Crushed (Breaking the Rules Series Book 5) by K Webster

the short ends of the sticks of life, will somehow put them together to make one perfect stick. I waded through my adult life dealing with loss after loss. He came into this life and had the greatest loss of all right off the bat.
    A mother with no child.
    A child with no mother.
    We’re here together now.
    A sniffle startles me, and I look up to see my husband in the doorway. This boy’s father. The man who made this family complete. The absolute hero who battled through the war that waged on within myself, in my mind and also my body—and he won. He won that battle for his family.
    For me and Tyler.
    He strides over to me and drops to his knees. I sigh happily when he rests his face against my knees, nudging his son with his head. My free hand slides into Jackson’s dark hair and I tenderly stroke his scalp. His relief is palpable as he cries tears of joy because we’ve jumped such a huge hurdle.
    My husband. The tough guy. The total alpha male. The super dad.
    “Thank you, Jackson Compton. You’re the best husband a girl could ask for. Thank you for sticking it out with me—even when things were awful.”
    “Baby,” he murmurs against my thighs, “you’re the other half of my heart. If you don’t beat, I don’t beat. But together, we’re fucking amazing.”
    My eyes are once again hot with tears. “No, Jackie. When I didn’t beat, you beat strong enough for the both of us. When I married you, I gave you my whole heart. Not just half, all of it. And you protected it—loved it like crazy. Words can’t express how much I love you. You’ll always own my heart.”
    We both sit quietly for a moment with our baby, who’s now sleeping between us.
    “Andi, I’m so glad you came back to me. Don’t ever leave me again.”
    “Not a chance, Jackie.”

“My turn,” Opal whines impatiently.
    Pepper gives her what’s supposed to be a menacing glare, but she just waits with arms outstretched. Finally, Pepper sighs and passes Tyler to Opal.
    I glance over at Andi, and she seems happy. It’s been a few days since she first held Tyler, and things have gotten better ever since. She’s wanted to see her friends and my family. Every chance she gets, she cuddling our son. I’m going to be fucking gutted when I go back to work next week and won’t get to spend all day with them anymore.
    When her eyes meet mine, she winks. My wife looks so damn beautiful while perched on the arm of the sofa with a breathtaking smile. Andi, who normally is perfection personified with her tailored suits, spiked heels, and sexy, straightened hair, might appear to anyone else to look messy right now—not put together.
    But as I skim my eyes over her, I have the urge to toss her over my shoulder and haul her straight to the bedroom to ravish her body. Her once slim figure now holds curves I’ve grown to love. Her blond hair is piled up on top of her head in a messy do that is somehow sexy as hell. The pink on her cheeks is natural, and her bare lips look utterly suckable. The way her grey sweatshirt hangs slightly off her shoulder, showing me a sneak peek at her fair skin, gives me the desire to pull it all the way down to catch a glimpse of her perfect, full tits. And the sweatpants with the spit-up spot from Tyler just invokes something carnal in me—it’s proof that my woman is a mother.
    She’s my dream come true.
    “I love you,” I mouth to her.
    Her eyes light up as she responds in kind. “I love you too.”
    “I can babysit if you two need to go fuck,” Pepper says bluntly.
    Andi giggles and tosses one of the couch pillows at her. “Don’t cuss in front of my boy,” she chides.
    We can’t have sex. Not yet. The doctor hasn’t cleared her and won’t for several more weeks. But alone time with my wife does sound pretty awesome right about now.
    Our eyes meet again and her giggles die down when she sees the hungry look in my eyes. Stalking like a lion that’s just set his sights on the perfect prey, I stride around