Chuckling at his good humor, I slid my arms around his neck and nuzzled his jaw with my nose, then whispered in his ear, “You do smell like roses. Actually no, you smell woodsy, like a forest, so much better than roses.”

He groaned, his hands coming to my waist and squeezing. The action had me clenching my thighs together with need. It felt like a lifetime since we’d been together, and I desperately needed to reconnect. It wasn’t just physical either. No, sex with Bryan Leech was so much more than that. It was emotional, passionate, a balm for my soul.

“Can we leave now?” he asked huskily. “Or do you need to stay?”

I shook my head. “We can go.”

“Good.” Bryan cupped my face between his palms and gave me a quick kiss. “We need to go. Now. So grab your stuff. We’ll pick up Patrick, then I’m driving us home.”

***

After the emotional rollercoaster of the last week, pizza for dinner with my two guys was exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, Bryan couldn’t eat the pizza, not with a match the following day. He flexed his self-control muscle and ate a clean meal of veggies, fish, and quinoa salad.

Bryan offered to do the dishes, but I waved him off, insisting that he help Patrick through the bedtime routine. Truth be told, I enjoyed my quiet moments at the end of the day while doing the dishes. The sound of the water was soothing, and I liked heating my hands under the warm tap.

Once I was finished, I checked on Patrick and Bryan, and found that Bryan had fallen asleep in our son’s bed. Patrick, however, was sitting on the floor playing with his train set.

As soon as he spotted me, he held a finger to his lips. “Be quiet, Mummy. Bryan needs his beautiful sleep, even though my bed is too small.”

I smiled at my son. “You mean beauty sleep?”

He nodded.

“Where did you hear that?”

“Monkey Sean said sleep is why he’s so stunningly handsome.”

I covered my mouth to smother my laugh. When I recovered, I threaded my fingers through Patrick’s hair and placed a kiss on his forehead. “You need to go to sleep.”

“But where will Bryan sleep?” He frowned.

I hesitated a moment, then said, “With me. I have a big bed. There’s enough room for both of us.”

Patrick nodded, like this made a lot of sense, then his eyes lit up. “Does this mean Bryan will be here in the morning? Can he watch cartoons with me? Or maybe we can build another fort.”

“I hope he’s here in the morning, but no fort. Unfortunately, we won’t have time for that since we have the match in the afternoon.” I hugged my son to me and placed another kiss on his head. “Come on. Help me move Bryan to my room. I can’t carry him by myself.”

Patrick gave me a funny look and gestured to his dad. His dad. A rush of emotion ran through me at the thought and my heart pounded.

“You can’t carry him. He’s too heavy.”

I chuckled at that, then moved to wake the big man up. Bending over him, I whispered in his ear. “Time to go to bed, sleepyhead.”

“What?” Bryan’s eyes fluttered open, and he seemed surprised by his surroundings.

“I said, time to go to bed,” I repeated softly.

“Oh. Is it?” He glanced around the room. “I guess I should be going.”

“No. You’re staying.” Patrick tugged on Bryan’s hand, clearly trying to get him to stand up. “You’re sleeping in Mummy’s big bed.”

Bryan turned a confused, questioning, and still hazy gaze to me. “I am?”

“You are.” I nodded, grinning at his expression. “So come on, time for bed.”

In a daze, Bryan let us pull him to his feet and steer him towards my room. Once there, Patrick very solemnly pulled back the blankets, motioned for Bryan to climb in, then covered him back up.

“Good night, Bryan,” Patrick said, kissing him on the forehead. “Sweet dreams.”

A dreamy smile arrested Bryan’s features as he gazed at our son, but his tone was a little rough as he responded, “You, too.”

Patrick then tugged me out of my bedroom and back to his. I cast a longing glance at Bryan, who was watching us go with equal parts amusement and mischief as he lay lazily on my bed. The sleepy tired look on his face was incredibly sexy.

Once I had Patrick all tucked in, lights off, bedtime hugs and kisses at an end, I mussed Patrick’s hair and asked, “What do you think if Bryan spends the night more often?”

“How often?” Patrick asked between a yawn.

“A few times a week, maybe.”

“Why doesn’t he just move in? We could get bunk beds, and he can share my room.”

Laughing at his adorable antics, I gave him one last kiss and shut off the light. “Sweet dreams, my love.”

“Sweet dreams, Mummy.”

Leaving his door cracked, I tip-toed down the hall back to my room, not wanting to wake Bryan if he was already asleep.

But when I entered the room, I found he wasn’t asleep. In fact, he was up, sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me.

“Hey,” I whispered as I closed the door, a surge of excitement and happiness—and also horny expectation—rushing through my veins.

“Hey,” he said, standing. “I didn’t know what to do.”

“About what?” I asked, pulling off my shirt, my eyes moving over his as I wondered why he would still be wearing clothes.