His breathing is soft in my ear, his arms encased around me in sleep. The sun streaming in through the sheer curtains indicates afternoon. Orange rays land on Carter’s back and turn his skin even more golden.
I tilt my head to get a look at his inked back. I want to trace the outlines of each tattoo with my finger to try and understand their meanings, but I also don’t wanna wake Carter from sleep when he looks this peaceful.
A heavy piece of gray hair flops over his eyes. I comb it away to better see his face, and I feel my smile grow. He’s asleep. He’s not going to see it so it’s all good.
The way he played with Otis earlier totally counteracted his words, when he told me that he hadn’t changed at all. Not even one bit.
I beg to differ. A man doesn’t demand to be a part of your son’s life just for the fun of it. Carter knows the responsibilities that come with raising a child. He also knows the risks.
But he was determined anyway.
He stirs beside me in sleep, tightening his hold on me.
I’m in a mind to call the other two over here. It feels wrong not having them around. Vex, Skipper, and Carter come as a package deal. It was that way from the beginning and it kinda feels like cheating to be intimate with only one of them.
I glimpse the camcorder cast aside on the nightstand. I was never one to get behind a camera in the bedroom and make intense eye contact with the lens with my clothes off. But what can I say? These men untame me.
And maybe it doesn’t have to be so bad.
Tucking my arm safely under Carter’s bicep, I debate if fun can merge with family. Maybe it can, if Vex, Carter, and Skipper care for Otis as much as they seem to care for me. I’d want all three of them to father Otis if I ever decided to introduce them into his life for real.
Carter rouses from sleep and gives me a tight squeeze. “Good morning.” His voice is thick with sleep.
“It’s afternoon. What time zone did you wake up in?”
“The one where I get to be with you. In bed. Naked.”
I giggle, hoping for another moment like this where I can lie in bed in the afternoon and be oblivious to the outside world. I never knew how much I needed a day like this, buried in a sea of covers in the middle of the afternoon with protective arms bound around me. Where the only thing to look at in the room is the spinning ceiling fan and Carter’s gorgeous face.
“I should get up. Otis will be waking up from his nap, probably hungry.”
“No need.” Carter places a chaste kiss on my temple and climbs out of bed.
And oh, it’s quite a sight to behold. He could get his ass back into bed if it wasn’t for my son downstairs. I wasn’t finished resting my head on his chest and listening to the gentle rhythm of his heart.
He throws his shirt and pants back on, and opens the door.
I watch him leave and pinch myself. How did I get so damn lucky?
I slip back under the covers like an excited sixteen-year-old who has a reciprocal crush, and release a little squeal. Oh my god. What the hell is going on here? Carter is taking care of my son—ourson—and I get to lie in bed and do nothing?
Maybe I could get used to having a second pair of hands around. Especially when those hands make me levitate every time they’re buried between my thighs.
I relax for what feels like the first time in forever, and let Carter take responsibility for a change. Otis is his son after all. If he wants to prove himself worthy, he can do all of the childcare until further notice, so I can have a break.
“Uh. Carmen?” Carter calls from downstairs.
The uncertainty in his voice has me up in seconds, throwing on some clothes and then plummeting down the stairs. “What?” I ask, rushing around the corner to join him in the kitchen.
His back is to me.
He’s gonna turn around and say, “Never mind.”
I’ll be able to head back upstairs and do nothing for another hour. His off tone was just me overthinking things. Excluding Sadie, I’m not used to another person looking after my son. Paranoia is normal.
What’s not normal is the cadence in which Carter just spoke.
He called my name like it was an emergency, and now my heart is thumping like there is one.
