Page 71 of A Taste of Whiskey
Sasha rolled her eyes. “Fine, but just so you know, Gus and I are going to win. Right, Gusto?”
“Yup!” He nodded against her shoulder.
“Dream on,” Bobbie said. “Sorry, Gus, but I’m going to win.”
“My ass you are,” Gus said sleepily.
“Gus,” Ezra and Sasha said in unison as everyone else tried to stifle their laughter.
“Honey, you can’t use bad words like that,” Ezra said.
“Sometimes you gotta make a point,” Gus said. “Right, Manny?”
Sasha’s father barked out a laugh. “Someone’s in big trouble.”
They joked around and talked about the ride, and as the night wore on, Gus fell asleep on Sasha’s lap. Ezra pushed to his feet and stretched. “I think it’s time for me to put my sleepy boy to bed. This was the best bachelor/bachelorette party I’ve ever been to. Thanks for including us.”
“You’re family, bro,” Dare said. “We’re glad you and the little man could join us.”
Ezra reached for Gus, but Gus clung to Sasha and said, “Can we sleep with Sasha?”
The din of conversation silenced, all eyes turning to Sasha and Ezra, as Bobbie choked on her drink and began coughing.
Taz patted her back. “Do you need mouth to mouth?”
“Not from your petri dish of a mouth,” Bobbie said.
Ezra’s brows were slanted as he met their curious gazes. “Gus has been on a slumber party kick for weeks, begging her to sleep over.”
“I feel ya, buddy. I’ve been on one for years,” Hyde said, and laughter rang out around them.
Sasha ran her hand over Gus’s curls. “I’m sorry, Gusto, but I can’t have a slumber party tonight. It’s late, and you don’t want to be tired when you see your mom tomorrow.”
“But youpromisedwe could camp out sometime,” Gus whined.
“And we will, but slumber parties are a big deal. We need time to plan and make sure we have wood for the campfire and the right snacks, and we have to pitch a tent.” She wanted to offer to read him a story tonight, but she didn’t want to raise eyebrows or reward him for whining. “Be a good boy for Daddy tonight, and we’ll figure out a time for our slumber party.”
“Okay,” he relented, and reached for Ezra.
Ezra mouthedThank youas he gathered him in his arms.
She watched them leave, wondering if anyone could tell how badly she wanted to go with them.
Chapter Eighteen
SASHA LAY IN Ezra’s arms, watching the clock on the nightstand change from 3:14a.m. to 3:15a.m. She’d had an amazing day with the horses, and they’d had fun playing paintball and at the bonfire, but these quiet moments when it was just her and Ezra, with Gus sleeping safe and sound in the other room, were the best of all. She’d been there for hours. It should be enough to hold her over until the next time they could carve out some privacy. She should get up, get dressed, and go home happy with the time they had together. But all she wanted was to stay right there in his arms until the sun came up. She longed to hear Gus’s sleepy morning voice and share in their morning ritual, which she was sure was loud and chaotic, but that sounded perfect to her.
She snuggled closer to Ezra. “I wish I could stop time so we could have hours of this.”
“Me too.” He kissed her temple and rolled onto his side, facing her.
He had that intoxicated look he always had after sex. She loved that look as much as she loved all of his others. Like the look of pure joy when Gus laughed and the way he looked at her lately, like she made his whole day better. She loved the way Ezra had a constant smile when he was joking around with the guys, and she loved that serious look he sported so often, like he was trying to solve the world’s biggest problems. That was the look that was currently taking over his handsome face. “What are you thinking about?”
“How much I want to spend time with you out in the open. I hate pretending like there’s nothing special between us. I wanted to reach for you and kiss you a dozen times tonight.”
“That makes two of us.”
His hand slid to her bottom, pulling her tight against him, and he kissed her. “Come with me on a bike ride tomorrow.”
