Page 44 of Drive To Survive

Everly’s stricken expression bore a deep hole in my stomach. She pulled Rhett into her arms and squeezed him so tightly he grunted. “You haven’t been bad, honey. It was a nightmare. That’s all. But it’s over now. Go to sleep, and in the morning, you’ll have forgotten all about it.”

Thank fuck. He’d had a bad dream that must have felt real. For a split second there, I’d feared the worst, that Everly and Rhett had somehow had contact with Paul and she hadn’t told me.

Relax, dickhead. That wouldn’t have made any sense. They’d been living with me for over a week. If Paul had reappeared, I’d know about it.

I walked into the hallway ahead of Everly. She followed, closing Rhett’s door softly behind her, then rubbed her hand over her face and blew out a slow breath.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“A little after four.”

She pinched the corners of her eyes. “Doubt I’ll get back to sleep now.”

I winked and slung an arm around her shoulder. “I can think of other things we can do to pass the time until morning.”

She smiled and nuzzled against me. “Thank you.”

I kissed her temple. “For what?”

“Everything.”

I laughed. “Well, I am pretty awesome.”

She rolled her eyes. “Jerk.”

We climbed back into bed, and I pulled Everly into my side, then flicked off the bedside lamp, casting us into darkness.

“What was his nightmare about?”

Her breath hitched. “He dreamed his dad came back and told him he’d left because Rhett was bad.” She heaved a sigh. “He used to have this dream a lot when Paul first left, but it’s been more than six months since it happened. I’d hoped he’d gotten over it.”

“The mind is a funny thing,” I said, squeezing her tightly. “None of us truly know what the brain is capable of, and especially in children. They’re blessed with an overactive imagination at the best of times.”

“Yeah.” She sounded so weary and beat down, and all I wanted was to fix everything for her, to put her and Rhett back together.

“Come here,” I said, rolling her on top of me. Her hair fell forward, and I tucked it behind her ears, then leaned up and kissed her.

“Do you have a permanent hard-on?” she asked, wriggling against me.

I raised my hips, seeking more friction. “These days, it seems so, especially when you rub up against me like that.”

My eyes had adjusted to the darkness enough to see her broad grin. “I love your accent. Talk dirty to me.”

A laugh burst out of me. “I’ve never had a woman ask me that before.” Probably because the liaisons didn’t last long enough for them to ask me such a thing.

“Really?” Her head cocked to the side. “I’ve never asked anyone to do it before either. Guess we’re both dirty-talk virgins.”

My laughter grew. “You’re a crazy girl. You know that?”

She burrowed her face in my neck, then her lips touched my ear. “I’m serious, Nico. I want to hear dirty words come out of your sexy-as-sin mouth in that clipped English accent of yours. It’ll be so hot.”

I flipped her over, settling between her parted legs. I ground my hips into her. “Can you feel how hard I am right now?”

She nodded, her teeth grazing over her bottom lip.

“That’s you, Everly. The thought of how wet you are, the panting little breaths you make right before you come, the way your pussy clamps around my dick five seconds before you orgasm. All those things make me so fucking hard I swear I’m gonna burst.”

She circled her hips beneath me. “More,” she breathed.

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