Page 29 of Twenty Years Later

Watching him and listening to him, my heart swelled with a million emotions. I couldn't help but think back to all those sleepless nights when Audrey had been an infant waking me up to nurse. I had been such a zombie from lack of sleep and the crushing loss of Blake.

Those days were a blur of pain, exhaustion, and longing to share those nights with my husband, to have some kind of help and support with a newborn. I realized Alex had probably felt the same way, and I wondered exactly when his wife had left him. Hadn't he said very soon after Gabby was born?

I felt a surge of empathy with him that we had both experienced something so similar. And I imagined him alone in the kitchen in the middle of the night, heating up a bottle of milk, feeling that same bone-weary tiredness and loneliness.

Holding the monitor in my hand, the minutes ticked by, and Gabby was still very much awake. My own eyes grew heavy as I wondered how long it might take, remembering some of those three-hour, middle-of-the-night sessions I'd endured with Audrey, trying to get her back to sleep.

If that was the case, maybe I should sleep here after all. I certainly didn't want to take off and disappear without telling him. Finally deciding to remove the bra and stripping down to just the t-shirt and my underwear, I set the alarm on my phone then slid under Alex's soft sheets.

As I rested my head on one of his comfy pillows, I could hardly believe where I was—in Alex's bed! How many times had I thought about this very thing? Maybe not with him helping his daughter get to sleep down the hall. But still!

Burying my head in one of his pillows, I breathed in his masculine scent that surrounded me and seeped into my soul.Alex.I brought the sheets up higher and clutched them around me, closing my eyes, imagining it was him.

I must have eventually drifted off because, sometime later, I half-awoke to a warm arm around my stomach and a hot, hard body pressed right up behind me.

Chapter Nine

Jayda

My heart hammered against my chest, and now I was fully awake, fully aware of Alex cuddled up next to me, spooning me, just like I absolutely loved. I couldn't believe how amazingly well we fit together, his tall body perfectly outlining mine.

Was he awake? His slow, steady breathing told me he was asleep, and I wondered how long he'd been there.

I snuggled even closer, trying to memorize the feel of him, his strong arm tight against me just under my breasts, squeezing me into his powerful chest. The feel of his breath tickling the back of my neck, making my hair flutter with each exhale. The feel of his muscular legs tucked up under mine.

Not able to help it, I did the thing I really wanted to do. I nestled my bottom closer to him, wanting to feel him up against me. And that's what did it. I felt him stir, felt his arm pull me in even more, his head moving against my hair with a deep breath against my neck that gave me instant chills.

"Sorry I woke you," I breathed out with barely a whisper in case he wasn't really awake.

"Don't be sorry," he whispered back. His face nuzzled in closer. "Sorry I took so long."

He planted a long, slow kiss on the back of my neck, and any words I wanted to say were lost to me as the sensations poured through me. Our bodies were flush together, my back into his front, as we both started to move, somehow getting even closer.

I reached around with one arm to feel him and realized he wore no shirt, just his boxers. He let out a breath as I touched him, his skin hot, almost like a fever raged in him.

His lips continued with open-mouth kisses on my neck, forging a scorching path upward, the roughness from his whiskers making every nerve ending crackle with electricity. When his mouth reached my ear, my heart began to pound. What was it about this man? He set off fireworks in me with his every touch, unlike anything I'd ever felt before.

He sucked my earlobe into his mouth, setting my core on fire. When he bit down, I let out a loud moan, quickly clamping my hand over my mouth. We both froze, waiting, listening for the space of several heartbeats. But nothing. No sounds from down the hall or from the video monitor that cast a slight glow over us.

"Your fault," I whispered, smiling.

And then he did it again, biting even harder, making me nearly cry out again. But this time, I was able to swallow back the sound.

"Oh, it's like that, huh?" I asked.

I laughed at the game he was playing and decided to play my own version. Since it was difficult to roll over with his heavy arm pinning me in place, I did the only thing I could think of—I pushed my ass all the way back so his hardness pressed right up against me. I started to move, increasing the friction, eliciting a heavy groan from him that made me giggle at the lusty noise in my ear.

"Oh, really? You think that's funny?" he whispered, his hot breath near my ear fanning the flames of my need.

His hand started to move, at first barely brushing against my stomach, then under the t-shirt, skimming my skin and moving upward. My breath hitched when he reached the sensitive skin just under my breasts. He paused, making me light-headed with anticipation. Then his big, warm hand grasped me fully, his thumb brushing against my hardened nipple, making me gasp. I arched into him, wanting more, needing more.

"The way you fill my hand makes me sodamn hot," he said against my neck.

He squeezed and caressed my breast, and then he moved on to the other side in a full-on sensual assault as his lips sucked that sensitive spot right below my ear and his body moved against mine. His hand moved lower and slipped under my panties to grasp the bare skin on my bottom, his hot grip branding me.

Oh, fuck me.

"If you say so," he breathed.

---