“Maybe.” He chuckled. He’d not had this much fun after sex in a long time, if ever. Given his schedule and his rules about not sleeping over, usually he was gone right after the big moment. But now, lying here with Tara felt natural, comfortable, non-threatening. An alarm bell went off distantly in his head, but he shoved it aside. “Maybe we’ll have to build things together more often.”
“Maybe.” She shivered beneath him and he moved slightly to pull her closer. “Cold?”
“No.” She snuggled into his side, seemingly as happy and content as he felt. “Just tired.”
“Hmm. You should try and get some sleep.”
“I will if you will.” Her words were muffled by his chest and soon her breath evened out into the patterns of slumber.
The temptation was strong, too strong, to close his eyes and drift away too, but he couldn’t. Wouldn’t. Intimacy and vulnerability were too dangerous to a guy like him.
He lay there afterward, staring up at the ceiling while she snoozed, stroking her hair and keeping her safe, because that’s what he did. This had been good, wonderful, and he felt more relaxed than he had in recent memory. Tomorrow he’d worry about the consequences.
Tonight, though, he just couldn’t bring himself to regret any of it.
12
The next few days were beyond busy for Clint, what with preparing for the event on Saturday and nursing poor Ashley through a cold. It was just as well that he had plenty of reminders to stay on task, considering that sex with Tara had completely rocked his world.
They’d not spent much time alone together since it happened, but that was okay. He’d forgotten how nice it was to just be with someone else. Plus, having another adult to talk to at home was good too. And knowing Tara was available in case Ashley needed something while Clint went to check out the event site in person was also a bonus.
It all felt good. Maybe too good.
Honestly, it still left him a tad unsettled how quickly they’d all fallen into a routine together. Getting up, getting ready for the day, eating meals together, spending time together in the evenings. Bedtimes. Tara was everything he’d always wanted in a partner and Clint had to stop and wonder sometimes why she wasn’t already in a relationship, since she seemed pretty damned perfect at it.
Seemed like she’d be a pretty good mom too, someday.
And sure, she’d made remarks about her own mother being less than great, but Tara was a natural. At least with Ashley.
There’d been times as a single dad that Clint had felt awkward as hell about it. Like maybe fatherhood wasn’t a good fit for him. Hell, he’d been thrown into it so quickly that he’d had no time to prepare. Once he’d gotten that call from Child Protective Services, he’d left the Navy and rushed home. It wasn’t until his daughter had been delivered into his arms that he’d had a moment to stop and realize he had no idea what he was doing. And since then, there were plenty of times he had no clue how to handle things. Just today, actually, when his daughter’s training bike showed up on Tara’s doorstep.
Hell, he’d forgotten he’d even ordered the thing, what with all the other drama going on.
Now, he stared at the rainbow-bright hues bedecking the bike and wondered if he’d made the right choice after all. It had been backordered, giving him plenty of time to contact the company and have them switch the delivery address to Tara’s place, but with Ashley now demanding to ride it immediately, there was a strong possibility this had been a mistake.
“Daddy!” Ashley whined, her little face scrunched up and red. “Please? Why can’t I take it outside?”
“Yeah,” Tara said, coming up beside him. “Why not? I’ll come with you guys.”
“Uh, no.” He shook his head and crossed his arms. “First of all, you’re under threat, remember?” he whispered to Tara. “And second,” he directed to Ashley. “You’re supposed to stay inside and keep Tara company.”
“Daddy!” Ashley repeated, her shrill cries reaching ear-splitting levels. Her face flushed and she stamped her foot hard, signaling a total meltdown was imminent. “I want to ride! Now!”
“In that case, I could use some fresh air myself,” Tara said with a dismissive wave. “Let’s go outside and ride your new bike for a while.”
Clint watched as his daughter and Tara put on their shoes and headed for the door, bike in tow. “Hey! Doesn’t my vote count here?”
They walked out, leaving him behind.
Right. Apparently not. Grumbling under his breath, he shoved his feet into his shoes and followed after them. Had he just been thinking how nice it was having the two of them around? Because he’d been wrong. Not only did living with two females mean he was outnumbered, but now he was outvoted, too!
“Wait!” Clint called to Tara and Ashley from the porch. “I’m supposed to be protecting you, remember?”
“We’re fine,” Tara called back as she helped Ashley get on the bike in the driveway. “No one’s going to come for us up here.”
“No,” he said, quiet but firm. Hearing the seriousness in his voice, both Tara and Ashley froze and turned to him. He stepped closer to Tara, lowering his voice even further so Ashley wouldn’t hear. “Whoever is after you knows your address, came here in person to cut the wires. You don’t have the luxury of ignoring that. You hired me to protect you, so you need to listen to what I’m saying to you—hanging out on the sidewalk like this isn’t safe.” He stepped back. “The patio out back is fenced in—bike riding can happen out there. But not here on the sidewalk. Is that understood?” Ashley didn’t look happy about it, but she nodded and didn’t argue.
He carried the bike to the backyard and set it up on the patio. But wh