“Want to test that theory?” I ask, lazily flexing my hips against her. “I could go again.”
Emma makes a wounded sound, muffled by the pillow. “You’re actually going to kill me.”
“I don’t think you’d mind.”
“Not if I get to haunt you and make your life hell for eternity.”
I grin, sweeping her hair off her cheek. “You already do.”
She laughs, and this time it’s lighter. She shifts onto her side, tucking herself against my chest, her knees brushing mine. I tuck the mess of her hair behind her ear and she blinks up at me, all smug and soft and so fucking beautiful I can’t stand it.
For a second, I just hold her and breathe, thinking about how this, right here, is why I called Bennett Construction at six this morning to say I wouldn’t be in.
First time I’ve ever called off work. But holy fuck, it was worth it.
“We should probably get up,” Emma mumbles against my chest.
“Probably.”
Neither of us moves.
Eventually, though, my stomach growls loud enough that she laughs and pushes herself up. “OK, that’s our cue.”
I help her up and watch her wince a little as she finds her footing. “Want me to get you an ice pack?”
She grins and shakes her head. “I want you to get me coffee.”
“Done,” I say, kissing her forehead and watching as she heads for the bathroom and I pull on a pair of sweatpants. In the tiny but functional kitchen, I start the coffeemaker and dig through the freezer looking for something resembling breakfast. Normally, I grab something on the way to work. So I don’t really keep a stocked fridge. But when I find a box of toaster waffles with just enough in it for two, I figure that’ll get us through until I head to the store later.
I’m waiting for them to pop up, watching the coffee drip into the pot and thinking about how good it feels to have Emma in my space, when there’s a knock at the door.
My whole body goes tense.
Mrs. Yu doesn’t risk coming up the stairs. Too deliberate to be a delivery. And there’s only one person who’d show up at my apartment at eight in the morning unannounced.
Stone.
13
BONES
Taking a steadying breath, I cross to the door, open it, and come face to face with my president. Lee’s standing behind him, hands shoved in his pockets, looking uncomfortable.
“Stone.” I keep my voice neutral.
“Bones.” His eyes are hard, jaw tight. “You gonna invite us in?”
This isn’t a question I get to say no to. So I step aside and they walk in, Stone’s gaze immediately sweeping the apartment—taking in the rumpled sheets visible through the bedroom door, Emma’s clothes on the floor in the living room, the two coffee mugs I’d pulled out.
“She here?” Stone asks, even though he clearly knows the answer.
“She is.”
We just look at each other. Then the toaster pops. I don’t move to get the waffles.
“Want to tell me what you’re thinking here?” Stone asks, voice dangerously calm. “Want to explain to me why my daughter’s car has been parked outside all night?”
“I was thinking about Emma.” I meet his eyes and fold my arms across my chest. “I was thinking about what she needed. Not what youwanted. Not what the club wanted. What sheneeded.”
