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Rolling onto my side, I prop my head on a hand and study her.
The bright sexual flush has faded from her skin, but she’s still sun-kissed, her nose a bit pink. Her curls tumble across the pillow like cotton candy, golden and fluffy. Her skin is smooth and unblemished, although she has a mole just above her left nipple that I’ve already kissed a few times.
The bruise on her left arm where David hit her with the ball is a livid purple and green. I glare at it, filled with a sense of protectiveness I hadn’t thought to feel. He hurt my woman. Part of me wants to destroy him for that.
My woman. I smile at my own words.
I think about Jamie, getting married, and with a baby on the way. I’m so pleased for him. He had a tough start, and it’s no less than he deserves.
I admit to feeling a tad… what? Wistful? Puzzled? Envious? Of both Jamie and Kai. They seem so confident in their love. So sure it’s all going to work out.
Do I want what they have? Love? Marriage? Children? I’ve honestly never considered it before. My work has always been the most important thing in my life, and women interfered with that, to the point where I was convinced I would never be able to mix the two.
But now?
Sidnie let me work this week. She didn’t complain. Or badger me with calls or texts, not until I messaged her first. And when she did text back, she always made me smile. The only time I’ve seen her sad was at the Bay, when she was tired and thinking about her father, and she’s done nothing but enrich my life a hundredfold. She’s happy and positive, like a sunrise, full of beauty and promise.
At that moment, she stirs and opens her eyes.
She looks at me, blinks, then smiles. “Hello, you.”
“Hey, sleepy.”
“What’s the time?”
“Five thirty.”
“In the afternoon, right?”
I laugh. “Yeah. We haven’t slept that much.”
“Have you been awake long?”
“Only a few minutes.”
She sighs.
I reach out a hand and gently touch the bruise on her arm. “Is it sore?”
“Tender.”
I reach over and kiss it. Then I bend and kiss her mouth.
She narrows her eyes at me as I move back. “You’re a very naughty boy.”
“You’re the one who riled me up. I told you there’d be consequences.”
She pokes her tongue out at me, and I chuckle.
“You want something to eat?” I ask.
“Will there be food tonight?”
“Oh yeah, but I’m hungry now.”
“Of course you are,” she says, amused. “Sure, I could eat.”
“Stay there. I’ll get it.”
