I looped an arm around her waist and yanked her in closer, nuzzling against the back of her neck as I tried to relax back into sleep.
She yawned sleepily. “Cut what out?”
Knock knock knock
I cracked an eyelid. “That.”
She abruptly sat up and pushed her long, dark hair away from her face. “It’s not me, it’s the door,” she muttered.
“Just ignore it,” I said, my eyes firmly glued to her bare breasts as they swayed with her movements. She rolled out of bed and padded naked to her closet, giving me another excellent view of her heart-shaped ass.
“It’s still early,” she said, pulling the closet door open and yanking out a fluffy bathrobe to put on. “What if it’s an emergency?”
“Fine,” I grumbled. I sat up and swiped a pair of gym shorts out of my bag.
The knock sounded again, louder and more insistent as Marcie hurried down the short hallway with me behind her. She flipped the deadbolt and cracked the door open, and I skidded to a halt behind her as she gasped and visibly tensed.
With a helpless backward glance at me, she swung the door open.
And Clive Davenport walked in.
Chapter Thirteen
Marcie
“Daddy,” I said in a rush of breath, already trying to diffuse what could be a potentially explosive situation. “Don’t freak out.”
His eyes flicked over to me as he stepped across the threshold and into my apartment, then he looked back over at Denton, his gaze narrowing. Shirtless, barefoot Denton, wearing only gym shorts, with sex-and-sleep-mussed hair. My father’s jaw tensed and I tightened the collar of my robe around my throat and wished the floor would swallow me whole. This wasn’t the way I wanted my father to find out about the two of us.
Much too calmly, Dad walked over to my couch and stiffly sank into the cushions, his ice-cold glare still fixed on his business partner.
“Both of you get dressed,” he said, his voice flat, almost monotone. “I’ll wait here.”
With Denton on my heels, I hurried back into my bedroom and grabbed some underwear, pajama pants and a sweatshirt—baggy, enveloping garments, anything to make me feel less exposed. Denton rifled through his duffel bag and pulled out a t-shirt and flannel pants, yanking them on before he ran nervous fingers through his wild dark hair. He looked stricken, his ice-chip blue eyes wide and anxious.
I finished pulling my hair into a ponytail and stepped closer to Denton, reaching up to frame his handsome face in my hands. His gaze traced over the lines of my face like he was trying to memorize the details, and my heart lurched in my chest to see him so shaken up. I rose up on tiptoes to wind my arms around his neck and press my lips against his in a long, loving kiss.
“It’s not an ideal situation, and this isn’t the way I wanted him to find out about us,” I whispered as he pulled away. “But no matter what, I’m not going anywhere.”
He took a deep breath, then leaned down to kiss me one more time.
“I love you,” I said, needing to say the words that mattered the most right now. “Remember, no matter what.”
His arms crept around me as he tugged me into his broad chest. “That’s what I needed to hear,” he replied, his voice infused with relief. “I love you too.”
He buried his face in my neck and held me for a few seconds longer before we reluctantly released each other.
“Time to face the music.” Linking my fingers through his to show a united front, we walked back to the living room, where my father—Denton’s best friend and business partner—waited.
Dad’s face was cold and blank, and his eyes flicked immediately to our joined hands. I gave Denton a gentle squeeze and sank down onto the couch opposite where my father sat, pulling him down next to me.
“Explain,” Dad said, the one word spoken in a tight, clipped tone.
I looked at Denton, then back at my dad, who was glaring at the man sitting by my side. “Denton and I—ran into each other at a bar before your last visit, before I even knew he was your business partner. We really connected and we…we’re together.”
Dad turned his gaze back to me, and the icy exterior cracked enough that I saw the stormy emotions underneath. “You’retogether?” he asked incredulously. “And this has been going on for a few weeks now?”
Denton nodded, his unshaven jaw tensing. “Yes.”