“Yeah, I think I got it all. Now, if you’ve got this, I’m going to run the bag of trash to the Dumpster and then go shower and change myself.”

“Sure,” she agreed as she motioned Megan toward the bathroom. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow,” she threw over her shoulder as she turned to follow the little girl.

“I’ll be back as soon as I shower,” Dominic assured her as he held the foul-smelling garbage bag in front of him. She just waved as if she didn’t believe him, which made him feel a bit guilty. Truthfully, he’d love nothing better than to go to his place, take an extra-long shower, and pop the top on a cold one, but Gwen needed him. Look at how out of control things had gotten in just a few minutes tonight. There was no way he was going to leave her there alone. Those two little girls could probably take down an entire team of Army Rangers without breaking a sweat. No, they were in this together, and regardless of how much he wanted to run, he wouldn’t do that to her. She needed to know that she could depend on him and that meant even when he had puke squishing in his shoes. Holy shit, Linda Blair had nothing on that kid.

*   *   *

Gwen couldn’t believe that he’d come back. Earlier she’d sat in the kitchen, dying of laughter as Maddy and Megan had tortured him with their favorite topic of discussion, body parts. Actually, that one was pretty mild. Apparently, their grandfather was quite a character and they picked up a lot of not-so-great tidbits of wisdom from him. Poor Shannon, she had her hands full.

“What are you doing back?” she blurted out in surprise. He looked puzzled as he walked through the doorway, shutting the door behind him. Oh, sweet mother, he looks and smells so good. She was pretty sure he had just caught her sniffing him as he threw an arm over her shoulders.

“I told you I’d be back, babe. I would have stayed, but I figured you’d appreciate me washing the stink off. Where are the girls?”

“I . . . I was just tucking them in,” Gwen murmured, still in shock that he was here. The man was certainly a glutton for punishment. He had not only cleaned up a mess that would have had most parents gagging, but he had returned for more. She had to admit that Dominic Brady now officially had more staying power than any man in her past. Then he further impressed her by following her down the hall instead of dropping into a chair and leaving her to it.

He walked to the center of the girls’ room and put his hands on his hips. “All right, you little monkeys, which one of you threw all of the super slime on Uncle Dominic earlier?” The sound of giggling filled the room as both girls broke into fits of laughter. Then Maddy and Megan started pointing at each other. So much for having your sister’s back under fire. Dominic teased them for a few more minutes before walking to the bookshelf and thumbing through the books there. “I don’t know about you ladies, but I’d love to hear a story. Anyone else?” Gwen raised her hand along with a very enthusiastic Megan and Maddy. Dominic settled onto the floor with his back against the nightstand and began reading Cinderella. Looking at the two small girls, Gwen could tell that she wasn’t the only female in the room completely riveted by Dominic.

When he shut the book, both girls were asleep, and she was yawning. He held out a hand, pulling her to her feet before putting the book back on the shelf. “Thank you,” she whispered, after shutting the door quietly behind her. “You’ve gone above and beyond tonight.”

He pulled her against his chest, dropping a kiss on her head. “I’d say it was my pleasure, Red, but you might not buy that.”

She giggled against him, remembering the scene she had walked into earlier. “I can’t believe Megan threw up on you. I never expected that.”

Dominic pulled back slightly, looking down at her with raised brows. “So, you expected the other stuff?”

“Um . . .” She squirmed, trying to get away. “Of course not. I’ve never heard them talk like that . . .”

“Gwen.” Dominic stared her down, and dammit, she had to look away, unable to contain her grin.

She took off running, trying to quiet her shrieks of laughter as Dominic gave chase. He finally cornered her in the kitchen, tickling her with one hand, while putting the other over her mouth. “Keep it down before you wake the girls, babe. Now . . . I believe there’s a little matter of some payback for your earlier evilness.”

“What?” she croaked out against his hand.

“Drop the innocent act. You totally set me up, didn’t you? You knew good and well that they would eat me alive.”

“No . . .” She giggled, unable to keep a straight face. Dominic’s hand was just beginning to slide down her ass when the sound of someone clearing their throat sounded behind them.

Shannon stood leaning against the kitchen counter trying hard to keep a stern expression. “Is everything okay in here, Gwen?”

Gwen felt her face heat up as she looked into the amused eyes of her friend. “Yep, Dominic was just helping me . . . clean up.”

Shannon’s eyes dropped to where Dominic’s hand was still wedged in the back of her jeans. “Really? Just what kind of cleaning does he do and where can I hire someone like him?”

Dominic jerked his hand out, and Gwen was surprised to see him actually flushing as well. He recovered quickly though and gave Shannon a lazy grin. “Just a little retribution. Hi, you must be Shannon. I’m Dominic.” Gwen noticed that he kept the hand that had been in her pants to his side and offered the other one to Shannon, who by this time was literally swooning.