Page 11 of A SEAL for the Weekend
Afterward, I get her a glass of water from the bathroom, and when I re-enter the bedroom, I see her tucked under the covers. I pull them back to join her, and she looks over her shoulder, looking surprised to find me climbing into bed beside her.
“Is this okay?” I sidle up to her. My body fits against hers, and I put my arm around her and rest it on her hips. “I can leave if you want.”
She doesn’t say anything, and I think she’s going to kick me out. Which would be a shame. I don’t want to leave her yet.
After a long minute, she picks my arm up from her hip and pulls it around her. Then she tucks it over her belly and puts her arm over the top.
“Stay.” Her voice is already soft with sleep, and in moments, Rose is fast asleep.
6
PAIGE
The pale glow from my nightlight illuminates the shadow on the bedroom wall. My heartbeat quickens, and I cry out.
A figure appears in the doorway, wrapped in a fluffy housecoat with her long hair falling messily over her shoulders.
“Momma” I reach for her, and she climbs into the bed with me.
Her warm body presses against mine as the scent of cinnamon and butter wrap around me.
“I’m here, baby.”
Her soothing voice calms my racing heart and banishes the shadows from the room.
“I’ll always be here for you baby girl.”
I wake with a start. Bedsheets are tangled around my legs, angular shadows move across the wall as a car passes on the street, and the body pressed against my back isn’t Momma’s.
She said she’d always be here. She lied.
Grief presses against my chest, and a sob shudders out of me. I bury my face in the pillow to hide the sound.
Beside me, Sergeant Gray stirs. “Are you okay?”
I wipe my eyes on the pillowcase and hold in the pain that threatens to tear my chest apart. I’m in a hotel room with a strange man, and Momma isn’t coming to chase the shadows away.
The ache in my chest threatens to overwhelm me and suck me under. I do the only thing that might push it away.
We fell asleep naked, our bodies against each other, and without turning around, I shift my hips. Pressing them against the man behind me.
“I can’t sleep.” I hope he takes the shake in my voice for desire and not the remnants of tears.
He nuzzles into my neck, his bristles tickling my skin, and the sensation takes the focus from the pain in my chest as prickles of desire burst across my skin.
“I can help with that.”
His hand slides over my hip, and I grind into him until I feel him harden against me.
He kisses my neck, and the place between my shoulders, and every touch is a step away from pain toward desire.
I don’t turn around to face him. I want to hide in the darkness of the night. Nothing outside moves, and the only sound is the occasional passing car in the distance and the hum of the hotel air conditioning. And the slap of our bodies moving together.
“Is this okay?”
He’s so damn polite. Asking me at every turn if I want to continue. But I don’t want polite. I want him to take me and make me forget.
“Yes.” I murmur, keeping my head tilted away from him. “It’s all okay.”
