Page 1 of Her Honorable Hero

1

Griff caughther as she was flying out of the nursery. Miranda was checking the messages on her phone, so the sneak attack was easy.

“What?—” It was impressive how she was able to keep ahold of her phone, even as he whisked her up into his arms and carried her to their bedroom.

“The babysitter is going to be here in thirty-three minutes, we don’t have time for your shenanigans.”

Being the Type A that she was, his wife was already dressed and ready to go for their night out, so they definitely had time. What’s more, Griff needed to take care of her. Even though she wouldn’t admit it in a million years, she was stressed.

He settled against the plush velvet backboard of their bed, and cradled his gorgeous wife in his arms. He plucked the cell phone out of her hand, and sighed when he saw it was her work e-mail.

“Babe, it’s Saturday night.”

“We’re running over-budget,” she protested.

He tossed the phone onto the nightstand. Both of their phones had cases that could withstand hurricanes, so she didn’t wince when it bounced.

“So what’s this all about?” She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to convey authority. It was a cute move considering he had her cuddled against his chest.

Griff stroked his hand over her soft hair, continuing down her back until he reached the top of her ass. He kept doing this until she sighed with pleasure. Even after three years together, whenever Miranda was nervous her walls slammed up and she tried to handle things on her own. But it was his duty and pleasure to remind her he had her six.

“Do we have to go?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“Absolutely not. Say the word, and I’ll make a call, and we stay home. Or we go out since we have a babysitter. We just don’t go down to Del Mar.”

“You’d do that? Even though they expect us?”

“Hell, say I got pulled away on a mission, blame it all on me. They’d buy that.” She wouldn’t go for his suggestion. She never did, but he’d do it in a heartbeat for this amazing woman.

“No, I can’t let them down.” She sounded forlorn.

“It’s not your job to make everyone happy. They’ll have the party and have fun, whether you’re there or not.”

“They’re expecting me,” she cuddled closer and bit her lip. “It’s just that I hate it.”

“Sweets, I know you do. As much as you like to kick ass and take names, when it comes to taking praise, you would prefer to have bamboo shoots shoved under your fingernails.”

Miranda stroked the silk of his gray tie. “That’s not true.” She let her fingers slip between the buttons of his dress shirt. He grabbed her busy hand and brought it to his mouth, and kissed the tips of her dainty fingers.

“See, even when I bring it up, it kills you. You’re deflecting.”

She stiffened in his arms, just like she always did when he brought up this subject. Even after knowing each other over three years, and being married two-and-a-half, there was a part of herself that Miranda kept locked up tight. Griff tried to respect it, but lately it gnawed at him like a sore tooth.

“We have twenty-nine minutes,” she murmured.

He’d started out wanting to seduce her. Hell, when did he not want to make love to Miranda? But now he wanted to talk, and she was trying to use sex to halt the conversation. Part of him was tempted to push for dialogue. Then she started to unbutton his shirt.

Miranda looked up at him through the fringe of her lashes as her tongue swirled against his chest.

Holy mother of God. She knew him so well.

“Miranda,” he tried to take control. “Talk to me, Baby. If you feel like you need to go, tell me why it’s so hard for you and maybe I can make it easier.”

She unbuttoned more buttons and speared her fingers through his chest hair.

“It’s not a big deal, I’ll be fine.” She pulled his tie loose and tossed it.

It was a big deal, dammit.