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I can already hear my mother screeching about the scandal.
It’s almost like Alex senses the war waging inside me between the dutiful daughter I’ve always been and the woman who wants to escape. To live her own life.
He doesn’t ask questions; he simply drops his hand from my mouth and pulls me tighter to his side as I close my eyes.
Just for a minute.
That’s all I need.
A minute of closeness. Comfort. Contact.
Then I’ll brave the world.
16
ALEX
I need coffee in the worst way.
My lips curl with displeasure at the mug of water in my hand.
Nope. Not going to cut it.
The sun has broken through the clouds, shining down on an agitated ocean. Shards of light twinkle through the breakfast room like crystals. I could get used to this. The quiet. The stillness. The company.
The soft pad of footsteps draws my attention from the killer view.
Katherine’s still wearing my spare t-shirt and not much else. My gut tightens, and my cock twitches.
Her dark strawberry-blonde hair is wild around her shoulders. Call me weird, but I loved watching her undo the pins last night. Seeing that perfect hairdo fall down into a riot of curls and swirls was one of the most erotic things I’ve ever witnessed. Damn. I’d love to shove my hands in her hair and kiss the hell out of her.
Her pretty eyes lock on me, and her luscious mouth pulls up in a sleepy smile. Thank goodness she wasn’t freaked out about waking up in my arms. I wasn’t going to deny her. . . or myself.
Not when I’ve dreamed of it for so long.
Not only had she not been freaked out, she’d snuggled closer and gone back to sleep for another hour before rolling away. It’s a good thing she’s a solid sleeper because there was no hiding what having her body tucked against mine did to me.
“Does he always sleep like the dead?” she murmurs, joining me at the window.
Without the benefit of those fuck-me-harder high heels, she’s a tiny thing, needing to tip her head back to look me in the eye. I don’t even care that the first thing out of her mouth is about Gabe.
Odd. But when she looks at me like that, so openly curious and not the least bit shy, god, my shoulders drop and my tension eases.
What did she ask? Right. Does Gabe normally sleep so well?
I shake my head. “Never.”
It shocked me Gabe got into the bed at all. I figured he would make an excuse and sit up, playing on his phone until the battery died. But to find him still sleeping when I woke this morning. . . I watched him in the dim light to make sure he was still breathing.
“Could’ve fooled me.”
No kidding.
I glance across the topsy-turvy house toward the main bedroom. “I don’t think he’s slept a full night since before college.”
Her gasp is soft and musical and deeply empathetic. In the quiet light of the morning, her true colors shine. She glances toward the bedroom and then back at me. “Really?”
I nod.
