Page 64 of Off Limits

Which made me wonder if I should leave or wait until he woke up. Or if I should wake him up. Or maybe he was awake and just didn’t want to face me…shit.

“Alec?” I whispered.

Nothing.

What now? I thought about our night at the hotel and what a hurry he’d been in to get home. Maybe it had been because he’d had Evanne to get home to, even if the child’s grandmother had been there to babysit. Or maybe he just didn’t like sleeping in hotels. With a bed this comfortable, I wouldn’t blame him. But whatever the reason, he hadn’t seemed interested in spending the night with me then. He probably wouldn’t be now either.

Before I could come to a decision, I heard a familiar buzz coming from the floor where Alec had left my jeans. My phone.

I disengaged myself from Alec as carefully as I could, somehow managing to keep from waking him. By the time I reached my pants, my phone had stopped buzzing, but I still dug it out to see who’d called.

Soleil. I’d given her my number after our shopping trip in case she needed anything else, and considering how late it was, I assumed it was urgent. I called her back.

“So, youaren’tignoring me,” she said as a greeting.

“What’s up, Soleil?”

“Why are you whispering?”

I stepped out of the bedroom and moved down the hall, away from Evanne’s room as well.

“It’s late,” I said to avoid a real answer. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I just…”

I could hear reluctance in her voice and gave her a gentle push. “Yes?”

“I went to a party, and I forgot my purse, and I don’t really know anyone here, and, well…”

“You need a ride.”

She sighed. “Forget it. This was a stupid idea.”

“I’ll come get you,” I said.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Give me the address. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

I didn’t have a car, but I could pay for a Lyft. Especially since I would’ve been paying for one anyway. At least this way, I had an excuse to leave the McCrae house, and neither Soleil nor I would be spending all of our trip alone.

Win-win.

Twenty-Three

Alec

When I wokeup in the morning, Lumen was gone, but that wasn’t the first thing I registered. No, the first thought that popped into my head was a question. Namely, why was I naked?

I never slept in the nude, not even before Evanne was born, but since then, I’d started wearing shorts or lounge pants instead of just underwear. Last night, however, I’d completely skipped the step of putting on my pajamas.

And then I remembered why.

I’d slept with Evanne’s teacher. Again.

Before, I’d had the excuse that I hadn’t known who she was. This time, I’d done it with full knowledgeandmy daughter in the house. I hadn’t planned on it, which was the only reason I didn’t feel like a complete scumbag.

I rolled onto my back and sighed. I didn’t have long before Evanne would be up, if she wasn’t already, and I needed to take a shower. I smelled like Lumen and sex. Not the sort of way I wanted to greet my daughter.