Settling between her thighs, I kissed her, rubbing my tip against her entrance, finding it sleek and hot. With a slow jerk of my hips, I slid in. She was still a little swollen from last night, butso wet,so ready.
“I love you,” I murmured, my eyes locking with hers as her thighs fell open for me. “So god damn much.” I moved against her, slow and deep. She brought her arms up around my ribs, her hands gripping my shoulders—nails biting into my skin. Lost in her heat, I welcomed the sting of it.
I didn’t mind that she hadn’t returned my words—I could see them in her eyes, feel them in her kisses and touches. It was enough—more than enough. Our sounds were hushed, our movements slow and purposeful. My eyes never left hers, not even when we both climaxed, our breaths the only noise we risked.
I didn’t want to break the spell of her warmth, but I knew we had the entire day. I pressed another kiss to her mouth before doing so.
“Stay in bed, beautiful,” I told her, forcing myself from the bed. “I’m going to grab a shower before I make breakfast.”
“Mmm,” she purred, stretching against the mattress. “I need to use the bathroom first.” She added, slipping out of bed. Her thighs were bare, and when she stood up, my cum trailed down. I fuckinglovedmarking her like that.
“What are you grinning about?” she demanded in a whisper.
“I’m thinking about how hot it is to see my cum slide down your legs,” I said softly, into the shell of her ear before stepping back and allowing her to pass.
I gave her a few moments of privacy before she tip-toed back. She handed me a clean bath towel and slipped back beneath the sheets with a wistful look about her as if she wanted nothing more than to join me.
Winking at her, I strolled soundlessly from the room and down the dark hallway to the bathroom.
Although small, Harper’s tiny house was whimsical and so very her. I knew she was comfortable here, and I had no intention of forcing her to leave it before she was ready—I just hoped like hell it would be sooner rather than later. If it wasn’t, that was okay, too, but I knew I’d end up crashing here more nights than not, just for more ofthis.
I showered quickly, returning to Harper’s room to dress with the towel around my waist. She’d fallen asleep again, her dark hair the only thing visible beneath the blankets she’d drawn up to hide from the sun.
Crossing over to the windows, I went to close the blinds. Before I could pull the cord, movement out of my peripheral caught my attention. Harper’s father was taking the garbage out. The rest of the houses on the street had blue recycle bins and garbage cans set out.
Pulling the cord, I blocked the morning light from further disrupting her sleep and dug into my duffle bag for new clothes. I dressed quickly and quietly, leaving the room and tugging the door shut soundlessly behind me.
Before going downstairs, I glanced down the hall into Asher’s bedroom, finding him still asleep in his bed.
I could let him sleep for another twenty minutes before he had to be up, and it’d give me time to take out the garbage and recyclingandmake breakfast. The domestic tasks made me feel both a little weird and more normal than I’d felt in ages.
It’d been years since I worried about things like taking the garbage out or even cleaning up after myself.
Before the fame, I’d done those things all the time. With both of my parents working full-time jobs, I cooked a lot for Connor and me and had a neverending to-do list of chores I was expected to do before any social activities. Failure to do those chores resulted in dealing with my father, which was enough of an unpleasant negative consequence to keep me from slacking.
Pausing long enough to collect the bag from the bin in the kitchen and slip into my shoes, I found the garbage can and recycling bins in the shed. Lifting the lid of the bin, I tossed the bag in and secured the lid. I lifted the large blue bin that was half-full of recyclables, carrying it with one hand. The garbage can had wheels, so I wheeled it over the gravel to the end of the driveway.
Springtime in Nova Scotia wasn’t as warm as springtime in Toronto, and the biting wind cut through my long-sleeved waffle shirt to remind me of that. The icy sting was an effective way of zapping the lingering drowsiness from me, and I realized there wasn’t a single fucking thing I missed about Toronto.
I didn’t miss the penthouse, the parties, the studio, or the routine. I felt alert for the first time in years, like waking from a coma. Everything was brighter, more pronounced.
By the time I’d walked halfway down Harper’s driveway, Jack had approached, his hands in his jacket pockets. Although he wasn’t smiling, he seemed relaxed, seemingly unbothered by my being there at his daughter’s house.
I lifted my chin in greeting. “Morning, Jack.”
“Calum. You’re up early.” I set the blue bin down beside the can and straightened, hearing the words he hadn’t said—that he knew my Jeep hadn’t left the driveway all night.
Where his daughter was an open book, Jack Morrison was difficult to read. Impossible, nearly—his brown eyes and expression neutral but shrewd. I couldn’t tell if it bothered him that I hadn’t left.
“Yeah,” I replied, shoving my cold hands in my jean pockets. I’d always been an early riser. For the past nine years, I’d slept like shit. I battled insomnia and could only find sleep after drinking myself into it or tossing back a couple of sleeping pills. Even then, it was fitful, and I’d awaken all too soon. I was only just admitting it to myself—admitting that it wasn’t just the lifestyle, but a misguided attempt at self-medicating. It was running from and trying to drown out my problems.
Coming home to her had shifted something in me, and I hadn’t needed those sleeping pills or that unopened bottle of Old Crow in the middle of my duffle bag.
The silence had stretched long enough to be awkward, Jack was still watching me expectantly, waiting for me to say something. Clearing my throat, I forced another sentence out. “I figured I’d let Harper sleep in.”
Jack nodded, glancing up at the house with his hands in his coat pocket. “Caroline told me what you did for Harper yesterday.” My brow furrowed and I shifted my weight on my feet with discomfort. “She saw you pull up when she got back from driving Asher to school.” He explained, sending me a bemused yet apologetic look. When he caught my expression, his amusement ebbed as he continued. “It’s not that we’re spying, but for nine years, we’ve looked out for them. It’s going to be hard for us to step back, and it won’t happen overnight.”
It was my turn to nod. It was all I could do for a moment. My words trapped behind my teeth. Clearing my throat, I finally freed them. “I can understand that.” I hadn’t known of Asher’s existence for very long, but I already knew with every atom of my being that there wasn’t a thing on earth I wouldn’t do for him. I knew Jack felt the same about his daughter.
