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I still couldn’t believe it was real. I was home, more or less whole, with my sister and brother and daughter and friends. It was a fucking miracle.
And so was Red. Curled up in my arms, fast asleep. Those gorgeous freckles everywhere, that wild mane of fuzzy, curly dark hair exploding out of the covers.
She was miraculous. I memorized every detail of her face as dawn revealed them to me. Finally, her eyes opened, and blinked, startled.
“Oh,” she whispered. “Wow. You.”
“None other. I’m the one you went to bed with last night. In case you forgot.”
She snorted. “Hah. One does not just forget the golden dick of the great Shane Masters. It leaves a legend in its wake.”
Now it was my turn to snort. “Give me a break.”
“Never,” she said. “I can’t do that. I just don’t know how. It’s my worst personality trait. Maybe you’ve noticed.”
“Sounds like a warning. Should I be scared?”
“I just don’t know how much nerve you have, that’s all,” she said.
“A fuck-ton,” I told her. “Enough to handle you.”
That was a risk, but it seemed to pay off. Her shapely dark eyebrows climbed. “Brave words,” she murmured. “I suppose it’s promising, that you’re still here, at dawn. You didn’t chicken out on me.”
“Nope. I just watched you sleep. All night. Peak moment for me.”
We smiled at each other. Ridiculously, unreasonably happy.
“I could just lie here with you all day,” I told her. “I would, if you let me. But I don’t know how you feel about Reggie running in and finding me here.”
“I doubt she’d be surprised, sharp as she is,” Red said. “But even so. She has enough stuff to process right now. And I definitely want your clothes to be on, whenever the door is unlocked. That’ll be the rule, going forward. Okay?”
“Fine,” I said. I liked the implications. ‘Going forward’ implied there was a future unfolding for us. Possible rules, expectations, habits to establish. It had been so long since I made a plan or entertained a hope, I’d forgotten how it felt. It made me want to grab her and make love to her again. But that would be greedy.
I detached myself with difficulty, pulling away from her low murmur of protest. I slid out of bed and pulled my pants on.
Red sat up, smiling from beneath that wild mop of tousled, fiery hair. She stretched seductively, letting the cover fall to her waist and leave her slim torso bare. Those high, gorgeous little pink-tipped tits made my mouth water.
“Don’t tease me like that,” I pleaded. “I’m trying to be good.”
“I appreciate that,” she said, her voice a seductive drawl. “But it’s a point of pride. I don’t want it to be easy for you to walk out my door. I want it to be hard.”
“No problem there.” I glanced down at the hard-on tenting out the loose pants. “It’s very hard.”
“Terrible pun,” she said, giggling. “Off with your head.”
She flung a pillow, which hit me in the ass as I went out the door. I picked it up and hurled it back, smiling. I closed the door, careful to make no sound. I pulled my shirt over my face as I turned, and stopped short as my head emerged, startled.
Ethan was watching me from the end of the hall. His eyes were somber.
I felt brought up short. Like I’d been caught doing something I shouldn’t. “Hi,” I said carefully. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep,” Ethan said. “Too much to think about.”
“Same,” I said.
He gestured toward the kitchen. “I made coffee. Come have some.”
I followed him into the kitchen, poured out some hot coffee, which was wickedly strong, since Ethan had made it. Angela had a lighter hand with the beans.
