Page 79 of Don't Call Me Daddy
I yank the bottle from his hand, then help myself to the little bit that’s left. “I see you three have been busy.”
“We had to entertain ourselves somehow. Do you know how boring it is, searching for over an hour?” Luka says, now propping himself on Roman for balance.
“We almost gave up. Thought you two might be out here, bumping uglies or something. Figured maybe you didn’t want tobe found.” Guy hiccups and jumps like he’s just startled himself, which makes Roman and Luka both double over in laughter.
Nothing like my three drunk younger brothers to sober me back to the present.
“Well, you certainly did … find us, I mean.” I grab Luka’s arm and throw it over my shoulders as Ivy moves to help Guy, and we make our way back to the campsite.
My neck is still hot, and my mind’s racing a mile a minute, thinking of all the things I wanted to do to her had we not been interrupted.
“What’s all over your pants, Leo? Did you fall in a puddle or something back there? Why is it only wet around your dick?” Luka asks, which prompts Guy and Roman to offer their own explanations of what they think happened.
“Do you think he peed his pants?” Guy asks.
“No, it’s not spread out like a pee stream—trust me, I know what that looks like,” Luka offers, and I truly don’t want to know how he knows that.
“It’s weird though, isn’t it? There’s a distinct area of wetness?—”
“All right, that’s enough,” I snap, cutting them off before anyone has any better guesses.
We deliver them to their tents, and I make sure to supply them each with a bottle of water, a puke bucket, and a couple of painkillers.
Talk about things taking a left turn. It’s annoying as fuck to have to babysit my brothers, but I can’t say that I’m mad about their interruption. It’s giving me time to finally think with a clear head and figure out my next move.
I start toward my own tent, and it’s only then that I remember how inconvenient our sleeping arrangement is going to be.
Fuck me, this is going to be a long night.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ivy
“Coffee.”
I blink open my heavy eyes to find Leo crouching down in front of me, his face masked from all emotion. He passes me a cup of the steaming hot liquid as the scent of freshly brewed coffee fills the tent.
I sit up, accepting the offering as all the images of last night come rushing back to me. I rub my scratchy eyes, feeling the tiniest twinge of a headache growing at my temples, and as if Leo can read my mind, he passes me a couple of painkillers.
“You’ll feel better once you take this.”
“Thanks.” I toss back the pills as an awkward silence fills the air, both of us staring like we’re waiting for the other to speak first.
Last night, things got pretty heated, and to say Leo surprised me is the understatement of the century. I was so worked up, so turned on, that I couldn’t wait to pounce on him as soon as we were alone, couldn’t wait to finish what we’d started back in the woods.
But Leo being Leo wouldn’t hear of it. So, after he made sure his brothers were all set with what they needed and tucked into their own tents, he helped me into my sleeping bag and promptly turned out the lights without another word. He even went as far as sleeping on top of the sleeping bag with his head in the opposite direction.
I was tired and delightfully sated after the activities of the evening, and I figured he needed a little time to think. So, rather than pushing it, forcing him to talk to me—or God forbid pick up where we’d left off—I turned over and snuggled his muscular calf and slept better than I had in years.
I’m not so sure he can say the same, judging by the dark circles under his eyes and the look of remorse on his face.
“Listen, Ivy, about last night?—”
I hold up my hand to stop him before taking a cautious sip of my hot coffee. “Let’s not do the wholeI shouldn’t have let myself get carried awaybit. It’s too early for me to deal with your self-deprecation, and I’d like to keep my memory of last night untampered with.”
His lip twitches, and he brushes my wild mane out of my eyes. “I wasn’t going to apologize.”
I snap my eyes up, and this time, when he looks at me, I don’t see regret. Actually, he looks more at peace than I think I’ve ever seen him.
