“In a lot of ways, I felt bad for you for that.” I reached out, laying my hand on his arm. “You were so used to connections based on money that I don’t think you knew what to do with one based on anything else.”
“I came around, eventually, once I realized you weren’t doing a long con or trying to rob Hunter and Avery blind.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Took your sweet-ass time. I think the same thing is happening with Clover, but you need to speed it up this time, because the third thing is that I’m not letting Clover go now that she’s mine.”
She could have what time she needed, but fate had lined us up, and I wasn’t about to walk back on that. Whether she decided to stay or not changed absolutely nothing about my intentions to take care of her. Clover would never have to ask for my support. She’d get it whether she wanted it or not.
“Understood.” Parker nodded stiffly. “I…may have done something else.”
I heaved a sigh. “What now?”
“It’s not bad. I don’t think so, anyway. It’s a surprise for the day after tomorrow I hope she’ll like, but I believe it will also help us gain some clarity on her. For your sake, and the others, I want to believe she’s here for noble reasons, but I have to be sure.”
“If you?—”
“If I’m wrong about her and fuck up again, I’ll see myself out. For now, though, it’s been a long fucking day, and I need some time to process. I appreciate you speaking with me.”
I let him leave, giving him time to get to his room before I went to mine, where I flopped down and stared at the ceiling, turning everything over in my head. I lay there for hours, unable to get my brain to quiet enough for sleep.
A knock so quiet I almost didn’t hear it had all of my senses tuning toward the door. It was barely the ass crack of dawn, but I was unfortunately awake from the turning of nervous energy in my chest. I leapt out of the bed and swung the door open, just in case it was Clover.
It was.
She stood there in all her sleep-rumpled glory, looking at me with those wide baby blues. “What I’m about to ask doesn’t mean anything, okay?”
“Okay,” I said, my voice rough, afraid to speak another word in case I spooked her.
“Could we cuddle for a bit? The room Avery made is beautiful, but spending last night alone in there felt weird. I don’t like when my scent is the only one in there.”
Satisfaction burned hot and bright as it poured down my spine like lava. She’d come to my door seeking connection, and I was ready to lay myself out on a silver platter for her.
“Did you want me to come with you, or do you want to come in here?”
She chewed her bottom lip, her breathing turning shallow when I reached out to cup her cheek and tugged her lip from between her teeth with my thumb. Relief slid through me like a cool balm at the cloud of sweetness rising off her. Maybe she was unguarded because she was tired, but I was going to take this opportunity and hold it with both hands.
“Take what you want from my bed, mama. I’ll make sure your nest smells like me.”
She blinked, breaking whatever spell I’d managed to cast over her, and bustled past me. She stripped my bed until the pile was so big she couldn’t see over it.
“Give me that,” I said with an indulgent smile. She was too fucking cute. “I’ll follow you.”
Clover padded down the hall after passing me the mountain of bedding and dove straight into her pink nest. Avery had done a damn good job on this space for her, even if I had no clue how he’d managed it without the rest of us knowing.
I ruined the color scheme by dumping my blankets onto it, slashes of black disrupting the vibrant pinks. I stood for a moment, just watching her while she arranged everything to her liking, then patted the spot next to her for me to join.
Steeping in her sugar-dipped peony scent was like ascending to heaven. It scrambled my brain, but not so much as when she flopped to the side so I could curl around her and she wiggled her ass into the wedge of my hips. For a moment, I thought her wriggling was intentionally meant to rile me up, but then she let out a frustrated growl and sat up.
“What’s wrong?”
“Clothes feelweird.”
“I can behave if you would rather be naked.”
I held my breath, desperately hoping she opted for that. I hadn’t been able to get my hands on her properly in too long.
Her tank top was gone in a flash. My traitorous cock rose in anticipation, hardening painfully when she fell backward to remove her panties and sleep shorts, my gaze trapped helplessly on the sway of her breasts.
The heat of her skin when she wiggled back into place was a furnace against me. She sighed, her contentment glowing brightly in the bond. It was still strange experiencing it. I’d been so distracted by the bonding sickness when she’d been gone that I’d simply assumed her stress was mine, in the same way I’d assumed her desire was mine as well on our calls. Since she’d been home, it was easier to differentiate, and the bond was stronger with proximity. Her contentment could still be mine, but the little flair of smug satisfaction when she backed her ass up against my stiff cock was definitely her.
