Page 28 of Breaking Rules

Even though it was Saturday morning, my body woke me not long after six, telling me that I should have already been up and about. I’d essentially worked every Saturday from the time I was sixteen up until the time Evanne had been born, and then it had become every other Saturday until she’d moved in. But it wasn’t as if having Evanne here meant I was able to sleep much later than I did when I was working.

Today, however, I had no pressing need to get up. Well, aside from a need to use the bathroom.

I managed to get out of the bed without waking Lumen, and after I came out of the bathroom, I went back to my bedroom. She was still asleep, and for a moment, I stood in the doorway between the two rooms.

Lumen was twenty-four, but asleep, she looked younger. Honey blonde hair spilled over my pillow, and her porcelain skin practically glowed in the dim light. She’d pulled the sheets and blanket up around her, covering the body I knew as well as my own. Neither of us had bothered dressing after we’d cleaned up, and as I climbed back under the covers, her soft skin warmed mine. I wrapped an arm around her, and she rolled over, her breasts pressed to my side. Her bare thigh brushed against my cock, and blood rushed south.

In a bit, I’d get up and make her breakfast, I decided. While I might have liked to wake her in a more sensual way, we’d had sex more than once last night, and I knew she might be too sensitive for that to be a good idea. Before I started to cook, however, I wanted to take some time to enjoy this moment.

The next thing I knew, the sound of a door opening jarred me from sleep. The clock on the bedside table said it was a little after eight-thirty, but that just told me I’d most likely dozed off. It didn’t, however, explain why I heard voices coming from my living room.

I was out of bed and halfway to the door when I realized two things at once. First, I was naked. Second, the voices I heard were Keli and Evanne.

What the hell?

I grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt, pulling on the latter as I left the bedroom. I closed the door behind me and hoped I could figure out what was happening before Lumen woke up. Evanne wouldn’t freak out if she saw Lumen, but neither Lumen nor I had planned on this.

And who knew what Keli would do.

“Daddy!” Evanne threw her arms around me. “I had so much fun last night with Mommy that she said we could come home for breakfast and tell you all about it.”

I returned my daughter’s hug but looked at Keli over Evanne’s head. “How did you get in here?” I kept my voice calm, but inside, I was seething.

Keli held up a key. “You gave me a key and the code, remember?”

I narrowed my eyes. “For emergencies.”

“And what do you think this is, silly?” Keli giggled.

My eyes went wide. Where hadthatcome from?

“How,exactly, is this an emergency?” I spoke through gritted teeth.

“Because our daughter wanted to tell you about how our sleepover went.” Keli moved closer and put her hand on Evanne’s head. “Right, sweetie?”

“We went swimming,” Evanne announced. “And there were kids there fromUtah.”

“I’ll go put your things in your room,” Keli said. “You can put them away after we have breakfast.”

I opened my mouth to ask who thewein her statement was…and then remembered I had a naked woman in my bed. “Keli!”

She stopped two steps away from the hallway and turned, a confused expression on her face.

“Evanne needs to take care of her own things.” It was the maddest thing I could have said, but it was also the first thing that popped into my head.

“I think we can make an exception, Alec. Why don’t you and Evanne go start breakfast, and I’ll be right there.”

“Can we make pancakes?” Evanne tugged on my arm. “And I can tell you all about George and Keenan.”

Before I could respond to either of them, Lumen appeared behind Keli and my heart about stopped. The world went still, and I saw it all in minute detail. Bag over her shoulder, Lumen was dressed in casual clothes and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, she looked like any other woman on her way to the gym on a Saturday morning. But coming down the stairs, there was absolutely no way that Keli didn’t know why Lumen was here, even if she didn’t know who Lumen was.

“Ms. Browne!” Evanne ran to Lumen, who smiled even as her cheeks flooded with color.

“Good morning.” She hugged Evanne. “It’s good to see you.”

“You can have breakfast with us!” Evanne practically sang as she jumped up and down, clapping her hands in total glee. “We’re going to make pancakes!”

“No, honey, I can’t. I have someplace I need to be.” Lumen didn’t even look at me or at Keli, for that matter. “I’ll see you Monday, okay?”