Heavenly slept against him, her breathing deep and even. Leaving meant crawling back into that cold, empty guest bed, lying there alone, staring at the ceiling for hours, and counting down until he could see her again. Not that he could touch her.
Beck jackknifed up. “I should go.”
Seth shook his head in the darkness. “Stay. Just a little longer.”
“You sure?”
“No one will be up for a few hours.” Seth’s hand rested on Heavenly’s hip, his thumb moving in slow circles. “And if she wakes up and you’re gone, she might not settle again.”
The big guy had a point. Guilty relief flooded Beck’s chest. “True. I’ll stay for a few minutes.”
He settled deeper into the mattress, careful not to jostle Heavenly.
But a few minutes stretched to ten. Then fifteen.
Her sleep-soft body against his, the steady rhythm of Seth’s breathing, the quiet darkness wrapping around them like a cocoon—it all felt like home. It conspired to pull him under.
His eyes grew heavy. He’d just rest them for a moment...
Beck’s last conscious thought was that he needed to get up. Cross the hall. Get back to his own bed.
His body had other ideas.
Beck didn’t know how much time had passed when he jolted awake. He was still tangled up with Heavenly, her back pressed against his chest, his arm draped over her waist. He opened his eyes and scanned the dark room. Seth lay against her, his breathing deep and steady.
Beck’s heart hammered against his ribs. Shit. What fucking time was it?
His gaze snapped to the clock on the nightstand. 5:07 a.m.
Son of a bitch.
He hadn’t meant to fall asleep. He meant to slip back to his room hours ago, not spend the entire night in Seth’s bed like some kind of idiot courting an avoidable disaster.
Wincing, he pressed a kiss to Heavenly’s forehead—soft, lingering, trying to memorize the feel of her skin against his lips. Then he started extracting himself from her warmth.
On the far side of the bed, Seth stirred and opened his eyes.
“Sorry,” Beck mouthed. “I’ll go.”
“Tonight,” Seth whispered. “Mom and Carl will be gone.”
Beck grinned. “Then we’ll have our little girl all to ourselves.”
Seth’s mouth curled up. “Exactly.”
Looking forward to that, Beck eased out of bed, his insistent cock pressing against his sweatpants. Hours wrapped around Heavenly without being able to do a damn thing about it had left him aching and frustrated.
He wasn’t angry at Seth. He understood why it was necessary now. He was beyond ready to stop sleeping in separate rooms like they had something to be ashamed of.
Tiptoeing across the floor, Beck reached the door. He raked a hand through his mussed hair, trying to look less like a man who’d just spent the night in someone else’s bed. Then, hand on the knob, he took a breath and listened.
Nothing. The house was still. Silent.
Relief washed over him. They’d managed to spend the night together without getting caught.
Slowly, he turned the knob and eased the door open just enough to slip through, then stepped into the hallway.
Off to his left, he heard a soft click and whipped his head around.
