He’s not yours to worry over.
She needed to stop thinking about him. Things were good with Sloan and her . Really good. Moving in with him had been the right thing to do even though there’d been a few growing pains. Still were. She hadn’t realized how much of his forceful personality Sloan had been holding back.
She loved that he was secure enough to be himself. That he was no longer worried so much she might leave him. But, boy, had there been some arguments over his dictates.
She shook her head as she remembered his insistence that he was buying her a car because he didn’t want her taking the bus. She’d fought that one hard, until he’d told her the only other alternative was for him to drive her to and from work.
So now she had a new car. Well, not new. She’d won the argument over what type of car to buy. She’d gone for the cheapest she could find that still met his requirements for safety. Her old car had been sent to the wreckers. There was no fixing it.
Sloan had held her as she’d cried, not once making fun of her for her reaction over a car.
She smiled. Yeah, there were definite benefits to living with him. Like waking up with his arms wrapped around her each morning. She liked doing little things to take care of him. Like making him dinner each night. Then, afterwards, she’d sit in his lap, and they’d talk about their day.
Then at night . . . she shivered. The sex was off the charts. Intense sometimes, soft and playful others. And things had stepped up at the club too.
It was everything she’d dreamed of. And if James entered her mind sometimes, if she worried about him being on his own, then she managed to squelch those thoughts pretty quickly.
Lord, she hoped they weren’t killing each other.
She startled as a door banged. She was still adjusting to how loud Sloan was to live with.
“Kinley! Kinley, where are you?”
All right, so that was different. He might raise his voice occasionally, but there was a level of urgency that made her sit up.
“In here!”
The bathroom door slammed open just as she was climbing out of the bath. And she looked over as Sloan strode in. She gasped as she noticed James standing behind him, looking as frozen and shocked as she was. Then he stepped back and turned around.
“Sloan!” she screeched as he lifted her out of the tub, pulling her naked, wet body against his. “What are you doing? I’m all wet.” And naked. But she didn’t mention that or the fact that James had seen everything.
A flush of embarrassment raced through her. What had he thought? She pulled at Sloan’s hold then realized he was covering her up. Even though James had disappeared, she still felt vulnerable over her naked state.
“You’re okay,” Sloan stated over and over, running his hand through her hair.
“What is it? What’s wrong? What’s happened?” she asked.
Sloan pulled back, finally noticing her naked state. “Where are your clothes?”
She frowned slightly. “My stuff for the club? It’s laid out on our bed, why?”
“Not that. Put something else on, we’re not going to the club tonight.”
“We’re not?” Disappointment flooded her. They had a medical play scene planned for tonight, and she’d been looking forward to it.
“No, we’re not. Get dressed in something else then come out to the living room. We need to talk.”
Wow, if those four words hadn’t filled her with trepidation the look on his face would have. He looked coldly determined. Hard.
When he stormed out of the room, she found herself rushing to get dressed. Whatever was going on, it seemed imperative she figure it out. Now.
James looked around Sloan’s house with interest. His and Kinley’s house now, he guessed, trying to ignore the stab of loneliness the thought brought with it. He should be used to being on his own. So why did he always feel like that kid stuck out in the snow, watching through the window as a happy family celebrated Christmas in their warm house, accompanied by hot chocolate, presents, and the requisite dog.
Stop being a fool. You could buy yourself a damn family if you wanted to.
Wasn’t quite the same though, was it? It was something his bastard uncle had never worked out.
That money couldn’t buy you everything. Not the really important stuff anyway.