I bit my lip again. Then I said, “Okay.”

“Go to sleep, honey. Everything’s all right right now. That’s all you gotta think about.”

“Okay.”

“’Night, baby.”

“Goodnight Mitch.”

* * * * *

Mitch

Mara moved in the bed, curling into Billie at the same time curling into Mitch. He woke as he felt her move into him.

He was on his back and one beautiful adolescent female and one beautiful adult female were pressed into his side, both their arms thrown over his gut, Billie’s head at his ribs, Mara’s head settling on his shoulder.

Not for the first time he noticed that Mara’s hair smelled unbelievably f**king great.

He stared at the dark ceiling thinking about Mara and her boundaries.

Then he grinned at the dark ceiling.

Then he thought about Mara’s long, shapely bare legs which he remembered seeing in shorts on a variety of occasions during the summers. He’d also seen them on a variety of occasions in a bikini when he’d been at the bar in the clubhouse or on his way into or out of the gym to work out and she’d been lounging by the pool outside. And he’d seen them the morning before when she’d been in a short robe and that cute nightie. The nightie she was wearing right now. The nightie that clung to a lot of really f**king great places and showed most of her equally f**king great legs which went on for-fucking-ever.

Summer was coming.

His grin grew into a smile.

Then he fell asleep.

Chapter Fourteen

I’ll Go Gentle

My eyes slowly opened and even just upon waking, I was profoundly confused.

This was because my vision was filled with an immensely attractive, no, criminally attractive smooth-skinned, defined, hard-muscled wall of chest as well as the top of Billie’s head pressed to the sculpted ridges of some ribs. Then there was my arm under Billie’s arm slung over a flat, carved stomach.

I blinked and the chest was still there, Billie was still there and our arms were still there.

I blinked slower and found the same when I opened my eyes.

Cautiously, I tipped my head back and as it went I saw a familiar, corded throat then a familiar, strong, square, dark-stubbled jaw and then I was staring at Ten Point Five Detective Mitch Lawson’s profile. Locks of hair had fallen on his forehead, his eyes were closed, his thick long lashes resting on his cheeks and him lying there sleeping was beyond hot. It was mega-hot. It was immeasurable hot.

He was so beautiful I couldn’t breathe.

I’d been so worried about Billie last night and so out of it about everything I hadn’t realized he was bare-chested. I also hadn’t really let myself think of being in his bed with him and with him bare-chested.

I liked it. All of it.

Oh boy.

I looked at the alarm clock and it was ten minutes after I usually got up to get myself sorted so I could then start getting the kids sorted. I didn’t have to run them to school today since Mitch was doing it. Still, it was time to start on the day because Mitch might be running them to the school but someone had to get them up, showered, dressed, book bags packed (wherever those were) and fed.

And that someone was me.

Carefully, I moved my head from Mitch’s shoulder and then bent down. Pulling Billie’s dark hair out of her face and smoothing it back, I leaned in to kiss her temple. My poor girl had been scared last night of something that was very real.

That was another thing on the morning’s agenda. Find some way that didn’t scare the hell out of them to talk to Billy and Billie about what Billie meant.

“Sweetheart,” I heard Mitch rumble.

My head tipped back to look at him and seeing his sexy-drowsy face, his eyes warm on me, those locks of hair on his forehead, something happened to me that hadn’t happened since I was four years old and learned about the world I lived in which was a place I could never leave.

I got transported to a fantasy world.

“Hey,” I whispered.

His hand came up and cupped my cheek as his eyes roamed my face.

Then he responded, “Hey.”

“You sleep okay?” I asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Mitch answered quietly.

“Good,” I whispered. “I’ve got to get the kids ready for school. How do we do that and not interrupt your morning schedule?”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll work around you.”

Jeez. He was such a nice guy.

“’Kay,” I said softly.

His eyes dropped to my mouth, they became heated, my chest heated in return and he ordered gently, “Come here.”

I went there, not thinking, just moving toward him as his hand slid from my cheek into my hair. When I got close his eyes roamed my face again, all around and down to my shoulders and neck.

“Never seen you with your hair down,” he murmured, his fingers sifting through it. “It’s softer than I imagined.”

He imagined how soft my hair was?

His hand cupped the back of my head and his eyes locked on mine. “And I thought it would be pretty, f**kin’ soft.”

“Mitch,” I whispered then said no more.

His fingers put pressure on my scalp, pulling me toward him then his mouth put pressure on mine.

God. I liked this fantasy world. It was freaking great.

Billie shifted between us and Mitch’s hand moved out of my hair. I turned to the side and looked down to see she had her head tipped back and her sleepy, little girl eyes were on us.

“Is Mitch your boyfriend now, Auntie Mara?” she asked.

At her question, I came crashing out of my fantasy world.

Shit!

I started to pull away and Mitch’s arm around my back tightened, his hand shifting up to between my shoulder blades, flattening and holding me close therefore I had no choice but to freeze.

“Um…” I mumbled.

Shit!

I decided to shift the subject and asked gently, “You sleep okay, sweetie?”

“Miss my teddy,” Billie replied.

Personally, I thought Detective Mitch Lawson was far superior to a tiny pink teddy bear but I wasn’t six years old.

“We’ll find him for you,” I promised.

Mitch moved and I watched him hook Billie under her armpit and slide her up his chest so she was face to face with him and, incidentally, me.

His arm wrapped around her back and he asked, “You eat oatmeal, gorgeous?”

Billie scrunched her face and answered, “Donuts.”

I watched up close as Mitch grinned into her face and that whoosh flowed through my belly. It was far more dangerous when I was lying in bed with him, pressed close to him (and Billie) at the same time witnessing him being so sweet to my cousin.