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His hand found its way into my shorts.
Oh fuck.
&
“Mommy.”
“Hmmm?”
“Mommy, wake up. I want to show you how pretty I am.”
“Gracie, it’s early, go back to sleep baby.”
“It’s not early. I’ve been up for a long time already.” The clarity of her voice had me lifting the comforter that covered my head and peeking toward the edge of the bed.
It took a minute for me to make out exactly what I was looking at but after blinking things into focus, the bright yellow that covered Gracie’s pudgy little body came into view and I shot up in a panic.
“What time is it?”
“Nine, relax. It’s really not that late.” His thick voice cut sharp and penetrated me like a spear.
My eyes rolled toward the entrance to Gracie’s temporary room where I found the man who’d made our escape possible. He was dressed in black trunks and a sleeveless shirt similar to the one he wore last night but this one wasn’t clinging to his torso.
It hung loosely around his solid upper body but still exposed brown skin and ink that littered the arms locked across his chest.
“Don’t I look pretty?”
Shit, focus, Cadence.
My eyes shot back over to Gracie who was in a bright yellow tankini. There was a ruffled tutu surrounding the bottoms which made it look more like she was going to dance class instead of preparing for a swim.
But I could tell simply from the appearance the material was softer than tulle and the tutu wasn’t as pronounced.
“You look very pretty but why are you dressed to swim so early, baby?”
“It’s not early.” Her lips puffed and she locked her arms behind her back and rocked on her heels, seconds before those big brown eyes drifted over her shoulder. She was calling in back up.
“She’s been up since six. I stuck my head in to check on you and she was climbing out the bed. She was hungry, you were out cold. I told her not to wake you.” His stare landed on me. He surveyed my face introspectively trying to gauge my reaction.
“And I washed my face and brushed my teeth and everything like a big girl too.”
I tossed the covers back and threw my legs over the side and then snatched the covers back realizing I was only in a very tiny pair of shorts.
I tugged enough to cover my lower half. Sure, he knew every detail of what was beneath them, but Gracie didn’t know that and I didn’t want her to.
“I’m sure you did. You’re such a big girl.”
“And I ate all my breakfast. Pancakes and fruit. I didn’t eat the eggs because they’re gross.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I ate all my fruit. Even the big ones.”
Big likely meaning pineapples or cantaloupe.
My eyes shot over to the door again and he was still watching me in that way that felt heavy, leaving me exposed.
Gracie moved closer, pushing her body between my legs. Her wild hair was all over her head so I pushed it out of her face and kissed her forehead.
“That’s good, baby.”
“So…” She grinned, lifting her face. “Can I swim now?”
