Page 41 of Strength

With food in his belly and having watched some TV, Charlie soon drifted off to sleep. I tucked the blankets around him so he would be warm during the night. With a sigh, I stood back and watched him for a while. Emmett pulled me against him, and I wrapped my arms around his trim body.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

I felt his hands on my back again. “You’re welcome. I’m so sorry about this, you know that?” He kissed my forehead, then tilted my face up towards his.

“Emmett, it wasn’t your fault. Charlie ran out onto the road. You swerved and you missed him. That’s all you could have done.”

“I still feel terrible about it.”

With a sigh, I squeezed his hand.

He brushed his thumb across the dark circles under my eyes. “How much sleep have you gotten?”

I sniggered. “None.”

“I think you need some.”

“I know,” I whispered. But all I did was continue to gaze up into his blue eyes. I pushed myself up on my tiptoes.

Emmett’s fingers traced over my cheek and after a moment, he lowered his lips to mine. He breathed heavily as his tongue dived into my mouth. His kiss was slow and deep, and he took his time exploring my mouth. My arms looped around his neck, he scooped me into his arms. Without breaking the kiss, he carried me to the spare bed on the other side of the curtain and lay me down.

He sprawled himself on top of me when I wouldn’t let him go. “Here? Where a nurse might walk in?”

“I guess not.” I sighed as he ran his lips down my neck. “It would be highly inappropriate.”

“Mm-hmm.” He kept kissing me with those sexy lips and that skilled tongue while his masterful hands continued to explore my body through my clothing.

“Especially with my son sleeping right beside us.”

Emmett pulled up short. “Okay. That’ll do it.”

I belly laughed and we rearranged ourselves so we were both snuggling on the bed.

I felt Emmett’s fingers stroking through my hair. “I like that sound.”

“What sound?” I asked.

“Your laughter. You’re so happy around your son.”

“Yeah.”

“Is he the only reason you’re usually so guarded with people?”

It took me a moment to think about how to reply, or if I wanted to. “Our situation is a big part of it, but no, it’s not the only reason. I used to be an outgoing person. Cheerful and a bit of a spoiled brat, really. I didn’t have many rules growing up and I was encouraged to grab life by the horns and go for it.” I kept my gaze on Emmett’s fingers, which were playing with my own. “When I graduated from high school, I got accepted into nursing at my local university. But first I wanted to have a gap year.”

“What’s a gap year?” Emmett asked.

“There’s a bit of a rite of passage in Australia. School leavers tend to defer uni for twelve months in favour of travelling and working abroad. I decided to come and see my dad. He gave me work in the office at his production company, so I had a small income. I met people, made friends, went out a lot. I was enjoying my life.

“Then one day, Dad decided to let me visit the set of one of his movies. I was helping him get the extras ready when I saw this gorgeous guy talking to one of the stars. It was my ex-husband, Miguel. He was a part-time model who did shoots regularly around town. Dad warned me to stay away from him. Said he knew him and that the guy was trouble.”

Emmett arched an eyebrow. “Of course, you didn’t listen, I’ll bet.”

“Are you kidding me? A free-spirited teen suddenly being told what to do? Dad didn’t stand a chance. Turned out, neither did I. Miguel and I had a whirlwind romance. Parties, alcohol, sex. Never drugs. Miguel made me promise to never touch drugs, that I was too good for them. I got pregnant, and Dad washed his hands of me. He said having a pregnant teenage daughter was bad publicity.”

“Typical fucking L.A.,” Emmett groaned.

“Miguel proposed to me. I was so ecstatic that he wasn’t ditching me and wanted to be a part of our baby’s life, and I was so in love that I didn’t hesitate in saying yes to him. We moved in together and I was happy. I was living in a huge mansion in Santa Barbara with my husband, who I thought made all his money off modelling and music video appearances. I began to notice things though, and that was when Miguel began to change.”

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