Returning to the game room, I hung back in the doorway, taking in the sight of my son passed out, lightly snoring in the leather recliner. He was still clutching the controller, his leg hanging over one side.

I couldn’t get over the fact he was here or that we’d played COD all evening to the point my eyes had started burning. I’d refused to stop playing until he was done, which apparently meant until he fell asleep mid-zombie-killing spree.

I finally got my ass moving, setting aside the blanket to handle the controller and shift his leg back onto the reclined chair. I covered him, shut off the light, and went downstairs to check on Juliette.

She was asleep on her side, her hands in prayer position beneath her cheek. I couldn’t believe she was here and in that bed of all beds, or that I’d told her about the hardest time in my life. At this point, there were so many things I couldn’t wrap my head around, I could no longer keep count.

I fixed her covers back over her, noting she seemed to favor the right side of the bed. I didn’t want to wake her up and have her find me staring at her like a psychopath, so I exfil’ed out of there for some rack time myself.

Once in my bedroom with the door shut, I stripped down to my briefs. I climbed into bed and tested out the left side to gauge how it felt. I normally slept dead center, and maybe I was getting ahead of myself, but I had every intention of sleeping next to Juliette one day. Why not work on adjusting to sleeping on the left side?

I fell asleep fast, and I wasn’t sure how long I’d been out, but I was startled awake when my bedroom door opened. Unsure how an intruder had bypassed my security, I was seconds away from going for my Glock in the nightstand drawer when I realized it was Juliette.

I also became keenly aware of two things: I was back at the center of the bed, and my dick was hard.

“Hi.” She barefooted her way over to my bed where the sheets were crumpled at the bottom. She’d get a good glimpse of my morning wood because my briefs left nothing to the imagination. “Oh. Good morning to you, too.” A blush worked up into her cheeks.

And there she was. My ray of fucking sunshine. The only better way to wake up would be for her to be in bed next to me.

“Morning.” I sat up and grabbed the comforter to conceal my erection.

Unlike me, the only thing bare was her feet. She was already dressed in skinny jeans and had a white shirt partially tucked into them. Her hair was wavy and loose, stopping short of her breasts.

God, you’re beautiful.