Executive Protection(59)

“You two stay here so I know you’re safe.” Thad opened the balcony door and ran down the stairs, glad no one was around to see him. There, he waited out of sight, timing his absence in his head. This had to be believable. A few minutes later, he ran back up the stairs and into Sophie’s bedroom, slightly winded from sprinting up all those steps.

Sophie huddled with Lucy, still on the bed, frightened and expectant.

“I caught him,” Thad proclaimed, feeling as if he was in one of Lucy’s made-up stories. “I told him if he ever came back he’d have to go through me to get to you.” He moved closer. “You were right. He was afraid of me. He’s gone and he’s never coming back.”

Sophie looked at Lucy for confirmation.

“You heard him. The green-eyed man is gone. For good.” She tapped the girl’s nose with her forefinger.

Sophie relaxed and giggled.

“Let’s read something and then you need to get some sleep.” Lucy found a book and reclined on the bed beside Sophie.

Thad locked the balcony doors and then leaned against the frame. He watched Lucy read to the girl and listened to her animated voice. All the while he struggled with letting go of what swelled in his heart. Forever. With the two of them...

Sophie’s eyes drooped and then closed. In less than a half hour, she was sound asleep. Seeing the child enveloped in so much peace, knowing he had a lot to do with that, Thad felt something shift in him. His resistance weakened. Lucy gently pulled the covers up to her chin and then turned off the bedside lamp, leaving only the night-light.

Thad went with her to the door, leaving it open as they left.

In the hall, Lucy turned to him. “You’re good at that.”

“At what?” He shouldn’t even ask. She’d start in on him again.

“She’ll never have another nightmare again, thanks to you.” She leaned against the hallway wall, too dreamy for his comfort zone, but sexy as hell. This time without a robe, she wore that silky nightgown. The strings tying the bodice were loosened and teased him with half of her breasts exposed. He could see the shadow of her nipples and thighs through the thin material. The nightgown came to just above her knees.

He felt himself react, the tightening down low, the quickening of his pulse. Awareness of her sensuality engulfed him. With resistance vanishing, temptation took its place. What would it be like to forget reality for one night?

Lucy noticed the change in him. Her appreciative smile faded and a darker pleasure took over. Her eyes grew hungry.

Drawn to her, he crossed the hall. Her hands slid up his chest as he swooped down to kiss her. Bracing his hands on the wall, he kissed her softly at first, exploring her and loving how her breathing deepened. Her mouth fit his deliciously.

Was this what kissing the mother of his child would be like? He enjoyed the fantasy. It was okay as long as it remained a fantasy.

Lucy ran her tongue along his mouth. He opened for her and they caressed each other that way for a while. Fiery heat coursed through him, reaching every wicked nerve ending in him. She arched her body toward him. Her hips pressed against his growing hardness.

Kissing her harder, he ran his hands down her body, one over her breast the other down to her rear.

“That nightgown is driving me crazy,” he rasped.

“You’re driving me crazy.” She sought his mouth again.

He kissed her while he kneaded her breast, feeling the nipple go stiff.

“Sophie,” Lucy whispered.

Though the child slept, waking her to this wouldn’t be the best example to make.

He moved back, and she took his hand, leading him into her room. It was nearly identical to his, only having a different color scheme. Lucy had chosen the blue hues and he took the one with green.

“Are you sure about this?” He shut the door. Even if she wasn’t, he might have to convince her. This was one fantasy he didn’t want to miss.

“Yes.” She backed into the spacious room, walls painted a soft yellow and offset by white trim. Every room had a balcony door. Lucy had left the blinds open, and moonlight streamed in. She hadn’t turned on a light when she’d gone running for Sophie.

Her gaze roamed all over his body, down to where his erection strained his jeans, all over his upper torso and back to his face.

“Are you?” she asked.

Her body in that nightgown beckoned. “Yes.”

She lifted the silky thing off her and dropped it to the floor. Completely naked, her dark, thick hair tumbling over her shoulders, she was a vision. Her breasts jutted, firm and free. A sinewy line divided her ribs and abdomen. She shaved her private area so that only a strip remained. Light from the window outlined her trim thighs, starting at the apex of her sex.

Thad removed his jeans and boxers. His erection was almost painful. He couldn’t remember ever being this hard before. Maybe when he was a teenager.

As he stepped toward her, she waited. She wanted more foreplay. Standing close, he angled his head to kiss her while he touched her breasts. When that wasn’t enough, he trailed kisses down her neck, over her collarbone and down to first one and then the other nipple.

She held his head, her fingers buried in his hair, sounds of pleasure whispering from her. She was holding back so that Sophie didn’t hear them. That she had to hold back heated him immeasurably. What would she sound like if she let go?