It’s after midnight and I can’t sleep. Willow and I called it a night shortly after Ellie went down. I cleaned the kitchen and started the dishwasher while she tidied up the living room.
Both of us finding some reason to steer clear of one another—without my brother as a buffer.
Barely forty-eight hours since we laid down the rules after our kiss. One damn weekend. And I’m already losing it.
I try to focus on the version of Willow when she’s around Ellie—a damn sweet version—natural, funny, caring, passionate.
But instead, my mind zeros in on the sound of her raspy morning voice. The light moans that come with that first sip of coffee. The swollen lips I’d like to kiss senseless. Then tell her where she can shove those dumb rules.
At some point during dinner, she was quiet. Unusually quiet, so I took a page out of her book and started rambling. Topic of conversation: my brother and his run-in with Storm. It was the only thing I could think of to talk about in front of Ellie.
Willow’s eyes brightened. “Another chick around hereandshe’s got attitude? When can I meet her?”
More moments like that. Safe moments.
I growl and push off the damn covers, feeling like they’re suffocating me. I sigh at the twisted mess at my feet and shake the duvet cover. A little black thing goes flying and I jolt out of bed.
The hell was that?
I make out the flimsy object almost instantly in the moonlight.
Panties.
Black.Lace.Panties.
I bring them to my nose and inhale. Logic, question, source—out the window. They’rehers. There’s no doubt—no other. They’re hers. From one of the nights she slept in my bed.
My eyes flick back to my bed as if I’d find her in it. Picturing every scenario of how these ended up buried in the covers. I stuff them in my pocket and step out into the hall without thinking.
The hell you going to do, asshole? March into her room and ask when she got naked on your bed? If she intentionally left them for you to find?
I start pacing the hall like a lunatic. Then turn at the sound of a door creaking. Willow steps out into the hall. Barefoot in a crop top and a pair of flimsy shorts.
My breath catches at the sight of bare skin under the dim light. Anger and frustration simmers to a whole new kind of heat. Temptation. And the gnawing guilt and fear that comes with it.
She freezes when she spots me—staring like a deer in headlights.
The only light filling the space is the plug-in motion sensor I put in for Ellie. It’s just enough to catch Willow’s brown eyes as they dip to my bare chest.
“Doesn’t count,” I say, voice lower than I mean it to be.
Her eyes dart back to mine quickly, like they’d just betrayed her. She releases a shaky breath in an attempt to say something that catches in her throat. As she composes herself, she squares her shoulders, a smirk playing on her lips. “I say it does.”
My head tips to the side, gaze sharpening. “You don’t play fair, Willow.” There isn’t a playful bone in my body as I step toward her, slow enough so she could walk away. But she doesn’t. Instead, her wide eyes follow me as I advance, rising with each step. “Fine. I broke a rule. What are you gonna do about it?”
My challenge comes out of left field. Like I’ve caught the ball from a team player I don’t particularly like.
Chin tilting up, she challenges, “If you’re implying I break rule number one so we’re even, you’ve got another thing coming.” She perks a brow. “I’ve got self-control, Daddy.”
The organ between my legs throbs at the nickname.
I didn’t even know I had a kink for it.
My voice is like gravel. Because I’m damn sure I’m about to break another rule. “Do you now? ’Cause I’ve got something in my pocket that says you don’t.” I’m too close. The soft scent of rain and crushed petals hits me. But it’s not enough to cover the arousal that still lingers from her panties.
She frowns. “Is that a—”
I slide them from my pocket and lift them for her to see. Black lace dangles from the hook of my index finger.
