didn’t want to knock and wake the kids.” She rolls her eyes, and I take hold of her face in my hands.
“You could have called me, and I would have met you at the door. Then you wouldn’t have had to knock and wake the kids.”
“I didn’t think about that.” She frowns, and I lean in to kiss the look off her face.
“Well, now you know. For future booty calls.”
“This isn’t a booty call.” She laughs, leaning back, and I lean closer.
“Really? It’s after one in the morning. Why else would you be showing up at my door this time of night?”
“I wanted to talk,” she lies, and I move onto the bed, wrapping my hands around her legs and pushing them apart, making room between her thighs.
“Oh yeah? And what did you want to talk about?”
“I… um… you…” she breathes, lying back.
“That’s very interesting.” I grin, and her eyes narrow.
“You’re throwing me off. I can’t remember what I wanted to talk about, now that you are all up on me and stuff.”
“I plan to be all up in you in a minute, baby. Do you think you’ll remember then?”
“Yes, I mean no,” she says, and I smile against her mouth then go about making sure she can’t remember what she wanted to talk about, which doesn’t take long.
“Zach, you have to move. I need to get up,” Shel whispers, and I feel her fingers slide through my hair and her warm, soft body squirm under mine.
“Sleep. It’s too early to get up,” I grumble, dragging her farther under me, locking my arm around her waist.
“Normally, I would agree, but I need to get home and get ready for work.”
“What time is it?” I open one eye and see it’s light in the room, which doesn’t mean much since it’s still summer, so the light can play tricks on you here in Alaska.
“Just seven, but Hunter has camp, so he’ll be up soon, and I want to be there before that happens.”
“How long is Max staying?” I ask, getting up on an elbow in the bed and looking down at her.
“He said a few days. I don’t know what that means. I didn’t get into it with him, but hopefully a few days ends on Wednesday. I don’t know how long I will be able to handle having him under the same roof as me.”
“You can always come spend the night with me.” I smile, running my fingers through the hair at the side of her head and spreading it out across my pillow.
“I’ll probably stay here tonight. But I’ll tell Hunter I’m here, so if by chance he comes to find me, he doesn’t worry.”
“Sure, and I’ll tell the kids you’re sleeping over.” I say ignoring the look on her face then ask. “How was Max last night after I left?”
“He was fine. Nice even, but it was weird having him around asking questions about pictures and things. Stuff he never cared about before.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugs, letting out a breath. “I tried to remember when we got here, and Hunter found a picture of my mom and me, if Max ever asked about my parents, but I don’t think he did. I mean, he knew they died, but he didn’t ask to see pictures or ask about what kind of people they were. Last night, he seemed to have a million questions and it kinda freaked me out.”
“Hmm.” I let out a breath, letting go of the jealousy I’m feeling, knowing she doesn’t need me acting like a Neanderthal right now, regardless of how badly I want to do just that. “Don’t worry about that. Just focus on the fact that you don’t have to go to battle with him.”
“I still don’t buy it. I won’t believe it until I talk to Mandy and confirm he has called his lawyer and agreed to settle this outside of court.”
“That’s probably smart, baby,” I agree, and her face softens as she moves her hand between my brows and down the bridge of my nose. “How was Hunter last night?”
“He loosened up after Max told him he wasn’t taking him back to Seattle. Until then, he’d been on edge. I think Max finally saw for himself what his reaction caused. They have always been close, but before Max put him at ease, Hunter was standoffish with him, and I think it freaked him out.”
“Maybe he needed that,” I say softly, and she nods.
“Maybe.”
I run my hand up