He was all. He was everything. What he could do to her. What she did to him. The magic they created together shone around them like fireworks raining down from the ceiling. He stroked her hard, pushing down on that tight, hard nub with his thumb, and Sadie shattered again. She screamed his name and only moments later, he shouted in triumph and emptied himself into her.
Bodies burning, hearts crashing, they curled up together, her back to his front, and dropped into exhausted sleep.
* * *
For Ethan, the next few days were...challenging. Not only did he have a new housekeeper and her five-year-old daughter living at the house, but he and Sadie had crossed the barriers separating them. She spent every night in his room, because what was the point of going in and out of the guest room?
Every night, they made love with a frantic fierceness that seemed to only get stronger. He couldn’t stop touching her. Wanting her. He woke up in the middle of the night and reached for her. She’d become...essential. Ethan wasn’t sure when that had happened or even how it had.
He’d wakened this morning to realize there were lotions and makeup lined up like tiny soldiers on his bathroom counter. In the shower, her shampoo sat beside his and made the whole damn room smell like lemons. Her clothes were in his closet, her shoes lined up alongside his, and when he’d finally noticed all this, he’d had one brief moment of panic.
It had been a long time since he’d shared any part of his home, his life, with a woman. And that had ended so badly, he’d promised himself he would never risk it again. But this was different, he assured himself. This situation with Sadie was temporary. This wasn’t a mark of a relationship beginning, but of a business partnership ending.
“And I don’t care for that, either.” They still had almost three weeks on their deal and neither of them had spoken again about the fact that now that Julie was working for him, and willing to care for the baby, he didn’t really need a nanny. At least, there wasn’t a huge rush for one.
So why had he asked Sadie to stay? Why hadn’t he told her that she could move out of his house?
“Because,” he muttered, turning in his chair to stare out at the ocean, “you don’t want her to leave.”
Sure, it worried him to see how much she was settling into his home, his bedroom. But the nights with her were addictive. The more he had her, the more he wanted her. If she left, he might never get her back in his bed again, and Ethan wasn’t ready to give that up yet.
And then there was Emma.
The tiny girl was carving out a place for herself in his heart and that was shocking, as well. He’d never expected to feel something for the baby. Care for her, sure. He owed Bill and his wife that. Ethan had made a promise and he intended to keep it. But he’d never been around kids much and he’d liked it that way.
Now Emma was opening his eyes to the idea that just maybe he’d been...wrong. It didn’t happen often, which was why he hadn’t recognized it right away. But he was a big enough man, he hoped, to admit when the unthinkable happened.
Only the night before, he’d been struck by just how the changes in his life had affected him. He’d heard Emma stirring on the baby monitor and got up before Sadie could wake. In the dark, quiet house, he’d walked into Emma’s room and crossed to the crib. The little girl opened her eyes, looked up at him and smiled. She knew him. Trusted him. Was happy to see him.
And in that instant, a bubble of warmth had spread through his chest and settled around his heart. He hadn’t expected it, wasn’t prepared for what it was going to mean to his life, but he also couldn’t deny it.
Emma. Sadie. They were changing everything and it was quickly coming to the point where he couldn’t remember what it had been like without them in his house. In his mind.
All he had left of his once orderly world was work. His company. And even that was under constant assault from Gabriel, though Ethan hadn’t heard another word from his brother about changes. Which should worry him, he supposed. On the other hand, he’d take the break where he could.
Then a knock on the door sounded and Sadie poked her head inside. “Ethan. Ms. Gable from Child Services is here.”