Free Secured Sparks by Charity Parkerson Page A

spoken between them since Louisiana. Bob closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to alleviate the pressure that was building there between his eyes. After a few calming breaths the pain eased, and he looked over to find Lily watching her lap. Her hands were clasped tightly, her knuckles white. Silent tears ran down her cheeks. Reaching over, he covered her clasped hands with his until she twisted her hand, linking their fingers. He brought her hand to his mouth, inhaling her scent as he placed a light kiss on the back of her hand. “I love you,” he said against her skin.
    “I love you too.”
    He checked the line of traffic beside him before making a U-turn. Lily didn’t protest the change in direction. She had sealed her fate with her words, and he wouldn’t be allowing her to escape him again.
    Shannon poked his head questioningly into Kera’s hospital room and waited until Weave waved him inside before moving to sit in the empty seat at his side. “How’s she doing?”
    “She’s doing really well,” Weave told him quietly. “Her surgery went exactly the way the doctors had hoped. Her surgeon was bit surprised that the valve was not as damaged as they had first thought, and now they’re wondering if she’d had some sort of infection hidden in her body that they hadn’t known about that was making her weaker than she should have been.”
    “That’s great,” Shannon exclaimed. “Hey man, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something? It’s club business, so, if this is not a good time, feel free to tell me I’m being an insensitive ass.”
    Weave couldn’t help but smile. Shannon was always selling, but they had all made a ton of money for just that reason. “I’m flying so high right now, knowing that Kera is going to be okay that I’m feeling very forgiving, so shoot.”
    “There is this charity fight coming up, and I would like for you to represent Smith Brothers Fight Club as its headline fighter.”
    Weave was shocked into silence and Shannon shifted in his seat uncomfortably. Finally Shannon cleared his throat and added, “If you don’t want to ever fight again just say so and I’ll never ask you again. I just thought that since you’re still in fighting shape that maybe you were still training with the intent of fighting again one day, and with Kera on the mend….” he trailed off, shrugging.
    “Yes,” sounded a quiet voice from the bed. Both men startled at Kera’s words. “Yes,” she said, sounding stronger, “My husband would love to represent your club.”
    Weave nodded before clearing his throat. “Yeah, I’ll do it.”
    Lily followed Bob inside his house, and she automatically began to pick up Kyle’s toys as they made their way down the hall. Bob turned to find her arms full, and his eyes lit with laughter. He obediently opened the door to Kyle’s bedroom so she could toss them in. In his bedroom, they both kicked off their shoes and climbed into bed as if they had been doing the same routine for years.
    He tugged and she snuggled until they were positioned perfectly in each other’s arms with her back pressed against his chest. “You should get some sleep while you have the chance,” his arms tightened around her letting her know he had heard her, and even though her body hummed with awareness being this close to Bob, she still felt her eyes growing heavy. The stress of the past few weeks had drained her mentally and physically, and she knew that Bob had to be feeling the same way. She fell into a light doze but her eyes flew open at the feel of Bob’s hand pushing up the hem of her shirt. His lips moved along the column of her neck, coming to rest below her ear. “I can sleep later,” he whispered. “I’ve missed you too much.”
    Lily turned her head, capturing his lips. For so long he had avoided any real intimacy with her, denying her even a simple kiss, but this was the second time he had willingly kissed her in the past few days,