Page 62 of Stepbrothers

“Perfect.” She smiled.

He set it on the bedside dresser. “There should be towels in the bathroom.”

“Yes, there are.”

“Do you need anything else?”

She dropped the face wipe into a small wastepaper basket. “I’m sure I’ll be very comfortable.” She hesitated. Her nipples were tight, and her heart rate picked up. “Doyouneed anything?”

He half-smiled. “I want you,” he said. “But I can see you’re tired. Exhausted. Sleep should be the next thing on your agenda. You clearly need more of it than most people.”

“I am sorry about that.” Another yawn.

He stepped up to her and set his warm palms on her shoulders. “I’m just happy you’re here. And Hugh will be, too.”

“What about Trig? He’ll come back at some point, right? And this is his room.”

“He’d have had a good go at whooping my ass if I’d left you, his new sister, in that flat. And being that he’s now military trained, he’d probably get lucky.” He kind of huffed. “Not that I can’t put up a good fight against him.”

“Did you fight a lot when you were kids?”

“Only the way three brothers do. A few black eyes, bleeding noses, split lips. Mom always said it was easier for her to sort out if she owned the hitter and the hit.”

“Wise woman.”

He kissed her brow. “Get some sleep, baby, tomorrow is another day.”

Chapter Thirteen

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Mmm?” Clarice opened her eyes and blinked, the unfamiliar furniture and the gray walls disorientating her.

“Coffee?”

Hugh was sitting on the edge of the bed holding a steaming white mug. In a tight black t-shirt that hugged his muscles to perfection, he was a good first sight of the day.

“Thanks.” She sat and cleared her throat. Reached for it. “What time is it?”

He glanced at his silver watch. “Seven.”

“Shit.” She took a hasty sip of coffee. Burned her tongue. “Fuck.”

“What?” he asked, looking alarmed.

“I’m late for work. Or I will be in thirty minutes.” She set the drink down and shoved at the duvet.

“No problem. I’ll drive you there.”

“What? No.” She stood. “You’ve just done a night shift, you must be exhausted.

“Nope, we only had one callout. I got a decent few hours’ sleep.” He stood and dug a set of keys from his pocket. “So you get ready and I’ll be waiting.”

Clarice didn’t have time to argue. Dashing into the en suite, she washed, brushed her teeth, dragged a brush through her hair, and threw on her clothes.

“Ready?” Hugh said when she trotted into the living area looping the strap of her purse over her shoulder.

“Yep.”

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