Page 120 of Denial
This beautiful woman is taking over my life in ways I never even dreamed of.
She glances over her shoulder then, catching me staring. “What?”
I drag my eyes over her once more before meeting her gaze. “I seem to be missing my shirt,” I say, voice rougher than I intended.
A light flush hits her cheeks, coloring them pink. She tugs at the hem. “Sorry, I thought you were finished.”
“I am. You should keep it.”
A small smile plays about her lips.
“What’s got you standing in my bathroom like that?” I continue.
She holds up her right hand, her pink toothbrush clutched in her fist. “I was coming to brush my teeth.”
My gut hollows, picking up on where this is going.
She holds out her left hand and the toothbrush in the package I set out this morning. “Found this one.”
I search her brown eyes.
She cocks an eyebrow. “Care to explain?”
I wet my lips. “You’re in my bed. Been sleeping with you for nearly two weeks now. I thought we could stop pretending like you aren’t actually staying here.” Nervous, I cross my arms with a tight shrug. “It’s just a toothbrush. But seeing it next to mine means something to me.”
“You want me to leave my toothbrush in the bathroom?”
“Yeah.”
Alice doesn’t say anything. She moves to the sink and brushes her teeth, her eyes locked on mine through the mirror. When she’s finished, she drops her pink toothbrush in the cup beside mine.
On her way out of the bathroom, she stops in front of me. With her palm flat on my chest, she rises up onto her tiptoes and presses a soft kiss against my lips. Twining her fingers with mine, she tugs me toward the bed, where I spend the rest of the night fucking her through three orgasms and she falls asleep after with her head on my chest.
Screaming wakes me up.
It isn’t a voice, but the siren of the security alarm after a breach without being disengaged first. I roll out of bed and into my closet to access my gun safe. With a simple finger scan, the vault opens. By the time I exit, Alice is on her feet, her expression a heart-wrenching combination of terror and confusion.
“What’s happening?”
Grabbing her hand, I rush us from the bedroom.
“We need to get into Nellie’s room.”
I enter first with Alice at my back, noting the way my daughter sleeps soundlessly as if there isn’t a blaring siren overhead. After securing the room, checking the closet, the window, and beneath the bed, I grab Alice by the shoulders.
My phone rings in my pocket, but I ignore it. It’s more than likely the monitoring center for the security company. Without my response, they’ll contact dispatch. Fine by me. I don’t give a fuck if they send in the fucking National Guard. Not until I know for certain my family is safe.
“Lock the door.” I grip her upper arms and yank her in for a hard, fast kiss, wishing we had time for more while knowing we don’t.
“Go,” she urges, then I rush up the stairs as the door clicks shut.
Merit is prowling by the back screen door with her hackles raised. The alarming tone of her barks rivals the security system. Noting the doors are closed, I clear the kitchen first, then pull out my phone, typing the letter Z into Silas’s text thread and hit send.
The preset message will let him know I need backup at the house.
I move silently through my home, checking every window and door for possible points of entry. The playroom, my office, the bathroom, and the living room windows all remain secure. The front and back doors are shut with no sign of forced entry. But I know better than to let my guard down until I’ve combed over every single inch.
I pull up my camera feed on my phone. My neck muscles are tight as I first scroll through the past hour, checking the front and rear of the house. Nothing. I flip the camera over to live view, nearly jumping out of my skin as Silas jumps out of his SUV at the curb with his gun in hand.
