Page 115 of Badd Baby

I held my place for another beat, but she still said nothing. With huff and a headshake, I left her there alone and went back to the party.

By three a.m., everyone over thirty was gone, leaving only the younger crowd—my boatload of cousins. And we can fuckin' party. Duncan and Rune had long since left as well, with an encouragement to us to keep the party going. Which we did.

Lindsey rallied, but stuck mainly to Raquel's side, hanging out with the handful of LA kids who were Rune's friends.

By four, I wasn't hammered, but I was pretty damn sloshed, and ready to call it. Rune and Duncan had taken their honeymoon to Hawaii—a last getaway before she was too pregnant to fly, which I hadn't realized was a thing, and before they had a baby and wouldn't be taking any vacations for a long damn time.

Which meant the guest room upstairs was open—Duncan had given me blanket permission to crash there when I needed, as long as I understood that they weren't going to be quiet on my account.

Noted.

Fortunately, they were on the flight to Hawaii, and I wouldn't have to hear them boning.

Thank god for that.

I shuffled, dizzy and unsteady, upstairs. Bounced off half a dozen different walls, found the guest room. Took a five-year-long piss in the en suite bathroom, stripped out of my clothes, and collapsed in the bed.

I woke up wrapped around a soft, warm, naked female body. Her bare ass was pressed against my groin, which was throbbing with a giant boner.

Um.

I went to bed alone. I know I did.

I cracked an eye open, saw a tangled haze of blonde. She shifted, and I caught a glimpse of a medusa tattoo at the base of her neck, usually hidden by her hair. She flung her arm aside, showing a semicolon tattoo on the inside of her wrist.

Lindsey.

Confused, I rolled to my back, away from her.

She twisted, rolling to follow me, and put her head on my chest. Huffed, nuzzled.

My heart clenched, flipped. What the fuck was going on?

I held still, frozen by sleepy indecision and confusion.

Her hand slid up my chest, found my mouth, and covered it. "Don't," she mumbled. "Just…shush."

"I…"

"Dane," she whispered. "Please. Don't say anything. I need this. Just this. Please."

“Okay, Linz. All right.”

I kept still, my arm around her shoulders, her soft breath slowly evening out as she fell back into a deep sleep.

I was a lot longer in returning to slumber.

I dreamed of Lindsey screaming, "GET OUT!" Dreamed of her on her knees, shaking, crying, but refusing to let me so much as touch her.

I dreamed a memory of that night we spent together—silver moonlight streaming through her window, bathing her naked body in quicksilver light, highlighting her lush curves, glinting off of her eyes as she smirked up at me while slipping sensuously down my body, mouth opening as she neared my aching cock…

The dream ended then, and I woke up with a start, seconds from coming.

"FUCK," I snarled, covering my face as I dragged myself back from that edge.

When I had myself under control, I glanced at the space beside me.

Empty.