Page 37 of The Attraction

The night is over, and just like he said, it’s one I will never forget.

So exhausted and drained, I close my eyes, hoping that if the copious amounts of sex I’ve had tonight have done the job, I will sleep straight through the night.

Not a dream to be had.

FORREST

After cleaning her up with a warm cloth, she looked at me with pleading eyes as she asked me to take her back to her room.

Her eyes were begging me not to argue, as she didn’t have the strength to fight me on it.

Carrying her back to her bed and making sure she is comfortable, warm, and feeling safe, it pulls at my heart to have to walk away.

As I touch my lips so gently to hers, I hope like hell this isn’t the last time I get to kiss her. I’m not ready to say goodbye when I only just got to say hello.

By the time I reach the door, I can hear her breathing getting heavier and then one long sigh as she falls into the sleep that she was longing for.

I stand here just looking at a woman who has taken me by total surprise. Not my type at all, yet we are so in sync that it’s hard to comprehend.

I want to close my eyes too and relive this night in my sleep, but it’s not happening. My body is exhausted, but I can’t shut my brain off.

I toss and turn, pulling the blankets over me then overheating. It’s like my body is at war with my thoughts. The turmoil I’m feeling seems to be evident in my inability to sleep.

Going back to what I used to do when I was worried about Flynn doing something dumb in Australia, or my parents who were not feeling well or struggling with something, I reach for my e-reader and pull up my current book. It’s a crime novel, and I have to concentrate so hard to try to keep up and follow the intricate plot. It helps me switch off because I can’t possibly think about anything else at the same time, otherwise I’ll get lost.

I lose track of how long I’ve been reading for, but a noise makes me drop my Kindle. It’s coming from Harper’s room again.

“Shit, she’s having another nightmare.” I’m up and at her door, listening for a few seconds.

“I just want you to come back to cuddle me. Just once.” Then she stops moving. “Daddy, why won’t you come back? I love you…” Then I hear the bed creak like she is sitting down on it. “Why don’t you love me too?” Then she lets out a loud sob like last night.

She doesn’t know how much the sound of her crying and in such distress rips at my heart.

Ever so quietly, I open the door and once again walk to her bed and lay her down, and she grabs my hand, pulling it to her. So, I climb into bed with her, wrapping her up in a tight embrace. Her crying subsides gradually, and she settles back to sleep. If this is what she needs, I will be here every night for her until she lets me do it while she is awake. If her soul knows she wants this, then I just have to wait for brain to catch up.

I just have to pray it’s not as stubborn as I think it is, otherwise, I’ll be waiting a while.

I feel her breath on my chest, and the sound of her very faint snore is like a lullaby to me, but it’s time to disappear into the night again.

Leaving her sleeping peacefully, I feel like I have given her what she needs for tonight in more ways than one.

But let’s see what tomorrow brings.

HARPER

Waking from last night’s sexcapade, I stretch out my body very, very slowly.

It’s a mystery why that man is still single. Seriously. If I didn’t have my own commitment issues, I’d be locking him down and never letting another woman get her hands on him. But I can’t do that to him. Who wants to be with a woman who can’t even be hugged or let anyone get too close?

Love like that is never going to be in my life.

Rolling onto my side, I try to put Forrest out of my thoughts, which is pretty difficult with every part of my body still feeling him, but it’s the scent of him that alerts my senses again.

A mixture of his sweat that is full of pheromones that have me tingling, and the smell of sex. It’s like he has imprinted it on my skin.

It’s not like me to come home from a night of having sex and not shower and wash that off me. But last night was different. We spent hours learning every part of each other’s bodies, in what was the ultimate fantasy for me. Deep down, I imagine coming home to this every night and what that would feel like. But I know I can only dream it, because it will never be reality. So, when Forrest tucked me in and my eyes closed, leaving me to sleep in my bed, it’s like every bit of him that was left on my body has now rubbed off onto my sheets.

I wish I could keep these sheets on for a while and relive last night, every night when I climb in here after a long day, but that would just be torture.

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