There with You (Adair Family 2)

I huffed, but I really didn’t care. I wanted to fall asleep in his arms more than anything. “Will you set the alarm?”

“I will,” he promised.

By the time he got undressed, set the alarm, and climbed into bed beside me, I was giddy with anticipation. This, to me, was just as great as sex. His muscular arm pulled me back into his chest, and I hit his steely warmth. The hair on his legs tickled mine, and I curled my foot around his calf, entangling us. He buried his face in my neck, cupped my breast possessively, and relaxed completely into me.

Certain that he was okay about this, I relaxed too.

Pure contentment lulled me into a deep, deep sleep.

* * *

“Ree-Ree.”

I moaned as a familiar voice cut into my dreaming.

“Daddy?”

An arm laid heavily over my waist. I felt the tickle of Thane’s beard on my shoulder and the throb of his morning erection against my ass. I pushed into it with a moan.

“Ree-Ree, Daddy, wake up!”

I tensed and the arm around me tightened too.

No.

No, no, no.

“Santy’s been! Wake up!”

A tug at the duvet had my eyes flying open and my hand reached out to grab hold of it to keep it covering me and Thane.

Eilidh stood at my side of the bed, staring at me with those big, curious blue eyes. They danced with her inquisitive impatience. “Why are you in Daddy’s bed?”

“Fuck,” Thane muttered into my skin.

Think fast, think fast, think fast.

“Uh, well, I must have fallen asleep here waiting for Santa.”

Her eyes widened. “Did you miss him? ’Cause he’s been! He filled my stocking and there are lots of nice things in there I want to show you!”

I winced at her loudness but covered it with a smile. “Why don’t you go back into your room to wait for me and your dad? We’ll be right in.”

“But—”

“Eilidh-Bug …” Thane lifted his head from my shoulder. “Do as Regan says. Wait for us in your room, sweetheart.”

“Okay!” She began backing away. “But hurry, Daddy!”

Once the door slammed shut behind her, both of us jumped out of bed.

“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” I frantically pulled on my clothes.

“It’s fine,” Thane said, though his expression belied his calm. “She doesn’t understand what she saw, and she’s too excited to care or remember.”

“Are you sure?” I trembled as I pulled on my sweater.

“Positive.” He strode around the bed and put his hands on my shoulders. “Just act normal and she’ll forget about it.”

I nodded, but as I followed Thane out of the room, I feared I wouldn’t be able to pretend. It wasn’t just that I worried about Eilidh being confused by finding me in bed with her dad. I was angry and depressed that after everything that had passed between me and Thane, we were still sneaking around like we were doing something wrong.

What we had felt more right than anything ever in my life.

Why couldn’t he see that too?

33

Regan

Thane was right.

Eilidh didn’t even mention finding me in her father’s bed. She was too busy showing us everything in her stocking (which, of course, we’d already seen because we put it there) while we oohed and aahed.

“Can we wake Lewis now?” she begged in a shout loud enough to wake the dead after Thane said we couldn’t open the presents downstairs until her brother was awake.

Her dad and I exchanged a look before Thane went off to check if her shouting had woken Lewis. A couple minutes later, Thane returned with a sleepy Lewis in his arms. Lew held his stocking.

“Merry Christmas, sweetie.” I leaned up to kiss him on the cheek.

To my delight, he reached for me. “Merry Christmas, Ree-Ree.” Thane handed him over and even though he weighed a ton, I held on tight and gave him a big cuddle before lowering him to the floor.

My heart was full.

And it just kept filling, swelling with the sweet tightness of too much emotion as the day stretched on. Eilidh and Lewis were beyond delighted with their gifts from Santa and their presents from their dad, me, and the rest of the family. Thane said he loved the photograph Robyn had taken of Eilidh and Lewis on the beach. She’d taken it a few months ago when she, I, and the kids had gone for a walk during their October vacation. It had been a moody day, but the sunbeams had spilled through a break in the clouds, creating this amazing light across the sand dunes. There was water in little pools along the shore, and Eilidh and Lewis had taken great pleasure in making footprints in the wet sand.

They had rushed ahead of us and Robyn had captured a beautiful shot of Lewis turning to reach for Eilidh’s hand to help her across a wider pool of water.