Page 83 of Before We Fell

“Maybe. Maybe she just missed you this weekend. You in the city…”

Of course. “Damn. I hadn’t even thought.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her tomorrow, let you know how she behaves. My guess is she spent the weekend worried you wouldn’t come back.”

I threaded my other hand through her hair, clasping her at the back of her head and tugged her toward me. Our lips brushed over each other’s and I grinned against her mouth. “Have I told you lately how much I like you?”

“Maybe once or twice this weekend.”

“Good.” I kissed her then, slowly, teasing her tongue with mine and she leaned against me. It was slow, meant to tease and seduce, to promise more later and when she whimpered, that needy little sound she always made that went straight to my dick, I pulled back before we went too far. “Let me go check on Riley, and I’ll be back.”

“Have I told you lately how good you are to her?” She pressed her hand to my cheek, eyes glassy, lips wet from me.

So beautiful.

“No, actually you haven’t.”

She laughed, that beautiful soft and lyrical sound I was coming to love. “My bad. Remind me to start telling you more then.”

“You think so?” She hadn’t shown any improvement until Lauren stomped into our lives. Mostly, I figured any happenings in Riley’s life was due to Lauren and not me. Damn, it felt good to have this woman thinking that of me, though.

“Yeah. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to her. I promise.”

The woman inches from me was the best thing to ever happen to me. And Riley.

And I couldn’t wait to tell her soon, when the time was right, everything I was feeling for her.

Until then, I’d show her.

It was later.Hours later, after I triple-checked Riley was sleeping soundly and after I’d dragged Lauren to my room. It was on the other side of the house from Riley’s bedroom, but we still had to be quiet.

If at all possible, watching Lauren struggle to quiet her whimpers and moans made everything we did hotter.

Now, she was curled into my side, hand on my chest while I ran my fingers through her hair. I was on my back, sheet shoved down to my waist, just enough to cover my dick and Lauren’s ass.

My breath was still ragged from the intensity we shared.

Lauren’s fingers brushed over my chest, down my stomach. Her hand stayed at the thin trail of hair that ran from just above my belly button, down farther, tracing the trail like she couldn’t decide which way to go.

“I should probably get going home,” Lauren said, her hand sliding back up to my chest.

I covered her hand with mine and stopped her movements. “I don’t want you to go.”

Two nights with her curled up next to me, waking with wild sex hair and sleepy eyes wasn’t enough. Might not ever be enough.

“I’m not sure it’s best for Riley. What if she wakes up? It could confuse her.”

Riley had woken up during one of her nightmares one night when I was there, but spending the night, waking up and being there in the morning with her felt different.

“Riley doesn’t wake until she smacks her alarm three times and I go in and practically drag her from her bed. Trust me, she won’t know you’re here. We can get you up before it’s anywhere close to her wake-up time.”

“Are you sure? She was so weird earlier. I don’t want anything to mess her up more.”

I pressed my finger to her chin and tilted her head back, looking down at her as she rested her head on my shoulder. Eyes so worried.

For Riley.

I kissed the tip of her nose. “And I love that you worry about her, but trust me, if she can sleep through all the construction that was going on here, there’s no way she’s going to find you. Relax and stay with me. Please.”

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