Page 57 of Wyoming Bodyguard
Madden tucked his thumb and forefinger under her chin and forced her to meet his eyes. “Listen. It can be done. If that’s whatyouwant. Sometimes life smacks you in the face and forces you into a corner. But if you open yourself to different possibilities, you’ll see that corner is just a starting point for great things. Things that could lead you to wonderful places you never imagined. Hell, lead you to wonderful people you used to avoid.”
She grinned and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “Touché.”
“I understand you’re overwhelmed right now. Hell, anyone would be. No one would blame you for wanting the dust to settle before making a life changing decision. Just don’t shut your mind to anything right now.”
She nodded along with his words. “Okay. That makes sense. I’ll respond to the message tomorrow. No need to figure everything out in the moment. Now that we’ve talked me through my issue,” she said, pulling in a large breath, “how’d your conversation go with Dax?”
“It was interesting.” He squeezed the back of his neck. “Tough at first but necessary. We should have had that conversation a long time ago.”
“You told him about your dad?”
“Yeah, then we went in and spoke with Pops. We don’t need any secrets between us. Not anymore. Pops and I were trying to protect Dax, but he didn’t need protecting. He needed us to trust the man he was becoming. I only hope the choices we made didn’t force him into a future he’ll hate.”
She bumped against him. “A wise man once told me sometimes when we feel we’re being forced into something, we see where we should have always been.”
“Hmm,” he said, scratching his chin. “Sounds like a smart guy.”
She grinned, loving their easy banter. “He has his moments.”
A comfortable silence stretched between them. The emotions of the day settled on her shoulders, dragging her down. A yawn stretched her mouth, and a quick glance at the clock on the nightstand told her how late the hour had gotten.
“You need to sleep,” Madden said.
Staring up at him, her heart galloped as her unanswered question came back. He’d been her rock, her support, her protector but that didn’t mean his feelings went deeper than surface level. And as much as she enjoyed the charming guest room, she couldn’t help but wonder why he’d chosen to sleep separate. “You never answered me earlier.”
He flattened his palm against her jawline, hovering his face inches above hers. “If you think for one second I don’t want to sleep with you, you’re crazy. I just don’t want our first time to be with my dad and brother so close, and I need to keep my head on straight. I can’t keep letting things slip through the cracks, and honey, when I’m focused on you the way I want to be, I can’t see anything else.”
Heat licked up her body, and she swallowed hard. The preview she’d already experienced of what a night with Madden would bring came flooding back, and she agreed. They’d need a house all to themselves. No distractions. No worries. No one to hear the cries of pleasure she didn’t want to control.
“I get that,” she said. “Do you think you can at least lay with me for a while?”
“Now that I can do. Get under the covers while I shut off the light.”
She didn’t hesitate and slipped under the colorful quilt.
The light went out and Madden climbed in beside her, gathering her against him.
She sighed and closed her eyes, hoping to always feel as safe as she did in his arms.
* * *
As soon as Madden was certain Lily was asleep, he unhooked his arm from her waist and grabbed his phone from off the nightstand. He wanted nothing more than to stay snuggled in bed until he needed his next meal, but he had work to do. He pressed his lips to Lily’s forehead then snuck into the hall.
Dax walked out of the bathroom and his brow rose high. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Shut up,” Madden said, rolling his eyes. “I have some work to do and don’t want to wake Lily. Thought I’d head downstairs and make a pot of coffee.”
“Want some company?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
He’d rather sit in a quiet space with his thoughts and make a good plan to share with Reid, but after their chat earlier, refusing Dax didn’t seem wise. In the kitchen, he made a beeline for the ancient coffee machine and said a silent prayer as it chugged to life.
Dax sat at the island and folded his hands on top of the wooden butcher block. “So what’s going on with you two?”
He and Lily hadn’t had this conversation yet. No way he’d talk with his brother about it. “I’m helping her figure out this mess with her dad.”
Dax barked out a quick laugh. “Yeah. That’s all you’re doing.”
