Page 107 of Salvaged Hearts

“Don’t leave,” I protested, fingers grappling for purchase as she slipped away. Some part of my brain heard the pathetic lovesick puppy I’d become, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care. I needed this woman. Needed to soak her up today. Looking more than a little amused, she bent down to presskisses across my chest. Never in my life had productivity been as unappealing as it was with the heat of her against my skin. Still wearing only the jewels from last night, her pert pink nipples peaked with cold or arousal; Alice was a vision. There was something like adoration in her gaze as she stroked her fingers through my chest hair with a soft smile on her lips.

“You are so damn beautiful, Grey. Like a sculpture.” She traced the lines of my pecs, my abs. Every inch of my existence zeroed in on the feel of her against me. Would it ever be enough? “I want to memorize you.”

“That sounds much more appealing than breakfast with my brother.”

“And your niece and nephew.’

With a sigh, I righted myself, tossing the sheets off our laps.Dammit. I promised Mattie we’d finish that insane puzzle she’d ordered ages ago. “Yeah, okay, I’m up.”

“Yeah, you are,” she teased with a brow wiggle as her eyes dropped to my dick, where it stood at attention.

“What happened to the vagina sprain?”

She shrugged playfully. “She’ll be fine,” she reached for me, my cock straining under her focus. “Come on, big guy. One quickie. But then we gotta get ready.”

Alice wasn’t kiddingwhen she said the Rhodes knew how to dofamily time. There wasn’t anything formal or practiced about our weekly breakfasts. They made it seem like this was a perfectly regular occurrence—as though they were entirely at home in my house.

Waltzing right in, Leighton and Paxton unceremoniously plopped down at the counter for coffee like her space was their space.

Likemyspace was their space.

It was somehow simultaneously irritating and endearing. But the three of them played with Mattie and Beau after meals like they were their own. And for that, I was eternally grateful.

“You two seem to have…settled,” Ollie noted playfully as he emptied his third cup of coffee.

“Is that really shocking?”

“Well…yeah,” he snorted, rising to stand and belatedly clear his place. Sundays had always beenourdays, on the rare occasion we were both free of meetings. No staff. Just us and the kids on the beach. Beau’s giggles told me he’d likely lost their most recent hide-and-seek round and was now being tickled by one of the girls. If you’d told me my brother would trade America’s best quarterback, and a few months later he’d be hiding behind my curtains like a six-foot-threeBig Bird, I would’ve declared your idiocy for the world to hear. But that was the position that kept Beau and Alice hunting the longest. Ollie’s voice brought my mind back into the kitchen. “My money was on her murdering you in your sleep.”

“You underestimate me.” My nonchalance did not beget the fact that the fear had certainly crossed my mind.

“Apparently.”

“How’s the feral one?”

The glare he leveled me with had me smirking into my Americano as he bit out, “Leightonseems to be doing great. She picks up a lot of shifts down at the restaurant. Seems to enjoy it.”

“Good. That’s good,” I assured as I downed the last of my espresso.

“Asshole,” he grumbled, rounding the corner of the island to put his dishes in the sink.

“Who’s an asshole?” Paxton asked as he came into the kitchen, finding his way over to the barstool beside mine.

“My brother,” Ollie groused.

“Certainly had us fooled for a while there—no offense,” Pax said with a shrug. “But we only had Alice’s spin on those stories, and nobody can hold a grudge quite like my sister. I still don’t think she’s forgiven me for an unfortunateBarbiebeheading incident.”

I winced before saying, “Maybe a bit more time on that one.”

“What’s your secret?” he quipped playfully.

Oh, my friend, if you only knew.

“Mind-blowing orgasms seem to work well for me,” I responded with a smirk.

He groaned before shooting a look at Ollie like he could somehow help him. “That’s my sister, man. Happy for you guys, butgross.” When I just grinned, he shook his head, adding, “I think what means the most to Alice is you didn’t try to use your money to catch her attention, you know?”Ouch. “Taking care of her. Getting the supplies for her headaches, meeting up with our insane family—that’s what matters to her, you know?”

“So I’ve learned,” I said, smiling. But our lightheartedness was cut off by Alice’s shaking voice. One word, and my heart dropped, fear slicing through my chest.

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