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“Get her!” Nick yelled as Annie stepped out onto the back deck. He reached into his bag and pulled out a water balloon, then reached over his shoulder to hand it to Drew. Drew grabbed it with both hands and gave it a launch. It landed just in front of Nick and splattered all over his shoes.

Annie stifled a giggle. “Good aim, Drew!”

Nick, his shoes sloshing loudly, trudged up the wooden stairs of the deck carefully and stepped in front of Annie to face her. “We just need to get closer. Here ya go, buddy.” He handed Drew another water balloon and grinned wickedly. “Now, get mommy!” Drew giggled and squeezed the balloon, causing it to burst on top of Nick’s head. When she saw the shocked expression on Nick’s face, Annie couldn’t help but to double over with laughter.

From his place on Nick’s back, Drew grinned and clapped happily. “Yay, Niii!”

Annie straightened up and cocked her head to the side. “Did he just say your name?”

With water dripping his nose, Nick gave her a big grin. “Yeah. We’ve been practicing. Brian’s jealous, though, because he won’t say his name.”

“Very jealous,” Brian said, as he came up from behind Nick with his water gun loaded and ready.

Nick turned around and held his hands up in defense. “Don’t you think I’m already wet enough? Besides, I have a baby,” he reasoned, pointing up at Drew.

“But he’s on your back!” Baylee squealed, as he unloaded his water gun on Nick’s waist. Sure enough, the baby stayed high and dry. Brian and Annie shared a look , and Annie nodded, pulling a chair up behind Nick as Brian aimed his water gun.

When he heard the chair legs squeak along the wood, Nick turned to Annie. “What are you doing?”

Annie stepped up on the chair and eased Drew out of Nick’s backpack. “I missed my little man today,” she replied matter-of-factly. She smacked her lips on Drew’s cheek for emphasis and darted away as Brian aimed his gun at Nick and soaked his chest.

“Traitor!” he yelled at her.

“You can’t call me a traitor if I was never on your side!” she yelled back at him.

“Balloons! I still have balloons!” Nick shrieked as he reached into his bag and started throwing them at his assailants.

“Boys, boys!” Leighanne threw open the french doors and stepped out onto the deck with her hands on her hips. “The sun’s down and it’s starting to get cold. Time to put away the water and get dried off. Dinner’s ready.”

“But mo-om!” all three of them whined simultaneously.

She rolled her eyes and pointed towards the pool house. “Go get some towels, Brian.” He obliged and came back with his arms full of beach towels. “What happened to you?” she asked Nick with a laugh.

He pouted dramatically. “They ganged up on me. All four of them. Even the little man!”

Annie tossed him a towel and he ran it over his face and hair. “You big baby! I’d be ashamed. Accusing my baby of malice!”

Nick stuck his tongue out at her. “Maybe he got it from his mama!”
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Annie sat bolt upright in bed as she heard her bedroom door swing open. In the hallway light that streamed into the room, Nick smiled and held his finger up to his lips before crossing the floor and easing down onto the edge of her bed. "What are you doing?" she whispered sharply.

"This." He leaned forward and crashed his lips onto hers. She placed her hands on his chest and tried to push away, but his hands caught the back of her head as she pulled her lips away. "Don't fight it, Annie," he urged, bringing his lips back close to hers until they were almost touching.

“But, Drew....”

“Is asleep,” Nick replied simply, before bringing his lips back onto hers. He ran his fingers through the messy curls at the back of her head, eliciting a soft sigh from the back of her throat as his tongue dueled with hers. “You’re so beautiful, Annie,” he breathed.

“You’re not so bad yourself, Carter,” she teased, as her fingers trailed down the front of this t-shirt, feeling the toned chest and washboard abs underneath.

Nick sucked in a breath as her hands touched the waistband of his pajama pants, and he could feel himself getting painfully hard. “Annie...” he panted, running his hands down her back and around to the front of her body.

“Hmm?”

“Is this....okay?” He ran a hand up her side and stopped it just short of her breast. She didn’t answer, but instead, threw her covers off, exposing bare legs beneath her lacy pink nightie, and gripped the front of his shirt, bringing him closer to her. He gave a throaty laugh and squeezed her breast while his other hand roamed up and down her silky thigh.

“Mmm...Nick....” she groaned against his lips as her hands gripped the bottom of his shirt and yanked it over his head. She gasped as she took him in and he gave her a sexy smirk before finding her lips again. His hand crept up underneath her nightie and hooked into the side of her panties, pulling them off carefully. She smiled and tugged at his pajama pants. He stood up and quickly removed both his pants and boxers before rejoining her on the bed.

“Well, that was easy,” he thought to himself as he eased her back against the pillows and climbed on top of her.