But Allie was always there, lurking in the background.
Until she was promised to another man.
I finish my wine and turn away from the windows. I put the glass down, stare at the dishes, and force myself to clean them. When my space is perfect again, I retreat into my bedroom.
Only to find two sleeping bodies.
Allie snores softly. It’s more like heavy breathing. I stand beside the bed and stare at her beautiful mouth, her pointed nose, her thick hair. I broke all my rules the night I slept with her, and I did it for a reason.
She’s perfection.
But the child confuses me. Rosie is like a loaf of bread beside her mother. The little one stirs and I step away, not sure how to handle it. What if she wakes? Will I have to put her back down again?
I force myself to get it together. I’m not afraid of a fucking toddler.
Without waking them, I slip into bed on my side. I can feel their warmth beside me. It’s strange having other people sleeping with me. I’ve never had another person in this room before, much less a woman and a baby.
I think about moving them. But the idea repulses me as soon as it forms.
Allie’s mine. Rosie is mine too, even if I don’t know what to do with her. They will stay with me, as close to me as possible, where I can make sure nobody else can touch them.
Especially while Medved is chewing at my borders.
I only hope I can acclimate to this soon.
ALLIE
Istir in bed and come awake as Rosie’s little arms and legs smack me in the face.
And this is why co-sleeping is such a nightmare.
She laughs and swats at me as I grumble and pull her into a hug. “Too early,” I grunt, rubbing sleep from my eyes.
The clock says it’s slightly past five in the morning.
Rosie’s always been an early riser.
I groan as she pulls herself up. The room’s dark, though dawn light bleeds around the edges of huge curtains. I work up the courage to pull myself from bed. I have maybe a few minutes before I have to change Rosie’s diaper and start making her breakfast. But I’m exhausted and still a little sleepy.
Which is how I don’t notice the other person in bed until he adjusts himself.
“Oh, shit!” I grab my daughter and leap up. I’m standing on the mattress like an idiot. Mass is there on his pillow, slowly coming awake and looking like a God as he does it. How the hell isthis man so stinking attractive even first thing in the morning? “Where did you come from?!”
I jump out of the bed with Rosie in my arms. She doesn’t like that one bit. She wasn’t ready to get up, and she lets me know it by crying. I try to shush her as Mass sits up on an elbow, watching with a curious frown as I pace back and forth.
Rosie eventually calms.
“When did you get into bed?” I ask, glaring at him.
“You mean, when did I get intomy ownbed?” He glares right back, lips pressed into a hard line.
Okay, the man’s got a point. But I’m not about to acknowledge it.
“You could have… I don’t know… told me!” I back away, shaking my head. “I wasn’t ready for this.”
“Weren’t you?” He stretches languidly, a slight smirk on his lips, and pushes the blankets away. He sits up and my eyes go wide.
He’s almost naked. His body’s covered with a pair of tight boxer briefs and nothing else.
