As I held her in my arms, I could almost feel the broken pieces of my soul start to weave themselves back together, making me finally feel whole again. This woman completely captivated me, and I found myself feeling things for her that I thought I was incapable of feeling anymore. She made me want more, and as I continued making love to her, I found myself wondering if I could ever be enough for a woman like her. I had no way of knowing for sure, but I was damn well going to try. Each and every move I made was meticulously slow, and inch by inch I drove my cock deeper inside her, claiming her in the most primal way.

“Fuck,” I growled as she tightened around me. I ground my hips against her until I found a steady, demanding pace, and just was I was beginning to worry that it was too much, she lifted her hips and met my every thrust with an eager jolt. We moved together in perfect rhythm, and when I felt her body tighten against mine, I quickly began to drive faster, harder, slamming into her even more forcefully than before. With her head arched back against the pillow and her nails digging into my lower back, I could feel her body tense.

“Yes, Colton! Don’t stop!” she moaned and writhed beneath me as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her.

“You feel so damn good, Langley. I had no idea … no fucking idea,” I growled as I watched her come undone. The sound of my body pounding against hers echoed throughout the room, and when I felt my release building inside me, I gave her one final thrust and came deep inside her. Not wanting to crush her with the weight of my body, I reluctantly pulled out of her warmth and lowered myself down on the bed next to her and took a deep breath. She curled up next to me, and when she placed her head on my chest, I could feel the rapid beating of her heart against my side. We laid there in silence for several minutes before she said, “I want you to know something.”

I ran my fingers through her long, dark hair as I said, “Okay.”

She rolled to her side and looked at me with concern in her eyes. “I know this hasn’t been easy for you, but it hasn’t exactly been easy for me either. I’ve had my heart broken … I’ve all but forgotten how to trust anyone, but when I’m with you, none of that seems to matter. You make me feel like there’s a chance for something more, and as much as that terrifies me, I like that feeling.”

I was just about to tell her that I felt the same way when my mind drifted back to the night we took Bee to the hospital. My chest tightened, and my words got lost in the mix of all my worries and doubts. I knew I was being a damn fool, but I couldn’t help myself. Silence fell upon us as she rested her head back on my chest, and I quietly ran my fingers through her hair until she finally dozed off. I laid there just watching her sleep, relishing in the warmth of her body next to mine, and after several hours, I finally succumbed to my own exhaustion. The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed and no sign of Langley in sight. I should’ve known then that I’d screwed up, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how good she felt in my arms. When I got up to take a shower, I was actually feeling hopeful, and that was a feeling I hadn’t felt in quite some time. I got dressed and went downstairs thinking I’d still have time to talk to her before she left for the day, but I was wrong, she and the kids were already gone.

As soon as I got to the office, I had three consecutive appointments and Langley was stuck in a meeting as well. By the time I wrapped it up with my last client, Langley had already left for the courthouse to gather some research for an upcoming merger. At that point, I was sure she simply went straight home.

It was the end of a long day when my private investigator came by my office.

“Hey, Larry. I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

“I have something I thought you might like to see.”

“Is that so?” I asked with curiosity.

“Yeah. I think you’ll find this interesting,” he replied with a smirk. As he handed me a large envelope, he said, “Your boy, Richard, has been a busy man.”

I wasn’t exactly surprised by what he’d uncovered, but he was right. I did find it interesting. After looking through everything he’d found, I had no doubt that Langley would win her case. I just wasn’t so sure what that meant for us. “Thanks, Larry. Just send me a bill, and I’ll take care of it.”

“You got it, boss.”

When I got home from work, the house was quiet, clearly no one was home. Langley had left me a note saying that she’d taken the kids to see her mother, and they were all staying for a sleepover.

The next morning turned out to be more of the same; Langley was busy with another client while I was stuck on a conference call. That’s when I realized she was avoiding me. I couldn’t exactly blame her. I’d fucked up by not telling her how I really felt, but I couldn’t let that ruin my chance with her. I was done playing cat and mouse, and I needed to go see her.

I took everything that Larry had given me the evening before and brought it over to Langley’s office. She was sitting at her desk, reading over one of her case files and didn’t exactly seem thrilled when she noticed me walk into her office. “Oh, hey. Colton.”

“I haven’t seen much of you over the past couple of days,” I told her as I sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “You’ve been quite the busy lady.”

“I’ve just been trying to wrap up some loose ends.”

“Did you have a nice visit with your mother?”

Her eyes narrowed as she replied, “Yes. It’s been a while since she’d seen the kids, and she’s been worried about Bee …”

When her voice trailed off, I interjected, “I’m glad you had a nice visit. I’m sure the kids enjoyed it.”

“They did.”

As I handed her the envelope Larry had given me, I said, “I thought you might want to see this before I sent it over to Richard’s lawyer.”

“What is it?” she asked as she peeked inside.

“Everything that Larry found on Richard.”

Her eyes widened as she pulled out the stack of papers and photographs. After sifting through them for a moment, she looked up at me and said, “Oh, my God.”

“Yeah. He’s a real winner.”

“It’s bad enough that he’s cheating on Jody, but the girl is pregnant, too! This is going to break Jody’s heart!”

Leave it to Langley to be worried about Jody. After everything she’d put her through, she still felt compassion for the very woman who not only broke up their home but was trying to take her kids. “Karma is a very powerful thing.”

“So, now what?”

“If I was to guess, I’d say that as soon as Richard’s lawyer tells him what we’ve found, he’ll drop the custody case.” I shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll have to find a way to explain all of this to Jody, but that’s not our concern.”

“And if he doesn’t drop it?”

“Then, we’ll take him down,” I answered flatly.

“Well, I guess that’s that, then.”

As I stood up, I told her, “I’ll let you know when I hear back from them. I doubt it will take long.”

“Okay.”

Before I walked out, I looked at her and said, “And Langley?”

“Yes?”

“Tonight, you and I need to talk.”

I could see the worry in her eyes as she nodded, and it gutted me. I hated myself for hurting her, and as I walked out of her office, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could ever be the kind of man she truly deserved. She was a remarkable woman, a wonderful mother, and any man would be lucky to have her. I just wasn’t sure it was in the cards for me to be that lucky man. Unfortunately, before I could find out, I would have to deal with Richard. I sent everything over to his lawyer, and within an hour, I’d gotten word back that the case had been dropped, and the original parenting plan would remain in place. I went to Langley’s office to give her the good news, but she’d already left, and when I called, she didn’t answer. I left her a message, but she didn’t reply. Suddenly, I was overcome with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach and knew I needed to get over to the house.

When I got there, the kids were sitting at the table doing their homework. I walked over to Ian and asked, “Where’s your mom?”

He gave me a somber look as he replied, “She’s upstairs.”

“What’s she doing?”

“Packing. She said it was time for us to go back to our old apartment.”

“She did?”

“Um-hmm.”

Beatrice looked over to me with a pout. “I told her I didn’t want to leave, but she said we had to.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll go talk to her.”

When I turned to leave, Beatrice called out to me, “Colton?”

“Yeah?”

“I think you hurted her feelings.”

I nodded. “I think I did, too, but I’m gonna try to fix it. Okay?”

“Okay.”

When I got up to Langley’s room, she had her suitcase open on the bed, and she was filling it with all of her belongings. Without looking at me, she said, “I won’t have time to get everything packed tonight, but I will try to get it all done by tomorrow.”

“Langley.”

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us, Colton. Really. I don’t know what we would’ve done without your help.”

“Langley,” I repeated.

This time she stopped and looked up at me with a blank expression on her face. “You don’t have to say anything, Colton. I know you didn’t sign up for happily ever after with all of us. You did what you promised, and that’s enough.”

“But what if I want that happily ever after with you?”

“What?”

I stepped towards her as I repeated, “What if I want a happily ever after with you? And with those amazing kids of yours? What happens then?”

Her eyebrows furrowed as she said, “What are you trying to say, Colton?”

“I’m saying I don’t want you to go, Langley. I want you and the kids to stay. I’m not making any promises, but I like this thing we’ve got going, and I don’t want it to end.”

“But the other night …”

“I should’ve told you then, but I didn’t have the balls to say the words.”

The expression on her face softened as she said, “That’s a first. I thought Colton Michaels was a man who always said what was on his mind.”

“Maybe so, but I’m different when I’m with you. I think we both know that.”

“Yeah. I guess you are.”

“You make me want to be a better man, Langley, and for you and those kids, I’m willing to be anything you need me to be.”

“I don’t want to leave.” Tears started to fill her eyes as she said, “I love you, Colton.”

“Then stay.” I placed my hands on her hips and pulled her to me. “Let me spend the rest of my life loving you and those kids the way you deserve to be loved.”

Just before she pressed her lips against mine, she whispered, “Only if you will let me do the same for you.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal.”