Page 89 of The Addendum

“You like that?” I asked.

“Hmm,” she replied. “Soft, yet prickly. Feels nice under my fingers.”

“I bet it would feel nice elsewhere later.”

She giggled, the sound airy in the dim room.

“We’ll have to see about that.”

I pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her head.

“Yes, we will.”

She hummed a soft little sound. “We get to do this every night soon.”

“Every night.”

“I get to wake up with you.”

“Yep.”

For a moment, we were quiet.

“I get to hear you snore and snort all the time.”

“I do not snore,” I protested.

“You do. And you snort and mumble. It’s highly entertaining at times. I might have to invest in ear plugs, though.”

In a second, I had her under me. “Take that back.”

Her eyes glinted at me in the low light.

“Or else…?” She trailed off.

I kissed the side of her neck, nipping at the skin.

“I’ll have to punish you.”

I burst out laughing as she suddenly lunged up, knocking me over. She scrambled out of bed.

“You’ll have to catch me first.”

Then she ran.

I grinned as I slid off the mattress. I was certain I was going to like this game.

I rolled my shoulders.

It was so on.

26

RICHARD

Dawn was breaking as I got out of bed, grabbing my running clothes and dressing in the en suite, not wanting to wake Katy. In the days following the meeting with Halton and my argument with Gracie, sleep was an elusive thing. It was bad enough I wasn’t sleeping much, but I hated disturbing Katy more than I was already. My restlessness was transferring to her, and the past few nights had been fraught with insomnia for both of us. She had finally sunk into a deep sleep about an hour ago, and I wanted her to rest.

Downstairs, I laced up my running shoes and slipped outside. I stood on the deck, breathing deeply. Surrounded by silence, I shut my eyes, letting the fresh morning air clear my head. I could hear the sound of the water as it lapped against the shore, and I blew out a long, cleansing sigh.