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Lucas had battled with himself over whether or not he should move into the beach house as well. He hadn't wanted Tara feeling like she was being cornered with him being there.

He'd known that for his own peace of mind then being close to her would make him feel better but it had been up to Tara herself. After discussing it at their first dinner a few nights ago Tara had given the OK and it took everything in him not to jump up and down and cry out 'Thank God.'

If he was honest it was an amazing feeling to know that for the first time since their first night he was sharing a roof with his wife. Not that it made much difference to the time he got to spend with her though.

Trying to find Tara alone was increasingly becoming impossible. He, for the first time, questioned the fact that he'd had Keiran and Peter move into the beach house as well.

While he had no problem with them in general and to be honest Peter spent more time locked away with his laptop than he did out but Keiran was fast becoming a pain in the neck!

Had he been like this at Peters house because if he found out that the little shít was doing it on purpose then he'd lock him up and throw away the key!

He'd growled out at Maggie that morning because apparently Keiran had a 'thing' for Cadbury chocolate and without any of them paying any attention the boy had eatwn his way through a whole damn block on his own!

If that boy bounced once off the walls then he had to have bounced at least a dozen times!

He banned all chocolate from the house.

And talk! The boy was driving him insane! Did he not get born with a mute button? Or in the very least an 'off switch'?

And if he heard one more time what a sexy arsé he had...

Knowing how important he was to Tara was the only reason why he hadn't already strung him up by his ankles and shoved a damn sock in his mouth!

There had to be some way to surgically remove him from Tara's side before too long because this waiting was becoming unbearable.

Like sure, he got to hold her and walk hand in hand with her but he wanted more. Damn if he didn't want to kiss those perfect pink lips until she gasped for breath.

JACE! Where the hell was that boy?

If anyone had the ability to detach the little parasite then it'd be Jace. Maybe a sleep over? Do they call it that anymore?

Oh hell... did Peter allow sleep overs with the pair? Maybe he could bribe him?

He sighed at his thoughts. The fact was that Keiran was a damn fine young man whom he was proud to know. The way he made sure that Tara was safe was admirable to say the least.

It was this loneliness in the dark of night that made him feel insecure and question everything in his life.

God he loved Tara and he hoped the day when she shared his bed wasn't too far away but he wasn't pushing her into anything she didn't want to do.

Just to be able to hold her while they both slept would be amazing and was something he looked forward to more than anything else.

Giving up on sleep he sat up and flipped the switch to the lamp next to him and dragged his laptop from the bedside table and started to catch up on work he'd been putting off.

His eyes were finally starting to get heavy when he saw the blinking light on his phone.

Reaching for it with a yawn he hoped it wasn't important because he was ready to sleep.

The message had come from an unknown number and contained four words.

She's beautiful isn't she?

His blood ran cold and all thoughts of sleep were gone as he opened the attachment to be greeted with one of the most incredible pictures of his wife that he'd ever seen.

He looked quickly over the picture and realised that she was wearing the clothes she had on when she walked through the door at Peter's a few days ago. It was taken in the shopping centre just up the road from Peter's house. She was smiling at a young guy who was smiling back at her.

Who was he? He had no doubt that for Tara's part it was completely innocent but that boy looked vaguely familiar and that scared him.

His phone blinked again to break through his thoughts and his cold blood began to boil.

Are you sure you can protect her?

He resisted the urge to throw the phone as he got out of bed and headed to the door with one thought and one thought only in his mind.

If anything happened to Tara, a stubbed toe, a broken nail, a chipped tooth... anything... then Ellie would die.