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After I’ve laid Bailey back in her bed, I quickly use the opportunity to get her a glass of water and wash my hands, which are still shaking from having just touched heaven on this side of dying. I’m asked the question I’ve been waiting for from the moment she almost wheeled herself into a scene she may not quite have understood. “Daddy, was that Laura I heard?”
Brushing her tussled hair away from her forehead, I lean down and press my lips against it. “It was.”
Bailey sleepily smiles up at me before snuggling into her pillow. “Do you think—” She interrupts herself with an enormous yawn.
“Do I think what, Buttercup?”
“Would she tuck me in too?” There’s a light in her eyes that causes me to pause. Bailey’s eyes, so much like my own, are reflecting hope. It makes me wonder if my eyes give away my emotions just as easily.
Disconcerted, I brush some stray hairs off her face. “I’ll go ask her.”
“I think . . .”
“What, Buttercup?”
Then she blurts out, “I love Laura, Daddy.”
Her words still my fingers. I knew the two were getting closer, but to hear words reserved for me solidify my growing feelings for Laura and cause a flurry of trepidation. Shoving the latter aside due to the newness of it all, I resume skimming my fingers through her hair.
Her sleepy smile lets me know she might not make it until Laura makes it into her room. “Thanks, Daddy. Love you.”
“I love you, Bailey. More than anything.” Stepping back, I dim her light and make my way down the corridor to find Laura.
The second she hears my shoes on the hardwood, she whirls. “Is everything all right?”
“Bailey’s fine. She is, however, asking if you wouldn’t mind saying goodnight.”
Laura moves swiftly in my direction. Just as she’s about to pass, my hand snags her wrist. Her head snaps up and our eyes meet. Every second we burned like fire in each other’s arms leaps between us. Heat flags her high cheekbones and I know she’s reliving every kiss, each touch between us.
It’s enough to let her go for now. Releasing her, I urge, “Go. Before she falls asleep.”
“I’ll be back.” Then, with a swoosh of her gown, she makes her way down the hall.
I head over to the table where I left my drink and throw what’s left of it back. The burn down my throat doesn’t begin to relieve what I really want—her.
Laura.
In my bed.
But more important than the need to feel what it’s like to slide my cock deep inside her, I need to think. More importantly, so does she. Bailey asking for her tonight reminded me there’s too much at stake here for me to give into my baser instincts. There’s a bond of trust that’s entwined three ways.
So, what happens after Laura and I give in to what this is between us?
Part of me bitterly regrets what Bailey interrupted while a small part of me is relieved. “I will never do anything to deliberately hurt her.”
Laura’s voice comes from behind me. “Time and again, you’ve shown that.”
My head twists, and I find her casually leaning against the wall, studying me. “How long have you been standing there?”
“Long enough to recognize you regret what occurred here between us.” She waves her arm to indicate the general room.
“Regret’s the wrong word.”
“Then what’s the right one?”
I hold out my hand for her, one she steps forward and takes without hesitation. Wrapping her back up in my embrace, I rest my head on the crown of her head. “How was Bailey?”
I feel her smile against the skin still exposed by my open tuxedo shirt. “Almost asleep. She mumbled something about a fairy princess right before she went down for the count.”