“We’re gonna head up,” Shane announced suddenly, seeing the panic on my face. “I’ll show you where to sleep, Ani.”
Everyone agreed it was time to hit the sack and began moving quietly around the house getting ready for bed. Thankfully, we had blankets and pillows for everyone, and before long the lights were turned off and Shane, Ani, and I were moving up the stairs.
“You don’t sleep in the master bedroom?” Anita asked quietly as I brought her into Shane’s room while he checked on the kids.
“No,” I answered simply. “I have my own room.”
“Which it sounds like Shane sleeps in?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s weird,” she mused, closing the door so she could change into some pajamas.
“I’m not sleeping in here,” I mumbled, going into the bathroom to brush my teeth.
“Oh, yeah,” she said, following in behind me. “I wouldn’t want to sleep in Rachel’s room, either.”
I put some toothpaste on my brush and stuffed it into my mouth without answering. I didn’t know what to say. Shane had taken away anything that had belonged to Rachel long before his deployment, and the room looked like it had always been exclusively his…but I’d been in there with Rachel more times than I could count.
“It’s not like it’s a big deal or anything,” I mumbled around the white foam in my mouth. “It’s just never come up—and I’m sure as hell not broaching that subject. I guess if he wanted me in here, he would have asked by now.”
“So, what, you’re just going to leave the master bedroom empty? That doesn’t make much sense.”
“Hell, I don’t know.” I spit and rinsed my mouth with water from the tap.
“Things are good with you guys now?” Ani asked, following my lead and spitting out her toothpaste.
“I guess.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kate, you ready for bed?” Shane asked, poking his head in the door.
“Yeah.” I turned to Ani and gave her a tight hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too.”
Shane opened the door wide so I could pass by him, then followed me into my room.
“I can’t believe they’re all here,” I whispered with a smile, meeting Shane’s eyes as I pulled my yoga pants down my legs.
“I can’t believe they’re all staying at our house,” Shane snickered, pulling his T-shirt over his head. “I thought Bram’s head was going to explode when I told Ani she could take my bed.”
“You did that on purpose.” I rolled my eyes.
“Hell yeah, I did. God, your brother’s such a dick.”
Iris stirred, and we both froze, our eyes snapping to the crib wedged in between the bed and the wall. Her arms jerked before she went limp again, and as soon as she was still, we climbed gingerly into bed, lying down to face each other.
“He’s just protective,” I whispered as Shane pulled me into him.
“He’s in my fucking house,” he replied incredulously.
“Yeah, bad form.” I chuckled silently, reaching up to rub one hand over his short hair. He’d just gotten another haircut, and I loved the way it felt against my palms.
“I love this tank top,” Shane said out of nowhere, his nostrils flaring.
“What?” I looked down at the nursing tank top I was wearing. I had, like, four of them, and I wore them all the time so they were getting a little ragged looking.
“Just one little tug…” He slid his finger underneath the small snap by my collarbone.
My breath caught as I watched his face, his finger snapping and unsnapping the strap. We’d been riding a fine line, sometimes crawling into bed practically vibrating with sexual tension—but we still hadn’t had sex. Shane was beyond ready, but I was still putting him off.
He finally left the snap undone and glanced up at my face as his fingers pulled the fabric down.
“What are you doing?” I whispered breathlessly.
“I’ve been watching you all night,” he said softly. “So gorgeous. Smiling and laughing—and you’ve been using your nursing cover so I haven’t even gotten a glimpse—”
The fabric caught on my nipple and finally fell beneath my breast. “Ah, there it is,” Shane breathed, his fingers ghosting up and over my nipple.
“I think this probably has more to do with the beer you were drinking,” I replied, swallowing hard.
Shane chose that moment to lean down and wrap his lips around my nipple, making my hips jerk forward. He groaned deep in his throat, sucking slightly to pull my nipple into a sharp point as he reached down to pull my leg over his.
My neck arched as his hand slid down between us, and I gasped as his fingers slid over my inner thigh. I should’ve wore pants to bed, I thought as his fingers tunneled under the fabric of my underwear. I’m playing with fire.
“This isn’t a good idea,” I tried to say as his fingers brushed over my entrance.
“Fantastic idea,” Shane mumbled around my breast. “Look how wet you are. Just let me—” He stopped speaking as a finger slid inside me, making both of us groan.