Page 49 of Tickled Pink

“I don’t know. Distant? Distracted? He didn’t come to bed with us last night.”

Thad shrugs. “He’s working on that big case, isn’t he?”

“There’s always a big case,” I say. “Max always makes time for us.”

Thad rubs my arm. “I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“No?”

“No. That’s just Max being Max. You know what he’s like.”

I nod, trying to convince myself. “But you don’t think it could be…”

I trail off, not wanting to even voice the thought out loud.

“What?” Thad asks.

I swallow hard. “There’s… no one else, right? Like… he doesn’t have a work wife or something?”

Thad scoffs. “A work wife? Max? Hell no.”

“No?”

“No, Phoebe. Absolutely not.”

“Are you sure?”

“Max is no cheater. I’ve known him my entire life. He’s not one to stray, and he sure as hell would never do that to you.”

“Never?”

“Never. I promise.”

He kisses my forehead. I nod.

“Right,” I say, feeling foolish. “Of course. You’re right. I’m just being stupid.”

Thad rolls me toward him, placing me on my back beside him. He caresses my cheek and smirks. “You’re not stupid. You’re perfect. We’re perfect. The three of us.” He runs his thumb along my bottom lip. “Though, I must admit, last night was pretty nice without him.”

I smile. “Oh, really?”

“I like having you all to myself sometimes,” he whispers, as if it were a dirty little secret.

He kisses me softly and cradles me in his thick arms. Lust spikes inside of me as I feel his cock grow hard against my hip.

“Thad?” I whisper, our lips caressing.

“Yeah?”

He kisses me harder. Deeper. My heart flutters with warmth and love as he moves his hand between my thighs.

“You really think there’s nothing else going on with him?” I ask, unable to help it.

Thad breaks our kiss and leans back slightly on his elbow, but he keeps his other hand firmly planted an inch away from my slit. “I’ll tell you what, Phoebe,” he says. “Tonight, I’ll make myself scarce, and you and Max can spend the night alone together.”

I blink. “Really?”

“Then you’ll see that Max is the same loving, handsome bastard he’s always been.” He brushes a few stray red locks out of my eyes. “And it’ll be nice for each of us to get a little one-on-one time with you before your trip tomorrow.”

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