Lexi fell asleep almost immediately. I didn’t blame her; the sex was intense. I still had a smirk on my face, knowing just how much she’d enjoyed it, and loving it.

I slid out of bed to head to the bathroom. I found a wash cloth and wet it a bit with warm water to wipe myself down. Then I went back to the bedroom to do the same for Lexi. She mumbled in protest, squirming around, a slight furrow on her brow, but she didn’t even wake up. I just smiled at that and went to put leave the cloth in the bathroom.

Back in the bedroom, I eyed the mess that was our strewn clothes and hesitated. Technically, we were done for the night. I was supposed to try not to get attached to this woman, which was why I’d been trying too hard to keep my distance before.

But I couldn’t bring myself just to get dressed and leave. Instead, I went back to the bed, lay down next to her, and watched her sleep.

Damn, she is beautiful. More and more every time I see her.

I reached a tentative hand to brush a finger down her cheek. She squirmed a little, but again, did not wake up.

A ring interrupted the silence. It was my phone, and I got out of bed, heading for my clothes to pick the call up quickly before it woke her up.

“Hello?” I answered quietly, going to the bathroom and locking the door behind me.

“Daddy? It’s me!”

I perked up at the sound of my son’s voice. It had been a while since we’d been apart for so long, even though it was only for a week. I didn’t send the kid away from home often because he didn’t like leaving home. I’d been distracted by Lexi’s presence, but hearing his voice again, I remembered just how much I missed my kid.

“Hey, Eddie,” I said, my voice brighter, though still trying to keep it down. “How’ve you been, kid? I hope you’re having a good time at grandma’s?”

He hummed. “Grandma’s awesome!” he declared.

There was a round of laughs behind him, and I guessed the rest of the family was around him and listening in. I smiled, hearing my little boy so happy.

He is why I’m doing all this; I reminded myself.

This whole thing with Lexi, the contract, wanting a baby… I was doing all of it for the sake of my son. He had lost his mother, and while I couldn’t get that back for him, I could at least give him a sibling to play with, before the age gap got a little too big.

“I’m glad, kid,” I murmured, leaning back against the bathroom door. “I miss you a lot over here, you know? It’s just not as much fun without you around.”

“Just work then, daddy,” he said, to another round of laughs.

I winced. Ah, work.

Shit. It wasn’t exactly a new realization, but I knew I was shirking work, too. Lexi was just too much of a distraction for me to focus on anything else, though. I had an office outside of the house, but I usually just worked from home for convenience. Still, it felt like I hadn't been out of the house at all since she came. And it wasn’t like I was even doing any work.

When was the last time I stepped into my home office? I couldn’t remember because I was always so busy doing other shit. Like worrying about Lexi. Her thoughts, and her comfort, not to mention wanting to be with her. She was pretty much all that had occupied my mind the past few days because I was worried about her when I couldn’t see her, and when I could see her, I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off her.

The one thing I hadn’t neglected, in fact, was calling my son every night, and yet today, I’d waited so long to do it, that he’d called me himself.

Get it together, Ryan.

“Daddy’s a bit busy over here,” I said vaguely. “But I miss having you around. So hurry up and get back, okay, kid? Say hi to grandma for me.”

“’Kay, daddy,” he said brightly. “Bye.”

I smiled to myself as he cut off the call. He hadn't talked much, and yet, it was more than he’d talked on other days. Sending him to my mom’s was the best idea. I should probably go, too, the next time he went, or mom would get pissed at me for not visiting her as often as I should.

There was still the question of work, but it wasn’t like I had to get to it at that moment. There wasn’t anything so pressing that it couldn’t wait. So I left the bathroom, picked up our clothes to lump them in a pile, then went back to bed, leaving the phone on the nightstand.

I slid back into bed, pulling the covers over me, and lying on my side so I could look at Lexi some more.

Why am I so attracted to you?

I frowned to myself as I considered it. I knew it couldn’t be something so simple, as her being a woman and me a man, because I had met many women that wouldn’t have minded jumping into bed with me, even if it was just to give me a kid. I hadn't felt a thing for any of them, though. It was a bit strange with Lexi because no matter what I knew of her from the background check, she was still very much a stranger. A stranger that I saw, and immediately wanted to take home with me.

Whatever it was about her that kept pulling me in… I didn’t mind it.

I let out a yawn, realizing just how tired I felt.