“What if we get caught?”
“I’ll lock the door. I just want to hold you. We have Mia,” I tell her. Not that she’d ever forget that her daughter was in the room with us. “Just until you fall asleep.”
“What about you?”
“I’d love nothing more than to wake up with you in my arms, but Mandy, baby, I’ll take what you give me.” I’m a man dying of thirst, and she’s the only water in sight.
“What if they notice the door’s locked?”
“We’ll tell them it was an accident.”
“Just to sleep.”
“Just to sleep,” I assure her.
“Okay,” she says, and I hear her blanket ruffle. I sit up, letting my own covers pool at my waist, and wait, giving her a chance to back out.
“You sure?”
“Yes, even though it’s wrong, and it’s risky, I still want you next to me,” she says, her voice soft.
That’s all the invitation I need. Tossing off the covers, I climb out of my bed and into hers. She’s holding up the blankets for me, then turns her back to my chest as soon as we’re both beneath them. I waste no time pulling her closer and wrapping my arms around her. I place a kiss on her temple.
“Night, Mandy.” I sigh, relishing the feel of her in my arms. All night. I get to hold her all night. I know it’s just going to make resisting her harder, but I don’t care. My gut tells me that this is where I’m supposed to be. With Amanda and Mia.
It scares the hell out of me because my daughter is her best friend, and I love Bellamy with every part of me. But my attraction for Amanda is big, massive in a way that’s all-consuming. I can’t stay away. I also know Amanda needs time. I hate lying to my daughter, but I’ll give her what she’s asking for. She’s been through enough.
I just hope that when the truth comes out, my daughter finds it in herself to forgive me. There has to be a way I can have all three of them in my life. I know that this is more than Amanda in my arms. It’s Mia, too, and I want that. I want them to be mine.
This is riskier than any play I’ve ever called.
You have to take the risk to reap the reward, though.
Amanda and Mia, they’re my reward.
Sixteen
Amanda
* * *
I wake to the feel of soft lips pressing against my temple. For a split second, I don’t know where I am. The room is dim, washed in that bluish-gray light that comes just before sunrise. The air smells faintly of salt and sunscreen, and there’s the distant hush of waves rolling onto the shore beyond the windows of our beachfront rental. Then my eyes pop open, and everything comes crashing into me all at once.
Florida.
Sharing a room with Will and Mia.
Will asking, in that careful, almost fragile voice last night, if he could hold me.
Me giving in to temptation.
Again.
My breath catches as awareness settles over me. His arm is draped heavily around my waist, warm and solid, his palm splayed against my stomach like he was afraid I might disappear in the night. My back is pressed against his chest, and I can feel the steady rise and fall of his breath, the slow rhythm ghosting across the nape of my neck. The sheets are tangled around our legs.
“Morning.” His raspy, sleep-laced voice meets my ears.
The sound of it sends a small, traitorous shiver down my spine. It’s low and rough, like he hasn’t fully woken up yet, like I’m the first thing he’s choosing to acknowledge, and well, I guess I am.