“Why does she hate me, Jinx?”
I rubbed my cheek against her forehead. Her mother didn’t hate her. Monica simply had her own issues, and sadly, Laikyn was the only person who was consistently there for Monica. I didn’t think Monica Quinn meant to hurt her daughter. She merely made some foolish decisions.
“I want to shower,” Laikyn mumbled when I reached the top of the stairs.
I shook my head. She was too far gone for that. Within a minute, she was going to be passed out.
Setting her on her feet, I kept my arm around her as I helped her to unzip the dress. Wearing only her panties, she turned toward the bed. I patted her ass, urging her to get in.
Even drunk, she looked like a seductress going in for the kill as she crawled onto the mattress, her beautiful ass wagging as she moved.
“Make love to me, Jinx.”
Fuck. The torment in her voice nearly broke my heart. I wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed with her and love her for the rest of the night, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she would be out like a light. I wanted her to sleep it off, and hopefully, come morning, she wouldn’t be too worse for wear.
“Here,” Rule said, joining us in the room. “Drink this.”
“What is it?” Laikyn muttered, her eyes mere slits in her face.
“Water.” He passed her the glass. “Drink it slow. And here, take these.”
Rule gave her two aspirin and stood by while she drank the entire glass of water.
“Lie back,” he instructed, pulling the comforter down so she could tuck her legs under it.
Laikyn was watching me as she got situated. “Are you leaving?”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Rule answered for me. “We’ll be right downstairs.”
She looked up at him. “Will you sleep in here with me? Both of you?”
“Yes.”
I figured that was the reason Rule had wanted her in his bed. It was the only bed in the house big enough for the three of us. Something we’d learned over the past few weeks as we’d settled into this new thing we were doing.
“Okay,” Laikyn muttered, her eyes closed and her head relaxing on the pillow.
In less than a minute, she had drifted off, her face relaxed, her lips parted. She was so fucking beautiful it hurt to look at her sometimes.
“Come on.” Rule gestured toward the door. “Let’s go hang out with Waldo for a bit.”
I followed Rule back downstairs, removing my tie as we went. I shrugged off my jacket and left it on the couch before following him toward the outdoor living space. We spent the majority of our time out there rather than in the house. I wasn’t sure why, but we both preferred it. A few times, back when we first bought the place, we’d even slept out there on the enormous lounge beds that lined one side of the swimming pool. I hadn’t understood why the previous owners had them until the first time I passed out face-first on one. They were quite comfortable, and sometimes you simply needed fresh air.
Rule brought a beer and a bottle of water with him, passing the beer to me before dropping down onto the couch.
I eased down beside him.
“I don’t know what this is,” Rule muttered, sipping his water.
I knew he wasn’t referring to what was in the bottle.
“I don’t know how long it’ll last,” he continued.
Me either. My hope of forever seemed like a pipe dream. Deep down, I knew Laikyn was going to be angry when she learned the truth, but part of me wished she would be able to see reason. The other part was terrified that she would, and this thing we had going would become greater than the three of us. I knew Rule wasn’t considering this a relationship, although, by all measures, that was exactly what it was. The three of us … together … it felt right.
“Whatever happens…” He glanced my way. “The ride’s been worth it.”
Yeah. It certainly had.
