He was physically relaxed, emotionally open, and in a generous mood. He was as receptive to her news as he’d ever be.

  But he was still wary. There was more to Seth now—as a husband, a father, a human—than some people would ever believe. But he would always be who he was. She’d never catch him unprepared.

  So she just said it.

  “It’s news about Mackenzie,” she began. She’d promised her daughter she’d break the news to Seth gently, and this was the best she could do. “She has a date on Friday night.”

  Their daughter's first date.

  Mackenzie was sixteen now. If it weren’t for Mackenzie’s reserved nature and the intimidation factor that went along with her Seth Thomas’s daughter, this would have happened much earlier.

  It was happening now, though. And Erin could only hope her husband was prepared for this inevitable eventuality of having daughters.

  She felt Seth’s body tighten dramatically beneath her. Saw his back stiffen as he straightened in the chair and his jaw clench as he processed her words. His fingers bit into her flesh.

  And she knew her efforts had been futile. She’d prepared him as best she could but none of it had made a difference.

  Seth roared, “She what?”

  Erin sighed in resignation. It was going to be a really long week.

  Two

  “What?” Seth demanded. “What? When did this happen? Why was I kept out of it?”

  In his surprise and indignation, Seth instinctively tried to rise to his feet. Erin, who was still straddling his lap, had to cling to him desperately to keep from being thrown off. “Seth,” she gasped, using her weight to keep him in the chair. “Seth, wait.”

  Realizing he was about to dump his mostly naked wife on the floor, Seth kept his seat. But he was bristling visibly, as if he had to rein himself in. “Tell me.” />
  Erin wrapped her arms around him again and stroked his hair. She was torn between exasperation and sympathy, and she didn’t yet know which one would win out. “No one was keeping you out of it. It just happened tonight. He called her. She accepted. Then she came to tell me.”

  Seth’s eyes narrowed ominously. “And you got the onerous duty of breaking the news to me?”

  “Seth, don’t be like that. Mackenzie was nervous about telling you herself.”

  “Why? Why should she be nervous to tell me?” A flicker of something appeared briefly in his eyes—something small and wounded that Erin recognized very well.

  “Don’t get your feelings hurt,” she said gently, giving him a soft hug. “It has nothing to do with her not loving or trusting you. She was just worried about your reaction.”

  “What reaction?”

  Erin rolled her eyes. “I believe you were just proving her point. You tend to be rather defensive when it comes to the girls.”

  “Why shouldn’t I be?” Seth muttered, starting to tense up again beneath her. “The world is full of people who would hurt them. Who is this cretin anyway?”

  It took Erin a minute to figure out who he was talking about. “Oh, you mean the boy? He’s just a boy from her class at school. She's known him for a long time. I've met him before in passing. He seems like a perfectly decent, nice-looking boy.”

  Seth snarled.

  “Sweetie,” Erin chided, “Don’t be silly. Surely you knew they would start dating eventually.”

  “They?” Seth tried to rise to his feet again. “If you’re telling me Anna has also hooked up with some—”

  Erin made a gurgling sound—somewhere between laughter and annoyance. “Anna hasn’t hooked up with anyone. Neither has Mackenzie. She has a date. One date. You must have known it would happen eventually.”

  He settled back in his chair but he gave her a cold look. “I didn’t expect it so soon.”

  “Soon! She’s almost seventeen! That’s late to start dating. Think about what you were like at seventeen.”

  That was clearly a stupid thing to say, and Erin realized it even before Seth responded.

  Seth froze for a moment, as if he were considering her words. Then he choked on a guttural sound of rage. “I’ll kill him!”

  Exasperation was quickly overtaking Erin’s earlier amusement at her husband's stereotypical but eminently characteristic reaction to this news. Seth had always been possessive and defensive by nature—sometimes to the point of paranoia. It only made sense that this side of his personality would spiral out of control when someone he loved as much as his daughter was at issue.

  She shook him by the shoulders. “Seth! Stop it. You’re acting like an idiot. Calm down and start to think about it rationally. You’re a brilliant, insightful man. Start acting like it.”

  Her sharp words had the desired effect. Seth’s mouth snapped closed and his responses turned inward. He was still seething—she knew—but at least he wasn’t about to explode.

  “This is important to Mackenzie. She likes this guy. And you know how reserved and guarded she usually is around other people. You can’t mess this up for her.”

  His eyes darted over to Erin’s face. “She likes him?”

  “Yes. She really likes him. I’ve not seen her this excited about anyone before. Please, try to make it easy for her.”

  Seth took a couple of slow breaths. Then his hands landed on Erin’s hips. “All right. Can you get down, baby? I’d like to get up.”

  Erin resisted the urging of his hands. “What are you going to do?”

  “I’m going to go talk to Mackenzie.” He was clearly controlled now, and she had no doubts that he was going to do his best to be supportive. But there was an almost panicked look in his eyes that really worried her.

  Untangling herself from his body, Erin stood up. Then leaned over to pick up her panties from the floor. “Seth, look at yourself.”

  He was still sprawled in the desk chair, with his pants around his feet, his hair mussed in all directions, his shirt wrinkled and sticking to his chest and belly, and his soft cock still damp from their lovemaking. Glancing down at himself, Seth murmured snidely, “I assure you, I was planning to pull up my pants first.”

  A snort of amusement caught Erin off-guard, but she managed to overcome it before her point was lost. “I’m not going to let you go talk to our teenaged daughter about her date, while you’re half-dressed and still smelling like sex. I’m going to go clean up. You sit here and try to be reasonable. Then you can go clean up. Then you can talk to Mackenzie, if she’s not already in bed.”

  “I appreciate your granting me such generous permission.”

  This time, the words were so snide they were almost bitter, but Erin didn’t let herself get offended by the tone. She knew this transition in their daughter’s life was going to be difficult for him. Seth had spent his whole life holding on desperately to anything he loved, anything that gave him security.

  And nothing gave him more security than his family.

  So she bit back her snarky response and instead said, “Seth, please. Take a few minutes before you go to talk to her.”

  He turned his head to the side for a moment, his lips pressed tightly together. But then he looked back to her and nodded.

  Relieved, Erin grabbed her dress, threw it on, and hurried to the bathroom. Among other things, she was feeling rather damp between the legs, and she needed to take care of it.

  Five minutes later, she went to Mackenzie’s room to warn her daughter that Seth was planning to pay her a visit.

  Mackenzie was still up, as Erin had expected. Her light was on, and her bedroom door was open a few inches. Erin knocked softly, catching a glimpse of Mackenzie on her bed.

  Mackenzie was beautiful—just as Erin had always known she would be. She was tall, slender, and graceful, with smooth fair skin she’d gotten from both of her parents and a sleek fall of red-gold hair and deep blue eyes she’d gotten from her father. She didn’t look anything like Erin, except for something inexplicable about her smile. Her personality wasn’t much like Erin’s either. She had Seth’s multi-faceted intelligence and deeply reserved nature. She didn’t open up easily and she was wary of revealing her feelings. But Erin and Seth’s concerted efforts had ensured that she wasn’t wounded and needy the way Seth had been as a child. And this had produced in Mackenzie a far more stable and healthy relationship with herself and with other people than Seth used to have.

  But Erin still worried about her sometimes. And prayed she’d eventually find someone to love who would truly understand her nature.

  Seth wasn’t an easy man to love. Mackenzie wouldn’t be either. And there was so much danger of her sweet, sensitive soul getting damaged in the process.

  This evening, Mackenzie was wearing pajama pants and an oversized gray sweatshirt, but she was one of those people who always managed to look well-dressed and pulled together. Tonight was no exception.

  At Erin’s tap, her daughter looked up from her book. She straightened when she saw her mother. “Did you tell him?”

  “Yes. He’s coming to talk to you in a few minutes.”

  “Is he…How did he take it?” Mackenzie’s eyes were wide and anxious. She adored her father still, although she’d rarely admit it anymore.

  “Did Dad blow his top?” The lilting voice came from behind Erin, as Anna pushed her way into the room. Anna was two years younger than Mackenzie, and she was blonder, shorter, and curvier. She was far more like Erin, in her quicksilver wit and willingness to express emotion.

  With a flash of a teasing grin, Anna folded herself in a large chair, without being invited. “He did, didn’t he?”

  “No, he didn’t,” Erin lied. “You need to give him more credit. He’s a mature, intelligent man, and he’s not going to lose it because his daughter has a date.”

  There was a brief silence, during which Anna and Mackenzie exchanged looks. Then Mackenzie’s mouth twitched slightly a
nd Anna choked on barely suppressed amusement.

  Erin had to struggle against a chuckle herself, but she wasn’t going to let Seth down, any more than she would her daughters. “Anna—”

  “I know, Mom. Dad’s cool and collected with the rest of the world. But I don’t think he’s going to be happy that Mac's dating.”

  “Is he mad?” Mackenzie asked, leaning forward. She was trying to act unconcerned, but she was visibly nervous at the possibility.

  “No, he’s not mad. Of course not. He was surprised. But he’ll be fine. You know he just wants you to be happy.”

  “As long as having sex doesn’t make her happy,” Anna muttered, not quite under her breath.

  Mackenzie released an expression of outrage and threw a pillow at her sister.

  Although the comment had been teasing, it caused an aching clench in Erin’s gut. She considered herself a supportive, understanding parent, but, when the time came, she wasn’t sure how she was going to handle knowing her little girls were having sex.

  Erin had had sex for the first time when she’d been fifteen. Almost Anna’s age.

  The thought made Erin want to cry.

  “Don’t you dare suggest that to your father,” Erin said, suppressing her own private concerns as she tried to keep control of a situation that could unravel at any minute.

  “What? Am I crazy?” Anna gaped at her. “He’d lock Mackenzie up and not let her out until she’s forty.”

  “He would not—” Erin began.

  “Don’t be stupid—” Mackenzie said at the same time.

  Anna scowled from her position on the big chair. “You both know it as well as I do. Dad thinks Mac is the most beautiful, precious creature in the world. If anyone even thinks about touching her, he’ll destroy them.”

  Although Anna’s words were light and clearly ironic, they caused a pang of worry in Erin’s chest. Anna hadn’t included herself in her estimation of Seth’s defensiveness. Erin couldn’t help but wonder why that was.