Page 91 of Ours to Keep

I push to my feet and pull him in for a hug. “Thanks again, man, for everything.”

He pulls back and nods before bumping his fist with River and tossing his cup into the bin as he exits the room.

“Are you okay to stay with Mia? I need to call Tommy and Lily, and I really don’t want to risk her waking up alone.”

River downs the rest of his coffee and nods. “Of course.” His gaze moves to Mia. “The sooner Lily and Tommy are here with us, the better.”

He’s right, of course. I know we had a purpose for coming here. Our main goal was to get Mia safe and out from under the manipulative influence of Richard. But being away from Lilywhile she was in Torquay with Tommy has been damn right exhausting. I know it was a necessary evil, but we miss her.

I don’t know what the future holds, but if I have my way, it will be us together as a family, and the sooner we’re back together, the better.

Chapter Forty-Three

LILY

The first thing I notice when I wake up is the feeling of being well fucked. My core pulses, reminding me of how much action I’ve had in the past, what? Thirty-six hours? I didn’t expect Tommy to accept my offer, but submitting to him was everything he needed. It also turned me on more than I would have thought. I know I’m inexperienced, and if anything, I thought I’d be quite a vanilla girly, which would be perfectly fine. But something tells me between these men, I’ll be willing to explore. The thought of the others having their wicked way in a similar manner has my skin heating all over again.

But what surprised me even more was that Tommy stayed. He never left me.

I was barely able to keep my eyes open when he untied my wrists and cleaned me up. In fact, I don’t recall much after that.

Waking with my cheek resting against his chest, the last thing I want to do is move, but I need to pee. My hand flexes on Tommy’s lower stomach, the soft light from the lamp on the bedside table highlighting the deep V taunting me to dip my hand lower, but I quickly shake those thoughts away. Maybe one day, but what we’ve already shared is huge. Instead, Islowly sit up, grateful to see he somehow dressed me in his t-shirt last night.

I almost bring it to my nose and smell it, but my breath catches in my throat when I find his sparkling green eyes shining back at me.He has his arm tucked under his head in the most relaxed pose, and hejustlooks content.

“Morning, Sunshine,” he says with a smile.

“You stayed,” I reply, reaching up to try and tame my hair, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

His free hand stills my movements. “Of course. Where else would I be?”

I swallow back the lump in my throat.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Where were you trying to sneak off to anyway,” he says, his tone playful.

I swear he just wants to make me blush, and it’s working. “To use the bathroom, if you must know,” I reply.

His phone begins to ring on the bedside table. He reaches for it, and I look past him to the small digital clock; it’s barely after six in the morning.

“Hello?” Tommy’s eyes stay focused on me. “Yeah, she’s here.”

His eyes widen. “Let me put you on speakerphone.”

If I hadn’t already fallen for him, I think those words alone—and him not keeping me in the dark like some helpless excuse for a human—would do the trick. “Thank you,”I mouth.

“We have her, Duchess. We found Mia.”

I cover my mouth with my hand, hardly believing what I hear. As if sensing my need to soak in his declaration, he waits a few seconds before continuing. “We’re at a hospital, and they want to keep her in for a day or two under observation. River is in her room with her now. She’s sleeping.”

My heart races and my stomach churns. “What? Is she hurt, d-did he hurt her?”

“He’d been giving her mild sedatives and she has some bruising, but otherwise physically she seems to be okay. But mentally and emotionally, she’s going to need a lot of support.”

“Of course. But I want to see her. I need to see her,”I say, blinking away the tears threatening to fall.I’m alreadytrying to figure out the quickest way to get to Nice.

“Then it’s a good thing there’s a private plane arranged for you and Tommy from Exeter, ready for departure at Ten AM.”

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