I pull up outside the terraced house on the edge of town, squeezing my Lotus Eletre into the tiniest space. I reach for a grounding technique card, although I know the exercise by heart. Rosie comes bounding out of the front door with a little girl with black curls and another woman Rosie’s age.
I jump out of the car. “I was going to ring, I promise,” I say, stumbling over my words as I rush to open the doors.
“Take a breath,” Rosie whispers as I pass her. “It’s okay.”
A wide-eyed Tabi stares at me, pressing her lips tightly together. A smirking woman watches everything.
“Sorry, I should introduce myself. I’m Niki Coulter.”
“I know all about you,” the blond says. “I babysat Tabi while you were at a bar declaring a certain someone was your wife.”
“Sasha,” Rosie hisses. “This is my housemate and best friend, and this is?—”
“New adults make me shake their hands. I hate it. Mummy says you hate it, too. I’m Tabitha, but you can call me Tabi.”
I grin at the little girl who wears a bracelet similar to the one in my pocket. “Hello, Tabi. I’m Niki. I like your bracelet. It’s very pretty.”
“Mummy had one, too, but she lost it. We made a new one.”
“That’s what happens when you jump into the sea in the dark with a stranger,” Sasha says under her breath. “Cheeky minx.”
Rosie blushes and elbows her.
“That’s weird, because I found a bracelet with a different name than mine.” I pull the bracelet out of my pocket, and Tabi’s eyes light up. “I’ve carried it for a long time, searching for the person it fits.”
“Mummy, mummy, it’s your bracelet.” Tabi points to me. “Are you a prince like in Cinderella?”
Sasha’s quiet, and Rosie’s eyes are so wide I want to pull on the back of my neck. “No, I’m not a prince.”
“You kept my bracelet?” Rosie asks me.
I nod as I pass it to her, and she rolls it around in her hand. “I’m sorry I rubbed the butterfly off. It helped me when I flew home and through everything that’s scared me since.”
As she returns it, our hands brush. I attempt to ignore the buzz it gives me. “Keep it. I want you to have it.”
She touches her neck and pulls out the chain. “I should give you this back, and your ring.”
I can’t resist running my fingers across the metal, enjoying the familiarity of the links. They’re warm from resting against her skin. My fingers brush her neck, and she swallows.
I stare into her eyes as I touch her again, waiting for our safe word. Instead, she runs her tongue across her lower lip and swallows again.
She’s too sexy for words.
The fantasy of her on her knees, licking her lips and swallowing as I slide my cock into her pretty pink mouth, is so visceral that I step back.
“No, keep it,” I croak, unable to make eye contact. My heart thuds. I need to get away from everyone’s stare. “And I’ll protect the bracelet. Let’s visit Graham.”
Out of the corner of my eye, Rosie’s brow furrows. I curse myself for my hot and cold actions, but it’s quickly forgotten as she tucks Tabi in the car.
As I pass Sasha, she whispers, “If you hurt my girls, I’ll kill you.”
I drop my keys as I fumble to get in the car.
As I drive off, Sasha waves to us, but with her words ringing in my ears, I will myself not to look at how my chain sits comfortably against Rosie’s T-shirt.
It’s like she’s mine.
CHAPTER 29
