Page 72 of All the Forbidden Things

He can’t.

A million crazy thoughts rush through my mind. They range from hidden cameras allowing Max to spy on me in my room to me and my toys getting down and dirty with him.

Another shudder, this one I don’t hide so well. I lick my lips and continue to stare at him. Less than thirty seconds has probably passed since he spoke, but it feels like an eternity.

His gaze makes its way back to meet mine. “You gonna come over and get some dinner?”

“Is my brother still here?” I finally ask.

“Yeah, he’s going soon though.”

I nod. “I was gonna have a quick shower.”

“I’ll take Layla back; you get yourself sorted out.”

He steps into my bedroom, looks around, and says, “You’ve made it look nice. Anything else you need, just shout.”

Another nod from me before I look down at Layla. “She’s gone off to sleep.”

He picks her blanket up from the bed and moves towards me. He smells almost as good as he did this morning as he places the blanket over Layla’s head and back. Between us, we wrap her up, and he lifts her into his arms. “I’ll see you in a bit. Any preference for dinner?”

“Nup, I’m easy. Starving, but easy.”

“I’m sure Wendy’s left something in the fridge or the freezer. I’ll work it out.”

My front door closes behind him and I move down the stairs to lock it. On my way back, I grab my vibrator from my drawer and then head for the shower.

Max

Billie Wild has the voiceof a fucking angel. A husky, soulfully sexy-sounding angel, and don’t even get me started on the way those hips and that arse of hers move. I feel guilty at these thoughts as I hold my daughter against me while walking into my kitchen and meeting the eyes of my best mate, and Billie’s brother, who’s sitting at my table drinking a beer.

But not as guilty as I probably should.

I hand Layla off to Cal without a word and go in search of food. Wendy usually makes a couple of meals and leaves them in the fridge or freezer. We ate the lasagna last night, but that appears to be all there was.

I close the fridge door, check the freezer, and then pull a pile of takeaway menus from the drawer.

“She doing all right?”

I turn and look at Cal, who tips his head in the general direction of Billie’s flat.

I nod. “I didn’t know she could sing.”

“Billie? Yeah, she’s sounded like a thirty-year-old, twenty-a-day smoker since she was about five. You don’t remember when she used to get on the mic in the studio?”

I do, but I probably didn’t have my cans on and didn’t pay attention. “Not sounding like that I don’t.”

I watch as his jaw moves as if he’s clenching them or chewing on the inside of his cheek. When my eyes meet his, he’s staring right at me.

“What?” I question.

“She’s grown up a lot since you last saw her, been through a lot too.”

I nod, giving away nothing.

I hope.

“She’s a great girl, she’s good with Layla, and Layla seems happy with her.” I clear my throat, attempting to sound casual and not at all like I’m thinking about Billie naked and wet in the shower across the road right now. “She’s just taking a quick shower then she’ll be over. I’m gonna order a takeaway if you want to stay.”